What if we offered our children the chance to combine business with pleasure by introducing them to the beauty of Mother Nature in a fun way? "Let's protect our planet": this is the message that many animated films and cartoons convey with humor and poetry. Here is a selection of 7 little wonders to watch (and explain) to your children!
Dora the Explorer is great, but your children are unlikely to become bilingual. Franklin is very cute, but we wish he would eventually learn to tie his shoes properly. Giving your children good organic products to awaken their taste buds is great, but you can go further and awaken their awareness of the world and the environment. Even better :)
In short, parents, take back control of the remote control and offer them this:
The Lorax by Chris Renaud (2012)
Ted lives in an artificial world, stripped of all vegetation. And a planet without a green lung breaks Ted's heart, and that of his adorable neighbor Audrey, who doesn't leave the young man indifferent.
Our hero therefore decides to go in search of the last tree seed in order to conquer his sweetheart.
During his incredible adventure, he will meet a funny orange, mustachioed character who fights to protect nature and will lend a hand to Ted, for better or for laughs!
Animals and Co. by Reinhard Klooss, Holger Tappe (2011)
All over the world, humans are striving to destroy nature (reality sometimes catches up with fiction). Only the African Okavango Delta still resists the polluting invader, the last Eden where our animal friends roam freely.
Until the day the water disappears too. The end of earthly paradise for our feathered and furry creatures!
This was without taking into account the complicity and resources of Billy the Meerkat and Socrates the vegetarian lion, who, determined to save their delta, will embark on an incredible adventure full of encounters and twists and turns!
My Beloved Little Planet by Jacques-Rémy Girerd (2010)
My darling little planet is a "collection" of nine short stories that approach ecology in a fun and poetic way: The Journey of a Drop of Water, The Magic Root, Mountains of Packaging...
We appreciate the original graphics and the always amusing, never moralizing, teaching methods demonstrated by these 9 little fables.
And for the most assiduous, you can find an educational support site built from the universe of the film here: http://mapetiteplanetecherie.crdp-lyon.fr
For children (from 6 years old)
Ponyo on the Cliff by Hayao Miyazaki (2009)
This wonderful animated film, loosely based on Andersen's tale, The Little Mermaid, is a delightful story of friendship between Sosuke, a little boy, and a little goldfish girl, Ponyo.
As always in his films, Hayao Miyazaki advocates the symbiosis between humans, animals and plants, as essential to the proper functioning of Mother Nature (moreover often - and rightly - humanized in Japanese films!).
We can only recommend the other films by this great director, a mad lover of nature, while being mindful of your child's age and their classification!
Wall-E, by Andrew Stanton (2008)
It's the story of a curious and talkative little robot (like your kids, right?) who happens to be the only inhabitant on Earth, with the mission of cleaning up our planet.
He will set off in pursuit of his great love and live a fantastic adventure.
Love and sharing as the only remedies to rampant consumerism and the systematic destruction of the planet, a nice moral, don't you think?
For the older ones
The Simpsons Movie, by David Silverman (2007)
Who doesn't know this crazy Springfield family with little Lisa, a vegetarian, defender of nature and animals?
In this film, this funny yellow family will go into exile in Alaska following the pollution of the lake by Homer.
It contains all the humor and allusions that made the series a success.
"Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" by Nick Park, Steve Box (2005)
In this feature film, we find the zany inventor and his clever dog, who have once again developed an ingenious creation: an anti-pest and eco-friendly machine, which saves the flourishing English vegetable gardens, while sparing the lives of rabbits.
Everyone is fearlessly preparing for the big annual vegetable competition, but things get complicated the day a transgenic Were-Rabbit appears and wrecks the vegetable gardens. How do the two friends manage to scare him away?
A beautiful reflection on eating better and GMOs, which in no way spoils the poetry and humor systematically present in the Wallace & Gromit series!
If you have any other favorite 100% eco-friendly cartoon ideas, please share them with us by writing to bonjour@goodgout.fr. Enjoy!
