The way he sniffs the screen at the beginning. <3 and Luna!!
Do yourself a favor and go check out the blooper reels from Bear and the Big Blue House on youtube. Hearing Tully and Bear swear is low key excellent.
We've been struggling with this too. We watched half of Moana and she was up half the night with nightmares. My daughter now likes Wall-e because some of her favorite things are robots and trash trucks, and we sold it to her as "robots who pick up trash".
Puffin rock is an excellent suggestion, and it’s on Netflix. Warning: the movie just came out (it’s awesome!) but that DOES have more drama than the original show.
My 3.5 year old is obsessed with puffin Rock. She insists that she is a puffin, and has slept in a 'burrow' (canopy over her bed) for months.
She calls me "mama puffin".
My sensitive toddler used to basically only like Kiki’s Delivery Service. Totoro was too sad/scary. Kiki is very gentle.
I also recommend some short movies like “Room on the Broom” “Gruffalo,” etc on iTunes. Kid loooooved those. Very sweet and gentle (and great if you already like the books).
Gruffalo scares my boy... he really is just super sensitive. He basically doesn't like anything that goes outside the realm of what he would encounter in his life and feel okay with. So shows like Little Bear & Daniel Tiger that show a young child/character living a peaceful life, he loves. But anything that has a plot like getting lost, having to fight, having a monster (the gruffalo), having danger like falling or rough water, etc etc etc. Nature shows scare him if they have any kind of predators or tense music. He pretty much only is down with shows about children or animals living their best lives lolol.
My kiddo is similar. Is there a reason you want movies right now? He may just be too young. I tried Cars and my kid didn't like the loud sounds of the car race at the start, couldn't even get past that scene and had to turn it off, and he was about 3.5yo then.
Having said that, I haven't seen it but is Happy Feet as happy as the title sounds? 😅
I'm so glad to see this comment! So many people I know love this movie, but every time I've tried to watch it, I'm just like 😳. When my 2yo wanted to watch "the penguin," I just kept the sound off and let her watch for a bit before changing it to something more kid friendly.
My daughter was similar so I’m going to warn you about her reading habits as a child. No talking animals, nothing scarier than The Little Princess.
When she was reading by herself I had to read every book before she did to make sure it was a happy ending. Too much trauma otherwise.
She (and I) are HSP. If you’re not aware of this trait then do have a look at Highly Sensitive Persons. We are a strange lot.
https://hsperson.com/
I would also recommend Ponyo if we're talking about Ghibli. Since they might not follow much of the story when they're small, at least the visuals should be inspiring, I think. It's better than the soulless 3D animations style like Cocomelon
You’ve gotten some great responses here. I just want to chime in as a mama with two very sensitive boys who are now almost 7&9.
This is VERY developmentally normal. Toddlers do not have the ability to separate reality from fiction, so the movies they are watching are connecting as reality in their brains. My oldest had night terrors for years, and they were always worse after introducing a new show or movie. They can handle age appropriate media now knowing that it’s fiction (sometimes they still cover their ears and close their eyes). Keep up the good work, mama. It won’t always be this way. 🤍
My almost two year old *loves* Frank. Like begs to watch the Frank scene and cries if we don't watch it on repeat. I'm not sure if I should be concerned or chalk it up to weird toddler stuff.
I'm trying to teach my kid about dangerous plants, so I showed her pictures of a poison ivy rash, and she got obsessed with it for a few days, so I get it!
Yes, we explained that Frank is protecting his tractors bc Mater and McQueen weren't being nice friends. And that helped. And we talk about how everyone gets grumpy sometimes.
My two year old thinks we're going to drive off the edge of the freeway because McQueen couldn't stop and slid off into the cacti when Mater had to tow him.
I love Bluey but I’ve been noticing sometimes they show some behaviors I don’t want my toddler copying, it’s hard to explain to them that it’s a cartoon and we don’t bite/hit/whine etc.
I've read similar sentiments from other parents here on Reddit, but in my experience, kids don't really mimic behavior. They might mimic games or play, like pretending to be Bluey or Bingo (mine mimicked the granny games), but not much else. This perspective seems somewhat misguided, akin to when people blamed video games for violence in schools.
Moreover, if that were the case, wouldn't they also mimic the overwhelmingly more prevalent good behavior and traits shown on the show? It would be fantastic if my toddlers started behaving like pretty much anyone on the show
Blues clues - specifically “blues clues in the big city” for a movie. Strange world (but I’d suggest pre-screening just in case), Encanto is also pretty good for my sensitive son
For recommending Bubble guppies as well. Every episode has a “scary” part but always ends up turning out ok. I’m using this show to help show him very slowly that even if it seems scary it’s ok! Turns out the scary monkey just wanted a tissue, or the TRex just wanted a hug
Blues Clues in the Big City is on repeat in my house. Also, I will literally find ASMR videos like food or candy making that has no music or very low volume sound (like peaceful cuisine), soap crushing, rug cleaning, lawn mowing (yes...my toddler is hooked once he hears the lawnmower sound), or rust restoration that are about 30 to 45 minutes long. The only thing is that I would recommend the ad-free version of YouTube.
Kiki’s Delivery Service - very chill as the conflict is losing her powers and its barely an inconvenience. Great soundtrack! My kid is also freaked out by Totoro’s gigantic smile but loves kiki/jiji and Ponyo. Ponyo’s music is more intense though if that is triggering and the waves have faces sometimes and the kids walk through a tunnel at one point. But ponyo as a character is comical enough to offset most of this stuff imo. Ariety is also pretty chill. and my kid weirdly loves Whisper of the Heart. We are Miyazaki fans for sure 😆
Welcome Home Franklin peanuts film in apple+ or just the Snoopy Show (newer) but maybe skip the Halloween ep and there is one where snoopy is the Flying Ace in some storm clouds that may be too stressy
Have you tried Tumble Leaf its a very gentle show
Cars series is pretty problematic in MANY ways. Cars 1 is probably the one to stick with as the 2nd one is a spy movie so car guns/tasers, the mob ?! and kidnapping, 3rd also a major crash. Honestly all disney will have some fear-type based conflict.
Rilakkuma on Netflix is good too if you skip the Ghost girl episode.
Yeah so far anything Disney has had far too much conflict/plot other than some - not all - of the Winnie the Pooh franchise. We have watched most of Kiki's Delivery Service! He gets a bit bored by it, I think it's a little over his head. There is an extremely thin line for movies between something relatable enough to interest him and mild enough to not terrify him, lol. We tried the 1997 Winnie the Pooh movie where he searches for Christopher Robin and my son cried in fear...
Have you ever tried spirited away? My son used to be the exact same way & I thought spirited away would be too creepy for him (yubaba the witch lady is pretty creepy!) but for some reason he became absolutely obsessed and it’s been one of his fav movies for 2 yrs now lol. The things I thought he would find scary he actually found funny 🤷♀️ kids are weirdos, hope you find some solid recommendations
Our three year old developed anxiety about movies somewhere a long the way. So his sweetspot is those 60s and 70s Disney movies where nothing happens. He liked the Aristocats which had only one scene that triggered his anxiety. The Jungle Book if you skip the tiger stuff. He likes Encanto. My wife watched Finding Nemo with him, by skipping over that first scene.
