In this episode, Becky and Taina dive into the world of children’s movies and TV shows that offer more than just fluff. From revisiting nostalgic favorites to exploring newer releases, they discuss how these stories tackle complex themes like grief, emotions, family dynamics, and representation. Whether you're looking for media to watch with your kids or hoping to heal your inner child, this conversation is packed with insights into the deeper layers of children's programming and its impact on adults and kids alike.
Discussed in This Episode:
- Avatar: The Last Airbender: Exploring its complex storytelling, themes of war, and whitewashing controversies.
- Where the Wild Things Are: A heartfelt movie review and its emotional resonance, especially for those dealing with grief or feelings of being misunderstood.
- Inside Out and Inside Out 2: Teaching kids (and adults) about emotional intelligence and understanding anxiety.
- Turning Red: Celebrating mother-daughter relationships and a refreshing absence of romantic subplots in animated films.
- Moana: Themes of female empowerment, righteous rage, and reclaiming personal identity.
- Soul: Pixar’s unique take on addressing grief and the meaning of life in a kid-friendly way.
- A Little Princess: A nostalgic favorite with an analysis of its themes of loss, resilience, and family.
- Magic School Bus: Making science fun and accessible for kids through immersive storytelling.
- The importance of diverse representation in children's media and the cultural impact of better storytelling.
- How children’s media can aid in healing the inner child in adults.
Resources Mentioned:
Call to Action:
What’s your favorite children’s movie or show that tackles big themes? Did we miss one of your go-to recommendations? Email us at
MessyLiberation@gmail.com.
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What is Messy Liberation: Feminist Conversations about Politics and Pop Culture?
Join feminist coaches Taina Brown and Becky Mollenkamp for casual (and often deep) conversations about business, current events, politics, pop culture, and more. We’re not perfect activists or allies! These are our real-time, messy feminist perspectives on the world around us.
This podcast is for you if you find yourself asking questions like:
• Why is feminism important today?
• What is intersectional feminism?
• Can capitalism be ethical?
• What does liberation mean?
• Equity vs. equality — what's the difference and why does it matter?
• What does a Trump victory mean for my life?
• What is mutual aid?
• How do we engage in collective action?
• Can I find safety in community?
• What's a feminist approach to ... ?
• What's the feminist perspective on ...?
Taina Brown: Hi!
Becky Mollenkamp: Hi. What are we talking about today? Here, let's pull back the curtain and say that we've been talking for 10 minutes about what we’re going to talk about. We finally narrowed in on a topic that's evergreen, something we can run any old time. Honestly, I think it came from me throwing out ideas that were much too big and heavy.
Taina Brown: Yeah.
Becky Mollenkamp: We could have talked about those, but I think we just want a distraction. If you’re in the place of needing a distraction, this episode will be good for you. So, what are we talking about?
Taina Brown: We’re talking about children's movies or TV shows that we either enjoyed as kids and why we enjoyed them or ones we enjoy now as adults and why there's still that connection. Why we still identify with some of the children's programming that’s out there.
Becky Mollenkamp: And maybe also things that talk about bigger issues than you might expect from traditional kids’ programming. If you have kids, these might be good to watch with them, depending on their age. You can feel like you're not just showing them fluff, but there's actually some meat to it that handles bigger issues.
Taina Brown: Or, if you feel like your inner child needs a little healing, these might be some good things to put on your list.
Becky Mollenkamp: Yes. It started because you brought up something I had never seen or even heard of.
Taina Brown: I was shocked.
Becky Mollenkamp: This will probably show my age, which is fine because that’s just a recurring theme for us. Tell people what it is and about it because I don’t know.
Taina Brown: It’s Avatar: The Last Airbender, not the blue people. It was an animated series on Nickelodeon in the early aughts. It’s evolved into multimedia—there are comics with side stories. M. Night Shyamalan made a live-action movie years ago, maybe 2007 or 2008, and it was awful. Really, really bad. The animated series had characters who were Asian or First Nations Indigenous people. In the live-action version, the cast was whitewashed. There was backlash about that. Also, the story was chopped up and didn’t make sense. Shyamalan was not the best choice.
Becky Mollenkamp: He messed it up. Tell people what he messed up—what makes it resonate with you?
Taina Brown: The storytelling was amazing. I’ve rewatched the animated series 12, 13, maybe 25 times. The fans connect to it because the characters are complicated. They have growth. Most of the main characters are kids between 10 and 16 who are out to save the world. It addresses complexity—how children respond to war, poverty, friendships, and toxic family relationships. That was missing in the live-action version. It felt like it was just trying to be a blockbuster with special effects. The premise involves characters who can bend natural elements. There are earthbenders, airbenders, waterbenders, and firebenders. Some people can’t bend at all. If you’re born in the earth tribe, you might be an earthbender. If your parents were benders, the gene may pass to you, but your bending style could differ.
