Kids' Movies - Best of 2008: WALL-E, Horton Hears a Who Make the List

Irresistably good movie - even my two year old loves it - WALL-E was one of her first words! OK so there's not a lot of dialogue for the first 40 minutes of the movie. But Pixar have a great way of helping you connect with inanimate objects. There are some great ideas in this film concerning the enivironment, excercise, commercialism - there are a lot of nods to other Sci Fi Movies - notably - Wall-e looks a lot like a robot from Silent Running and the autopilot looks like HAL from 2001. There's enough action to keep the kids involved and don't get me started on the Apple Product placement...

2. Speed Racer

The Wachowski Brothers (the guys behind the Matrix) bring a real boys movie to the big screen with a film which is essentially 3 big car races. The plot is a little hard to follow for the kids in the first 20 mins but keep going because the action is great. With amazing colours some really great chase sequences and some laughs with a monkey and a 10 year old boy this is a great film for all the family. It reminded me of playing Mario Kart Wii!

3. Enchanted

Here's a great Disney live action movie for a change. With a great musical set piece in the middle and a fun plot here's what happens when someone from the world of fairytales enters our world - innocence conquers evil with some great singalong tunes along the way - there's even a great joke on Snow White where the vermin help clean up a house this is a really fun movie you'll want to watch over and over.

4. High School Musical 2

OK so I wanted to hate this movie - but once again the Disney channel has come up trumps with some really great songs and dance set pieces. Both boys and girls will enjoy watching this film. They have been wise and kept the relationships simple so that primary school children can watch - and some really memorable songs will have you humming along in no time. (it's less than £7 on amazon at the moment too...)

5. Horton Hears a Who

A real classic movie - this is beautifully narrated and artfully drawn. great colours, some fun one liners and even the possibility of a little philosophical reflection. Don't miss this great movie. It could be a parable about tolerance, inclusion and cross cultural friendships or simply enjoyed as a fun and distracting animated comedy. Highly recommended.