You're communicating with your pet better than ever before, so maybe movies without humans are what you need right now...
#1 Wall-E, 2008
Directed by Andrew Stanton
Starring Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin (voices)
Ok so right off the bat, I'm gonna come clean and say that there *are* humans in Wall-E, but for most of the movie, humanity is nowhere in sight due to an emergency global evacuation. A terrible disaster that drives humanity off the surface of the planet might ring a little close to home right now, but this little robot is inspiring.
Poor Wall-E has been isolated on Earth doing his job for hundreds of years. He fights his loneliness and boredom by collecting trinkets and hanging out with his spunky little pet. But Wall-E finds a new friend, and a new purpose. True to form, this Pixar film has phenomenal story telling and beautiful animation.
Available to stream on Disney+
#2 March of the Penguins, 2005
Directed by Luc Jacquet
Starring Morgan Freeman (Narrator)
Life must go on no matter how difficult! Support each other, for we are stronger together!
At its heart, this nature documentary is an inspiring film about overcoming obstacles. It's beautiful to watch and is family friendly if your kiddos can handle some peril. The movie is filled with drama, joy, heartbreak and excellent cinematography, and encourages us to stand tall, without letting the forces of nature tear us down.
Available to stream for free on Vudu and to rent on digital platforms
#3 Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance
Directed by Louis Leterrier
Starring Taron Egerton, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nathalie Emmanuel (Voices)
Limited series, 10 episodes
If you've seen the 1982 Jim Henson film The Dark Crystal, you'll know that it was a beautiful film, an amazingly complex world, and a story that was pretty... lame. If you haven't seen it, no worries. It's the age old story about the weak against the strong. (Fern Gully, Lord of the Rings, Avatar, etc. come to mind.) This series (produced by Netflix) is a prequel to the movie, and with the right backing, some truly excellent writers were able to take all the notebooks Jim Henson filled with details about the world and create something really fun to watch.
The story starts out a little slow, but once I got through the rounds of character introductions, I had a hard time not binging the entire series at once. I remember rationing myself because I enjoyed it so much: the craftsmanship of the sets and puppets, the surprise vocal talent, and silly moments kept me wanting more. It's dark, but family friendly, and might make you want to revisit the original, since it makes so much more sense after this beautiful prologue.
Available to stream on Netflix
BONUS!
#4 R-Ha, 2013
Directed by Kaleb Lechowski
Starring Dave Masterson (Voice)
A six minute computer animated short about aliens vs. artificial intelligence created by a 22 year old German university student.
He has already well surpassed his €40,000 kickstarter for R-Ha 2.