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Celebrating the Mars Encounter with a DVD?

Posted by Cliff on from the meeting-the-Red-planet dept.

Berend de Boer asks: "To celebrate the upcoming encounter of The Mars Kind, I like to watch a DVD about Mars with my kids. Is there something worthwhile people can recommend? It should be suitable for younger kids (max 10), so Total Recall 2070 is out the question. It does not necessarily have to be an action film...something educational will be fine as well."

45 comments

  1. NOT mission 2 mars by PeteyG · · Score: 3, Insightful

    NOT mission 2 mars

    If you haven't seen it yet, don't.

    That is all.

    --
    no thanks
    1. Re:NOT mission 2 mars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      u bastid u got FP!!!1 and you didn't even say FP!!!1

      die plz
      k thx bye

    2. Re:NOT mission 2 mars by Tom7 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      On the contrary, you could show this to them and then ask them about all the broken science in it. It's so dumb even kids should be able to understand.

  2. Man Conquers Space by Ratso+Baggins · · Score: 3, Informative
    This is Under 10 material, but its good for adults too...

    Mars Mission Docco

    btw: I'm an extra in it ;)

    --

    --
    "we live in a post-ideological world..." - Billy Bragg.

  3. Mars Attacks. by Cyno01 · · Score: 1

    Mars Attacks. Good family fun, the only objectionable stuff the little ones probably wouldnt get anyway. Otherwise the old War of the Worlds movie might be good. Also in my searching of IMDB, it looks like they did a Martian Chronicles miniseries, i havn't seen it but the book was good.

    --
    "Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
    1. Re:Mars Attacks. by isorox · · Score: 1

      I had an old LP of war of the worlds, it had a pull-out with a few artists pictures. Combined with the music and naration, it really fired my imagination. DVD's are great to vegetate out too, but if you want to fire their imagination, read them a book.

    2. Re:Mars Attacks. by Chelloveck · · Score: 1

      Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of War of the Worlds is a wonderful album. I don't know if the under-10s would appreciate it, though. Maybe play it around the house as background music and let it subliminally seap into their little brains...

      I also highly recommend getting the 1938 Mercury Theatre Of The Air Radio Broadcast. Give 'em a little history behind the show, about how some people believed it was an actual news report. Then, afterwards, expose how it was all just a big coverup of the real invasion!

      --
      Chelloveck
      I give up on debugging. From now on, SIGSEGV is a feature.
    3. Re:Mars Attacks. by mznthrope · · Score: 1

      I don't recommend the Martian Chronicles miniseries for kids. I remember watching that with my parents when it was on TV in 1980. It terrified me. I was 11 and had nightmares about it for weeks.

  4. Not on DVD, but... by Megaslow · · Score: 3, Informative

    Here's something I found at the PBS store

  5. I almost forgot... by Cyno01 · · Score: 1

    Its a little out of season, but theres always this classic.

    --
    "Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
  6. Googled in under eight seconds ... by 2TecTom · · Score: 1
    Here's a fairly comprehensive listing ... Mars Movies

    and another .... Mars Movies 2

    and, try listen to ... Jeff Wayne's War Of The World's". It's a classic.

    --
    Words to men, as air to birds.
    1. Re:Googled in under eight seconds ... by WIAKywbfatw · · Score: 1

      Shhh, don't tell people about Google. It was meant to be our little secret.

      --

      "Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
  7. Try this instead by ralphclark · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I adore watching good movies on DVD with my kids too. It's my favourite pastime.

    Unfortunately, there simply aren't any good movies about Mars. I've seen them all, and Hollywood apparently just isn't interested in what the planet is really like.

    Having said that, there is one very, very good novel though. Why don't you try reading Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars to them instead. The whole book is very much to the point as far as Mars itself goes. It also depicts well what real science and real scientists are like. I guarantee you will all be spellbound by the characters, their stories, and most of all by the planet itself. And by the end, all of you will know just about everything that is known as about Mars today.

    Yes, it's not a children's book - but then neither is the latest Harry Potter book really, which my two kids (8 and 9) are desparate for me to finish reading to them - so they can read it again by themselves :o) Heck, this is a good idea - I think I'm gonna read Red Mars to them next.

    1. Re:Try this instead by berenddeboer · · Score: 1

      Hai Ralph,

      I agree, Kim Stanley's trilogy (Green and Blue Mars as well) is very well done. I'm currently reading it for a second time.

