Best films to help teach kids about climate change

Kicking off strong with one of the most obvious critiques of our environmental impact, Wall-E is a 2008 Pixar film set in a post-apocalyptic world where Earth has almost been destroyed by humanity. When Wall-E, the titular waste-cleaning robot, finds a small green plant, he accidentally kick-starts an outer-space adventure to help revitalise the planet. The film is considerate, emotional and, most importantly, environmentally valuable.

Environmentally important and musically intelligent, this 2006 movie follows Mumble, a kind-hearted but outcasted tap-dancing penguin who embarks on a journey to discover why all the fish are going missing. Behind the scenes of all the musical fun, though, the film addresses the very important impact of overfishing on penguin populations, specifically using the character of Lovelace, who has the plastic rings of a six-pack stuck around his neck, to present the problems with ocean pollution.

Released all the way back in the early 2000s, the Ice Age franchise remains beloved by kids, who perhaps best remember it for the hilarity of its secondary protagonist Sid the Sloth. However, all five of the Ice Age films also offer some valuable environmental teachings for children. The franchise explores the early effects of global warming on the world (specifically rising sea levels and melting ice caps) and could certainly be harnessed to help young audiences understand environmental issues.

Following the adventures of a young Polynesian Princess, Moana’s links to climate change may not be immediately obvious. However, when we consider the fact that Moana embarks on her journey to save her people after an environmental disaster occurs in her village, it’s obvious that some clear lines can be drawn. Moana is, in its broadest sense, a huge metaphor for climate change and humanity’s relationship with nature.

The sequel to the much-adored Finding Nemo, which in itself offered some valuable lessons about overfishing, Finding Dory takes those lessons to an even higher level. Examining ideas of large-scale captivity (most obviously seen when Dory states "There are no walls in the ocean") and the potentially disastrous consequences of littering in the seas, it’s easy to see why Finding Dory is on this list.

Although more of a child-friendly documentary than a fictional story, Arctic Tale explores the lives of both polar bears and walruses, and just what life is like for these animals and their families following some serious changes in the arctic as a result of global warming. Narrated by Queen Latifah, the film offers some important insights into the devastating consequences of shorter winters and expanding oceans on the beautiful animals that reside in arctic environments.

Dr Seuss may not have known what the future held for our planet when he penned the first draft of his 1971 novel The Lorax, but the 2012 film adaptation certainly did. Following the destruction of the Truffula Forest, the story directly parallels ideas of deforestation and pollution and directly calls its audience to protect the natural world.

Released in 2006, Over the Hedge has a lot to say about both human consumption and how easily people can affect the environment of animals. The story follows a group of animals who wake up one day to discover that their homes have been destroyed and a new housing development is being built in their place. Having been displaced, the animals must then learn how to survive in a new, unfamiliar environment.