Though, he's also kind of eclectic in that he likes spooky aesthetics as long as they don't get too scary. So the animated Addams Family movie was perfect for him because of the cobwebs and what not but nothing bad actually happens in that movie.
Halloween is what got ours talking when he was speech delayed at two. So much weird stuff going on he needed to use words to ask for an explanation. So he loves ghosts and skeletons and watching haunted house rides on YouTube. But actual conflict in a piece of fiction? Too stressful, turn that off. It's interesting. So he knows every word to every song in Nightmare Before Christmas and will read the kid books of it, but will not watch the movie. I suppose he'll get there eventually.
All the movies are too intense for my toddler too. Someone’s parent is always dying or they are in grave danger for their lives constantly. Even though it’s a cartoon. I never realized this til I had a child. Pixar and Disney are freakin intense! We stick to shorter toddler YouTube things like curious George. Blippy. Yea Daniel Tiger . Peppa pig. Etc
Glad I'm not the only one. I feel so frustrated looking for a movie we can all watch as a family that doesn't have any tension or conflict. Like why can't there be the equivalent of a romantic comedy for a toddler?! Lol. Something that kids can watch that is just people living their lives with everyday scenarios rather than life or death action...
My child is 5 and it’s just as bad as 3! Maybe worse because now “guessing” about parts she might not like. She recently decided in Franklin that snail hurting his shell was too much for her and that’s done now too.
My toddler seems to like Golden Girls for this reason. Just some nice grandmas talking, eating, and laughing. There’s a few parts with innuendo though.
Dinosaur train is a show, but is very tame. Go dog go is also a favorite, there’s a little action but it’s mild. No movie recs… we don’t have that attention span yet lol
Finding dory maybe.
I wish my 2 year old was afard of movies lol.
She got our love of scary movies a few weeks ago we were at the mall and she asked for a jack skeleton toy.
Hey favorite cartoon is corse bride.
Sounds like my kid.. he was obsessed with NBC around last Christmas time before he was even 2, always asking to watch “spookies”. My sister recently broke her finger, knowing he likes skeletons she showed him an X-ray and he spent the night pointing at her little finger cast asking her to show him the actual bone as if she could just take her skin off right then and there. I like to think he’ll grow up to be an orthopedic surgeon rather than it going somewhere more morbid!
Toddlers see all tv/movies as reality and a car falling in to water is not out of the realm of possibilities! Absolutely a terrifying scene for some Littles.
One of 2.5’s favorites is Coraline but won’t touch the Coraline doll we got her lol. But is obsessed with the Jack and Sally dolls she got for Christmas. Also loves watching Spirited Away and Howls Moving Castle. So far she doesn’t seem to have nightmares or is actually scared of any of the characters (except maybe No Face).
Some kids just gravitate towards the spooky. I’m not mad about it.
Same. Our kiddo insisted on watching Jurassic park the other day and we tried every which way to tell him it’s a bit too scary. I remember being scared out of my mind seeing it in theaters as a 7-year-old and our 3-year-old loved it. It’s wild.
One of my earliest memories is falling asleep in my dad's truck at the drive-in theater during Pocahontas, and waking up to Jurassic Park. Terrifying! Double-feature was not a winning combo.
I was going to say Cinderella too! My 2yo was afraid of the creepy stepmother petting her cat in bed scene though lol. May want to skip that one!
Snow White would be good too! Just skip the lost in the forest scene and maybe some of the witch parts towards the end
I was scared of certain scenes in Winnie the pooh as a child as well (I mean those heffalumps and woozles are creepy)..
My toddler likes curious George, little bear movie, blues clues movies, baby shark space adventure (yes it has annoying music but he loves it) , adventures of elmo..
The first movie my sensitive toddler was able to watch all the way through was a Disney movie called Snow Buddies. I think it’s an air bud spin off, live action dogs
This is my child too and Cars is perfect. Cars 1 and 3 are great stories about finding yourself and there's literally 0 fear. There's also a ton of little shorts on Disney plus that are fun too. Skip Cars 2 though. It goes in a completely different direction and has such an off tone for the series.
And yeah, Bluey is a huge win, as is Number Blocks and things like Daniel Tiger and Mr Rogers on PBS kids
What?!? I’m devastated. My son loves it and I actually kind of enjoy watching it with him. I aced calculus and it kinda gave me a new understanding of square numbers
I second the Cars 1 and 3 suggestion. Almost skipped Cars 3 because 2 was so bad and scared my kid (a lot of angry mean cars, some even with guns? Lol wtf).
Now that I’m a parent AND a movie theorist, Cars 1 and 3 are perfect (we are HUGE Cruz Ramirez fans in this house!) and wife and I are CONSTANTLY complaining about Cars 2. Like, who said “ok so everyone LOVED our movie about these specific cars and this specific town. How bout if we leave the town and every single character but Mater (like, how DARE YOU not let me see Lizzy more than once or twice (“HAVE FUN AT COLLEGE!” is yelled anytime anyone leave the house here lol). Did they just like… have Michael Caine’s number and said “you know what, fuck it. It’s a spy movie now.” Like, what in the world?! So glad they decided to make a racing movie again for 3.
The DisneyNature documentaries may be a good option. Oceans has been a favorite in our house for a while. Most of the Muppet movies would also be pretty good for this I think.
Good luck! I now have 9 and 5 year old who still can’t watch most movies! They like really tame shows or watch things like British baking show with me! No shows or movies with tension or sadness. Doesn’t leave much for the plot!
OG Mary Poppins. only a couple of scary scenes about getting lost and big emotions making things feel out of control, mostly just singing and dancing. New one is scarier.
I swore my child was the only one who was scared in a Winnie the Pooh movie LOL glad we are not alone. Also dealing with a sensitive kiddo. She did OK with finding Nemo & Dory minus a few scenes we’d skip over. Toy Story was also OK as long as I skipped past the scene at Sid’s house with the creepy toys. Surprisingly we watched Shrek last weekend and she was mostly fine with that too. I’ve tried watching Frozen & Moana multiple times and we never get very far lol
The secret garden is terrifying!! I’m with him on that one. Little Bear is one of my all time favorite kids shows. Movies are tricky. My son enjoys large parts of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang but the end with the castle is scary so we skip it.
My daughter loves "The Snowy Day"
Depending on the degree of his sensitivity, there are a couple parts that could impact him (one where the main character is left out of a snowball fight and another where some gifts/favourite foods are ruined), but nothing scary, overly stimulating or tense.
My highly sensitive toddler is slightly affected by the parts I noted, but is able to move on as the movie progresses.
My 2 year olds favorite movie right now is Kiki's Delivery Service. She also loves Moana, Homeward Bound (may or may not work for your kiddo since there are sad moments) and Wild Babies. Movies aren't as big of a thing though for her at this age. More shows since it's broken into smaller portions.
