Thursday 24 September 2015

Thursday Movie Picks: Adopted/Foster Families

Happy Thursday, everyone! And a happy Autumn to you too, or Fall. Yesterday marked the 2015 Autumnal Equinox, and so now is the time I can officially put cinnamon in everything I eat and drink. I have a nice supply of autumnal fragranced Yankee Candle Tarts ready to burn until it’s socially acceptable for me to feel Christmassy.


Anyway, Thursday Movie Picks is a fantastic series hosted by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves, where each week she picks a theme and we all choose 3 movies that we feel fit. This week we’re looking at Adopted/Foster Families, and it’s a weird one for me, as all 3 of my choices are animated, family movies. I’m not sure if that means a lot of family movies contain adopted/foster families, or that I just watch far too many animated movies. Hey ho, here we go!

despicable-me-2-adopted-family

Perhaps not the most functional adopted family in the world, Despicable Me (2010) features Gru, a super-villain decides to adopt the 3 orphaned girls who tried to sell cookies to use them as part of his master plan to steal a shrink ray from his nemesis. Gru tries to abandon the girls at an amusement park, but is forced to ride the rollercoaster with them, and slowly, he grows to love these girls as his own. It all ends happily ever after for their little family with a ballet dance recital the girls perform for Gru, his Mother and all the Minions. 

lilo-and-stitch-adopted-family

My favourite ever Disney movie, Lilo & Stitch (2002) has a slightly unconventional adopted family. I mean ohana. Lilo lives with her sister who struggles to look after them both after their parents died. Lilo’s sister lets her adopt a dog from the local shelter and of course, Lilo picks the weirdest looking one out of them all, Stitch, who just happens to be an extraterrestrial experiment gone wrong. Stitch’s behaviour almost winds Lilo up in care, but he eventually learns the meaning of ohana, which means family, and family means that no one gets left behind, or forgotten.

kung-fu-panda-2-adopted-family

Perhaps it’s odd to choose the sequel, but  thought Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) has some really endearing moments in regards to Po the panda and his adoptive father Mr Ping, a goose. In the sequel, Po struggles with his past as memories come to the surface about his mother. After learning that she died protecting him from Lord Shen of the peacock clan, and eventually defeating Lord Shen himself, he returns home to Mr Ping and declares him to be his father.

16 comments:

  1. I love the theme-within-theme, as you picked all animation features. I almost picked Despicable Me, too; those foster kids are cute, especially Agnes. Lilo & Stitch is also an excellent movie, Kung Fu Panda is also one, though I don't really like it.
    Great picks, Jenna or Allie!
    Anyway, I follow your twitter if you notice :D

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    1. It's Allie, here! I'm purple, and Jenna is red :)
      I'm still sitting on the fence with Kung Fu Panda, I don't know how I feel.
      I really thought we were following you on Twitter already, but we definitely are now :D
      - Allie

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  2. I love that you went the animated route! My son loves Lilo and Stitch, we watch it all the time. Despicable Me is a great pick too, even if I wasn't a fan of the film itself, and I've never seen Kung Fu Panda.

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    1. I wouldn't say Kung Fu Panda is a must watch or anything, but it's good fun, perfect for a rainy afternoon :)
      - Allie

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  3. I thought about going all animation as well as have since a lot the last couple years since got married and had a son, but only choose Despicable Me for my list. What is it with kids movies dealing with adaption so much? Anyway Kung Fu Panda was good, but haven't seen Lilo & Stitch yet.

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    1. Once I'd drafted up a list for this week there was only 1 non-animated movie on it so I thought I may as well stick with a theme, ha!
      It's almost like difficult situations are easier to portray within a kids film or something.
      - Allie

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  4. I love it when people do themes with the theme. Unfortunately I'm not an animation fan at all so I've seen none of these, they all fit well though.

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    1. Thanks Joel :)
      This theme within a theme was a complete fluke but I might try and do it again in a future week!
      - Allie

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  5. I have only seen Despicable Me and thought it was brilliant! I love Gru:) I have not seen Lilo and Stitch nor Kung Fu Panda (the last one reminds me of my ex who has those same looks as the Panda. I am friends with my ex but it still...irritates me:))

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    1. Oh my goodness!! I'm so sorry but I couldn't help but giggle a little at that, I'm going to forever think of this now when I see Po the panda!
      - Allie

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  6. Yay! More love for animated flicks. We share two picks and I almost picked Lilo & Stitch, too.

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    1. Ooooh we could have had a complete matching set! Great minds think alike though, eh ;)
      - Allie

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  7. I love the animated spin, and ESPECIALLY love Lilo & Stitch, good job on these, I never would have thought of them!!

    Also, we met the Despicable Me girls this summer. They're sweet but quiet and surprisingly felt-like.

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    1. Thank you! :)
      Oh, and I definitely need to see a photo of that! :)
      - Allie

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  8. I struggled to think of films for this pick - but funnily enough the only film I had was Kung Fu Panda 2. Such a sad film to follow a fun success. The sequel goes deeper and even has a massacre on screen. Animations always have the best portrayl of families.

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    1. It really was, wasn't it? I think that's why I love animated movies so much :)
      - Allie

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