The 2015 Academy Award ® nominations have been announced and it was an outstanding year for family-friendly films. For your consideration, here’s a look at some of the nominees that could be a good fit for family movie night. (Films are arranged in alphabetical order.)
Nominated for: Animated Feature Film
This stunning animated film from Brazil has very little dialogue. I’m excited for its nomination as I hope it will allow the film to receive a wider release. It is exactly the kind of film I would be thrilled to take my almost 7-year-old to see.
Nominated for:
Best Picture
Best Actress (Saoirse Ronan)
Mature tweens and teens will get swept away in this relatable story of journey and homesickness. The sweet love story is particularly charming, and it will bring up a lot of discussion points for conversations to be had after the film such as, how do you define home?
Nominated for:
Costume Design (Sandy Powell)
If you needed any proof that The Dress for The Ball was amazing, well here you go! This all ages fairy-tale was an absolute crowd pleaser with everyone in our family.
Nominated for: Best Supporting Actor (Sylvestor Stallone)
If you know Rocky’s saga, then there should be no surprises that the next chapter also follows a boxing story-line. This PG-13 film has gotten a lot of praise for having a compassionate hero to root for. Great movie to watch WITH your older tweens and teens.
Nominated for:
Animated Feature Film
Original Screenplay (Screenplay by Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley; Original story by Pete Docter, Ronnie del Carmen)
All the feels, all the emotions! The movie many of us parents probably saw multiple times in 2015!
Nominated for:
Best Picture
Best Actor (Matt Damon)
Sound Design (Paul Massey, Mark Taylor and Mac Ruth)
Production Design (Arthur Max (Production Design); Celia Bobak (Set Decoration))
Visual Effects (Richard Stammers, Anders Langlands, Chris Lawrence and Steven Warner)
Adapted Screenplay (Drew Goddard)
Based on a popular novel, The Martian is a PG-13 movie that is just barely out of PG territory. If you have a sci-fi or space loving kiddo who has navigated intergalactic movies without stress, they may love this film. There are two things for parents to love: there are no bad guys and the entire movie is about problem solving.
Nominated for: Animated Feature Film
My son and I saw this film the weekend it came out and laughed for the entire movie. It is sweet and silly and charming and goofy. There is no dialogue in the film and it is oddly refreshing.
Nominated for:
Sound Editing (Matthew Wood and David Acord)
Sound Mixing (Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson)
Film Editing (Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey)
Original Score (John Williams)
Visual Effects (Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Chris Corbould)
These are perfect nominations for this visceral family film. While the story and the performances were on point, it was the feeling of being there that made the new Star Wars such a blast. SO much of that has to do with great editing and mixing. (Dolby has a good way to explain the difference between sound mixing and sound editing - and they even use R2-D2 as a reference.)
Nominated for:
Best Actor (Michael Fassbender)
Best Supporting Actress (Kate Winslet)
If you are an iDevice household, your tweens and teens may be interested to know some history behind their accessories. There have been many (so many) recent movies about Jobs, but Fassbender’s portrayal has been lauded as the best. This film is one of the only ones that brings up Jobs’s (non)relationship with his daughter and could spark some good at home conversations.
Nominated for: Animated Feature Film
This is rumored to be the final film from the genius animator, Hayao Miyazaki. I’ve been a fan of Miyazaki’s work for years, but this film seems to have more mature themes than his earlier work (Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle.)
The winners will be announced when the Oscars air February 28.
Dresden Shumaker is a writer, advocate, and appreciator of (butterless) movie popcorn. She chronicles her adventures in single parenting on CreatingMotherhood.
