All Ages: Watch A Movie That Inspires Kindness

Note: The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation has compiled this list with suggestions of movies, videos, television shows, etc. that demonstrate kindness. However, we cannot guarantee the age-appropriateness of any of these offerings and suggest an adult watch and review the offerings before showing them to children.

MOVIES

Amelie - Amélie is a shy waitress in a Montmartre café. After returning a long-lost childhood treasure to a former occupant of her apartment, and seeing the effect it has on him, she decides to set out on a mission to make others happy and in the meantime pursues a quirky guy who collects discarded photo booth pictures. Little by little, Amélie realizes that the way to happiness (and yet more subtle humor) requires her to take her own initiative and reach out to others. (In French) (UGC)

Because of Winn-Dixie - A 10-year-old girl, abandoned by her mother when she was three, moves to a small town in Florida with her father, a preacher. While there, she adopts a stray dog whom she names after the local supermarket where he was found. With her goofy pooch by her side, she meets an eclectic group of townspeople and rekindles an almost lost relationship with her father. (20th Century Fox)

Big Fish - About the life of a man who told fantastic stories about his life to his son, who, until the father’s last days, only saw them as tall tales. Good family values. Honesty, sincerity, bravery, trustworthiness issues. Very interesting, magical, and moving, and great tall tales, too! (Sony Pictures)

The ButterCream Gang - Unlike most gangs, the ButterCream gang does good deeds. Their leader, Pete, has to go live with his aunt in Chicago. But things don’t go well in Chicago and Pete is changed when he returns. Soon Pete is hanging around with the wrong crowd. But the remaining members of the gang, especially their new leader, Scott, refuse to give up on their friend Pete. (Bonneville Entertainment)

The Children of Chabannes - From 1939 to 1942, in the village of Chabannes in central France, more than 400 Jewish children were hidden, schooled, and ultimately saved through the heroic efforts of the school’s director and teachers and of Jewish rescue organizations that first got the children there, and then, as war closed around them, got all but a handful out safely. In 1996, two aged teachers and the children and their families reunite. Lisa Gossels, whose father and uncle were among the children, records it. Survivors’ comments, photos and drawings from the war, footage of the school and town, and a celebration of the heroism and leadership of the school’s director, Felix Chevrier, comprise the film. (New Video Group)

Chocolat - Vianne Rocher and her young daughter are drifters who are met with skepticism and resistance when they move to a conservative town in rural France and open a chocolate shop during Lent. As Vianne begins to work her magic and help those around her, the townspeople are soon won-over by her exuberance and her delicious chocolates - except for the mayor, who is determined to shut her down. When a group of river drifters visit the town, Vianne teaches the townspeople something about acceptance, and finds love for herself along the way. (Miramax)

Dear God - Tom Turner is a con man, defrauding people from their money with a variety of two-bit hustles. One night he makes the mistake of attempting to hustle some undercover cops, and finds himself in court faced with the dilemma of either going to jail or getting a real job. Choosing to stay out of jail, he gets a job at the post office working in their Dead Letter Office helping to sort Dead Letters (i.e. mail which, for whatever reason, can’t be delivered). Some of the mail he recieves can’t be delivered because it’s addressed to God, and he accidentally answers (sending them money in the process). This starts the ball rolling as more of his co-workers get in on the idea of helping people by answering “God” mail. (Rysher Entertainment)

Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story - Down-and-out horse trainer Ben Crane is given an equally broken-down (but once great) racehorse, Sonya, as severance pay. It will take the unwavering faith and determination of Ben’s daughter, Cale, to bring these two damaged souls together in a quest to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic. (DreamWorks Pictures)

Driving Miss Daisy - An elderly Jewish widow living in Atlanta can no longer drive. Her son insists she allow him to hire a driver, which in the 1950s meant a black man. She resists any change in her life but, Hoke, the driver is hired by her son. She refuses to allow him to drive her anywhere at first, but Hoke slowly wins her over with his native good graces. The movie is directly taken from a stage play and does show it. It covers over twenty years of the pair’s life together as they slowly build a relationship that transcends their differences. (Majestic Films International)

The Five People You Meet In Heaven - On his 83rd birthday, Eddie, a war veteran and a maintenance worker at the Ruby Pier amusement park, dies while trying to save a girl who is sitting under a falling ride. When he awakens in the afterlife, he encounters five people with ties to his corporeal existence who help him understand the meaning of his life. (Lions Gate)

