Gentle Readers, I have hit a snag. I’m supposed to be writing an article about good wholesome films for girls - you know, the kind you could watch at a 10-12-year-old’s sleepover and not have parents ringing up later wanting to know why little Maisie is gibbering in the closet or where Susan learned That Word. Nudity-free, decapitation-free, the cinematic equivalent of organic grass-fed pastured beef.
Trouble is, I can’t think of any.
So far I’ve got Singin’ in the Rain, The Sound of Music, Pollyanna and Anne of Green Gables - the sorts of films it takes a particular type of modern 12-year-old to stomach, and even then I’m a bit dubious about the cake scene in Singin’ in the Rain. So I thought of adding some more recent, snazzy fare. But nope. Ever After? Has a bad word. The Disney/Pixar films? Most 12-year-old girls would probably think they were too babyish (not being old enough to know better), and besides, they do tend to have a fair amount of violence and even suggestiveness in them. Plus, a lot of parents are anti-Disney. Then there’s The Princess Bride, but nope, bad word again; or Labyrinth, but nope, David Bowie’s trousers. In despair I went back to the oldies, but even the cheesiest musicals I could think of have distinctly dubious elements. I briefly considered The King and I, Oklahoma! and The Wizard of Oz (no good, magic and witches, somebody would be bound to object) before giving up and pounding out an article on media portrayals of fat people, about which I am currently disputing Suite101’s editor on whether it constitutes an opinion piece.
So. Thoughts? I am looking in the 10-12ish category, so no Beatrix Potter, however immaculate. Something fun, girly or less girly as you please, but no guns, in which all the characters are clad neck to knee and say “Oh bother” when disaster strikes. Anyone?
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