海角大神

The best children鈥檚 movies work equally well for grown-ups. Almost nothing is more inspiriting than seeing a great movie as a wide-eyed youngster and then, years later, rewatching it as an adult and experiencing the same joy all over again. The experience is validating, as if, despite all we may have lived through, there remains within us that same astonished child. For this latest column of comfort movies, I thought I would single out听three听of my favorites, all readily accessible, that both fulfill the children鈥檚 movie genre and triumphantly transcend it.

[Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service,听all our coronavirus coverage听is free. No paywall.]

鈥淭he Red Balloon鈥�

Albert Lamorisse鈥檚 1956 鈥淭he Red Balloon鈥� is so firmly entrenched in the timeless classic category that it may come as a shock to revisit it and realize it鈥檚 every bit as marvelous as you remembered. To see the film in the company of a child who has never seen it before is a special blessing. Few children鈥檚 movies have elicited as much instant love. In fact, I suspect 鈥淭he Red Balloon鈥� is one of the rare movies that could justifiably lay claim to creating movie lovers for life.听(鈥淓.T.鈥� is certainly another one, and I鈥檒l get to a few of the others in a moment.)听

At a brisk听34 minutes, with almost no dialogue, 鈥淭he Red Balloon鈥� manages to encompass a vast swath of childhood experience without seeming in any way overladen or overblown. It has the logic, and the lyricism, of a fanciful child鈥檚 dream, and yet the film is rooted in the very real world of post-war France 鈥� specifically the gray, drab neighborhood of M茅nilmontant on the outskirts of Paris.

The plot, at least in the telling, is simple: A little boy of perhaps 6 (played by the director鈥檚 son Pascal) is mysteriously befriended by a big lollipop-red helium balloon that floats above him everywhere. Its shiny redness rebukes the neighborhood鈥檚 grayness. It follows him to school (the headmaster is not amused), to his home (his mother is even less amused), and to church (where boy, balloon, and mom are shown the door). In one of the film鈥檚 most magical scenes, the boy passes a little girl on the sidewalk with a big blue balloon and, for a brief, romantic moment, both balloons enact a little midair duet. (An added grace note: The little girl is played by Lamorisse鈥檚 daughter, Sabine.)

Lamorisse doesn鈥檛 deny the frights of childhood. When a gang of schoolyard bullies brings down the balloon, the scene for me was as sorrowful as that moment in 鈥淐ast Away鈥� when Tom Hanks is irreparably separated from 鈥淲ilson,鈥� the soccer ball that is also his sole desert island companion. But all is blissfully righted in the final scene, as thousands of balloons are suddenly released into the air, wafting the little boy high into the sky. It鈥檚 a poetically perfect ending to a perfect movie. (Unrated)

鈥淭he Black Stallion鈥�

Equal in entrancement to Lamorisse鈥檚听masterpiece is Carroll Ballard鈥檚 1979听鈥淭he Black Stallion,鈥� a ravishing rendition of the Walter Farley novel. Kelly Reno plays Alec, who is shipwrecked on a deserted island with the magnificent Arabian stallion he dubs 鈥淭he Black.鈥� The oceanside scene where they warily warm to each other, shot by cinematographer Caleb Deschanel in glimmering shafts of reflected light, is peerless. Rescued, brought back home, boy and horse are inseparable. A retired jockey, played by Mickey Rooney in his finest performance, sets them up for the heart-pounding big race that closes out the film. From first image to last, Ballard sustains the story with surpassing grace. No other film has captured quite so well the transcendent bond that can exist between people and the animals they love. (Rated G)

鈥淎 Little Princess鈥�

I would be remiss if I finished out this column without mentioning 鈥淎 Little Princess,鈥� Alfonso Cuar贸n鈥檚听1995听adaptation of the Frances Hodgson Burnett novel that had earlier been filmed with Shirley Temple. On its simplest level, it鈥檚 about little darlings in a Victorian gothic girls鈥� boarding school in 1914, but it soon turns into a resplendent fantasia. I championed the film when it came out, writing that 鈥渢he filmmakers want us to perceive the fundament of magic in the everyday, and how that magic can sustain one鈥檚 spirit.鈥� For children of all ages, there is no better time for this film than now. (Rated G)

These films听are available for rent from Amazon鈥檚 Prime Video and iTunes. 鈥淭he Black Stallion鈥� and 鈥淎 Little Princess鈥� can also be rented from Google Play. 鈥淭he Red Balloon鈥� may also be borrowed through some public library systems with Kanopy.听听