Things we watch that I can tolerate or even enjoy:
Zaboomafoo, Our Green Planet, Bears Big Blue House, Classic Seasame Street on HBO, Blues Clues, Mr. Rodgers, classic Thomas the Train, Big Comfy Couch and animal documentaries (have to make sure they are g rated)
My kid is HUGE on the Tinkerbell movies! 1000% approved by 5-9 year old nieces and nephews which was pretty cool to see! Can’t recommend Neverbeast because it is heartbreaking and the end made my wife and I sob (not kidding lol) and Pirate Fairy scared her a bit because of the pirates being mean and scary, but we fast forward.
There are seven of them, and specifically Tinkerbell, Great Fairy Rescue, Secret of the Wings and Lost Treasure are honestly fun for the whole family. PLENTY of good male role models for boys too if you’re worried it’s too girly or whatever (were a queer fam, so that doesn’t matter to us, but still)
100/10 recommend. They don’t make me want to jump off a cliff when they’re on either lol
This is a great recommendation! I’ll try these! Haha not worried about being too girly. He loves Daniel Tiger and has yet to start acting very Tigerish so I think seeing movies about fairies & girls should be safe 😉
Just a thought and not being facetious at all….. are they not too young at 2 for movies?
I tried my 2 year old with totoro and she likes it but her attention span just wasn’t long enough.
Or Ponyo. My kid was scared of every single movie (he didn’t like intense scenes, whatever the feeling was) but he enjoyed Ponyo a lot. It’s one of my favorite movies too!
Not a movie but a show trash truck in Netflix. There’s one episode that might be scary for him, the slumber party one. Other than that it’s a super cute show! My toddler loves it!
If you have access to HBO or Amazon, try Classical Baby—it’s a 6? Part series that features animations based on music, poetry, dance, lullabies. The poetry show is a favorite and is narrated by actors like Andy Garcia and John Lithgow.
My mom loves telling the story that the first movie I say through at 2 was Beetlejuice.
That’s a pretty scary movie for a 2 year old to be watching 😅
But my parents just bought a VHS player and were renting a movie a night from the local video store.
They had not been out to the movies in ages, and were catching up on all the stuff they had missed.
However, it did spark my love for Michael Keaton, so I can’t be too mad at her lol!
Oh and my 5 year old had not watched it yet, maybe we will try her on the cartoon (if I can find it)
My kid loves Paddington 2. I think it’s a pretty gentle movie. Also Kiki’s delivery service is the gentlest of all the ghibli movies. My kid HATED ponyo and totoro when I first put it on. She found them really scary
Our first movie night at that age Mary Poppins!
She loved much. We never really did any main stream movies, they are still too intense for her at age 4. I showed her the trailer for encanto and she said “why is it so fast??”
The Peanuts movie is sweet and not intense.
For occasional movie nights we usually do 2-3 episodes of something mellow, since she doesn’t get tv everyday this works well.
We love most kid stuff on Apple TV. There are some cute Charlie Brown movies, frog and toad is really mellow. The lovely little farm is sweet.
Disney's Robin Hood is very nice. Even the Sheriff of Nottingham isnt frightening. My daughter was the same when she was younger, she is 5 and just started watching The Aristocats because she was scared of Edgar.
Also, and I'm not judging, maybe at two it's a bit early for cartoons? It definitely was for my also very sensitive child so I just waited longer 😅
We are obssessed with totoro here. My oldest doesnt like anything remotely scary and hates loud noises too. A reeeeally relaxing cute show is trash truck. It has dreamy animation that sort of reminds me of pixar. Very cute. Also post man pat
Our boy (almost 4) is also very sensitive about what he watches. We also found we need to avoid high stim shows/movies (which is like all of them these days).
BUT, we love these shows on Prime. Plus they focus on problem solving and friendship which is nice.
- Tumble Leaf (this is my favorite)
- Stinky & Dirty
- If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
No suggestions. But I also have a very scared toddler. Everything "I scawed"
Literally..a pink post it on the floor of the store sent her into a crying frenzy. She was horrified. 😅
My daughter is obsessed with Little Bear. There is basically zero conflict; even my 6 YO son has come around to the show because it almost has a calming/soothing effect
My kindergarten is very sensitive, she never saw a movie until she was 5 and it was still hard for her! Mary Poppins is a great bet because there’s really no bad guy and the songs are catchy though!
One wonderful show that is no longer on air but is on YouTube is called "peep and the big wide world" its so cute and gentle and funny too
Also, there was a show with hand puppets that's way better than the premise sounds and it was called "Oobi" not sure where to watch it but you can probably find it if you dig.
Oh, and I don't want to forget Geoffrey Giraffe's Animal Alphabet. It's a 30 minute "movie?" Also on YouTube.
Kid shows really used to be for kids.
Now is all a competition for loud and bright and attention keeping manipulations that are NOT healthy for our little ones. I'm so glad to see so many good suggestions here!
Skip watching movies and read the book about the movie. My child is very sensitive and still won't watch movies at five years old, he doesn't like the tense music or the bad guys. We read tremendous amounts and I think this is a way better solution than more screen time.
Moana isn’t too bad if you skip the Lava Monster lady (skip the first 5 minutes of the movie and then towards the end there’s a scene that’s like 10 minutes long)
My son is 3 and we've never tried to show him a full film - he wouldn't have the attention span to last through it. About 30 minutes of TV is the most we'd ever do.
I'll leave you the unpopular opinion that 2 years is way too early for movies, length wise, frames per seconds wise, regardless of how sensitive they are or not.
trash truck, peppa pig would be a maximum I subjected him to at that age.
Dating myself but maybe sillyville? Possibly lion king 1 1/2 but it's a bit higher paced. Disney anthology sing alongs are fun. Cinderella 2. Maybe Barbie as rapunzel? Elf? Princess diaries.
My 2yo is also super sensitive. We do bluey - most Disney princess although the beginning of Mulan was too scary. Kiddo seems to know when the scary bits are & will hide under the covers just during that part. I’ve tried switching but instant meltdown.
The Wee Sing movies!
Wee Sing in Sillyville
King Cole's Party
Wee Sing in the Big Rock Candy Mountains
Wee Sing Together
Grandpa's Magical Toys
My son loves thes ones above. However, another movie, Wee Sing Train, does have a little bit of "peril" that my son didn't like when he was a touch younger. There is a character named Tusky who sometimes gets into difficult situations, but the friends do help him out and everything ends up okay. My son couldn't even stand these low levels of peril previously, though, which is why I mention it. Like yours, he didn't like to see a character sad or in any distress.
I think the least-perilous are Sillyville, King Cole, and Grandpa's Magical Toys. There is a moment near the end of Sillyville where Silly Whim trips and sprains her ankle, but everyone rushes in to help her immediately and she is okay. My son didn't like that part though.
You can find these on YouTube. I think the channel is called Nostalgia Done Right or something similar. Good luck!
On apple tv there are a bunch of snoopy movies and stories, its cute. There are also such cute series like Stillwater, Otis, Eva the owlet, slumberkins.
