Anyone who knows about kids’ movies knows how popular princess movies are, especially Disney princesses. My child is six and absolutely loves them too. My child also loves princes and kings, but I’m having a hard time finding anything that features a character as easily beloved as Elsa or Moana for example. Even worse, a lot of the times male characters are just antagonists or at least stand in the way of the princess. I’d love to see a movie with a young prince who isn’t evil or dumb (as a joke) that kids can relate to. I think it also be cool if there was singing or magic or anything mystical. My kid kind of likes Shrek but I was hoping to find one about a human prince. The protagonist in the movie The Lorax is a young boy on a good mission, and we like that movie too, but we’re just looking for something bigger. I’m not looking for a movie that’s primarily fighting, a little is okay, but I’d really prefer if the main focus was some honorable endeavor. Am I just missing the prince movies, or are they all about princesses instead?
The Cat Returns, and then Howl’s Moving Castle when he’s a little older
Had to scroll too far to find Ghibli recs.
I don’t know if either of those are good recs for OP’s question. Both have female protagonists. The Baron and Howl both are mysterious and have agendas; they’re not really role models. Spirited Away also falls in this category.
Ponyo and Castle in the Sky have admirable male protagonists, though they are not royalty (the girls in those stories are royalty).
Princess Mononoke has a protagonist who is a prince, but it’s not really a kid movie. The stuff with demons and head-severing might be too disturbing.
Tales from Earthsea and Ocean Waves are just straight-up bad movies.
Porco Rosso is cool but he also smokes, not the best influence. Same with the main character in The Wind Rises.
The Secret World of Arrietty, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya and My Neighbor Totoro are all predominantly female casts. There are male father figures but they’re not really role models, for one reason or another. The dad in Totoro is decent when he’s involved, but spends too much time working.
When Marnie Was There and Kiki’s Delivery Service are also predominantly female casts, no memorable male role models.
Nausicaa has some good guys but they’re more like set pieces than characters.
Whisper of the Heart and From Up On Poppy Hill are more slice-of-life, no real nobility or heroics.
Grave of the Fireflies is definitely not a kid movie.
Car returns is fantastic
watching The Cat Returns before seeing Whisper of the Heart is mind-blowing
I’ve never seen Whisper and tonight is movie night for us !!
So we watched it, and I had no idea what to expect. It was really awesome. My head cannon is that The Cat Returns is a polished version of her book. Thanks for the recommendation!!
yeah!! I’m glad you liked it!!