Excellent Films for Avuncular Families

Rated PG. A brother grieving for his mother's death learns to love and cherish his younger sister over the course of this beautiful, magical movie. An excellent movie for St. Patrick's Day or Midsummer.

Sensitive age: 8+

Suggested Audience: Mothers & Children, Sisters & Brothers

Please note, I unabashedly include spoilers in the descriptions, for the sake of determining whether it's a movie you want to see with your family or not. If you don't want spoilers, please only read the descriptions IMDB provides.

Rated TV-PG. They’re secretly aliens, but they present themselves as three siblings living together and raising the elder brother’s teenage son. Very funny comedy.

Sensitive age: 13+ or 14+

Suggested Audience: Boys, Aunts & Nephews, Uncles & Nephews, Sisters & Brothers, Brothers

Things to talk about: What sort of things about human behavior do the aliens tend to misinterpret? What sort of social comments is this show making? What makes this show funny? How do you think these aliens would view the things we do every day? What aspects of our lives might confuse them? Would they behave differently if they were living among us? How are the experiences of the aliens similar to or different from the experiences of foreigners from another country? Are there human universals that the aliens do not share? How does Dick's self-image affect his behavior?

Rated Approved. Abbott and Costello had a classic friendship. Their series of "horror" movies are also good Halloween movies for children (and adults who don't enjoy horror). I also recommend the picture book Who's on First? illustrated by John Martz.

Suggested age: 3+

Suggested Audience: Boys, especially male friends

A 9-year-old girl named Ociee whose mother has passed away leaves her family farm, at her father's insistence, to go live with her aunt. She and her older brother have a close relationship and he's as sad to lose her as she is to leave, and the girl and her aunt end up developing mutual respect and love for each other. The aunt is courted by a childhood friend of hers and repeatedly express a lack of interest. Much of the story revolves around Ociee not conforming to gender roles for girls, and her friendship with a more feminine girl - their friendship is lovely and they look out for each other. An excellent movie for girls and for sisters & brothers. Based on the book A Flower Blooms on Charlotte Street by Milam McGraw Propst.

Only including this one, as representative of all the Mary-Kate and Ashley videos. Mary-Kate and Ashley are twin sisters who are both young sleuths and solve "crimes" together. Young children will likely find it delightful; the adults in the family might want to kill themselves with a spoon. There have been a number of novelizations, if your children are interested.

Suggested age: 3+

Suggested Audience: Sisters, especially Twins

Rated TV-PG. Sherlock is of course the poster child of chaste characters, and his friendship with Watson is the stuff of legend. In the background is his relationship with his older brother Mycroft. Based on the books by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Sensitive age: 13+

Suggested Audience: Boys, especially Brothers or Male Friends

I love this show in general, especially for little children, but for avuncular families what I especially recommend is the video Spot and His Grandparents Go to the Carnival, which as far as I know is not listed on IMDB. Based on the board books by Eric Hill.

Suggested age: 3+

Suggested Audience: Boys, especially Grandparents & Grandsons

Amahl, who is crippled, lives in poverty with his mother. Then they're visited by the Three Kings, on their way to see the Christ child, and they're blessed by a miracle. A staple opera for Christmastime. This production with Teresa Stratas is definitely my favorite. I really like the picture book version of the opera illustrated by Michèle Lemieux.

Suggested age: 3+

Suggested Audience: Mothers & Sons

Rated TV-PG. Suitable for older children and adolescents - probably not suitable for younger children because it's intense, there's cussing, and some people are mean to each other. It's an amazing study in adaptive and maladaptive relationships and how they affect people's ability to get real stuff done. And you get to see beautiful places all around the world to boot. There are teams of family members and friends in every season, but I especially recommend Seasons 1, 2, 4, 8-10, 13, 22, and 24 (I don't know about anything past Season 25).

Sensitive age: 13+

Samantha, whose parents died in a boating accident, is raised by her wealthy grandmother and uncle. A very nice Christmas movie. Based on the books by Valerie Tripp.