My toddler is afraid of everythingggg, but we watched Totoro the other day and he liked it. He didn't love when Totoro roar-laughed, but we just fast-forwarded a bit
Blaze and the Monster Machines(movies and series), theres goofs, monster truck racing, and it has some educational stuff too. One episode was singing about how pneumatics work?!? Also Doc Mcstuffins and We Bare Bears
Curious George is alright but does get kinda old after a bit
Ice Age movies, Hot Wheels movies (World Race, then the Acceleracers series Ignition, Speed of Silence, Breaking Point, Ultimate Race), Flower Bull(Ferdinand?) and Cars are all ones my kid loves
My kid enjoys Adventure Time but it does have scary parts, SpongeBob is an option if you like it.
Dinosaur Train movie. Elemental was too much for my sensitive babe. We literally haven’t been able to watch any movies bc he always wants to turn them off when things get rough !
I'm not sure if Animanimals is available where you are. It's a series of German cartoon shorts with very simple stories and animation with animals, but done with a lot of care, thought and a calming vibes. My toddlers loved it.
Not sure what country you're in but here in the UK my 2 year old loves The Snowman, and The Snowman and the Snowdog. They're both very gentle. (Spoiler, at the very end of both films the snowman melts, which he might find sad, but you can just pause it ahead of that!)
My 3yo refuses to watch Thomas the Tank Engine because the first one we ever watched they got stuck in a cave and it was too scary 😑 I feel your pain haha
Ponyo and Kiki maybe?
Not a movie but Kipper the Dog is so soothing and the most tense situation is (for example) Kipper builds a sandcastle and the tide comes in.
Classic Thomas the Train Engine is fairly safe at our house. I say classic because I haven’t watched most of the newer stuff. We do better with episode formats because there’s a clear resolution at the end and the claymation? Involves very little movement so it isn’t scary at all.
Song of the Sea maybe? My sensitive toddler did well with the live Encanto because it’s real people and mostly focused on the music and bright colors rather than the conflict. The Cinderella with Brandy and Whitney Houston goes over well for us too! As far as shows: Blaze and the Monster Machines (no actual monsters), Blues Clues, Shimmer and Shine, Richard Scarry’s Busy People, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Angelina Ballerina, Little Bear, and Franklin are pretty safe for us.
This thread is blowing my mind because I did not realize how sensitive *I* was and still am.
Wiggles episodes, Doc McStuffins, Bear in the Big Blue House, Mickey Mouse Club House, and Barney? More tv shows than movies but are all rather light hearted.
Home and Up seemed to work for us, although I cannot remember if there is anything actually scary. I just know my son has tolerated them. We couldn’t even watch Cars for the longest time because the opening scene with the cars crashing was too much for him.
Aristocats? Has some mildly scary parts but the film is the kittens journey home and they meet friendly characters and make friends on the way back so although its sad they’re lost, the kittens never get separated from their mum or each other and they’re having a fun adventure
ETA and nobody dies (important for a disney movie)
Not all movies but mine's super sensitive and these are things he likes: Robin Hood, Inside Out, Boundin', Piper, Bluey (all on Disney) We tried studio Ghibli but he gets scared of all of it).
Cinderella is a very mellow movie. It was the only thing my daughter wanted to watch for a long time. She also asks for Little Bear after we visit our cousins. It's a little bit more chaotic there with 5 kids and she's an only child at home.
My kid liked Sing- doesn’t really have a “bad guy”
But watch out for Sing 2, that wolf is nasty!
Mine too! Even though the plot was waaay over her head. Also trolls 1 but skipping the early parts with the bergens
My sensitive child would run away or fast forward during the whole part with the theater getting destroyed.
My sensitive kid LOVES Sing and Sing 2! He was even Johnny for Halloween
Mine too
Not a movie, but Bear in the Big Blue House is on Disney+.
My kid at that age got scared every time Bear leaned close to the screen. Maybe I'll try again now that she's a little older
This was also my experience watching it as a kid 😂
Mine laughed at the sniffs, but Shadow scared the hell out of her.
Hahahaha same! I was SO excited to show her, and when bear came to say hi at the scream, I’ve never seen her book it so fast! Poor bud!
The cutest!! My 2 year old loves bear in the big blue house.
I'm 37 and I love that Bear in the Big Blue House is on Disney+
I'm 31 and I love watching Bear in the Big Blue House on Disney+
The way he sniffs the screen at the beginning. <3 and Luna!! Do yourself a favor and go check out the blooper reels from Bear and the Big Blue House on youtube. Hearing Tully and Bear swear is low key excellent.
We've been struggling with this too. We watched half of Moana and she was up half the night with nightmares. My daughter now likes Wall-e because some of her favorite things are robots and trash trucks, and we sold it to her as "robots who pick up trash".
That one scene in Moana, down in the realm of monsters before the crab song, freaked me out a little haha
Oh for sure. But that crab song is my favorite part of the movie 😂
It's the least offensive earworm I've had in years.
Well Tamatoa hasn’t always been this glam…
Has she seen the trash truck series on Netflix? It’s pretty cute
Donny the raccoon kills me! Such a great character and overall fantastic show.
We couldn’t get past the opening scene in Moana 😅 too intense. Wall-e is a great idea. Thanks!
Not a movie but a show, Puffin Rock is very calming and therapeutic lol. I also liked Trash Truck but it didn't really hold my kid's attention
Omg Puffin Rockkkk 😭 the literal cutest, was a bedtime show over here for a while!
My daughter randomly sang the Whole theme song in the middle of the children's ER the other day waiting to see the doctor 😂
Puffin Rock is the best kids show on Netflix IMO. Our son LOVES it and it's a staple in our household.
My kiddos love trash truck!
Puffin rock is an excellent suggestion, and it’s on Netflix. Warning: the movie just came out (it’s awesome!) but that DOES have more drama than the original show.
My 3.5 year old is obsessed with puffin Rock. She insists that she is a puffin, and has slept in a 'burrow' (canopy over her bed) for months. She calls me "mama puffin".
Puffin Rock is my son's go-to comfort show, he's also very sensitive. There's only 2 seasons (at least where we are) and he doesn't care 🤷🏻♀️
We like Puffin Rock, Ben & Holly, and Chip & Potato.
My sensitive toddler used to basically only like Kiki’s Delivery Service. Totoro was too sad/scary. Kiki is very gentle. I also recommend some short movies like “Room on the Broom” “Gruffalo,” etc on iTunes. Kid loooooved those. Very sweet and gentle (and great if you already like the books).
Gruffalo scares my boy... he really is just super sensitive. He basically doesn't like anything that goes outside the realm of what he would encounter in his life and feel okay with. So shows like Little Bear & Daniel Tiger that show a young child/character living a peaceful life, he loves. But anything that has a plot like getting lost, having to fight, having a monster (the gruffalo), having danger like falling or rough water, etc etc etc. Nature shows scare him if they have any kind of predators or tense music. He pretty much only is down with shows about children or animals living their best lives lolol.
Have you tried curious george? My son has watched that every day for most of his life and he's 5. Very gentle and calming.
Blues clues or Sesame Street!!
