A film education charity has compiled a list of movies to help turn kids into well-rounded cineastes. But is there too much Shrek and not enough otter murder?

There are 50 movies that your child should watch before the age of 11, according to the film education charity Into Film. These films, chosen by a panel of “leading film experts” (who presumably have a sideline in child development), are said to impact your child’s intellectual, emotional and educational development so keenly that they’ll grow up to be a better person as a result. Did they get it right?

Yes!

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory: a warning about negative personality traits. Photograph: Everett Collection/Rex Features

Overwhelmingly, the list is full of classics. One of the most recent inclusions, for example, is Disney’s Zootropolis. Its anti-racism message is anything but deft – in fact, to adults, it tends to land with a deadening thump – but it is clear enough for children to understand. Inside The Gruffalo lurks a tale of how bravado can be substituted for bravery in a time of crisis. Both The Lion King and Up manage to brace children for the upheaval of grief. The Lego Movie encourages messy individuality over blind obedience. Babe teaches kids to overcome their limitations (and talk to pigs). And Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory is a warning that the world is terrifying, and showing any sort of negative personality trait whatsoever will almost definitely result in instant death. Which isn’t the best message to give children, admittedly, but it’s probably one they need to learn at some point.

No!

The list also contains its fair share of stinkers. Shrek is on the list, for example, which seems like an error; not only is its “beauty is skin deep” message better told elsewhere, nobody wants children in 2017 to run around making endless decade-and-a-half-old pop-culture references all over the place. Night at the Museum doesn’t really have any sort of moral, other than “museums only get fun when you’re not there”. The Adventures of Tintin doesn’t deserve to be on this list, partly because it’s an absolute mess and partly because it might inspire your children to seek out Tintin in the Congo. And, unless my two-year-old was screaming so hard that I lost sight of a moral, Trolls mainly seems to exist as a brightly coloured toy advertisement that places a needless level of focus on James Corden’s singing ability. Kids don’t deserve to see that. None of us do.

Hang on, where’s Dunstan Checks In?

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Finding Nemo: one of the all-time great depictions of parental love

Most egregiously, this list neglects to mention some of Pixar’s biggest hitters. Toy Story and Up are there; but not Inside Out, a film that reminds its audience that sadness isn’t always bad. Finding Nemo contains one of the all-time great depictions of parental love, and yet it isn’t there either. Wall-E is endlessly beautiful and profound, and mostly delivered without dialogue, which makes it easier for younger kids to digest. Is it on the list? It is not. Then again, The Wizard of Oz didn’t make the list either, and the entire film industry has spent almost 70 years trying to replicate its themes and characterisations



Most damningly, the list avoids two key areas of film that all kids should be familiar with by the time they are 11. First is the sort of film that brutalises them to the point that they still won’t have shaken off the trauma by adulthood. For this I suggest Ring of Bright Water, where a lovable otter gets murdered without warning. Second is the sort of broadly unsuitable film that kids watch illicitly when their parents are out. For this reason, I’m afraid I must declare this list unfit for purpose. Come back with a VHS copy of Timecop and then we’ll talk.

Classics and clangers: the full list

101 Dalmatians (1961)



A Little Princess (1995)

Annie (1982)

Babe (1995)

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)

Coraline (2009)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)

Dumbo (1941)

ET: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Fantastic Mr Fox (2009)

Free Willy (1993)

Frozen (2013)

Home (2015)

Hook (1991)

Hotel Transylvania (2012)

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

Jumanji (1995)

Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)

Mary Poppins (1964)

Matilda (1996)

Nanny McPhee (2005)

Night at the Museum (2006)

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Night at the Museum. Photograph: 20thCFox/Everett/Rex Featur

Oliver! (1968)

Paddington (2014)

Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015)

Shrek (2001)

Space Jam (1996)

Spirited Away (2001)

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

Swallows and Amazons (2016)

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Swallows and Amazons.

The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

The BFG (2016)

The Gruffalo (2009)

The Iron Giant (1999)

The Jungle Book (1967)

The LEGO Movie (2014)

The Lion King (1994)

The Lorax (2012)

The Never-Ending Story (1984)

The Princess Bride (1987)

The Secret Garden (1993)

The Secret Life of Pets (2016)

The Witches (1990)

Toy Story (1995)

Trolls (2016)

Up (2009)

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Photograph: Allstar/Dreamworks

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)

Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971)

Zootropolis (2016)