      --
      If I had a sig, I would put it here.
    2. Re:Try this instead by ralphclark · · Score: 1
      Obviously a person of impeccable taste ;-)

      But it's probably occurred to you, as it occurred to me only after posting my comment, that the pacing is probably much too slow for the vast majority of under tens. I still might try it with my kids, I'll soon find out if they're dissatisfied :-\

      BTW, have you tried Stephen Baxter's Voyage and Titan ? For yourself I mean. They're similarly grounded in hard scientific fact (and old/currently available technology). Oh yes, I forgot: Voyage is about Mars (and both of them are kind of space adventure stories with a bit more action in them so your kids might like them too).

    3. Re:Try this instead by Saganaga · · Score: 1

      There's way too much sexual content and other adult-oriented material in Robinson's Mars trilogy for it to be appropriate (in my opinion) for kids of that age. You could of course skip those parts as you come accross them.

    4. Re:Try this instead by berenddeboer · · Score: 1

      Those books of Stephen Baxter are still on my list. I've read most of his others, and indeed this might be a good time to read these two. He's one of my favorite authors: it's nice to know that it is scientific fact that downstreamers can communicate with us using Feynman radation :-)

      --
      If I had a sig, I would put it here.
    5. Re:Try this instead by ralphclark · · Score: 1

      I was thinking that too.

      OTOH you'd perhaps be surprised what kids take in their stride these days. There is sex, profanity and plentiful references to drugs highly visible in all forms of media now - even billboard hoardings frequently have content that makes me gasp with embarrassment. If you're thinking you can prevent your kids from seeing any of this - well, good luck is all I can say.

      Anyway my personal strategy, if I get to a bit in the story that's too explicit, is to say "dot...dot...dot" (they know what *that* means) or to mumble and say "we'll skip this part, it's too boring". Which, for them, it is.

    6. Re:Try this instead by Stone316 · · Score: 1

      Usually I don't mind dragged out books but for some reason that Mars triology drove me batty and I couldn't finish it.

      --
      "Thanks to the remote control I have the attention span of a gerbil."
    7. Re:Try this instead by ralphclark · · Score: 1

      Your sig reveals why...these are not page turners or pot boilers, they are books to be lived in.

    8. Re:Try this instead by Stone316 · · Score: 1

      Whatever you say.. at least I have a .sig! I guess you also missed the part about how i've enjoyed other 'dragged' out books. The Mars trilogy dwelled too much on terrain details.. Yeah, we get it already, big cliffs, rocks, blah blah.

      --
      "Thanks to the remote control I have the attention span of a gerbil."
    9. Re:Try this instead by ralphclark · · Score: 1
      Yeah, we get it already, big cliffs, rocks, blah blah.

      I is a bit slow in places. Not to everybody's taste I suppose. But there were even some book critics who were impressed with it so it can't be all bad.

      You might get on better with "The Years of Rice and Salt". It's quite literary and has a relaxed pace in KSR's usual way, though it doesn't drag like parts of the Mars trilogy. No rambling descriptions of terrain.

      I find the best time to read his books are when you're on holiday, lying by the pool, and don't have to be in a hurry to go anywhere further than lunch at the poolside cafe.

    10. Re:Try this instead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      even billboard hoardings

      You should make sure that all the billboards which you are hoarding are kept in a locked room to keep the kids away from them.

  8. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians by jayrtfm · · Score: 1

    Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

  9. Gumby's Trip to the Moon by jaredcat · · Score: 1

    Well its not Mars but does that really matter if the audience is under 10? As I recall, Gumby gets taken prisoner by the moon people...

    Gumby's Trip to the Moon

  10. Robinson Crusoe on Mars! by Meowing · · Score: 3, Informative

    http://us.imdb.com/Title?0058530 Not exactly a masterpiece, and not even vaguely educational, but a lot of fun.

  11. How about something different? by alexjohns · · Score: 1
    I remember reading 'The Rolling Stones' when I was a teenager. It's a Heinlein juvenile. It's in the future and it's about a family's journey to Mars to make a new life for themselves. Kind of a 'Grapes of Wrath' except not sad.

    You could read a chapter every night. I know my son enjoys it when I read to him. Bradbury's 'Martian Chronicles' might work too, but it's a little more adult. You could try 'Podkayne of Mars' or, better yet, Edgar Rice Burrough's 'John Carter of Mars' series. There's about 11 of those.

    Just a thought.

