Do kids like these films?

Thanks for sticking with me.

Both of you mention Spy Kids. Hmmmmm. Maybe that would work. I've never seen them... OK for adults? Which one?

Matilda? Cats & Dogs? I'll go look at them.

I've just been on the phone to the distributor... Willow was the Val Kilmer film and they can't give me the performance rights to it or Princess Bride, either. <grrrrrrrrr>

Beth -- My Life as a Dog is a little too intellectual for this series, I think. I believe the people I'm trying to please wouldn't be loving it. They want some tried & true films for this first series. That film is part of the Criterion collection... another distributor that we can work with... but not the one for the outdoor series and not covered by our blanket license so we'd have to get a special agreement.

At least one of the Cirque du Soleil's films is a Tri-Star/Columbia and I should be able to show that, but if I were going to show a documentary, I think I'd show Step into Liquid first. Have you seen it?

I wish we weren't paying by the film ($200-250 per film) since I'd try to show two each night if I could.

hmm, the Cirque de Soleil I have isn't particularly documentary-like. Or at least I don't think of it that way. It's one of their productions. Nothing else.

I like Step into Liquid. Hadn't ever thought of it in this type of context. It might well work.

Matilda rocks !!

Wow... Matilda looks really good. I think I'll rent the DVD & check it out.

Y'know... ET might be ready for a comeback.

Matilda is great, as is Spy Kids.

So many films... so little time. I feel like a kid in a candy store. If I could show Disney, I'd probably collapse under the number of options.

According to Aurora and Phoenix (ages 7 & 5) these are good from your list:
AGENT CODY BANKS
AGENT CODY BANKS 2: DESTINATION LONDON
BEETHOVEN (2nd and 3rdavailable)
CASPER
CATS AND DOGS
CHICKEN RUN
DR. SUESS' CAT IN THE HAT
HOOK
HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE
HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
THE IRON GIANT
JUMANJI
KANGAROO JACK
LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
MADILINE
RACING STRIPES
RUGRATS IN PARIS: THE MOVIE
RUGRATS GO WILD
THE ROAD TO EL DORADO
SCOOBY DOO
SCOOBY DOO 2: MONSTER'S UNLEASHED
SHARK TALE
SHREK
SHREK 2
THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE
SPY KIDS
SPY KIDS 2: ISLAND OF LOST DREAMS
SPY KIDS 3-D: GAME OVER
STUART LITTLE
WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
THE WIZARD OF OZ
YU-GI-OH

I'm embarressed to say I've only seen a handful of the movies you list, myself. I do like Chicken Run enough that I would sit through it, the HP ones, the Shrek ones, The Wizard of Oz, and Willy Wonka... I've seen Iron Giant, Jumanji, and Spy Kids too many times to go see them again if they were shown for free in a park, but since I haven't seen the Lemony Snicket one, I would probably look forward to going to that... The 2nd and 3rd parts of Spy Kids aren't as good as the first one; HP only gets better w/each release- but each is a little more mature subject matter, a little darker a story... My kids were jumping up and down over just the titles of the Rugrats movies, but they make me gag, quite honestly. Scooby Doo sucks A$$, but otoh, my boyfriend, who is a 51 year old physicist will sit and laugh his a$$ off through them w/the kids. One that's not listed, but is better than Princess Monoke is "Spirited Away," THAT story is unusual and less well known, but holds interest for all ages, imnsho...

A really good kid's film that didn't get a theatrical
release but did the film festival circuit is SPOOKY HOUSE it stars Ben Kingsley and Mercedes Ruehl.
I picked up the DVD. My neices and nephews watched it 6 times the first week-end I had it.
Another film you might consider is FIVE CHILDREN AND IT, an English film based on a book by Elizabeth Nesbitt. The benefit of choosing a film like these is you can be sure the kids haven't watched them 100 times.

Thanks Princess & Thief!

These films have to appeal to adults as well. I'm finding choosing them is more difficult than usual because the audience is so varied. Thief, you've got my drift... I want them to be films that haven't been seen 100 times, BUT the city wants them to be well-enough known that people will come. <rolling eyes>

A friend mentioned that since these would be shown so late, not to worry too much about the kids. But... you'd all take your children to a summer outdoor cinema thing, wouldn't you? Especially if it were free & part of a community parks & recreation thing? How late is too late?? (Gads, I'm really out of the children-mode.)

Princess -- I'm going to look at Spirited Away. I like anime (it's grown on me).

Isn't it funny how some people think Scooby Doo is funny? I don't get it...

Omigosh... was the Wizard of Oz on that list? Y'know, I've looked at that list a hundred times & it never dawned on me that OZ might be a good one. Those darn flying monkeys scare me, but can't you see it:

... a warm, clear evening... the tide is high and the large screen has the quiet harbor waters for a backdrop... Judy Garland is singing her heart out & skipping down the yellow brick road...

This might be a bit of a stretch but how about Abbott and Costello or Laurel and Hardy? The benefit there is they might cost less, but then again getting a kid to watch a black and white film might be hard although we showed a bunch of Three Stooges outdoors a couple of yeas ago and had a great turnout

Piffka, how late will it get dark? You'll probably have to wait for dark or near-dark to start the movie. Depending on the time of year, that could be a pretty late start for little kids.

We have to wait until after sunset... which is at 9pm for the first show and 8pm for the last one.

Errr... this is a problem??

No, not a problem. And what was I thinking? Who puts their kids to bed at a reasonable hour anymore? Especially in the summer.

The start time probably won't matter a bit!

Whew. Thanks, Mac. I've been worried.

The friend who told me that is also the only one I know who has never eaten at McDonald's... she is obviously not completely of this world.

"Spirited Away", great film.

http://able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=11542&highlight=

Thanks, FB. Spirited Away sounds great. Once again though I'm stymied (as I have been many times). The theatrical rights were purchased by Buena Vista/Disney & we can't show any of their films in the outdoor setting. I can show them as inside screenings, so I'll keep it on "A" list for next fall.

"The Wizzard of Oz" is a great movie for children, as is
"Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" and "Old Yeller"
"Around the world in 80 days" is another one....

Strangely enough, all children like these old movies.

Ooooh. Ol' Yeller.... there's a film that used to make me cry. It's a Disney movie, so it's off-limits. (Man, Disney really has the kids movie angle covered. We ought to buy some stock!)

I'm pretty sure we're going to show the Wizard of OZ.

The others I'm looking at right now are:

Finding Neverland

The SwashBuckler (with a host of amazing people including James Earl Jones, Genevieve Bujold, Beau Bridges)... only because we're having a Tall Ships festival and this appears to be the only film with a tall ship in it that is not a Disney flick like, for example, Master & Commander.
-- or --
The Good The Bad and The Ugly (I really wanted to show a Western and this is supposed to be the best... I think it may be too violent for kids, but I'm going to screen it to see.)

What do you think?

Westerns are hard.Id show Jeremiah Johnson because its an epic

SKY CAPTAIN AND WORLD OF TOMORROW IS SO BAD that we all fell asleep.

Some movies that kids havent seen and are a little older include
The Trap-Its a Cnadian wilderness movie

The Black Stallion -its a great uplifting movie

How bout SEABISCUIT, all the girls will love it

The Aviator oughta be out by then

All the Jurassic Park movies

When I was at that age, I loved to watch the stuff about heroes.

I think that is a good option :wink: