What’s Your Family’s Favourite Disney Movie?

Movies have a wonderful ability to bond people. That shared moment of hiding behind the covers at “the scary bit”, wiping tears away at “the sad part” or belting your lungs out to the chorus of your favourite songs!

We have all got our favourite films – ones that bring us together as a family, puts a momentary calm on sibling rivalry and generally makes the world a happier place. Inspired by the new release of Disney/Pixar’s Coco, a heartwarming movie about appreciating different cultures and the importance of family traditions that transcend generations, we asked around to find out which movies were your favourites for some family bonding. One family watches a particular show to remember their late daddy, another gets the whole clan together from grandmas to kids for their annual Christmas decorating session!

The Movie: New Disney/Pixar Movie: Coco (in cinemas 23 November 2017)
Coco is a big, universal comedy-adventure filled with magic and heart, that makes great family watching for kids (and adults) of all ages. Despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music, Mexican Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician. Miguel’s plight takes him on a colourful adventure to the Land of the Dead and back to unlock the real story behind his family history. Watch the trailer here!

Click through our gallery for the family stories pumped up by great Disney films that have stood the test of time, plus check out the brand new, heartwarming Disney/Pixar’s release, Coco, coming to cinemas 23 November!

movies.disney.sg/coco

The Movie: Mary Poppins, the magical classic story of a nanny who brings a family back together.
Family Moment: We watch Mary Poppins every Christmas when we are decorating the Christmas tree together as a family – grandma, grandpa, daddy, myself and the kids. The kids love Mary Poppins as it is all about the importance of spending time together as a family – something that Christmas is all about for us.
– Su

The Movie: We love Moana – the animated story of a Polynesian girl who tries to save her island. This is a story of empowerment and of appreciating cultural diversity that the whole family – my 9 year old boy and 6 year old girl plus mama and dad too, love.
Family Moment: The boys share one sofa, the girls the other and we all sing along on a Sunday night with our favourite treat to nibble on. Sometimes we even close all the doors and put the air con on to make it all cosy. The girls sing along to “your welcome” and Daddy and Bertie love the evil drab crab singing “shiny”! And even though we have seen it around 15 times we still laugh at the stupid chicken Heihei especially when he eats stones. The movie is real family bonding time in our house!
– George

The Movie: I know every single word to every single iconic song from all the Disney classics (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, to The Lion King) but Beauty and the Beast is my hands-down favourite.
Family Moment: I watch this with my toddler and it brings about so many important messages. For one, Belle was a badass heroine (who wasn’t a princess, thank you very much): she was smart, didn’t care what anybody thought of her, and stood up to bullies. Lumiere and Mrs. Potts are among my favourite sidekick characters, and Be Our Guest is definitely a top 5 favourite song. I’ve loved sharing the songs with my daughter; we watch clips of all them on YouTube (she refers to the opening number, “Belle”, as “the one where Belle goes shopping”) and sing along in the car as well. And even though Belle isn’t a princess, she still wears a beautiful dress (which rates in kid’s book). Plus from a toddler’s perspective, Gaston is a bit less scary as a villain compared to Ursula, Jafar or Scar.

– Kate

The Movie: We pull out the Disney classics only at Christmas. It’s nostalgia for me but my kids love watching and singing along to Mary Poppins, Bed Knobs and Broomsticks, and more recently, Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe. Such classics!
Family Moment: I have great memories watching these when I was younger, on a cold winter’s evening with a crackling fire and a cup of hot chocolate. To me these movies equate a very special family bonding time with my kids at Christmas . It’s also an excuse to dig into a box of Quality Streets and Popcorn!
– Andrea

The Movie: The original Cinderella – because my daughter is obsessed with it and replays it 100 times.
Family Moment: We don’t bond during the actual movie, funnily enough, but we actually bond when my daughter re-enacts Cinderella for the millionth time (something my sister and I used to do too when we were young). I now get to play the role of the prince, the stepmother, the fairy godmother, you name it. I’ve played it all. And we have so much fun (until mommy says ok that’s enough Cinderella for today). Always makes for a lot of giggles for me and my little girl.
– Nadia 

The Movie: The Lion King – an animated feature that doesn’t shy away from tricky facts of life like death.
Family Moment:  My kids lost their dad when they were young and we watched The Lion King a lot those years afterwards. Although my kids are older now – once a year usually around Christmas we will all pile in together and rewatch this classic. Watching The Lion King gave my kids an opportunity to reconcile the difficult, complicated emotions that come with the grieving process. Like Simba, they experienced not only sadness but the full gamut of emotions – anger, frustration, even guilt. Being able to see these emotions on the screen gave us an avenue to talk about the grieving process, and to remember that their dad would always be with them in spirit. Rewatching The Lion King has become a family tradition – a ritual to remember their dad and to bond us as an albeit smaller family unit.

– Jo