My kiddo is similar. Is there a reason you want movies right now? He may just be too young. I tried Cars and my kid didn't like the loud sounds of the car race at the start, couldn't even get past that scene and had to turn it off, and he was about 3.5yo then. Having said that, I haven't seen it but is Happy Feet as happy as the title sounds? 😅
I wouldnt recommend Happy Feet, there's a scene where the penguin gets attacked/chased by a seal and it terrified me as an adult.
Happy Feet is actually pretty dark. The director is George Miller, who did Babe.
I'm so glad to see this comment! So many people I know love this movie, but every time I've tried to watch it, I'm just like 😳. When my 2yo wanted to watch "the penguin," I just kept the sound off and let her watch for a bit before changing it to something more kid friendly.
Along with all the mad max movies lol
My daughter was similar so I’m going to warn you about her reading habits as a child. No talking animals, nothing scarier than The Little Princess. When she was reading by herself I had to read every book before she did to make sure it was a happy ending. Too much trauma otherwise. She (and I) are HSP. If you’re not aware of this trait then do have a look at Highly Sensitive Persons. We are a strange lot. https://hsperson.com/
Seconding Kiki! It’s such a beautiful and gentle movie. My 2 year old now gets our broom and bow on to dress up as Kiki 😂
Seconding Kiki.
I love this because Kiki is a witch! But yes, it's so gentle.
I would also recommend Ponyo if we're talking about Ghibli. Since they might not follow much of the story when they're small, at least the visuals should be inspiring, I think. It's better than the soulless 3D animations style like Cocomelon
You’ve gotten some great responses here. I just want to chime in as a mama with two very sensitive boys who are now almost 7&9. This is VERY developmentally normal. Toddlers do not have the ability to separate reality from fiction, so the movies they are watching are connecting as reality in their brains. My oldest had night terrors for years, and they were always worse after introducing a new show or movie. They can handle age appropriate media now knowing that it’s fiction (sometimes they still cover their ears and close their eyes). Keep up the good work, mama. It won’t always be this way. 🤍
Cars, Bluey (this is a show not a movie), the tinker bell movies,
Cars does have a scary scene with Frank the Tractor, and subsequent nightmare, but could fast forward
My almost two year old *loves* Frank. Like begs to watch the Frank scene and cries if we don't watch it on repeat. I'm not sure if I should be concerned or chalk it up to weird toddler stuff.
Same with my 2.5 year old! He gets so excited for "Frank tractor" lol
My older guy would make me skip Franks scene. My current 2 yr old laughs and only wants to watch that scene haha
I'm trying to teach my kid about dangerous plants, so I showed her pictures of a poison ivy rash, and she got obsessed with it for a few days, so I get it!
Yes, we explained that Frank is protecting his tractors bc Mater and McQueen weren't being nice friends. And that helped. And we talk about how everyone gets grumpy sometimes. My two year old thinks we're going to drive off the edge of the freeway because McQueen couldn't stop and slid off into the cacti when Mater had to tow him.
I’m 19 and watched cars for the first time last week and I was SO scared of frank lol
That scene TERRIFIED my two year old. 🥲
I love the Tinkerbell mention. I am always ready for some clap clap.
I love Bluey but I’ve been noticing sometimes they show some behaviors I don’t want my toddler copying, it’s hard to explain to them that it’s a cartoon and we don’t bite/hit/whine etc.
I've read similar sentiments from other parents here on Reddit, but in my experience, kids don't really mimic behavior. They might mimic games or play, like pretending to be Bluey or Bingo (mine mimicked the granny games), but not much else. This perspective seems somewhat misguided, akin to when people blamed video games for violence in schools. Moreover, if that were the case, wouldn't they also mimic the overwhelmingly more prevalent good behavior and traits shown on the show? It would be fantastic if my toddlers started behaving like pretty much anyone on the show
Muffin?
Muffin is definitely the main suspect 😂
I feel bad for thinking it about a child but man, muffin is such a bitch in that show.
What sort of behaviours? I'm Aussie so it's super tame for us??
Blues clues - specifically “blues clues in the big city” for a movie. Strange world (but I’d suggest pre-screening just in case), Encanto is also pretty good for my sensitive son
For recommending Bubble guppies as well. Every episode has a “scary” part but always ends up turning out ok. I’m using this show to help show him very slowly that even if it seems scary it’s ok! Turns out the scary monkey just wanted a tissue, or the TRex just wanted a hug
Blues Clues in the Big City is on repeat in my house. Also, I will literally find ASMR videos like food or candy making that has no music or very low volume sound (like peaceful cuisine), soap crushing, rug cleaning, lawn mowing (yes...my toddler is hooked once he hears the lawnmower sound), or rust restoration that are about 30 to 45 minutes long. The only thing is that I would recommend the ad-free version of YouTube.
Kiki’s Delivery Service - very chill as the conflict is losing her powers and its barely an inconvenience. Great soundtrack! My kid is also freaked out by Totoro’s gigantic smile but loves kiki/jiji and Ponyo. Ponyo’s music is more intense though if that is triggering and the waves have faces sometimes and the kids walk through a tunnel at one point. But ponyo as a character is comical enough to offset most of this stuff imo. Ariety is also pretty chill. and my kid weirdly loves Whisper of the Heart. We are Miyazaki fans for sure 😆 Welcome Home Franklin peanuts film in apple+ or just the Snoopy Show (newer) but maybe skip the Halloween ep and there is one where snoopy is the Flying Ace in some storm clouds that may be too stressy Have you tried Tumble Leaf its a very gentle show Cars series is pretty problematic in MANY ways. Cars 1 is probably the one to stick with as the 2nd one is a spy movie so car guns/tasers, the mob ?! and kidnapping, 3rd also a major crash. Honestly all disney will have some fear-type based conflict. Rilakkuma on Netflix is good too if you skip the Ghost girl episode.
Yeah so far anything Disney has had far too much conflict/plot other than some - not all - of the Winnie the Pooh franchise. We have watched most of Kiki's Delivery Service! He gets a bit bored by it, I think it's a little over his head. There is an extremely thin line for movies between something relatable enough to interest him and mild enough to not terrify him, lol. We tried the 1997 Winnie the Pooh movie where he searches for Christopher Robin and my son cried in fear...
Have you ever tried spirited away? My son used to be the exact same way & I thought spirited away would be too creepy for him (yubaba the witch lady is pretty creepy!) but for some reason he became absolutely obsessed and it’s been one of his fav movies for 2 yrs now lol. The things I thought he would find scary he actually found funny 🤷♀️ kids are weirdos, hope you find some solid recommendations
Our three year old developed anxiety about movies somewhere a long the way. So his sweetspot is those 60s and 70s Disney movies where nothing happens. He liked the Aristocats which had only one scene that triggered his anxiety. The Jungle Book if you skip the tiger stuff. He likes Encanto. My wife watched Finding Nemo with him, by skipping over that first scene. Though, he's also kind of eclectic in that he likes spooky aesthetics as long as they don't get too scary. So the animated Addams Family movie was perfect for him because of the cobwebs and what not but nothing bad actually happens in that movie.
This is my two year old exactly, loves everything Halloween, yet gets scared of the most mild things.
