Films for Children
Authors: Parry Becky , Ghalian Sonia 
Published: August 2018

For many children, films continue to be a primary means of introduction to the “world of stories,” and thereby to the world. Despite competition for attention from television, games, and social media, film continues to receive high ratings in surveys of children’s cultural participation, and many of the highest grossing films each year are made for young audiences. Today, children’s films feature in children’s talk and play and are aspects of their emerging literacies and identities. Usually, in film, media, and cultural studies, much of the focus of research and analysis has been on children in film or the representation of childhood in film, rather than on children’s films themselves. Where studies on Hollywood and Disney in particular have been undertaken extensively, positioning children’s films as instruments of ideological socialization, film is usually constructed as a cause for concern in relation to children’s behaviors and values in a way that children’s books are not. In the last decade there has been an expansion of scholarship in relation to children’s film, indicated by the publication of two new edited books that both contribute valuably to a mapping of the discipline and defining children’s film. In Sweden, a new edited book on Swedish films for children is in the final stages of production, exemplifying the Scandinavian commitment to children’s film in terms of production, distribution, and exhibition. A need remains for further research focused not just on films in which children are characters or as examples of representations of childhood, but also on films made for children and on children’s engagements with them. Interest in children’s film emerges from a range of disciplines, including the field of children’s literature, which predominantly focuses on adaptations, or literacy, where children’s film is researched as a significant cultural resource in relation to children’s play, literacy, and identity practices. In psychology, children’s films are studied in terms of their impact on behavior, whereas film and media studies focuses on issues of gender, race, and class. Two additional categories of representation, namely Disability and Queerness that are still finding their deserved space in the popular children’s screen culture have been added to bridge the gap in scholarship in the recent past. The aesthetics of children’s films needs to be a stronger feature in their study, in parallel with studies of children’s literature. Further opportunities are needed for the study of children’s film: an annual conference, a journal, and new empirical research. In the spirit of this aspiration, this article aims to contribute to the building of that academic community interested in understanding, researching, and impacting this important medium for children. Importantly, the bibliography has been prepared to be as inclusive as possible, recognizing important and innovative national cinemas for children. We may well stray into the realm of other highly useful bibliographies listed here, particularly those focused on Disney, children’s media cultures, children’s television, and children in film. However, in collating this bibliography we look beyond work that constructs the child as an entirely passive consumer of problematic ideologies. We do not shy away from critique of children’s film but select works that are, at least in some way, from the perspective of children. We have not included research focused on film education or children’s film production, as we are aware that these are features of other exciting bibliographies. We also acknowledge the importance of looking at other moving image texts for children, including games and social media, and we believe these warrant their own specialist listing.