Need Summer Movie Suggestions?
Does your family enjoy summer movies? My whole family does. A summer movie often includes a message of love, acceptance and perseverance. There are some new movies out this summer but don’t forget about the old standards. Many good movies never lose their appeal.
My list of movies to see is getting very long, so I thought I would ask the advice of two 10-year-olds. What movies do they think everyone should see this summer? The girls shared with me ten summer movies and added their thoughts on the message of each of the movies.
Here are summer movie suggestions: in no particular order
Akeelah and the Bee
This is the story of an 11-year-old girl from Los Angeles named Akeelah. Spelling happens to be her talent and she has her eye on the National Spelling Bee. Her mother doesn’t share her excitement, but she keeps working at learning to spell better. She gets support from her neighborhood and a spelling mentor. The show has a terrific message and a feel-good ending.
The girls say the message of this movie is to continue to work hard and reach for your dreams and that everyone should support each other.
The Croods: New Age
This story is about a prehistoric family meeting up with a family from the future. The two families have to learn to get along with one another even though they have many differences. A common threat causes them to join forces, support each other, and survive.
The girls say the message of this movie is the importance of family and to hold onto the people you love. They also loved that it was a comedy.
Beauty and the Beast: Live Action
A prince is cursed to live as a beast until he finds true love. Fortunately, a clockmaker’s daughter comes into his life and she can see past his appearance to find that he has a heart of gold. Tension arises when another prince tries to steal her away. She is helped by friends of the beast and eventually true love wins.
The girls say the message of this film is to accept others and look past their appearance.
Soul
Soul is a story of a band teacher, Joe, who is unhappy with his life. It hasn’t turned out how he expected. He is a passionate jazz musician who wanted to make jazz his livelihood. In this story he travels to another dimension and helps someone else to embrace life. While he is helping this other person, he learns what it means to have a soul. This changes him and his future is now bright.
The girls say the message of this movie is that life is worth living.
The BFG
Sophie is a ten-year-old who lives in London. She discovers the Big Friendly Giant when she sees him in the middle of the night. She finds out that he is gentle and kind. They become friends, but the other giants, who are not kind and gentle, don’t like Sophie. The only solution is for Sophie to convince the Queen to get rid of all the bad giants. The meeting between the Queen and the BFG is fabulous!
The girls say this show is about respecting differences and being kind to others.
The Lion King
The young lion, Simba is the heir to his father, the leader of the pride. Simba has a wicked uncle named Scar. The uncle tries to kill Simba and his father in order to take over the pride. Simba survives, but his father dies. He then has to return to the pride as an adult to take back his inheritance.
The girls say the message of this film is to be strong, brave and willing to risk your life for others.
Wonder Park
June is a young girl with an incredible imagination. She uses her talent to create an amusement park that is out of this world. It is filled with exciting rides and is operated by animals. Trouble comes to the park and June, with her animal friends, is forced on an adventure to save the park.
The girls think the message of this movie is to keep your imagination strong.
Soul Surfer
This movie is based on the true story of surfer Bethany Hamilton. She lost her arm in a shark attack while surfing. Bethany showed tremendous perseverance in refusing to quit. She enjoyed the support of her parents. She plans to continue competing. In 2004 a tsunami hits Thailand and it causes Bethany to think about more important things in life. She goes on to make a difference for others.
The girls say this movie taught them the importance of never giving up and to think of others.
Mitchells Vs the Machines
The Mitchells are on a family trip to drive Katie to the school of her dreams. She is excited to find new friends at the school who are just like her and she doesn’t like the idea of the whole family coming along. The trip goes awry when there is a “tech uprising”. All over the world electronic devices are starting to take over control. The Mitchells have to save the world. They partner with a couple of robots and come together to solve the problem.
The girls say the message of this movie is love of family and being brave.
Spirit Untamed
Horse lovers will enjoy this movie. Lucky Prescott moves to a small town and becomes friends with a wild mustang, Spirit. The horse is part of a herd that a local wrangler is planning to capture. Lucky gathers her friends together and they go on an adventure to rescue the horses. This adventure changes her life forever.
The girls loved this movie because they love horses!
I think the girls came up with a nice variety of summer movies. Hope you and your family can enjoy some of these in the coming weeks.