Forrest Gump - The story follows the life of low I.Q. Forrest Gump and his meeting with the love of his life Jenny. The film chronicles his accidental experiences with some of the most important people and events in America from the late 1950’s through the 1970’s including a meeting with Elvis Presley, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, fighting in Vietnam, etc. The problem is, he does not realize the significance of his actions. Forrest becomes representative of the baby boomer generation having walked through life blindly. (Paramount)

Friendship’s Field - Ira and Oscar, two kids from different cultures, developed an enduring friendship which triumphed over tragedy and taught lasting lessons. An aged crayon drawing found in a trunk awakens memories from the unforgettable summer of 1965. Ira was 11 years old, enjoying her last year of freedom before working on her family’s beet farm. When her father hired migrant workers to help in the fields, Ira didn’t realize the experience would change her life forever. In spite of local hostility shown to the migrants, Ira befriended Oscar, a young Mexican boy. Their summer of carefree fun was tested by prejudice and taught Ira how to be a true friend and stand up for her beliefs. (Bonneville Entertainment)

Good Morning, Miss Dove - Miss Dove is a strict disciplinary, plus a well respected teacher, who has inspired her students to individual greatness. One day during class, Miss Dove experiences great pain in her back, but continues with the class. After class she asks one of her students who is staying after class to get a doctor. Thomas, a doctor, and a former student of her’s takes her to the hospital and hospitalizes her. While in the hospital her former students rally around her causing Miss Dove to reflect on her past. (20th Century Fox)

Harvey - Elwood Dowd, a middle-aged drunk, has been driving his sister and niece wild by introducing everyone he meets to his pal Harvey. Harvey is a big white rabbit, six feet eight inches tall, which only Elwood (and occasionally his sister when she’s feeling odd) can see. The sister, Veta Louise Simmons, tries to have Elwood committed to Chumleys Rest sanatorium, but they let Elwood out and lock her up. After sorting out the mistake, Dr. Chumley goes after Elwood himself. (Universal Studios)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Based on the book by the famous Dr. Seuss. Inside a snowflake exists the magical land of Whoville. In Whoville, live the Who’s, an almost mutated sort of munchkinlike people. All the Who’s love Christmas, yet just outside of their beloved Whoville lives the Grinch. The Grinch is a nasty creature that hates Christmas, and plots to steal it away from the Whos which he equally abhors. Yet a small child, Cindy Lou Who, decides to try befriend the Grinch with surprising results. (Two versions: 2000, Imagine Entertainment; 1966, MGM Television)

I Remember Mama - Based on a play by John Van Druten, this drama gathers the recollections of a Norwegian family relocated to San Francisco -- especially those of Katrin, a novelist who credits her mother, Marta, for her and her siblings’ success. In spite of poverty and the difficulties of adjusting to a new country, Marta persevered, paving the way for her children’s bright future. (Warner Home Video)

Ice Age - Back when the Earth was being overrun by glaciers, and animals were scurrying to save themselves from the upcoming Ice Age, a sloth named Sid, a woolly mammoth named Manny, a saber-toothed tiger named Diego, and an acorn-loving saber-toothed squirrel named Scrat are forced to become unlikely heroes. The four reluctantly come together when they have to return a human child to its father while braving the deadly elements of the impending Ice Age. (20th Century Fox)

A Little Princess - When her father enlists to fight for the British in WWI, young Sara Crewe goes to New York to attend the same boarding school her late mother attended. She soon clashes with the severe headmistress, Miss Minchin, who attempts to stifle Sara’s creativity and sense of self-worth. Sara’s belief that “every girl’s a princess” is tested to the limit, however, when word comes that her father was killed in action and his estate has been seized by the British government. (Warner Bros.)

Millions - What would you do if you were a kid just playing around in a cardboard box and all of a sudden a bag filled with money plops into your lap? That’s the question asked in “Millions,” a gentle family film. Damian is playing by himself, minding his own business, when a bag full of pounds 265,000 literally falls into his hands. Letting his big brother Anthony in on the secret, the two decide it’s best to not let their dad know about their newfound riches. Danny, the idealistic one, has conversations with saints who appear to him and help advise him on the good he can do with the money. Following the advice of the saints, Danny sets out to give the money away to the poor. But his brother Anthony has other ideas. Anthony’s ready to buy real estate and advance his family’s fortunes. There can’t be a bag full of money without there being a bad guy, so soon after their discovery, everything takes a dangerous turn when the kids encounter the man who stole the cash and who wants it all back. (20th Century Fox)

