I am going to be a father and am making a jellyfin setup for my child. I want to start early to make a good collection of movies and shows. So I am interested in knowing what other people experienced as positive influences in their lives.
Edit: English and Norwegian is fine, but I can always get dubbed versions of other languages. We will be speaking English and Norwegian with our child from birth. But want to introduce our child to many types of cultures, religions etc.
Anything Mr. Bean.
All the ghibli movies
My all time favourite Miyazaki series: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_Boy_Conan It impacted me so much Istill think about it 40 years later...
The original and prequel Star Wars films and shows: The Clone Wars in particular.
The 90s X-men
X-Men Evolution
The 90s Spider-Man
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003-2012)
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (OG and 2002)
Avatar the Last Airbender
The Dark Crystal
Fern Gully
The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1990s)
Phineas and Ferb
George Shrinks
Aaahh!!! Real Monsters
Angry Beavers
Hey Arnold
Rocko’s Modern Life
Rugrats
Gullah Gullah Island
Legends of the Hidden Temple
Basically mid 90s Nickelodeon defined my childhood, and the media’s only gotten worse from there on out! :p
Growing up I really loved the animated series Alfred Jonathan Quack or Alfred Kvakk in Norwegian. It's about a duck, his farther (I think) is a mole and the antagonist is a nazi-styled crow called Dolf. My favourite episode was about this island they visited which turned out to be the shell of this gigantic turtle.
Another favourite was The World of David the Gnome. It's about a gnome who lives in or under a tree and has all sorts of adventures with animals. The books it's based on are also great, I still have them.
I don't know if you can still find these series since they're pretty old.
The Animals of Farthing Wood was a banger show. It's because of that show that I began drawing as a kid. I love how epic it is and how it comments on deeper themes that are still important today. Among other things, it's all about how the animals are forced to immigrate to another park after their forest is turned into a highway for humans. That even after the arrive after a horrible migration, their presence isn't welcome because they disturb the old ways in the new park. How wars break out, friendships and alliances are formed and how everyone has to find a way to coexist and also keep the ever looming presence of humans at bay. It is truly a brilliant show that teaches you so much about life, death, nature and tolerance. And you know, you can also just watch the show as an entertaining epic for kids about animals without looking into all the political stuff, because it never really tries to cram all it's themes down your throat in the annoying way that a lot of media does nowadays.
Maybe hold off on showing the little one this show until they are at least kindergarten age. It's a bit rough sometimes, but it is not damaging.
Also, congratulations on becoming a dad! Glædelig jul ❤️
I was exactly looking for the name of that show in English as it is the one that instantly came to my mind when I saw the post. It's in no small part thanks to this one, and a couple of others (the magic school bus and once upon a time... life) I decided to do a PhD in animal behaviour.
Whoaaaaaaa...this show...best environmental education a child can get from TV.
But seriously heartbreaking, I remember crying A LOT as child (maybe still would TBH).
Yeah I agree. It’s really brutal. As a kid I was especially heartbroken over Fox’s son’s storyline. The one with the wounded leg who goes to the city for awhile. His story was so friggin tragic, omg.
Sesame Street, Muppets, The Electric Company.
Completely dated, but these older shows introduced a white kid in whitesville to a completely different world. Plus fun, educational in a way that kids don’t mind.
Fraggle Rock as well!
Bluey and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (of not the remake) for kids shows. Bluey isa. Double hitter as it's great for kids and adults as well. There's a few tearjerker episodes in there for adults around life and kids growing up, along with just great ideas on how to parent and play. MMCH is great as it doesn't subscribe to the overly energetic constant cutting camera angles bullshit that's super addictive and bad for kids. Shows are calm, involve learning and problem solving, and are very much like 'okay get up and expend some energy, go play' at the end. Honorable mention to Tumbleleaf. It's for kids that are a bit older, is a little more weird, but still fun. Art style is cool on it as well. Best of luck building your library and congrats on being a dad!!
Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli For Younger Kids:
For maybe when they're getting older?
Some other decent ones for kids of various ages:
Animated/Claymation
Series:
Movies:
Live Action Series:
Movies:
Edit: awful formatting... And typos
god beakman's world was amazing.
i'd also suggest bobby's world, which was on around the same time
I've tried finding good episodes to show now and it's been pretty hard. There are a few smatterings on youtube. The video quality is very low. Niche enough that there aren't many sources.