Sensitive age: 7+ or 8+

Suggested Audience: Girls, especially Grandmothers & Granddaughters, Uncles & Nieces, and Female Friends

Things to talk about: What things make Samantha happy? Does Samantha have a good relationship with her grandmother? Does Samantha have a good relationship with her uncle? Would you want to live in the Victorian era? Would you be a different sort of person if you were born back then? How do you think the deaths of Samantha's parents affected the way her grandmother treats Samantha? How do you think the deaths of Samantha's parents affected the way Samantha acts? Is the death of a parent too sad of a subject for a children's movie? Why does Samantha like Nellie? Why does Samantha take such risks to help the orphans? Is there a more effective way she could have helped the orphans? Was it a good decision for her not to tell her grandmother or uncle about what she was doing? What would have happened if she had told them? What things did Samantha do that could have turned out much more dangerously than they did? What would happen now if a worker got injured on the job, the way the boy was? Nowadays, there are laws that prevent children from working almost all jobs. Do you think that's a good idea? How do you think the Victorians would have responded to that question? In the Victorian era, women weren't allowed to work almost all jobs. Do you think that was a good idea? How do you think the Victorians would have responded to that question? Was the movie advertising the American Girl line of products? Did watching the movie make you more interested in buying an American Girl doll?

Rated TV-G. The friendship between the two men totally usurps the romance, as the movie poster indicates. As a child I found it completely delightful, and I very much enjoyed seeing a friendship prioritized over a romance.

Suggested age: 3+

Suggested Audience: Boys, especially Male Friends

Rated TV-G. Opie is raised by his father Andy and his Aunt Bea, who is unmarried and seems perfectly happy that way. Andy and Barney are cousins, and Andy's endless patience and sensitive consideration for his cousin is a good model (though he definitely falls short in the honesty department). A TV show from a kinder and gentler time.

Sensitive age: 3+ or 6+

Suggested Audience: Boys, especially Great-Aunts & Great-Nephews, Aunts & Nephews, and Male Cousins

Things to talk about: Is Andy a good father? How does he treat Opie? Do fathers treat children differently than uncles do? Sometimes Andy gives Opie orders and Opie always obeys him, even when he doesn't want to. What does that say about their relationship? Is Andy a good cousin to Barney? How does he treat Barney? Is Andy honest with Barney? Is that okay, or not okay? Why do you think he does that with Barney? What would happen if he for more direct with Barney? Is Barney a good cousin to Andy? How does he treat Andy? Is Aunt Bea happy? What makes her happy? Is Andy good at communicating? How does he talk to Opie, Aunt Bea, and Barney with individual differences? Sometimes Andy lets people go whom by the letter of the law, he should arrest. Is that fair? What sort of things WILL Andy arrest somebody for? Is Andy compassionate? Is he ever not compassionate? How is Mayberry different from where we live? How is Mayberry similar to where we live? Are there advantages to living in a small town like Mayberry, where everyone knows everybody? Are there disadvantages? Are there advantages and disadvantages to living in the country? Are there advantages and disadvantages to living in the city? How does living in a city, town, or in the country affect how children grow up? Does it affect how parents treat their children? Is Andy like policemen nowadays? How is he similar or different? How do TVs portray family members nowadays? How is that different from the way families are portrayed on Andy Griffith? Are there any similarities between the fictional families portrayed back then and the fictional families portrayed nowadays? If you were to a write a TV show about a family, what sort of family would it be? What would the characters be like? How would they treat each other? What sort of storylines would there be for the plot? Is there violence in this TV show? Nowadays it would be easy to write a show where the main character was a Sheriff that had a lot of violence. Why do you think they decided to make this show like they did? Sometimes Andy advertises products at the end of the show. How do you feel about that? Are there circumstances under which you would advertise a product? How do those advertisements differ from advertisements nowadays?

Suggested age: 3+

Suggested Audience: Sisters

Rated TV-Y7. Three siblings, two brothers and a sister, with a Bugs Bunny-esque penchant for bedlam, go on random adventures together, making chaos out of order. I recommend parents preview a couple episodes first, especially for young children. It has clever wordplay and visual gags, much like Looney Tunes, and the siblings do work together – to cause chaos – but the artwork is not pretty and the show can get rather frenetic. It’s noticeably less violent than Looney Tunes, however, which I consider a plus.