The Miracle of the Cards - is based on the true story of Marion Shergold and her son, Craig, an eight-year-old English boy who had a brain tumor. Several events convinced Marion that God was leading her to a cure for Craig and that the get-well cards he was receiving had the power to keep him alive, so she launched a worldwide campaign to break the Guinness record for receiving the most get-well cards. At the time, the world record seemed an impossible 1,000,265, but Craig received over 350 million cards from all over the world. Against the advice of her doctors, Marion followed one of those cards to America for Craig’s miraculous cure. (Legacy Filmworks/Viacom Productions)

Patch Adams - This movie is based on a true story. In 1969, Hunter Adams was a troubled man who voluntarily committed himself into a mental institution. Once there, he finds that helping his fellow inmates there gives him a purpose in life. Thus inspired, he leaves the asylum and vows to become a doctor to help people professionally. However, what he finds at medical school is a sickeningly callous philosophy that advocates an arms-length attitude to the patients that does not address their emotional needs or the quality of their lives. “Patch” Adams is determined to find a better way to help them, although the consequences of his defiance of the rules and the authorities are severe. (Blue Wolf/Bungalow 78 Productions)

Pay It Forward - Young Trevor McKinney, troubled by his mother’s alcoholism and fears of his abusive but absent father, is caught up by an intriguing assignment from his new social studies teacher, Mr. Simonet. The assignment: think of something to change the world and put it into action. Trevor conjures the notion of paying a favor not back, but forward--repaying good deeds not with payback, but with new good deeds done to three new people. Trevor’s efforts to make good on his idea bring a revolution not only in the lives of himself, his mother and his physically and emotionally scarred teacher, but in those of an ever-widening circle of people completely unknown to him. (Warner Bros.)

Pollyanna - A little girl comes to a town that is embattled by feuds and intimidated by her aunt. By the time she must leave, she has transformed the community with her indominatable will to see the good side of even the worst situations and bring it out for the betterment of all. (Walt Disney Co.)

Horton Hears a Who - In this story, Horton discovers there is a microscopic community of intelligent beings called the Who’s living on a plant that only he can hear. Recognising the dangers they face, he resolves to keep them safe. However, the other animals around him think Horton has gone crazy thinking that there are such beings. They resolve to take action for his own good and Horton and The Who must struggle against these impossible odds to prevent a tragedy. Based on the book of the same title by Dr. Seuss. (Warner Bros. DVD)

TV SHOWS

Joan of Arcadia - Millions of people speak to God. What if God spoke back? Life just got a hell of a lot more confusing for teenage Joan Girardi, who already deals with feeling out of place in her family: her police chief father, her somewhat overbearing mother, her geeky younger brother and former football star older brother, now paralyzed. They’d never believe her if she told them that God is talking to her. Does Joan have a higher purpose on earth, or are these strange conversations just in her head? (Paramount)

The Muppet Show - For 50 years, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and all their friends have entertained and educated countless children and adults with their antics. Numerous videos (Walt Disney Co.)

Sesame Street - Starting nearly 40 years ago, Sesame Street was designed to use the medium of television to reach and teach preschoolers, and give them skills that would provide a successful transition from home to school. The show gives children a head start and provides them with enough confidence to begin learning the alphabet, numbers, and pro-social skills. Numerous videos (Sony Wonder)

Winnie the Pooh - Winnie the Pooh endlessly craves snacks (preferably honey) to soothe his appetite. But even honey isn't as important as his friends. Their happiness and feelings are Pooh’s chief concerns - and there is no better friend than Winnie the Pooh. Numerous videos (Walt Disney Co.)

Wonder Pets! - Wonder Pets! is a Nick Jr. show for preschoolers. Each episode follows the adventures of three classroom pets who travel around the globe helping to rescue animals who need their help. Like real preschoolers, these three unlikely heroes don’t have any actual super powers, but by working together they can conquer any obstacle: “What’s gonna work? Teamwork!” Each episode encourages teamwork, empathy, problem-solving skills, and an appreciation of music and humor. (Nick Jr.)

The items in the “video-graphy” were comprised based on suggestions by members of The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation. Thank you to everyone who took the time to contribute your idea.

We are always looking for new suggestions to help our list grow. Please e-mail your contribution to info@actsofkindness.org.

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