Five Fairy Tale Movies for Young Kids

Early childhood is a magical time, as well as a great time to introduce fairy tales. Children ages 2-6, particularly girls, might gravitate towards the colors, music, and characters in animated Disney films, but most of these explore ideas or contain content that are a bit too mature for them. If their child is too young to understand a concept, parents can't really talk to them about it. 

Using Common Sense Media as a resource, I found five simple, lighthearted, and nonviolent fairy tale movies, rated as 4+ and under, for parents to introduce to young children. Here they are:

Sesame Street: Abby in Wonderland (3+)

In this Sesame Street special, Elmo reads Abby Cadabby Alice in Wonderland. Abby then chases an Elmo-like rabbit down a rabbit hole-as Alice does in the original story. This film, with no offensive content, serves as a great introduction to the Alice in Wonderland story. 

VeggieTales: The Penniless Princess (4+)

This VeggieTales adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess has faith-based themes. As in the book, Sara Crewe starts out rich but is forced to move to rags. VeggieTales: The Penniless Princess is a great film to teach young children about internal, rather than external, worth. 

Secret of the Wings (4+)

This Disney film brings Tinker Bell with Periwinkle in the Winter woods and unites them on a mission to help Pixie Hollow. Secret of the Wings is a great tale of sisterhood to introduce before Frozen. 

Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure (4+)

This sequel to the first Tinker Bell movie goes more into her temper issues, which affect her task to make a sceptre holding a moonstone and then travel to a faraway land. Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure is a great film to inspire kids to overcome their limitations in the face of challenging tasks. 

Zog (3+)

This picture book adaptation follows the titular dragon becoming a better dragon-and there is at least one princess in it. Its 26-minute runtime makes this film perfect for the youngest of children.

What fairy tale movies would you recommend for children ages 2-6?