Everything is cuter when it’s small. Not just babies, either, although who can’t resist a newborn kitten or teensy baby socks? People love anything pocket size: miniature dogs, Hershey’s kisses and even little characters on the big screen. Family films have a large history of telling stories about itty-bitty creatures, as laid out in the Fandango photo feature “All the Small Things.” I’m not a psychologist, but logically, it seems kids can relate to the struggles of those who are perpetually looking skyward in the world they inhabit.

Therefore, The Secret World of Arrietty should be a satisfying and relatable film for kids who are still waiting for a growth spurt. Based on the children’s book The Borrowers, Arrietty is about tiny people living under a house who "borrow" miniscule amounts of food and shelter to survive. Once a human-size boy discovers them, his efforts to help Arrietty and her family actually endangers their lives.  Without the help of the “big” people, the Borrowers do just fine – which is how kids would like to think they would be without the help of adults.
 
Here are other films to see with your family:
 
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. A teen boy and his stepdad go in search of Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island, where small things become terrifyingly huge and huge things get adorably small. Be prepared for your child to beg you for her own tiny pet elephant.
 
 
 
 
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace 3D. The film revolves young Anakin Skywalker, who is small yet can go toe-to-toe with any adult. Add in epic lightsaber battles, podraces and reliving the excitement of seeing it for the first time and Phantom Menace 3D is a must see – again.
 
 
 
 
Big Miracle. I’m not sure I’d call the California gray whales in Big Miracle cute (well, actually baby Bam-Bam is a little sweetie) but the true story showing how ideologically divergent people came together in 1988 to try and save the lives of a whale family is told with humor and heart.
 
 
 
 
To see what kids think about The Secret World of Arrietty and other films, go to www.KidsPickFlicks.com .