Top 10 family films of 2009

Ponyo

Oscar-winning Spirited Away director Hayo Miyazaki returns with Ponyo, the story of a Japanese wizard’s magic. It all start with a little fish-girl (aka mermaid!) who runs away
from her masterful wizard dad (Liam Neeson) and sea goddess mom (Cate Blanchett) for an adventure.

She’s rescued by a human boy, Ssuke (Frankie Jonas), who names her Ponyo (Noah Cyrus). When Ponyo uses daddy’s magic to make herself human, the young pair falls in love, but the magic unleashes an
dangerous imbalance in the world and sets off a massive storm. Matt Damon and Tina Fey give voice to Ssuke’sparents, while Lily Tomlin, Cloris
Leachman and Betty White also play a part in the fantastical story.

See it: Ponyo hits DVD and Blu-ray March 2

The Princess and the Frog

Disney returned to its old school hand-drawn animation roots with Princess and the Frog to take on New Orleans and while the music
kept us dancing in our seats, the delightful opposites attract story actually inspired laughs and cheers, as classic Disney tales always have.

The infamous destination lends
itself beautifully to magical scenery, music and characters (played by Anika Noni Rose. Oprah Winfrey, Keith David, Jim Cummings, John Goodman, Jenifer Lewis, Bruno Campos, Michael-Leon Wooley,
Peter Bartlett and Terrence Howard) as the story moves through the manse of a Mardi Gras princess, the shanties of the hard working African American community, the city streets and out into the
Bayou.

At the heart of it all, SheKnows has never seen two frogs with such great chemistry and while their wacky friend were a hoot, the villain was one scary dude!

See it: Currently in theaters

Coraline

In Henry Selick’s 3-D critical hit based on the Neil Gaiman novel, Coraline is feeling bored and neglected in her new home, until she finds a hidden door to parallel world.

In this strangely similar place where people have buttons for eyes, all her dreams come true, including her deepest wish for parents who care for her. Unfortunately, it’s all a ruse and those warm
folks are just trying to trick Coraline into staying! With fate of her real family in her hands, Coraline fights to get back to reality.

See it: Currently on DVD and Blu-ray

Fantastic Mr. Fox

George Clooney and Meryl Streep star in Wes Anderson’s strangely fantastic incantation of Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s story, Fantastic Mr Fox. The stop-action animation creates a picture book feel as reformed chicken thief Mr Fox slides back to his wayward ways and
ends up putting all the animals in his valley in danger.

Once desperate to be something more, he ultimately has to prove he is in fact already something more in order to save everyone from the mean men he’s been stealing from, while his son Ash (Jason
Schwartzman) struggles to come of age next to perfect nephew Kristofferson (Eric Anderson).

See it: Currently in theaters

Up

From Toy Story to Wall-E , Pixar has revolutionized animated storytelling for the 21st century, but in Up, Pixar’s scope has
significantly elevated. With the world closing in on him, grumpy Carl decides to head for the island of Paradise Falls, a place his late wife believed was the most beautiful on earth.

His plan is to literally take their house with him, but things take off when he realizes a neighborhood scout, Russell, has unknowingly become a stowaway! Each character in Up brings an
emotional core to the fantastic visuals that are Pixar’s hallmark, earning the film award show noms and Oscar dreams.

See it: Currently on DVD and Blu-ray