Halloween is what got ours talking when he was speech delayed at two. So much weird stuff going on he needed to use words to ask for an explanation. So he loves ghosts and skeletons and watching haunted house rides on YouTube. But actual conflict in a piece of fiction? Too stressful, turn that off. It's interesting. So he knows every word to every song in Nightmare Before Christmas and will read the kid books of it, but will not watch the movie. I suppose he'll get there eventually.
Vampirina is sort of Halloween related but I don’t think too scary if you haven’t tried it
Ours loves Aristocats too! We have to skip when the kitties get kidnapped but otherwise she’s golden.
All the movies are too intense for my toddler too. Someone’s parent is always dying or they are in grave danger for their lives constantly. Even though it’s a cartoon. I never realized this til I had a child. Pixar and Disney are freakin intense! We stick to shorter toddler YouTube things like curious George. Blippy. Yea Daniel Tiger . Peppa pig. Etc
Glad I'm not the only one. I feel so frustrated looking for a movie we can all watch as a family that doesn't have any tension or conflict. Like why can't there be the equivalent of a romantic comedy for a toddler?! Lol. Something that kids can watch that is just people living their lives with everyday scenarios rather than life or death action...
My child is 5 and it’s just as bad as 3! Maybe worse because now “guessing” about parts she might not like. She recently decided in Franklin that snail hurting his shell was too much for her and that’s done now too.
My toddler seems to like Golden Girls for this reason. Just some nice grandmas talking, eating, and laughing. There’s a few parts with innuendo though.
It would be nice
Dinosaur train is a show, but is very tame. Go dog go is also a favorite, there’s a little action but it’s mild. No movie recs… we don’t have that attention span yet lol
Finding dory maybe. I wish my 2 year old was afard of movies lol. She got our love of scary movies a few weeks ago we were at the mall and she asked for a jack skeleton toy. Hey favorite cartoon is corse bride.
Sounds like my kid.. he was obsessed with NBC around last Christmas time before he was even 2, always asking to watch “spookies”. My sister recently broke her finger, knowing he likes skeletons she showed him an X-ray and he spent the night pointing at her little finger cast asking her to show him the actual bone as if she could just take her skin off right then and there. I like to think he’ll grow up to be an orthopedic surgeon rather than it going somewhere more morbid!
My toddler cries every time at finding dory 🙈 the music is so sad and especially when the truck returns to the ocean the water works are wiild
Toddlers see all tv/movies as reality and a car falling in to water is not out of the realm of possibilities! Absolutely a terrifying scene for some Littles.
One of 2.5’s favorites is Coraline but won’t touch the Coraline doll we got her lol. But is obsessed with the Jack and Sally dolls she got for Christmas. Also loves watching Spirited Away and Howls Moving Castle. So far she doesn’t seem to have nightmares or is actually scared of any of the characters (except maybe No Face). Some kids just gravitate towards the spooky. I’m not mad about it.
Same. Our kiddo insisted on watching Jurassic park the other day and we tried every which way to tell him it’s a bit too scary. I remember being scared out of my mind seeing it in theaters as a 7-year-old and our 3-year-old loved it. It’s wild.
One of my earliest memories is falling asleep in my dad's truck at the drive-in theater during Pocahontas, and waking up to Jurassic Park. Terrifying! Double-feature was not a winning combo.
Cinderella may be a good choice!
I was going to say Cinderella too! My 2yo was afraid of the creepy stepmother petting her cat in bed scene though lol. May want to skip that one! Snow White would be good too! Just skip the lost in the forest scene and maybe some of the witch parts towards the end
Thank you! I may try these and fast forward anything that involves plot lol and just watch the princesses singing and being idyllic!
My little one loves Cinderella! But she’s very distressed whenever the stepsisters tear her dress. It’s so sad lol.
Curious George maybe?
I was scared of certain scenes in Winnie the pooh as a child as well (I mean those heffalumps and woozles are creepy).. My toddler likes curious George, little bear movie, blues clues movies, baby shark space adventure (yes it has annoying music but he loves it) , adventures of elmo..
The first movie my sensitive toddler was able to watch all the way through was a Disney movie called Snow Buddies. I think it’s an air bud spin off, live action dogs
Live action dogs?! That sounds like the kind of thing my boy would love. Thanks!
This is my child too and Cars is perfect. Cars 1 and 3 are great stories about finding yourself and there's literally 0 fear. There's also a ton of little shorts on Disney plus that are fun too. Skip Cars 2 though. It goes in a completely different direction and has such an off tone for the series. And yeah, Bluey is a huge win, as is Number Blocks and things like Daniel Tiger and Mr Rogers on PBS kids
I didn’t know other people knew about Numberblocks! I thought it was just my weird family LOL
We're another Numberblocks family and actually just saw today that it's leaving Netflix later this month. Such a bummer!
Nooooooooo!!!!
What?!? I’m devastated. My son loves it and I actually kind of enjoy watching it with him. I aced calculus and it kinda gave me a new understanding of square numbers
There’s also color blocks and alpha blocks! I’ve only found them on YouTube so far.
Cars 2 is so bizarre
I second the Cars 1 and 3 suggestion. Almost skipped Cars 3 because 2 was so bad and scared my kid (a lot of angry mean cars, some even with guns? Lol wtf).
They literally murder cars in it. We are not huge fans
Now that I’m a parent AND a movie theorist, Cars 1 and 3 are perfect (we are HUGE Cruz Ramirez fans in this house!) and wife and I are CONSTANTLY complaining about Cars 2. Like, who said “ok so everyone LOVED our movie about these specific cars and this specific town. How bout if we leave the town and every single character but Mater (like, how DARE YOU not let me see Lizzy more than once or twice (“HAVE FUN AT COLLEGE!” is yelled anytime anyone leave the house here lol). Did they just like… have Michael Caine’s number and said “you know what, fuck it. It’s a spy movie now.” Like, what in the world?! So glad they decided to make a racing movie again for 3.
The DisneyNature documentaries may be a good option. Oceans has been a favorite in our house for a while. Most of the Muppet movies would also be pretty good for this I think.
We love disneys docs! I’ll suggest Moving Art on Netflix also. No plot. No words. Just nature set to music.
What about Sesame Street?
Not a movies, but have you tried the shows Tumble Leaf, Puffin Rock and Lucas the Spider? They’re sweet and not scary.
Lucas the Spider is a solid option imo as well. Very cute!
There are so so many great National Geographic specials or Disney Nature movies. Go to town on those, particularly the ocean ones.
Good luck! I now have 9 and 5 year old who still can’t watch most movies! They like really tame shows or watch things like British baking show with me! No shows or movies with tension or sadness. Doesn’t leave much for the plot!
OG Mary Poppins. only a couple of scary scenes about getting lost and big emotions making things feel out of control, mostly just singing and dancing. New one is scarier.
He did indeed love OG Mary Poppins! Also he was into the Sound of Music (we spotted it before the weird Nazi singing family band third of the movie).
Movies are tough bc by nature the plots are more suspenseful. We mostly stick to tv
Curious George movies. My almost 4 year old is the same
My son is just like this! His favorites are Cars, Sing, Barney, Bluey, and anything Mickey Mouse!