I was also amused to learn that when I was a kid I thought they were just talking like crazy freaks with a weird funny way of talking. As an adult, they're just new yorkers.
there's a good complete series torrent out there that i got; there's also a good complete series upload on archive.org too! for both beakman's world and bobby's world
Cosmos
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Gene Wilder version)
Do not underestimate silent film! My kiddo loved them as a toddler. Here are some great starters:
Very engaging with way more visual gags than we usually see nowadays, few title cards, and a chance to talk with your kid about what is happening on screen (Ooh no, Charlie is stuck in the lions cage! How is Buster going to get on that runaway train?)
And eventually when they're a little older, getting your kid to sit down with you to watch Scorsese's Hugo (2011). It is an absolutely magical loveletter to early film, particularly Méliès' A Trip to the Moon.
Avatar the last Airbender taught me to think when in conflict
Once Upon A Forest (1993) [idmb:tt0107745]
In the wake of an environmental disaster, the children have to work together to solve problems, and save their friend.
Bluey. It's a really positive modern show , so not really from my childhood but it beats everything else from my childhood.
Bluey is a fantastic parenting manual. Seriously, it should be required viewing for anyone considering having a kid.
Franklin ( the one about the turtle ). For the most part, I feel like almost all the content is good enough to show a young child considering it's one of those preschool age shows. May look a little old considering it's 90s animation and also doesn't have any traditional box sets ( it seems to be nothing but sets based around themes ), but I'm pretty sure every episode is on a Canadian company's yt channel ( region locked AFAIK, so having a VPN is advised ). Treehouse Direct, IIRC.
Also, for a friendly enough way of teaching religious lessons in a non-preachy way that is actually not eye bleach or racist ( looking at you, FInding Jesus ) or low quality slop maid solely to profit off of religious parents, VeggieTales. There's a reason why it was popular with Christians and non-Christians alike, besides the silly songs.
They can be fun to watch ( not including the 4th VHS episode where 3 characters get thrown into a furnace and magically survive thanks to a "glowing man" ( probably Jesus ) ) and can be good for opening a conversation on things like being nice to others despite differences or being thankful for what you have or a number of other topics they covered from the Bible. Honestly, one of the greatest Christian animated cartoons ever considering how it is probably the only Christian cartoon parents who are and aren't Christian could probably both agree on letting their kids watch.
Cannot speak for modern VeggieTales, though, so take my words with a shaker of salt just in case modern VeggieTales isn't as lesson oriented or anywhere near as good as the originals from the 90s and early 2000s.
I am going to be a father and am making a jellyfin setup for my child. I want to start early to make a good collection of movies and shows.
Me too!
I have Bluey and The Magic Schoolbus.
Half of the Ghibly movies. The other half i was too old already.
There's a very educational show from Denmark called John Dillermand.
...I'll see myself out. 🤣
The Neverending Story
Need to get that early childhood trama on lock with that atrax scene.
I know!! Heartbreaking stuff!!!
Surprised PBS shows aren't mentioned more here, especially not Mr. Rogers Neighborhood being mentioned.
So in no particular order:
Mr. Roger's Neighborhood: great show for teaching kids to how to navigate emotions and complex situations like death and discrimination but in ways they can understand
Sesame Street: similar to Mr. Rogers but more for younger children
Bill Nye the Science Guy: Made science accessible and fun for children. Good way to build a sense of curiosity and desire for experimentation
Zoom: similar to Bill Nye in that it made me what to try all the activities they shared. Lots of fun games, recipes, brain teasers etc to keep kids busy. The fact that it had an all kid cast made it more accessible as a kid. Highly recommended since it seems less remembered than other PBS shows
Non-Educational:
The Simpsons: this may be divisive but I grew up when they were super popular and I believe it helped develop my sense of humor. The earlier episodes were also pretty wholesome
The Avatar (Last Airbender and Korra): well written show that is based on many East Asian cultures and touches on themes of depression, genocide, war, and hope (among many others). One of my favorite shows to this day
"Zoom zoom zoom! " is still stuck in my head to this day
elephant show and reading rainbow <3
also wcvb in boston had a show similar to reading rainbow called a likely story
Just kidding. Don't show your kid this movie unless it's as a joke when they're older. This might have been a Psyop.
I do actually recommend:
Brave little Toaster and Fivel Goes West. Those seem to stick out as most positive that I remember.
This looks like fun, can I find it online? Looks like quite the trip.
You're in luck! https://youtu.be/m0-vGW6p3zk
It even includes the intro from George and Barbara Bush
ok it was dumb but honesty still so nostalgic for me <3
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