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Post by doctorkernow on Jul 9, 2017 10:18:56 GMT
Hello again.
As many have worked out, I am a big kid at heart. I wondered if anyone in the Divergent Universe is equally child-like and appreciative of work that is designated as 'just for children'?
This can be children's television, literature, films or music. It can be a current favourite or the cherished memory of a much-loved classic. Unfortunately, work created for children is put in a box where adults must not venture. Adults who do are deemed as childish and not 'grown-up' enough to cope with the adult world.
Let's ignore the mockers. Just because something is created for children it doesn't mean it can't be appreciated by everyone. A work should be judged on its merits not who it was originally created for.
So, let's start our journey of discovery of new creations, remembrance of past favourites and discussion of the fascinating world of creating books, films and everything else for children...
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2017 10:31:01 GMT
Ha-ha, it's a difficult thing for me. My childhood was packed with stuff that probably wasn't originally intended for children, but I enjoyed anyway like Blake's 7. The first film I can ever remember seeing was GoldenEye and that's definitely not for kids. However, there are two that stick in my memory more than most Plasmo (a tale of a polyblob's journey to the planet Monjotroldeclipdoc) and The Trap Door (the exploits of Burke, overworked slave of the Thing Upstairs) . I know they left a lasting impression because when I was listening to The Sandman, I couldn't help but picture the Galyari as sophisticated claymation figures in my mind's eye. |
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Post by omega on Jul 9, 2017 10:37:49 GMT
You can have works that seem oriented at children yet hold appeal for adults. Pixar's Inside Out is an incredibly deep and mature film that kids enjoy.
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Post by doctorkernow on Jul 9, 2017 11:15:47 GMT
Hello again.
"BERK? WHERE'S MY DINNER?" Ah yes wolfie53, Willie Rushton a great comic performer was the voiceover artist on this. There was also a ZX Spectrum game I remember my mate had.
Its a bit like Eric Thompson's scripts for the Magic Roundabout that became a must-see appointment to view for jaded adults before the horrors of the news and weather. He was talking to all ages even if the content appeared to be about a large fluffy dog and his friends.
Inside Out, is indeed a truly an excellent film for all ages jbmasta. The whole point of this thread is to celebrate those books, films and music that we would as busy adults perhaps miss; and to remember the creations we loved as children.
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Post by omega on Jul 9, 2017 11:27:09 GMT
Even the Shrek films have things you only pick up on as an adult (the line about Lord Farquaad "compensating for something", or even his name said quickly!). Same thing with the Calvin and Hobbes comic strips.
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Post by Digi on Jul 10, 2017 17:35:48 GMT
The Narnia books are generally regarded as children's literature, but I still enjoy re-reading them fairly often.
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Post by doctorkernow on Jul 11, 2017 6:07:06 GMT
Hello again. A question for everyone. Fantasy has always been a rich vein of creativity in children's literature. From the Narnia books to Harry Potter. The question I'm interested in is this: Have the Harry Potter stories 'killed off' fantasy in children's literature? I found Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to be a mixture of Enid Blyton and Jill Murphy's The Worst Witch. It left me a bit underwhelmed. Now, J. K. Rowling has created a wonderfully rich fantasy world. She has created a set of books which enthralls and encourages children to become avid readers. The trouble with the well-deserved success of Harry Potter is that other just as interesting children's fantasy stories lie forgotten and unloved. I was a keen reader of fantasy books as a child. My favourites included: Bottersnikes and Gumbles by S. A. Wakefield, an Australian fantasy about the cheerful bouncy Gumbles and their spiky horrid neighbours the Bottersnikes. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, about a girl who meets an extraordinary wizard and his enchanted house.
The Talking Parcel by Gerald Durrell, about children who discover an enchanted land where all the magic creatures now live. I've read a great deal of children's fantasy books. It was my favourite genre after Dr. Who. What are your recommendations?  |
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Post by doctorkernow on Jul 11, 2017 6:30:47 GMT
Hello again.
I've just thought of a couple of 21st century children's fantasy classics.
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, twelve year old criminal mastermind meets some hi-tech fairies with attitude. Soon to be a film apparently.
How to train your dragon by Cressida Cowell, hilarious, creative fantasy about a boy and his friends as they learn about dragons. Completely different to the film, much more anarchic and rude and if you read on a really epic series. Toothless in the book is a brilliant character.
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Post by omega on Jul 11, 2017 7:15:12 GMT
Hello again. I've just thought of a couple of 21st century children's fantasy classics. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, twelve year old criminal mastermind meets some hi-tech fairies with attitude. Soon to be a film apparently.
How to train your dragon by Cressida Cowell, hilarious, creative fantasy about a boy and his friends as they learn about dragons. Completely different to the film, much more anarchic and rude and if you read on a really epic series. Toothless in the book is a brilliant character. An Artemis Fowl film has been in the works for years. |
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Post by aemiliapaula on Jul 11, 2017 23:28:00 GMT
2 books I liked in the 80s
So You Want to be a Wizard series by Diane Duane (the first three are the best)
2 Teens, a girl and a boy, each find a copy of a book that teaches you magic, unlike Harry Potter, anyone can learn it with hard work and practice. The 2 kids meet, and although there is no school, they do meet a few adults that are more experienced wizards. Set in 20th / 21st century.
Winter of Magic's Return by Pamela F. Service, also 1 sequel
In what seems to be a future post-apocalyptic world, 3 friends attend a school (not magical). One of the boys has a secret from the past... a great story about friendship
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Post by doctorkernow on Jul 12, 2017 22:22:09 GMT
Hello again. I've just thought of a couple of 21st century children's fantasy classics. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, twelve year old criminal mastermind meets some hi-tech fairies with attitude. Soon to be a film apparently.