  12. Vangelis Mythodea by linzeal · · Score: 1

    This is a classical piece made for the original Mars Pathfiner mission. It captures the voyage to space and the red planet pretty well. I would suggest buying a BOOK for your children with some nice pictures of the red planet, and let them listen to this than just some crappy DVD.

    --
    An Education is the Font of All Liberty
  13. It's all about documentaries by Oinos · · Score: 3, Informative

    There are several Mars related documentaries available from the standard movie outlets.

    "Mars - The Red Planet Collection" is one that I personally recommend. It has two programs, on one each side of the DVD, and is seemingly suitable for young children. My 12 year old daughter sat through both programs then immediately asked where my old telescope was. Speaking of which, a telescope is a great idea to enhance the Mars experience.

    There's also the long forgotten Mars Pathfinder" site with fantastic photos of the surface. CD-ROM's may still be available of the site. The Planetary Society is another good online reference site.

    Sure movies are entertaining, but this is an opportunity to educate your youngsters on a facinating subject.

    This wouldn't be a proper comment about Mars reference materials without plugging The Case for Mars by Robert Zubrin. It's probably a bit too technical for a 10 year old, but still a facinating argument for settling Mars.

  14. Martian Chronicals by Zifnab32 · · Score: 2, Informative
    Why not a book instead of a movie?

    I would definitely recommend the Martian Chronicals by Ray Bradbury (author of Fahrenheit 451). It is a collection of short stories that take place on mars, I remember reading this for the first time in 5th or 6th grade, it is most definitely appropriate for children. It is a great book I think everyone should read, and this is the perfect opportunity.

    Amazon.com From "Rocket Summer" to "The Million-Year Picnic," Ray Bradbury's stories of the colonization of Mars form an eerie mesh of past and future. Written in the 1940s, the chronicles drip with nostalgic atmosphere--shady porches with tinkling pitchers of lemonade, grandfather clocks, chintz-covered sofas. But longing for this comfortable past proves dangerous in every way to Bradbury's characters--the golden-eyed Martians as well as the humans. Starting in the far-flung future of 1999, expedition after expedition leaves Earth to investigate Mars. The Martians guard their mysteries well, but they are decimated by the diseases that arrive with the rockets. Colonists appear, most with ideas no more lofty than starting a hot-dog stand, and with no respect for the culture they've displaced.

    Bradbury's quiet exploration of a future that looks so much like the past is sprinkled with lighter material. In "The Silent Towns," the last man on Mars hears the phone ring and ends up on a comical blind date. But in most of these stories, Bradbury holds up a mirror to humanity that reflects a shameful treatment of "the other," yielding, time after time, a harvest of loneliness and isolation. Yet the collection ends with hope for renewal, as a colonist family turns away from the demise of the Earth towards a new future on Mars. Bradbury is a master fantasist and The Martian Chronicles are an unforgettable work of art. --Blaise Selby

    If you are just looking for something entertaining that involves mars, then I would suggest the anime Nadesico. It is again appropriate for children, a lot of fun, and still manages to deal with some serious themes.

    Amazon.com Martian Successor Nadesico (1996) was initially criticized in Japan for making fun of both anime and fan culture, but its unbridled and ultimately good-natured silliness won over critics--and large audiences on both sides of the Pacific. It's 2195 A.D. and the "Jovian Lizards" are attacking Earth. Tired of the inept campaigns of the United Space Force, Nergal Heavy Industries builds a super battleship, the Nadesico, which they staff with top people who have "slight personality problems." Ditsy Captain Yurika nurses a crush on the traumatized Akito--despite his skill as a robot pilot, he signs on as a cook. He's won over by the irrepressible Gai Daigoji, a fanatic admirer of Gekigangar 3, a hilarious spoof of '70s mecha series. The story reaches new heights of absurdity in "Let's Go with Hot-Blooded Anime": the casts of Nadesico and Gekigangar watch each other's programs, borrowing ideas and complaining about the plots.

    In another episode, the crew holds a "Geki Fest" that satirizes anime conventions, including booths selling special, "limited edition" merchandise. The war becomes a struggle that pits the crew of the Nadesico against both the Jovians and Nergal Industries. Although the conflict hinges on Akito's mysterious ability to move through space and time in a "boson jump," the path to peace lies in Gekigangar 3 ("the thread that ties humanity together!"). In America, only Rocky and Bullwinkle and The Simpsons have dared such outrageous self-parody. (Rated for ages 12 and older: Brief nudity, mildly risque humor, cartoon violence) --Charles Solomon

    They might be a bit young for Stranger in a Strange Land, but you might as well put it on their shelf.