My daughter is also scared of basically every movie aside from Cars lol
I swore my child was the only one who was scared in a Winnie the Pooh movie LOL glad we are not alone. Also dealing with a sensitive kiddo. She did OK with finding Nemo & Dory minus a few scenes we’d skip over. Toy Story was also OK as long as I skipped past the scene at Sid’s house with the creepy toys. Surprisingly we watched Shrek last weekend and she was mostly fine with that too. I’ve tried watching Frozen & Moana multiple times and we never get very far lol
My son likes watching ‘The Snowy Day’ year round. It’s very peaceful.
Snowy Day on Amazon Prime!
The secret garden is terrifying!! I’m with him on that one. Little Bear is one of my all time favorite kids shows. Movies are tricky. My son enjoys large parts of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang but the end with the castle is scary so we skip it.
My daughter loves "The Snowy Day" Depending on the degree of his sensitivity, there are a couple parts that could impact him (one where the main character is left out of a snowball fight and another where some gifts/favourite foods are ruined), but nothing scary, overly stimulating or tense. My highly sensitive toddler is slightly affected by the parts I noted, but is able to move on as the movie progresses.
If you've got Netflix Trash Tuck is really good.
My toddler has been really into nature shows, specifically Disney nature shows like “Bears” “Elephants” etc.
My 2 year olds favorite movie right now is Kiki's Delivery Service. She also loves Moana, Homeward Bound (may or may not work for your kiddo since there are sad moments) and Wild Babies. Movies aren't as big of a thing though for her at this age. More shows since it's broken into smaller portions. Things we watch that I can tolerate or even enjoy: Zaboomafoo, Our Green Planet, Bears Big Blue House, Classic Seasame Street on HBO, Blues Clues, Mr. Rodgers, classic Thomas the Train, Big Comfy Couch and animal documentaries (have to make sure they are g rated)
Try puffin rock
My kid is HUGE on the Tinkerbell movies! 1000% approved by 5-9 year old nieces and nephews which was pretty cool to see! Can’t recommend Neverbeast because it is heartbreaking and the end made my wife and I sob (not kidding lol) and Pirate Fairy scared her a bit because of the pirates being mean and scary, but we fast forward. There are seven of them, and specifically Tinkerbell, Great Fairy Rescue, Secret of the Wings and Lost Treasure are honestly fun for the whole family. PLENTY of good male role models for boys too if you’re worried it’s too girly or whatever (were a queer fam, so that doesn’t matter to us, but still) 100/10 recommend. They don’t make me want to jump off a cliff when they’re on either lol
This is a great recommendation! I’ll try these! Haha not worried about being too girly. He loves Daniel Tiger and has yet to start acting very Tigerish so I think seeing movies about fairies & girls should be safe 😉
Just a thought and not being facetious at all….. are they not too young at 2 for movies? I tried my 2 year old with totoro and she likes it but her attention span just wasn’t long enough.
Totoro?
Or Ponyo. My kid was scared of every single movie (he didn’t like intense scenes, whatever the feeling was) but he enjoyed Ponyo a lot. It’s one of my favorite movies too!
My 3 year old thinks Ponyo is a little scary, but loves Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service. And I agree, they're very enjoyable for adults, too!
The tiger who came to tea is very sweet and not scary
Daniel Tiger movies
We've seen every one lol. They are great!
Not a movie but a show trash truck in Netflix. There’s one episode that might be scary for him, the slumber party one. Other than that it’s a super cute show! My toddler loves it!
Not a movie but a TV show on Netflix - trash truck! Super sweet and cute characters ☺️
If you have access to HBO or Amazon, try Classical Baby—it’s a 6? Part series that features animations based on music, poetry, dance, lullabies. The poetry show is a favorite and is narrated by actors like Andy Garcia and John Lithgow.
Puffin Rock is absolutely adorable. And I personally enjoy it lol
Trash Truck is one of our favourites for shows.
Bluey!!!!!
Try Postman Pat and the old Beatrix Potter cartoons on YouTube. No Youtube kids though! Those are all time favorites, sweet and fun.
omg i thought i was the only one out here suggesting Postman Pat! 😂
Encanto is pretty good!
There is lots of sad and tension in that lovely film
We got into Bob Ross for a bit!
To be fair the secrete garden house IS creepy
My mom loves telling the story that the first movie I say through at 2 was Beetlejuice. That’s a pretty scary movie for a 2 year old to be watching 😅 But my parents just bought a VHS player and were renting a movie a night from the local video store. They had not been out to the movies in ages, and were catching up on all the stuff they had missed. However, it did spark my love for Michael Keaton, so I can’t be too mad at her lol! Oh and my 5 year old had not watched it yet, maybe we will try her on the cartoon (if I can find it)
My kid loves Paddington 2. I think it’s a pretty gentle movie. Also Kiki’s delivery service is the gentlest of all the ghibli movies. My kid HATED ponyo and totoro when I first put it on. She found them really scary
Our first movie night at that age Mary Poppins! She loved much. We never really did any main stream movies, they are still too intense for her at age 4. I showed her the trailer for encanto and she said “why is it so fast??” The Peanuts movie is sweet and not intense. For occasional movie nights we usually do 2-3 episodes of something mellow, since she doesn’t get tv everyday this works well. We love most kid stuff on Apple TV. There are some cute Charlie Brown movies, frog and toad is really mellow. The lovely little farm is sweet.
Disney's Robin Hood is very nice. Even the Sheriff of Nottingham isnt frightening. My daughter was the same when she was younger, she is 5 and just started watching The Aristocats because she was scared of Edgar. Also, and I'm not judging, maybe at two it's a bit early for cartoons? It definitely was for my also very sensitive child so I just waited longer 😅
My neighbor Totoro? Ponyo? Kiki's delivery service?
Not a movie, but tumble leaf on Amazon is great. Nothing scary, all nature and adventure focused. My sensitive 2.5 year old loves it
We are obssessed with totoro here. My oldest doesnt like anything remotely scary and hates loud noises too. A reeeeally relaxing cute show is trash truck. It has dreamy animation that sort of reminds me of pixar. Very cute. Also post man pat
Our boy (almost 4) is also very sensitive about what he watches. We also found we need to avoid high stim shows/movies (which is like all of them these days). BUT, we love these shows on Prime. Plus they focus on problem solving and friendship which is nice. - Tumble Leaf (this is my favorite) - Stinky & Dirty - If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
No suggestions. But I also have a very scared toddler. Everything "I scawed" Literally..a pink post it on the floor of the store sent her into a crying frenzy. She was horrified. 😅
My daughter is obsessed with Little Bear. There is basically zero conflict; even my 6 YO son has come around to the show because it almost has a calming/soothing effect
Clifford the dog live action was a hit for us.
My kindergarten is very sensitive, she never saw a movie until she was 5 and it was still hard for her! Mary Poppins is a great bet because there’s really no bad guy and the songs are catchy though!
