The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2011)

With so many Disney remakes out and about in the world and loosed upon Hollywood cinema, there is one Disney film that truly needs to be seen and witnessed on the big screen: Princess and the Frog.

Mr. Malcolm's List is a pleasant promenade through a fantasy Regency-era England filled with people of color. For fans of Bridgerton, this is the PG version of the show, but with completely colorblind casting and a much lighter tone.

This film manages to be simultaneously topical and timeless. Without being preachy, it highlights society’s flawed relationship with tech; insights into the complex ideas of family struggle are expertly dispersed among a perfectly paced and balanced story.

If you're missing the freedom of travel, explore the world via these international films that put their gorgeous settings in the spotlight.

Netflix’s new comedy drama, Don’t Say Good Luck, is a heartwarming tearjerker as well as a love letter to the transformative power of being a theater kid. Directed by Julia Hart, Don’t Say Good Luck follows Sophie (Sunny Sandler), a theater kid who finally gets the lead role in her school’s production of Waitress - just as she finds out her mom Elizabeth (Melanie Lynskey) is dying of cancer. While the singing is by no means spectacular and Sandler’s acting is stiff, the film is grounded in the moving performance of Lynskey as a mother who wants nothing more than for her daughter to achieve her dreams, even if she can’t be there to see them.

Animation as a medium of storytelling can be thought to be open to all ages and as I hope my readings will reveal, they could be interpreted as transgender stories.