I always have a moment of

Fuck the What?

... and yet I love it anyway.

Avatar is totally cool, but you should go with My Neighbor Totoro for that age. My niece is completely smitten with it, much to my delight. I got it for her for Christmas. Her birthday is coming up in Sept. (3 years old already!) and I've bought her a big ass stuffed Totoro. She is going to freak out.

Once you go through Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service is a great next step.

I never even thought "Fuck the What?" even when I had no idea what it meant. Weird.

Edit: I also love that this conversation is about kid-friendly movies that will make kids be awesome. Based on my own experience, I will simply suggest keeping The Shining out of all children's grasp until they are pubescent, unless you want to create at least a decade of nightmares.

I also second the Totoro rec, and will be introducing it myself at the appropriate time. It has the added bonus of not being annoying to adults who may be forced to watch it several thousand times in the company of a toddler.

This is true. I speak from experience. However, after ~1,632 viewings since last October, I could go another year or so without seeing it again, given my druthers.

My mom was saying the same thing about Totoro. It isn't loud and irritating like a lot of children's fair. I watched it about 4 times at the beach with the niece last week and it was wonderful (watching her get wrapped up in it, helping the seeds grow, so damned adorable). I can imagine how another few hundred would begin to grate. I'm going to pick up Kiki's for her next for sure.

Totoro is especially good for very young kids. Nothing is particularly scary. Not a lot happens, really. It's a very calm and enchanting movie.

Chez Zmayhem probably re-watches Porco Rosso more than any other Miyazaki.

From an LA Times article about changes at NewLine:

Eager to move ahead with "The Hobbit," New Line has quietly been trying to mend fences with "Rings" filmmaker Peter Jackson, who has sued the company over his share of profits from the first "Rings" films. When asked if it was true that company insiders had been in talks with Jackson's reps, Shaye replied, "Yes, that's a fair statement. Notwithstanding our personal quarrels, I really respect and admire Peter and would love for him to be creatively involved in some way in 'The Hobbit.' "

Moving ahead with "The Hobbit" would tie in to another pivotal New Line issue: In an era when Hollywood is deluged with equity money, will Shaye and Lynne make a run at buying back New Line from Time Warner? Shaye's response was worthy of a U.N. diplomat: "We have not expressed that point of view publicly. And if we ever do, [Time Warner chiefs] Dick Parsons and Jeff Bewkes would be the first to know about it."

Stardust is getting good reviews, and some comparisons to Princess Bride.

Nobody's quite loving Deniro's performance, though.