How to train your dragon by Cressida Cowell, hilarious, creative fantasy about a boy and his friends as they learn about dragons. Completely different to the film, much more anarchic and rude and if you read on a really epic series. Toothless in the book is a brilliant character. An Artemis Fowl film has been in the works for years. Hello again. Artemis Fowl is a very difficult book to transform into a feature film. It has indeed been in development hell for years. The last news I heard a director has been named, Kenneth Branah and they have been searching in Ireland for a boy to take the title role. So you never know... |
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Post by sherlock on Jul 12, 2017 22:39:27 GMT
Everything Pixar has ever made (that I've seen, I haven't seen Good Dinosaur or Inside Out). Pixar has found a brilliant formula of entertaining kids (I should know, Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo were among my first films I saw in cinema) and emotionally devastating adults (first 10 minutes of Up, THAT scene in Toy Story 3). Last year I saw Finding Dory in a cinema and it was great and I'm not ashamed.
Other children's stuff, well Sarah Jane Adventures is meant to be aimed at kids (it aired on CBBC after all) but went into some incredibly mature stuff (any of the 'of Sarah Jane' episodes, a genuinely scary villain in The Nightmare Man, actual racism being depicted in Lost in Time, Alzheimer's implications in Goodbye, Sarah Jane, the entirety of The Curse of Clyde Langar). Keeping with TV shows I do catch Star Wars Rebels when I can which is generally entertaining. It can sometimes go into very childish styles but has some really good moments and has done some mature stuff (a protagonist was blinded by a lightsaber!).
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2017 23:24:44 GMT
Everything Pixar has ever made (that I've seen, I haven't seen Good Dinosaur or Inside Out). Pixar has found a brilliant formula of entertaining kids (I should know, Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo were among my first films I saw in cinema) and emotionally devastating adults (first 10 minutes of Up, THAT scene in Toy Story 3). Last year I saw Finding Dory in a cinema and it was great and I'm not ashamed. Other children's stuff, well Sarah Jane Adventures is meant to be aimed at kids (it aired on CBBC after all) but went into some incredibly mature stuff (any of the 'of Sarah Jane' episodes, a genuinely scary villain in The Nightmare Man, actual racism being depicted in Lost in Time, Alzheimer's implications in Goodbye, Sarah Jane, the entirety of The Curse of Clyde Langar). Keeping with TV shows I do catch Star Wars Rebels when I can which is generally entertaining. It can sometimes go into very childish styles but has some really good moments and has done some mature stuff (a protagonist was blinded by a lightsaber!). I've been catching a few episodes Star Wars Rebels and there are a lot of moments where it feels like a toned down version of Blake's 7. The premise of the series is about Force-sensitive children being hunted down for conscription in their youth programmes or eliminated before they can become a threat. The Clone Wars had the audience viewpoint character Ahsoka expelled from the Jedi Order after being framed for a terrorist bombing at the Temple. She becomes so disillusioned by the whole affair that she abandons the Order once they permit her to rejoin. It's a pretty damning condemnation of the heroes' side for something that's supposed to be black vs. white, good vs. evil. |
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Post by doctorkernow on Jul 15, 2017 8:50:16 GMT
Hello again.
Good call sherlock! The Sarah Jane Adventures introduced a new generation to a wonderful Who companion. All the adventures you mention are great.
Season 4 is my favourite. The young actors are very good indeed. You even get two crossover episodes with the parent show. My wife bought me the collection secondhand last Christmas. Imagine my delight on finding as a tribute to Elisabeth Sladen, the complete story from classic Who, Pyramids of Mars.
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Post by theotherjosh on Jul 15, 2017 15:32:02 GMT
One of the best things about being a parent is that I can watch cartoons and read YA books (with my daughter) without being judged for it. I'm dreading her upcoming teenage years because I fear she's not going to want to do these things with me anymore.
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Post by coffeeaddict on Jul 15, 2017 16:40:32 GMT
I still watch Bugs Bunny and own a bunch on DVD. Have a Bugs Bunny Dorbz on my desk holding a Duck Season sign.
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Post by kimalysong on Jul 15, 2017 20:24:57 GMT
One of the best things about being a parent is that I can watch cartoons and read YA books (with my daughter) without being judged for it. I'm dreading her upcoming teenage years because I fear she's not going to want to do these things with me anymore. I don't have a kid and that doesn't stop me from enjoying these things My favorite quote from CS Lewis "Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.” |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2017 0:04:45 GMT
One of the best things about being a parent is that I can watch cartoons and read YA books (with my daughter) without being judged for it. I'm dreading her upcoming teenage years because I fear she's not going to want to do these things with me anymore. I don't have a kid and that doesn't stop me from enjoying these things My favorite quote from CS Lewis "Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.” Or as a wise man once said: "There's no point in being grown up, if you can't be childish sometimes."  |
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Post by Ela on Jul 17, 2017 21:51:51 GMT
One of the best things about being a parent is that I can watch cartoons and read YA books (with my daughter) without being judged for it. I'm dreading her upcoming teenage years because I fear she's not going to want to do these things with me anymore. I wouldn't let that stop you. My adult (30 year old) daughter and I still read YA books and share our thoughts about them. My daughter and I have shared that stuff since she was in elementary school. My son to some extent, but less than my daughter. My daughter's a geek, like me.  |
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