Children's films from the noughties. I absolutely bloody loved them. There were plenty of Disney films, including Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and High School Musical. There was also plenty of non-Disney films, such as Nanny McPhee, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Chicken Run. I am aware that noughties teen movies were elite, so I will do a separate post on them another time. But for now, let's take a look at some of the best children's films the noughties had to offer...
Finding Nemo
This was one of my favourite films and I remember having it on VHS (if you don't know what VHS is then you are probably too young to be reading this post). I guess this film taught us that you should really listen to your parents, however if someone tells you not to do something, you're probably going to do it anyway (even if that does mean being kidnapped and held hostage in a dentist's office, when all you did was go against what your father told you and touched the boat anyway). You can watch the trailer for the film here.
The Incredibles
Okay, I have something to confess... I never actually watched The Incredibles during my childhood. I don't think I watched it until a couple of years ago, however would always watch the trailer for it on all my Disney DVDs and videos. Despite me not actually watching this in the noughties, this film was definitely one of the best children's noughties films out there. If you want to relive that magic, or just want to take a look at the trailer that I would constantly look forward to on the promos, you can watch the trailer here.
High School Musical
Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat. We're all in this together. T as in Troy? Just three iconic quotes from the High School Musical movie franchise. Maybe this could be considered more as a teen movie, but I watched this as a child in the noughties so we're categorising it as a children's film for now. Although I will admit I only watched the first film for the first time five years ago. I had the second film on DVD and went to watch the third at the cinema with my friends; as well as having pretty much every bit of merchandise from the third film as was humanly possible. I had the CD, the bag, the dance mat, the dolls, and probably many, many other things that I've forgotten about right now. You can watch the trailer for that very first film that began this journey here.
Nanny McPhee
Ah, Nanny McPhee. A classic family film that is loved by many. I will admit that I have watched the second film (Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang - starring the absolute fitty from Sex Education, Asa Butterfield) a lot more than the first (had the second downloaded on my iPod), but I loved them both equally. I was really hoping for a third one, and maybe it will happen one day, but for now you can watch the trailer for the first ever Nanny McPhee film here.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
I think we can all agree that Jim Carrey as the Grinch is probably one of the best castings that has ever taken place in movie history. I think we can all relate to the Grinch in one way or another. Not in terms of hating Christmas, but in some of his mannerisms, such as the scene where he's trying to decide what to wear and then decides he's just not going to go (every girl ever). I love this film and have it on every Christmas and was pretty annoyed last year when Netflix decided to remove this film from their streaming service on the 1st December - with the irony being it's the most Grinch thing to do ever. You can watch the trailer for the film here.
Chicken Run
This is probably one of the greatest animated films of all time and I'm incredibly excited for the second film to come out (albeit incredibly annoyed that they are using a new voice actor for the voice of Ginger because the original voice actor's voice sounds 'too old'). It is essentially a failed version of 'The Great Escape' and is a film that all of us noughties kids grew up watching. You can watch the trailer for the film here.
Nativity!
We can all agree that with this film franchise, the first film is 100% the best. I'm not much of a person to go to the cinema and normally wait for the film to come out on DVD (as a child) or wait for it to be shown on TV. However, I went to watch this while it was in the cinema and have loved it ever since. I'm also kind of annoyed as it was filmed in Coventry which is about an hour from me and I was nine when it came out (not sure how old I was when they filmed it) so could have starred in the film. It's one of those films where it's aimed at kids but is fun to watch for adults - a perfect match! You can watch the trailer for the film here.
Monsters, Inc.
I would love to say this was a childhood favourite of mine, however I only actually watched this film for the first time a few years ago (please don't hate me). Despite watching it for the first time as a teenager, I completely fell in love with it and it is one of my all-time favourite animated films. Sculley and Mike are my two favourite monsters ever and while the entire concept of the film is incredibly weird and if it wasn't for the fact that it is animated and a Disney/Pixar film, it could definitely be turned into a horror film no problem. You can watch the trailer for the film here.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
I now realise that this is incredibly controversial to say, but I'm just going to come out and say it. The 2005 version is a million times better than the 1971 version. I guess I think this because I grew up watching the 2005 version, but I just find the 1971 version really boring. However, one thing both films highlight is that Grandpa Joe is a 100% certified benefit fraud. I mean, the guy claims to have been bedridden for 20 years (the same amount of time I've been alive), yet as soon as Charlie gets the golden ticket he leaps out of bed and is able to dance around and then attend a tour of the factory. I don't know about the rest of you, but I can barely get out of bed when I've been in it for a matter of hours, let alone 20 years! You can watch the trailer for the film here.
Up
A stunningly beautiful story of love and friendship. You can't not love this film and it is definitely one to watch when you're feeling a little sad and just want to watch something where you can cry happy (and occasionally sad) tears at. An absolute noughties classic and you can watch the trailer for the film here.
Alvin and the Chipmunks
This film was another of my favourites and I also had it on DVD. I swear to God this film started my obsession with wanting to go from being a nobody to being a superstar singing sensation (can confirm this hasn't happened yet as I can't sing for toffee). This film has everything: happy moments; sad moments; pure comedy gold moments; and everything inbetween. You can watch the trailer for the film here.
Ratatouille
Another film that was a favourite of many. I have to admit, this film isn't a firm favourite of mine, but I feel like you can't not love this film (or at the very least like it a hell of a lot). This film definitely breaks all cooking and hygiene standard regulations, but at least it's only animated and not real. You can watch the trailer for the film here.
The Princess and the Frog
This is actually one of my all time favourite Disney princess animated films (along with The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast). Like some of the films in this list, I did only watch it for the first time as a teenager, but it is still a noughties film, which is why it has gained a spot on this list. As much as we'd all like to skip kissing frogs to meet our prince, that day will (hopefully) come where we find the man of our dreams. You can watch the trailer for the film here.
Shrek
I think we can all agree that the second film was the best of the Shrek film franchise (Fairy Godmother singing 'holding out for a hero' anyone?). If you look at this picture and don't immediately say 'donkey' in a Scottish accent (either out loud or in your head) then are you really a fan of Shrek? I've definitely watched the second film the most out of all of them and maybe the first and third films the same amount of times. I'm not sure if I've watched the fourth film but definitely need to before the fifth film comes out. You can watch the trailer for the first film here.
Flushed Away
I can legitimately remember going to my local corner shop and renting this on DVD (that's what we had to do in the days before Netflix, YouTube and online streaming, kids). I feel like this is a very underrated noughties film and I would love to see it on TV more (although I have just found out that it's on Netflix so I am definitely going to be using my subscription and £5.99 a month wisely tonight). You can watch the trailer for the film here.
Shark Tale
This is another film that I can remember renting from my local corner shop. I also recently watched it again on Netflix and never really realised when I was younger how legendary the cast are in this film. You've got Will Smith, Angelina Jolie, Renee Zellweger, Robert De Niro, and Jack Black, just to name a few. Has anyone else noticed in this film that the faces of the fish look like the actors playing them? Not sure if I'm imagining that, so can someone please comment below if they think the same. You can watch the trailer for the film here.
There are many other films I want to talk about, so I'm going to write a part two to this post, so make sure to look out for that. If you have any noughties children's films you would like me to mention in that post, please comment them down below (remember I am going to be doing a noughties teen film post in the future, so if any of those are commented, they will be in that post). Also, please feel free to leave any recommendations of topics you would like me to cover in the future in this Nostalgia Sunday series.
Which of these was your favourite and why?
Love Beth xx