It’s summer. The kids are home, the weather is hot, and, in some cases, the brain is on vacation. Relaxing in a cool, darkened room with a good visual story can sometimes be the best way to unwind or enjoy a connecting family evening.
If your inner natural parent feels guilty about letting the kids watch a movie, consider choosing one with environmental content. The first five films in this post are great for little kids. The next five are more for adults or teens. All of them involve a great story that goes beyond a preachy eco message. Enjoy!
Family-Friendly Movies:
- FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992) – This animated movie (with humor from Robin Williams) has rainforest inhabitants trying to save their home from loggers and a dark force named Nexxus. One of the loggers is shrunk to fairy size where he views things from a different point of view.
- Happy Feet (2006) – In this Academy Award-winning animation, issues of marine pollution and commercial overfishing in the Antarctic are set against a backdrop of catchy tunes, dancing creatures and penguin love.
- Hoot (2006) – Based on a Carl Hiaasen novel, Hoot follows the adventures of three middle-school kids determined to save the local habitat of burrowing owls from land developers. The successful ending emphasizes that kids can make a difference.
- WALL-E (2008) – Set in a future where the Earth has become an uninhabitable, massive landfill, WALL-E is a trash-collecting robot trying to clean up the mess and protect the final piece of vegetation. He travels into space—where obese, consumerist humans now live—falls in love and inadvertently saves/restores mankind.
- The Lorax (2012) – A boy who resides in a city comprised completely of synthetic materials seeks out the Once-ler to hear his tale about a time when there were “real trees.” The Once-ler gives the boy his last Truffula tree seed in the hopes that he can convince humankind (and the greedy mayor of Thneedville) to care about nature again.
Classic and Award-Winning Films:
- Chinatown (1974) – An award-winning film noir thriller with Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway that revolves around a detective caught up in a web of murder and corruption around dams, agriculture and control of the Los Angeles water supply.
- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) – In a future world where humpback whales are extinct, the Star Trek crew travel back in time to find some in the hopes they can communicate with an alien probe that is wreaking climatory havoc on the Earth.
- Gorillas in the Mist (1988) – Based on a true story, this film stars Sigourney Weaver as naturalist Dian Fossey who has devoted her life studying the rare mountain gorillas of Africa. Although it ends in tragic death, Fossey’s work brings to light illegal poaching of the mountain gorilla, and she is credited with helping to save the species from extinction.
- A Civil Action (1998) – A true-story legal drama with John Travolta as a Massachusetts lawyer fighting corporations believed to be polluting the local water with chemicals that contribute to leukemia in the town’s residents.
- Avatar (2009) – Because humans have depleted Earth’s resources, the government begins mining a moon for a valuable mineral. The moon’s nature-worshipping inhabitants—and a spy turned native sympathizer—fight the government to save their home.
Of course, this is just a small sample of eco-themed movies. What favorites would you add to the list?
