Our Earth’s current climate is quite a difficult thing to explain to children. It’s easy to talk about how we have to respect nature and take care of the planet. But when it comes to discussing the damage that’s been done, how, and why, the issue becomes sad and confusing. Luckily, this is where Earth Day comes in, and this year marks the 52nd anniversary of the annual event.
For younger children especially, one of the best ways to teach kids about taking care of the planet is by making it entertaining. For Earth Day — and the days surrounding it — there are tons of activities you and your kids can take part in, from upcycling crafts to planting a tree. However, let’s start on the simplest and most cozy way to celebrate Earth Day: watching movies with an eco-friendly theme. These films explain the importance of various environmental topics, from climate change to just appreciating nature for what it is.
'FernGully: The Last Rainforest'
The destruction of Earth’s rainforests is a very bleak concept, yet FernGully tackles it in a child-friendly and simple way. Human pollution, forest fires, deforestation — there are tons of factors in why our rainforests are depleting, but in FernGully’s case, it comes down to a dark spirit named Hexxus.
A metaphor for human pollution, Hexxus aims to destroy the civilization of FernGully, and our hero Crysta must stop him. The movie is an action-packed musical that highlights the need for us to be at harmony with nature. We can’t see the planet as a never-ending resource machine because those resources will run out.
'WALL-E'
WALL-E is an adorable and visually stunning Pixar film that follows a forgotten little robot on a planet covered in garbage. That planet is Earth, and WALL-E spends his days alone, tidying up the mess former human colonies left there. When his newfound friend EVE finds a healthy plant growing amid the rubble and trash, we begin to learn that the planet was abandoned because it could no longer safely hold life.
The last humans moved to a forever-traveling space cruise ship, where they are safe and entertained but missing the one thing that cannot be replaced: nature. WALL-E and EVE show us that even the tiniest, frailest opportunity of life is worth fighting for, by anyone and everyone.
'The Lorax'
Based on the classic Dr. Seuss tale of the same name, The Lorax is a fun romp of a movie about a little boy who meets a fabled inventor named the Once-ler. The inventor tells the boy, Ted, about his adventures in a very nonsensical and flowery land that sadly became barren due to the trees being cut down and oxygen being sold per the bottle by industrialist Aloysius O'Hare. The Once-ler teams up with the Lorax, a protector of the trees who appears as a cuddly yet odd little creature.
The movie is a clear metaphor for the exploitation of natural resources and the importance of our forests, much like FernGully. The silliness of the film lovingly distracts from the serious message, which is great for more sensitive children. Sometimes learning about big scary things such as climate change is best done slowly with lovable characters. If your kid is a little older, however, our next film is a little less sugarcoated.
'Arctic Tale'
Unlike with the other films on this list, Arctic Tale shows the effects of climate change in real time with real examples. It sounds darker than it is, however, as there are tons of beautiful animals and scenery to get lost in. The film follows a polar bear and her cubs grow up in the Arctic alongside a walrus and her family.
We see the animals find food and shelter and deal with the melting ice around them. The movie shows a hopeful and warm circle of life as the cubs grow older; however, the message that we must protect these animals and the icy region is always kept in mind. There’s something about seeing the animals leap from melting ice cap to cap that really puts into perspective that the climate is changing, fast.
'Avatar'
Natural gases and fossil fuels are a huge factor in climate change, and it’s a major part of the CGI blockbuster Avatar. In the movie, set only a hundred or so years in the future, Earth’s natural resources have depleted. The military travels to a planet named Pandora to mine a natural mineral called unobtanium that can be used to generate energy on Earth, for profit more so than survival. Our hero Jake is sent to get information from the planet on how to find it, and along the way he learns about Pandora and its inhabitants.
No spoilers, but if your kids love films like Pocahontas, they’ll love this futuristic fantasy action movie. Avatar is a pretty unique environmental movie as it doesn’t place all blame on the individual for simply using energy or littering. It recognizes that most of our energy use comes from those with power, billions of dollars, and access to Earth-destroying equipment.
'I Am Greta'
Similarly to Avatar, I Am Greta will not make your child understand climate change without making them feel guilty for simply existing. Greta Thunberg, who was 15 when the 2020 documentary was being filmed, is an environmental activist who has given her youth to fight against the climate crisis. Her main focus is to call on powerful politicians and billionaires to rethink their global energy usage, and you can see footage of this in the movie.
The documentary also outlines the start of her activist journey, from one-person strikes and protests to more wide-scale events that she’s still headlining today. Greta is a powerful role model for children, particularly young girls with autism, and shows us that just one person can help change the attitude of countless others. She teaches us that we can all help as individuals, while acknowledging that climate change can be battled if those in power were to stop profiting from the destruction of nature.
'Moana'
A modern Disney classic, Moana is the diverse and environmentally aware musical of our kids' generation. Like a lot of the movies on this list, many kids may not be aware of the environmental themes until you point them out or they get a little older. So just like Avatar, The Lorax, and others, it’s a fun and emotional film in its own right. The environmental side to the tale, however, holds a very important message, as does the focus on Indigenous rights.
Set on the Polynesian island of Motunui, our hero Moana is set to save her home isle from the volcanic demon Te Kā, who has stolen the isle’s heart and wrecked darkness on the island. Moana and her demigod friend Maui battle the elements to reunite the heart relic with the goddess Te Fiti. Though there’s no magical relic that’ll solve our environmental problems here on Earth, our “heart” is the power we all have to make a change. Whether it’s a young girl on a journey to convince the powers that be to change, a small business that switches to all-paper packaging, or any one of us purchasing fewer single-use plastics.