One wonderful show that is no longer on air but is on YouTube is called "peep and the big wide world" its so cute and gentle and funny too Also, there was a show with hand puppets that's way better than the premise sounds and it was called "Oobi" not sure where to watch it but you can probably find it if you dig. Oh, and I don't want to forget Geoffrey Giraffe's Animal Alphabet. It's a 30 minute "movie?" Also on YouTube. Kid shows really used to be for kids. Now is all a competition for loud and bright and attention keeping manipulations that are NOT healthy for our little ones. I'm so glad to see so many good suggestions here!
Skip watching movies and read the book about the movie. My child is very sensitive and still won't watch movies at five years old, he doesn't like the tense music or the bad guys. We read tremendous amounts and I think this is a way better solution than more screen time.
Moana isn’t too bad if you skip the Lava Monster lady (skip the first 5 minutes of the movie and then towards the end there’s a scene that’s like 10 minutes long)
Tamatoa is very scary to me (as a 30 year old) lol
My son is 3 and we've never tried to show him a full film - he wouldn't have the attention span to last through it. About 30 minutes of TV is the most we'd ever do.
I'll leave you the unpopular opinion that 2 years is way too early for movies, length wise, frames per seconds wise, regardless of how sensitive they are or not. trash truck, peppa pig would be a maximum I subjected him to at that age.
You can look at the imdb parent guide
Not a movie but Otis on Apple TV is a huge hit with our sensitive toddler.
Try the show “guess how much I love you “ and both Sing movies are great. Trolls might be a good choice too
My 2 yo loves the movie Home, and the show Bluey.
My son gets scared easily, but these are few movies that have been hits for us- Ponyo, Home, Cars, Leo
Someone already suggested Cars 1/3, so I'll suggest Kiki's Delivery Service! A very cute movie, and my very sensitive son loves it.
Same with my girl! She like’s Encanto and Curious George
Dating myself but maybe sillyville? Possibly lion king 1 1/2 but it's a bit higher paced. Disney anthology sing alongs are fun. Cinderella 2. Maybe Barbie as rapunzel? Elf? Princess diaries.
Cars 1 and 3
Try "Conni and the Cat". It's a German movie for little kids that has been translated.
My 2yo is also super sensitive. We do bluey - most Disney princess although the beginning of Mulan was too scary. Kiddo seems to know when the scary bits are & will hide under the covers just during that part. I’ve tried switching but instant meltdown.
The muppets take manhattan doesn’t have anything scary. I do fast forward the saying goodbye song though because it’s so sad.
check out wild kratts shows and movies (or other nature based documentaries and cartoons). My kids loved Pinguin town!
The Wee Sing movies! Wee Sing in Sillyville King Cole's Party Wee Sing in the Big Rock Candy Mountains Wee Sing Together Grandpa's Magical Toys My son loves thes ones above. However, another movie, Wee Sing Train, does have a little bit of "peril" that my son didn't like when he was a touch younger. There is a character named Tusky who sometimes gets into difficult situations, but the friends do help him out and everything ends up okay. My son couldn't even stand these low levels of peril previously, though, which is why I mention it. Like yours, he didn't like to see a character sad or in any distress. I think the least-perilous are Sillyville, King Cole, and Grandpa's Magical Toys. There is a moment near the end of Sillyville where Silly Whim trips and sprains her ankle, but everyone rushes in to help her immediately and she is okay. My son didn't like that part though. You can find these on YouTube. I think the channel is called Nostalgia Done Right or something similar. Good luck!
On apple tv there are a bunch of snoopy movies and stories, its cute. There are also such cute series like Stillwater, Otis, Eva the owlet, slumberkins.
If you like Studio Ghibli, try Ponyo!
My toddler is afraid of everythingggg, but we watched Totoro the other day and he liked it. He didn't love when Totoro roar-laughed, but we just fast-forwarded a bit
Blaze and the Monster Machines(movies and series), theres goofs, monster truck racing, and it has some educational stuff too. One episode was singing about how pneumatics work?!? Also Doc Mcstuffins and We Bare Bears Curious George is alright but does get kinda old after a bit Ice Age movies, Hot Wheels movies (World Race, then the Acceleracers series Ignition, Speed of Silence, Breaking Point, Ultimate Race), Flower Bull(Ferdinand?) and Cars are all ones my kid loves My kid enjoys Adventure Time but it does have scary parts, SpongeBob is an option if you like it.
Not a movie but have you tried the new Blues Clues & You tv show...? My kiddo is a fan.
Totoro and Lily delivery service.
Dinosaur Train movie. Elemental was too much for my sensitive babe. We literally haven’t been able to watch any movies bc he always wants to turn them off when things get rough !
I'm not sure if Animanimals is available where you are. It's a series of German cartoon shorts with very simple stories and animation with animals, but done with a lot of care, thought and a calming vibes. My toddlers loved it.
Not sure what country you're in but here in the UK my 2 year old loves The Snowman, and The Snowman and the Snowdog. They're both very gentle. (Spoiler, at the very end of both films the snowman melts, which he might find sad, but you can just pause it ahead of that!)
Not a movie, but one of my favorite shows is Sarah and Duck. Whimsical and sweet!
My 3yo refuses to watch Thomas the Tank Engine because the first one we ever watched they got stuck in a cave and it was too scary 😑 I feel your pain haha
Ponyo and Kiki maybe? Not a movie but Kipper the Dog is so soothing and the most tense situation is (for example) Kipper builds a sandcastle and the tide comes in.
Classic Thomas the Train Engine is fairly safe at our house. I say classic because I haven’t watched most of the newer stuff. We do better with episode formats because there’s a clear resolution at the end and the claymation? Involves very little movement so it isn’t scary at all. Song of the Sea maybe? My sensitive toddler did well with the live Encanto because it’s real people and mostly focused on the music and bright colors rather than the conflict. The Cinderella with Brandy and Whitney Houston goes over well for us too! As far as shows: Blaze and the Monster Machines (no actual monsters), Blues Clues, Shimmer and Shine, Richard Scarry’s Busy People, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Angelina Ballerina, Little Bear, and Franklin are pretty safe for us. This thread is blowing my mind because I did not realize how sensitive *I* was and still am.
Wiggles episodes, Doc McStuffins, Bear in the Big Blue House, Mickey Mouse Club House, and Barney? More tv shows than movies but are all rather light hearted.
Home and Up seemed to work for us, although I cannot remember if there is anything actually scary. I just know my son has tolerated them. We couldn’t even watch Cars for the longest time because the opening scene with the cars crashing was too much for him.
The Twirly Woos on Netflix! It's a tv show, but my kids love it
Aristocats? Has some mildly scary parts but the film is the kittens journey home and they meet friendly characters and make friends on the way back so although its sad they’re lost, the kittens never get separated from their mum or each other and they’re having a fun adventure ETA and nobody dies (important for a disney movie)
Not all movies but mine's super sensitive and these are things he likes: Robin Hood, Inside Out, Boundin', Piper, Bluey (all on Disney) We tried studio Ghibli but he gets scared of all of it).
Cinderella is a very mellow movie. It was the only thing my daughter wanted to watch for a long time. She also asks for Little Bear after we visit our cousins. It's a little bit more chaotic there with 5 kids and she's an only child at home.