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- ParaNorman
- Focus Features
If you ask us, it's never too early for a kid to learn that everyone they know and love will die someday. Their best friend, their favorite dog, and even their grandma will all face the same fate, and there's nothing anyone can do about it.
Because it's such a complicated topic, though, it might just be easier to pop in one of the following movies to teach them about life's biggest mystery.
Just be warned: The lessons may come from skeletons, ghosts, or even Death himself.
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In the 1995 movie Casper, when Kat and her paranormal-therapist father move into a haunted house, she befriends a kindly child ghost and helps him rediscover what happened to him when he was alive.
The titular spirit discovers his father bought him a wooden sled, but he caught pneumonia after playing outside for too long, and he ultimately died. His father then created a mysterious machine called the Lazarus, which he claimed could bring the dead back to life.
At first, Casper wants to use the machine on himself, but when Kat's father falls down a manhole and dies, Casper sacrifices his one chance at being human again so Kat can reunite with her father.
As a reward for his selflessness, Kat's late mother allows Casper to become his former physical self for just one night, and Casper shares a kiss with Kat before turning back into a ghost for good.
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In the 2022 film Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, when outlaw Puss in Boots learns he has died eight times and is now on his last life, Puss seems unfazed - until he meets Death, a wolf in a black hood, who makes Puss fear for his life for the first time.
Puss then learns of a Wishing Star, and with the help of a former lover, Kitty Softpaws, and a newfound friend, Perrito, Puss travels through the Dark Forest in order to find it so it can grant him more lives.
Along the way, Puss loses his arrogance and gains respect for his friends, and in the end, Death spares his life - for the time being.
The Shrek spin-off teaches kids that instead of constantly fearing death, we must enjoy the one life we have. A purr-fect lesson.
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In this underrated 2012 stop-motion horror comedy (which was robbed of an Oscar when it lost to Pixar's arguable snore-fest, Brave), Norman, an 11-year-old who can speak to the dead, must lead a ragtag team of tweens to search for a witch's grave in order to stop the zombies plaguing their town.
At one point, the ghost of Norman's dead grandmother gives him wise advice:
There's nothing wrong with being scared, Norman. So long as you don't let it change who you are.
At its undead heart, ParaNorman is about accepting yourself despite your flaws, a lesson we should all try to embrace on our one-way trip to the grave.
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In Pixar's 2017 movie Coco, 12-year-old Miguel visits the Land of the Dead with the skeletons of his deceased relatives after he plays a magical guitar he stole from a mausoleum. He soon learns someone must grant him a family blessing before sunrise so he can return to the real world - otherwise, he'll die.
Full of colorful imagery, Coco is a beautiful film about honoring family. The only downside to watching it might be your own kids inevitable questioning when they can visit the Land of the Dead themselves.
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In the 1989 chidlren's film All Dogs Go to Heaven, con artist dog Charlie Barkin escapes being put down at a dog pound, only to wind up murdered by his former business partner, Carface.
He goes to Heaven, where he steals a pocket watch and uses it to trick an angel into sending him back to Earth. The catch? When the watch stops ticking, he'll die - but this time, he'll have to pay for his sins.
Hellbent on revenge, Charlie discovers Carface has kidnapped an orphan named Anne-Marie. Charlie charms his way into Anne-Marie's favor, and she teams up with him.
Somewhere along the way, Charlie gains a conscience - and proves it when he has to choose between saving Anne-Marie's life and rewinding his watch to prevent it from stopping. He decides to keep her safe, but he dies in the process - a heroic act that allows him to return to Heaven.
The most memorable scene? Charlie's nightmare-inducing vision of Hell's devilish demons torturing him on a lake of fire.
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The opening montage of Up is, ironically, a real downer. After 10-year-old Carl befriends Ellie, we witness their tragic love story: They fall in love, get married, and prepare a nursery for their future baby, but Ellie has a miscarriage and learns she can't have children.
The two decide to save up so they can fulfill their childhood dream of visiting Paradise Falls, but life repeatedly gets in the way until Ellie, now an elderly woman, collapses and ultimately dies. An elderly Carl sits alone at her funeral, holding a single balloon.
Carl spends the rest of the movie trying to keep their promise of one day visiting Paradise Falls.
Director Pete Docter said of the film:
We've described it as a “coming of old age” story. It's really like an unfinished love story... This wonderful romance this guy had with his wife, and she passes away, and it's the unfinished business of dealing with that.
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In the 2005 film Corpse Bride, young Victor forgets his vows to Victoria at their wedding rehearsal and wanders into the woods to practice them. He places the wedding ring on what he thinks is a tree root, but in fact, that root is actually the finger of an undead, skeletal bride named Emily.
Emily, believing the two of them will soon be married, takes Victor to the Land of the Dead.
Victor soon learns Victoria has become engaged to another man in his absence. Heartbroken, Victor decides to poison himself so he can spend the rest of his (after)life with Emily.
Before he can go through with his suicide, however, Emily realizes Victor and Victoria belong together and stops him. She then turns into a flock of butterflies as the movie ends.
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For someone who sings a whole song implying he's super excited for his father's death ("I Just Can't Wait to Be King"), Simba sure is devastated when it actually happens.
The Lion King, released in 1994, spends a lot of time making Simba bottle up his grief, singing “Hakuna Matata” to dismiss all his problems as he lives his lion life off the grid.
But of course, he must eventually face his father's death head-on and return to Pride Rock to deal with his emotional Scar(s). As a result, he becomes the king he was always meant to be - and he even fathers a new cub.
The Circle of Life, indeed.
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In the 2012 film Frankenweenie, when Victor's pet dog Sparky is killed, he digs up its corpse and brings it back to life. Later, several classmates resurrect their dead pets, too, but they come back as grotesque monsters.
The stop-motion film is one big, wonderful parody/homage to Frankenstein. One might think the story's moral would be similar to that of Pet Sematary - “Sometimes, dead is better” - but in the end, Sparky dies and comes back to life a second time.
Fun fact: The movie is based on a live-action short from 1984 starring Barret Oliver (Bastian from The NeverEnding Story) and Shelley Duvall.
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