The Avatar is like the Dalai Lama—the spiritual leader of all four nations. They’re reincarnated each time one dies. The Avatar learns all four bending styles and keeps things in balance and harmony. The current Avatar in the series is an airbender. Airbenders are pacifists, vegans, the hippie granola group. This 10-12-year-old kid, the Avatar, wakes up 100 years after being frozen in an iceberg and has to end a war. How does a pacifist end a war? How do you build a community around you to do that? The relationships the kids build throughout the series are really interesting.
Becky Mollenkamp: I may check it out. I’m going to throw in my nomination, which is Where the Wild Things Are. I loved the book by Maurice Sendak as a kid. When they made the movie, I was nervous because I loved the book. I was blown away by the movie. Spike Jonze directed it, and I know it was divisive. Some people didn’t like it, but I thought it was one of the most beautiful stories. He captured how children feel. It wasn’t a movie with a ton of dialogue. It relied heavily on mood, music, color, and atmosphere to communicate emotion. It felt like a child’s world—experiencing an inner world they can’t fully express. He did an incredible job of communicating that.
I lost my brother to an overdose, and he reminds me so much of the kid in this story. He was troubled, had rage, and challenges, but the movie handled him with depth, understanding, and care. It made you understand him. That’s my pitch for Where the Wild Things Are. Love it.
Taina Brown: I loved it too. I related to Max because of his underlying anger and frustration. I remember in the book, his mom tells him he’s going to bed without dinner. When he comes back from the island, there’s food waiting for him. It’s such a gesture of care and kindness. The movie felt like walking through the book. It’s very visual, multi-sensory. The monsters are projections of Max. He’s on a journey coming to terms with ugly feelings, accepting them, and learning to move on.
Becky Mollenkamp: I think it speaks to what we do to boys around emotions. We tell them they’re not allowed to have feelings. Max starts to understand it’s okay to have all these feelings, to welcome them as part of himself. I loved that the movie gave more fullness to the mother’s story—showing her stress and her small ways of fixing things. It doesn’t dismiss the damage it does to kids, though. I’m going to rewatch it. It’s been years, but I love it.
Taina Brown: You should. I might buy the book. I feel like I need to have it.
Becky Mollenkamp: My kids read it, but we haven’t watched the movie yet. If you’re healing your inner child, it’s great. For kids, though, it might feel slow or scary.
Can I bring up Inside Out and Inside Out 2? They do such a fabulous job of helping kids understand emotions. Apparently, in Brene Brown’s Atlas of the Heart, she found the average number of emotions most people can identify is three: sad, happy, and angry. Inside Out gives kids language for emotions, and the new one adds more depth for tweens, including anxiety. I’ve never felt more seen in a movie. There’s a scene about a panic attack that captures what’s happening in my brain. It’s loving and understanding. It’s beautiful. If you know someone with anxiety, it’s worth watching for empathy.
Taina Brown: I haven’t seen the new one yet, but the first one felt like a 90-minute therapy session. It’s targeted at kids but helps adults understand their emotions and why they feel the way they do. Disney consulted child psychologists for both films. You can see the effort they put in.
Becky Mollenkamp: The new one adds more mature feelings because she’s becoming a teenager. I was shocked by how much I loved it. My son liked it even more than the first. If you or someone you know has anxiety, it’s a must-see. I think it gives people a level of empathy in a digestible way.
Taina Brown: I’ll add it to my list. My last one is Moana. She has an amazing relationship with her grandmother, which I relate to. There’s no love interest. She’s trying to save her people while staying true to herself and her values. The scene where she restores the angry goddess by validating her feelings was incredible—a depiction of a woman harmed and then healed. Disney did a beautiful job with it.
Becky Mollenkamp: And the music is great. Dwayne Johnson was funny in it. Did you know they’re making a new one?
Taina Brown: Yes, it’s supposed to come out in November. I’m excited.
Becky Mollenkamp: I’ll throw out a live-action one: Akeelah and the Bee. It centers a young Black girl and her intelligence as she goes after her dream. There aren’t enough movies showing Black kids excelling without it being about overcoming trauma. I’ll also mention Punky Brewster. As a kid, I loved her spunk and confidence—rare traits in media at the time.
Taina Brown: I immediately thought of The Magic School Bus. Ms. Frizzle was a quirky, interesting teacher who took kids on science adventures. It’s such a great way to teach science by putting kids into the story.
Becky Mollenkamp: Mr. Rogers was one of my favorites too. Young kids today are lucky because media is doing a better job of representing differences. There’s still a long way to go, but there are more options now. I’m grateful to creators for putting thoughtful work into the world. Let us know what we missed—maybe we’ll do a part two! Thank you for listening!