Top 10 Children Animations to Foster Courage, Resilience, and Leadership 

In the past, Disney fairy tales for girls such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderalla, and the Beast, and Sleeping Beauty give the message that “it is only by marrying Prince Charming can one LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER.” The reality of life is not that simple.  The increasing divorce rate is a testament that having an unrealistic expectation of marriage only serves to result in more disappointments and miseries in life.

Happiness is all about self-acceptance and personal empowerment. Women in the 21^st century need to have the inner strength to surmount all types of adversities, the courage to follow one’s aspirations, as well as the spirit of service to contribute back to the community. In other words, women need to be strong and resilient to deal with changing circumstances in order to lead a satisfying and rewarding life.

Mothers who wish to foster the spirit of courage, resilience and leadership in their daughters can choose to let their daughters watch the following top 10 children animations (Disney and Non-Disney):

Animation #1 – Leap!

In 19th century France, a young orphan girl named Félicie harboured the dream of becoming a ballerina, while her best friend, Victor, wanted to become an inventor. Both of them hatched a plan to escape from the orphanage to Paris where Félicie joined Opera Ballet School by chance. Then, she met a former ballerina, Odette, who became her mentor and coach teaching her the ballet skills and techniques. Eventually, Félicie worked hard and was selected as the prima ballerina to perform on stage.

Values: Dare to dream and pursue your passion with faith and diligence

Animation #2 – Epic

Mary Katherine, M.K., moved in with her eccentric father, Professor Bomba, who had been doing research on the tiny humanoid called Leafman. She had an argument with her father and decided to leave him as she did not believe in the value of his research. Before leaving, Bomba’s dog, Ozzy, went into the woods and she followed suit. While looking for Ozzy, she saw the tiny humanoid Queen Tara falling from sky. At that moment, the dying Queen Tara used her remaining power to shrink M.K. into tiny humanoid and instructed M.K. to give the pod to a Glowworm called Nim Galuu. M.K. embarked on an adventure of helping the tiny humanoid complete the mission of Queen Tara’s succession. Her tiny friends such Ronin, Nod, Mub, and Grub managed to defeat the villians, Mandrake and Boggans, and successfully enabled the lotus pod to bloom in the moonlight at the Moonhaven. Once the mission was completed, M.K. returned to her original size and went on to patch the broken relationship with her father.

Values: Love is understanding, trust, non-judgment, and acceptance.

Buy Epic DVD

Animation #3 – Brave

This is a story of princess Merida who mended the broken relationship with her mother after she caused her mother to magically transform into a bear.

Theme: Adventure, Magic, Mother-Daughter Relationship

Values: Let go of pride and anger to have the wisdom to perceive the Law of Causality in any actions.

Buy Brave DVD

Animation #4 – Mulan

This is a story of a Chinese girl, Mulan, who sacrificed herself by disguising as a man to serve the military service on behalf of her elderly father.

Theme: Courage, Sacrifice, Father-Daughter Relationship

Values: Summon the courage and grit to defy the rules to protect your loved ones.

Buy Mulan DVD

Animation #5 – Frozen 

This is a story of sisterly love between Elsa and Anna, as well as Elsa’s journey of fear and eventual acceptance of her inherent supernatural power.

Theme: Self-Acceptance, Sacrifice, Sisterly Love

Values: Love is sacrifice and self-acceptance.

Buy Frozen DVD

Animation #6 – The Princess and the Frog 

This is a story of Tiana who was transformed into a frog and went through a series of adventure before finally meeting her life partner and realizing her dream of opening a restaurant.

Theme: Perseverance, Tenacity, and Diligence

Values: All dreams can come true if we choose to have true love in our hearts.

Buy Princess and the Frog DVD

Animation #7 – Anastasia

This is a story of how the orphan, Anastasia, who found her long-lost family members as well as the true love of man who cherishes her, not for her wealth and power, but for who she is as a person.

Theme: Family, Love, Trust

Values: Family is the sanctuary of love.

Buy Anastasia DVD

Animation #8 – Zootopia

This is an animation of how a wise and kind-hearted bunny, Judy Hopps, overcome the discrimination based on her “race” as a bunny to realize her childhood dream of becoming an outstanding cop in Zootopia (euphemism for Utopia), a land in which preys and predators lived harmoniously together. She herself had also overcome her unfair judgment against foxes who used to bully her in her childhood years. During the course of her work, she encountered Nick Wilde, a tax-evading streetwise fox, who became her partner in cracking the dicey case of the missing predators. In the end, Judy found out that the gentle-speaking major, the sheep, was the mastermind behind prey-supremacist conspiracy.

Values: Ambition and the sense of justice drive the spirit of excellence and commitment to serve the community.

Buy Zootopia DVD

Animation #9 – Moana 

This is a story of how Moana returned the heart in the form of pounamu stone to the goddess of Te Fiti, so as to heal the ocean and the homeland.

Theme: Adventure, Folklore, Courage

Values: Follow your heart’s calling to lead and accomplish monumental achievements.

Buy Moana DVD

Animation #10 – Spirited Away

This is a story of the little Japanese girl, Chihiro, who was transformed from a timid to a brave and confident girl after going through the adventure of saving her parents who were magically transformed into pigs in the spirit world.

Theme: Adventure, Magic, Courage

Values: Adversity polishes and sculpts the character of a person.

Buy Spirited Away DVD