PMP#153: Kids’ Films, Adult Messages

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Mark, Lawrence, and returning parents/panelists Michelle Parrinello-Cason and Chris Sunami take on the mass of largely animated films by Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, Illumination, etc. We’ve all watched them with our kids, and many adults devour them even in preference to other types of films.

So what’s the underlying ideology of this kind of media? What messages are they conveying, and are these substantial or even coherent? What elements in these films can adults relate to?

We touch on Puss in Boots, Turning Red, Soul, Trolls, Enola Holmes, The Polar Express, toddler edutainment, things we watched as kids, and stories by Roald Dahl, Lewis Carroll and L. Frank Baum. Our hosts recommended The Babysitter’s Club, The Mysterious Benedict Society, the studio Ghibli films, and the Series of Unfortunate Events books.

This discussion was recorded in late April, so unfortunately this summer’s outings like Little Mermaid are not included. But really, are those adding anything fundamentally new?

Follow us @law_writes, @DaylaLearning (Michelle), @PopCultPhil (Chris), and @MarkLinsenmayer.

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Audio editing by Tyler Hislop of Pixel Box Media.

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