Sensitive age: 7+ or 10+

Suggested Audience: Sisters & Brothers, Brothers

Things to talk about: What sort of animal do you think the siblings are? Is it rude that many of the characters refer to all three of them as "the Warner brothers" even though one of them's a girl? Do you know why they do that? In what ways do they manipulate reality in impossible ways? Do other characters in the show do impossible things? Why do you think they decided to set the show in the film studio? Do you recognize characters from any other shows? Do you think that counts as advertising other Warner Bros. shows? What sort of things do the siblings do that drives other people crazy? What sort of adventures do the siblings tend to go on? Do they remind you of any other trickster characters? How violent is the show? Is it better or worse that the violence is supposed to be humorous? Does the fact that nobody gets really injured make the violence okay, or is that a form of desensitization? Are there "educational" elements to the show? Do you like that aspect? How does this show compare to other animated works you've seen? Is there any overarching plotline to the show? Is there any character development? Are those things always necessary for good storytelling? Do the siblings get along well? Do they ever fight or disagree? How strictly do the characters conform to gender roles? Why do you think the show does that? Does the show present expectations regarding sexual attraction, love interests, or dating for boys or girls? Are the standards different for the boys vs. the girls?

Rated TV-G. An emblem of the avuncular system. A brother and sister who have lived together their whole lives and are childless, decide to adopt a boy – who turns out to be a girl named Anne. With an “E.” Like Victorian Farm, Anne of Green Gables is a role model film for the good life, with strong attachments to kith and kin. There's also an anime of Anne of Green Gables you might try if the children are interested. Based on the books by L.M. Montgomery.

Sensitive age: 3+ or 7+

Suggested Audience: Girls, Sisters & Brothers

Shakespeare seems to love stories with brothers who hate and betray each other (Hamlet, King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing, The Tempest), and in this story there are not one, but two such pairs of brothers (though one ends up doing a ridiculous heel-face turn at the end), but the redeeming quality of this play is the devoted relationship between the pair of female cousins.

Suggested Audience: Female Cousins

A charming documentary about four babies from around the world - Namibian, Japanese, Mongolian, and European American. Suitable for even very young children. Naturally encourages children to observe their younger siblings and try to discern their feelings and needs. Rated PG, which is ridiculous - it's a G movie if ever there were one.

Suggested age: 3+

Suggested Audience: Everyone

Rated PG. When a woman becomes the parent of her very young second cousin twice removed, her life changes drastically, initially for the worse, and then for the better. She tries at first being only a businesswoman, and then only a parent, and discover both make her miserable. Eventually she creates a woman-centered business environment in which she can both parent and work productively, and is finally happy with her lot in life. I recommend it for older children only, as there are some references to having sex and wanting to have sex that I consider a bit too explicit.

Sensitive age: 10+

Suggested Audience: Girls

Suggested Audience: Mothers & Sons, Female & Male Cousins

This is the ONLY movie I have ever seen that has multiple female characters where not one of them ends up getting paired off by the end of the movie. And it's a Barbie movie! What is the world coming to?

There are also a wide array of Barbie picture books, storybooks, and readers, many of which are about Barbie and her sisters. I recommend parents preview Barbie books, however, as the messages can vary a lot, from empowering to stultifying.

Suggested age: 3+

Suggested Audience: Girls

Suggested Audience: Sisters

Suggested Audience: Sisters

Suggested Audience: Sisters

Suggested Audience: Sisters

Suggested Audience: Sisters

Suggested Audience: Sisters

Suggested Audience: Sisters

Suggested Audience: Sisters

Rated PG. The story of Jane Austen. It's mostly a romance, but Jane Austen remained unmarried throughout her life and she's an historical figure whom I think it's worth knowing about.

Sensitive age: 8+ or 10+

About the death of Jane Austen. The moving element of the movie is her relationship with her sister.

Sensitive age: 10+ or 12+

Suggested Audience: Sisters