The Top Five Environmental Children's Films

It's always a pleasure when environmental ideals somehow sneak their way into popular children's films. Today's kids are isolated from nature. While nothing is more effective than actually chasing a child away from the television to force them into some fresh air, for some places that isn't really possible. And even when it is possible, "fresh air" for most people today means taking their kids to the local park. It's better than nothing, but it isn't really nature. What this results in is the inability of children to understand that nature is worth preserving. Movies, on the other hand, are a medium that kids are very familiar with. While it still involves sitting in front of the TV, movies are created for a purpose, and that makes them inherently different from television. Here is a list of five environmentally-themed children's films that pass along a very strong message for the consumption of the young mind.

Ferngully. This film was released when I was a child, so the medium is a little out of date, but the messages are not. It takes place in a rainforest inhabited by fairies who live their idyllic lives under its canopy. Crysta is one such fairy who is training to be a mystic under the apprenticeship of Magi Lune. Under Magi's tutelage Crysta is learning about the delicate balance of nature and the web of life. When humans come to the rainforest, they bring with them their machines and smoke which inadvertently release Hexxus, an ancient spirit of destruction. It's up to Crysta and her friends to save Ferngully before Hexxus kills all life within it. Out of all the films I'll discuss, this one carries the most obvious environmental message. Children are taken into the magical world under the forest canopy and will then see it destroyed on account of humans. It is an unpleasant truth that people should be aware of at an early age.

Lion King. I have to say that this one is my favorite out of these five. I was obsessed with it as a child, and the interwoven concepts of environmentalism and the circle of life have been instilled in me for life. Simba is a young lion prince whose destiny is to become the King. When Simba's jealous uncle kills King Mufasa and sends assassins to kill the young prince, Simba flees death and his destiny for years. When he returns to his kingdom as a grown lion, he finds that his uncle's greedy, slovenly rule has depleted the land of all its natural resources. The grasslands are dead, the animals have left or died and the lions are starving. Simba must face his destiny and claim back his kingdom, restoring balance to the land. This movie demonstrates what effect our carelessness and greed has on our environment. It teaches children that facing, not running away from, our responsibilities is essential if we are to fulfill our purpose in life.

Pocahontas. Disney seemed to be on an environmental streak because this film was released a year after the Lion King. Pocahontas is a Native American princess whose world is the living, breathing forest where her tribe lives. When European sailors land on their shores, they proceed to "claim" the land and level the trees to search for gold. After a number of hostile interactions between the Englishmen and the Native tribespeople, war seems inevitable. Pocahontas must find a way to reach out to both her own people and the Englishmen to stop the bloodshed and save the land that she loves so much. The original song "Colors of the Wind," which Pocahontas sings to John Smith, is perhaps the most moving song about oneness with the land that I've ever heard. Children will learn that the land truly has more value in its natural state, and that it is worth standing up to great opposition to preserve it, as well as human life.

Princess Mononoke is a Japanese animation film that reached cult popularity in the United States due to a distinguished cast of American actors who voiced the English version of the movie. A young warrior named Ashitaka finds himself in the midst of a war against humans and the spirits of the forest. He meets San aka Princess Mononoke, a feral girl who has been raised by wolves. Together they must fight to stop the humans of Iron Town from destroying the Forest Spirit and claiming the land for civilization. This movie is actually compassionate to the plight of humankind, which seeks to control nature for what it sees as a noble cause. But the message that children will receive is that nature is far more powerful than we can understand. Only when we are like Princess Mononoke, living by our primal instincts, can we be at harmony with it.

The last movie is Happy Feet, a lighthearted film about penguins in the Arctic. It's very uplifting to watch, featuring a lot of famous music from recent decades. But life is not all happy for the penguins, who are running short of food. The fish in their waters are being gathered into nets en masse by corporate fishing boats, setting the entire ecosystem off-kilter. Mumble, an outcast in his flock, makes it his mission to bring the fish back and gain acceptance. His journey takes him far from home to the world of the humans. He finds a way to communicate with them and inspires them to make efforts to rectify the issue of the penguin food supply. Of all the films, humans are the least demonized in Happy Feet. Children will see that although humans are to blame for many of the problems on this planet, there are people out there who want to make it right.

Share these films with your children and let them absorb the stories and the messages. We must never underestimate their ability to integrate new information into their perception of their world, and we as parents must nurture that ability. Part and parcel with trying to leave a better world for our children is also making sure that they will do the same when they inherit the Earth.