    1. Re:Martian Chronicals by YomikoReadman · · Score: 1

      Having seen Martian Succesor Nadesico several times, and knowing that there are some major differences between what we consider kid friendly here and kid friendly in japan, i'd have to say that you're a bit off on this one. In Japan, Nadesico was targeted at a mid-teens audience, and definitly has its fair share of questionable content that most parents wouldn't want their 10 yo and younger watching. As for the other recommendations, you're pretty much spot on with those.

      --
      I have no regrets, this is the only path.
      My whole life has been "UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS"
  15. "To the Moon" DVD by Gaurang · · Score: 1

    Though you are asking about Mars, I thought that you might be interested in the moon as well. You know, similar stuff...

    There is a DVD available which is titled "To the Moon" which is nice DVD to watch with your kids. Its about the Moon Space program and its cool.

    Its Amazon link gives the description as:
    This engaging two-hour documentary from NOVA detailing America's space program was produced for the 30th anniversary of the first moon shots. While no 120-minute film can tell all the stories of the space program, To the Moon is more comprehensive than other similar videos. The film details the method that Americans used to reach the moon: lunar orbit rendezvous (one ship circles the moon while another lands). This concept wasn't even on the drawing board at NASA, and the video chronicles the struggle of engineers and astronauts to work out a solution. .......

    --
    I have found a solution to Riemann's Hypothesis, but have run out of spac
  16. Billions and Billions... by Muad'Dave · · Score: 1

    Remember Carl Sagan and his "Cosmos" series? There's an episode called "The Blues for the Red Planet" that's pretty good. If you get the box set, some of the effects and science has been updated. If you can get over his frumpy clothes, they're always a good watch.

    Here's a link to the box set on the carlsagan.com website.

    --
    Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
  17. On the next Ask Slashdot.... by therubberduckie · · Score: 1

    On the next Ask Slashdot... Jimmy doesn't know what to eat for dinner. Will the Slashdot community be able to make some worth wild suggestions?

  18. Invaders From Mars (1953) by Anonymous+Codger · · Score: 1

    When I was in elementary school in the early 60's a local TV station played this movie once a year. It was a big event that we all looked forward to eagerly. Definitely under-10 friendly. Cheesy (you can see the zippers on the backs of the Martians' costumes), but good fun.

    Here's the scoop.

    --
    No sig? Sigh...
  19. I've got a better idea.... by universalcurb · · Score: 1

    While watching educational video's with the kiddo's has its place, how about you ditch the boob-toob and keep them up well past their bed-time?

    Pick up a decent telescope and a few eyepieces, head out to the country (away from all the damn city lights) and, I don't know, look at Mars!

    Here and here are sites with a little more info...

    --
    dum spiro, spero
  20. Rocket Man by gmiller123456 · · Score: 1

    Rocket Man is pretty good, though has absolutley no educational value:
    http://us.imdb.com/Title?0120029

    I believe it's a Disney movie, but the kids won't know the evil behind it.

  21. What about a homemade DVD? by lawpoop · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Since this is the closest Mars will be before the end of the world, why not bust out the mini-dv cam and make a homemade DVD for posterity?

    You can share it with your grandchildren then.

    --
    Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
    -- Pablo Picasso
  22. Re: Mars terrain details by berenddeboer · · Score: 1

    As there isn't much on Mars besides rocks, I think that was an important, and interesting, part of the book. People who loved Mars for its own sake and saw the beauty of it. And didn't want to turn it into another earth. How often have humans not ravaged the landscape only to regret it later?

    --
    If I had a sig, I would put it here.
  23. books by WhiteDragon · · Score: 1

    Since everyone else is mentioning books that you could read to them, how about The Martian Way one of the all time great Asimov stories.

    --
    Did you mount a military-grade, variable-focus MASER on an unlicensed artificial intelligence?
  24. Re: Mars terrain details by ralphclark · · Score: 1

    Point of interest...I saw Sir Patrick Moore's monthly TV spot "The Sky At Night" on BBC this week, and as you might have guessed, this time around they chose to focus on Mars. There were a number of University egg head Mars experts on the show, all involved with various Mars probe projects, analysis of Martian meteorites etc. One of the questions Sir Patrick asked them was "what about terraforming?". I was shocked to see that not *one* of them spoke in favour of terraforming even as a long term goal! Every one of them was in favour of preserving Mars' natural state indefinitely. Red Party indeed!

  25. very last post by Ruby+last+post · · Score: 1

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