Here is a selection of websites featuring animation aimed mostly kids. This being said, the chances are that you will love them too! Give the rug rats a DVD and enjoy these for yourself.
David’s New Snail
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Life can be harsh when you are a kid and when your pet snail expires it may be time to visit the snail store to get another one. Voiced over by a real-life kid, this animated short is very, very sweet and will get marks on the ‘aw’ factor every time. Personally, my favorite animal at that age was anything amphibian and caused my mother so many unwanted close encounters of an unnecessary kind that I am still paying reparation on Mother’s Day each year.
Eggs!
You may have children who need some convincing that eggs are good for them. Take a leaf out of the Japanese book and show them this hymn to the marvels of all things egg-like. A squeaky singer may actually have you running for cover or it may just make you raid the fridge and cook up an omelet. Whatever, your kids will love this one (as long as they are five or under and haven’t yet defined the word ‘cynical’).
Heromachine
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If your kids are a little older and like superheroes then this site will probably mean the last you will see of them until they come of age. There are hundreds of thousands of combinations and permutations available to them to create that superhero that they have always wanted to see. Of course, you may spend more time on this than the kids. But what the heck. The above is my own particular take on the superhero type, created in less than five minutes (yes, I know, it shows).
Twelve Monkeys
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Not the film of the same name but something just as entertaining if you are three or four (or any age older than that if you still retain a sense of child-like or possibly childish fun). This is one for sing-along time and is easy enough to learn that your pre-schooler may want to see it so often you may regret introducing it to them in the first place. Made by one of the Flash wizards of our age, Pascal Campion, this is done with wit and style but be warned – kids will want to watch this a million times.
Nim
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You do not have to be Swedish to understand this as there are subtitles in English which will allow you to read the story out loud to your offspring as the action unfolds before them. Nim is one of the cutest characters ever put in to an animation and you may find yourself spellbound by his snowbound adventures.
Veni Vidi Vici
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It isn’t always being the smallest in a group – particularly if you are a legionary in the Roman army! However with some cleverness and guile this obstacle can be overcome and even the smallest can rise to the top. A final year project in 3D animation for students Will Burdett and David Bryan at the University Of Hertfordshire, this is a clever and poignant piece.
ZZZZleeping Beauty
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A French version of the Sleeping Beauty, wonderfully animated but with some very Gallic humor involved. The princess lies asleep and waits, for a hundred years for a handsome prince to come and wake her up. The prince arrives and he may not be as good looking as one might expect but there is more of a surprise in store for him than for her.
Shel Silverstein Poetry
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If you have kids who are not fussed about poetry – even if Dr Seuss fails to light their candle – then you may convince them of the absolute necessity of the form by taking them along to this site. There are huge amounts of things to do here – including a great section of idea for parents and teachers – and your sprogs will love the interactivity as they are asked to finish off Silverstein’s poems or play one of the masses of fun and educational games available here.
Alphabet!
This is a great flash animation that you can use either as an educational tool for your kids or simply to amuse yourself. You are presented with the letters of the alphabet and you can click on them in any order. Then the name of an animal starting with the letter you have clicked will appear, turning itself in to a visual representation of the animal, made out of those letters. This is pretty addictive, you will want to know what animal begins with X for example, but you may also be fascinated by the way the animal morphs from the letters! Great stuff – with an amusing soundtrack!
March 22nd, 2009 at 11:58 am
Very cool and interesting article my friend and I enjoyed reading it. Well Done!
March 22nd, 2009 at 12:22 pm
I love Silverstein. I had to check this out for myself.
March 22nd, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Well I had fun! The alphabet zoo one was very clever! What a lovely article.
March 22nd, 2009 at 12:36 pm
great and cool article, my son will surely love this one.
March 22nd, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Well put together RJ
March 22nd, 2009 at 2:22 pm
great article! my kids aren’t allowed to spend alot of time on the comp or tv so I am sure they would enjoy these.
March 22nd, 2009 at 4:07 pm
They look wonderful. They make me wish I was young again. A great article.
Christine
March 22nd, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Wonderful animated sites ,adored by fathers and grandpa too.
March 22nd, 2009 at 5:05 pm
cool sites,thanks
March 22nd, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Awesome!
March 22nd, 2009 at 6:52 pm
Kids will love all of these and some of them will even be less irksome to the parents.
March 22nd, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Entertaining and fun — thanks!
March 22nd, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Great collection. I think I like your superhero the best.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:17 am
Thanks! My son and husband will love them!:)
March 23rd, 2009 at 2:49 am
whoa! ZZZZleeping Beauty! ill check it out!
March 23rd, 2009 at 2:54 am
nice one…
March 23rd, 2009 at 2:55 am
A really interesting article, I’m going to check these sites out with my stepdaughter , I’m sure she’ll love them!
March 23rd, 2009 at 3:29 am
Hero Machine is awesome. The kids in my class go on this site all the time and love. Nice work R J.
RJ
March 23rd, 2009 at 4:06 am
Wonderful resources. I never knew any of this. Thanks.
March 23rd, 2009 at 5:23 am
Wow incredible films and sites for children. Well I must be still a child at heart because I loved some of the films! Especially the one about Nim showing how courageous he was. He did not fear anything! Also I loved the short film about the little Roman boy signing up to become a soldier. Showing that having brains and creativity was in the end far better than only having physical strength.
Great article, thankyou for sharing all your interesting finds.
March 23rd, 2009 at 6:15 am
Great write and sites to visit . Really enjoyed them RJ
March 23rd, 2009 at 7:08 am
Another brilliant article by a brilliant author. Well done young Robert.
March 23rd, 2009 at 8:18 am
Great work! Nicely done. Thanx for sharing this great stuff.
March 23rd, 2009 at 1:22 pm
I wasn’t aware of any of these! Will take a look, thanks for a great article.
March 23rd, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Just wanted to let you know about another great website for young Kids called Ziggity Zoom. Check it out. http://www.ziggityzoom.com
March 23rd, 2009 at 5:45 pm
I would like to try these all.
March 23rd, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Wonderful article, RJ! Fascinating stuff!
March 24th, 2009 at 4:21 am
I will check them,thanks
March 24th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Nice article, didn’t know this, yet again!
March 24th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
Hey RJ, had to come back again.. actually I do everyday on account of my 2 oldest..lol! They love the 12 Monkeys, and Alphabet! I am SU, putting this on reddit, twitter and my favs.. getting it out to all the mommies out there, so I hope this gives you a boost!
Take care!
March 25th, 2009 at 5:46 am
nice
March 25th, 2009 at 7:36 am
Cute article. My kids would love this. I like it too.
March 26th, 2009 at 12:09 am
Unfortunately, I couldn’t view some of the animations because my server will now allow it…but I loved what I did see!!! Thankyou for sharing this content, I didn’t know you could access to sites like this.
March 28th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
Very family friendly article. I enjoyed this read.
Love and Blessings,
San
April 4th, 2009 at 4:25 am
Great collection. I especially enjoyed David and his snail shop. Thanks. I’m going to share it with my children.
April 4th, 2009 at 8:47 am
cool stuff, thanks…fun for all!
April 4th, 2009 at 8:49 am
Sometimes adults appreciated animation more than kids do now a days.
July 8th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
http://www.toonlifeonline.com is another good family friendly animation site.
January 31st, 2010 at 9:55 am
Entertaining and fun article! Thanks!