Engineers Inspired These Children’s FilmsEngineers Inspired These Children’s Films

When one thinks of holiday films the entire family can watch, there are many great choices too numerous to mention here. But particularly in more recent decades, many family films aimed at children increasingly rely on characters that use tech as a key ally to help solve problems and reach goals.

The site Institution of Engineering and Technology, which promotes STEM education and technology, has come up with a list of children’s films where technology plays more than a minor role in the storyline.  While a majority of these films are relatively recent, several films that predate the Internet and demonstrate how even what many consider low-tech can help the film’s character get out of trouble or help attain something that could only exist in a dream.

While these films are entertaining by themselves, anyone with even a slight bent for technology will appreciate the thought and know-how that went into creating these timeless flicks.

Design News would like to thank the Institution of Engineering and Technology for this list.

The LEGO Movie

Film certified U – suitable for children aged 6+

Based on the LEGO line of construction toys, this movie is a feel-good, animated film sure to appeal to all budding engineers.

The film follows Emmet, a very ordinary construction worker, who teams up with a group of Lego Master Builders in a mission to save the world.

Related:Artificial Intelligence at the Movies

Throughout the movie, children can see the engineering design process in action as the Master Builders are able to build anything from bricks with, or without, a manual.

You can view an excerpt from the film here.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms

Film certified PG – suitable for children aged 10+

At its heart, this movie is a story about a young girl who is gifted a locked mechanical egg from her deceased mother and embarks on an adventure to a magical kingdom to retrieve the key.

The heroine of this tale, Clara, is an engineering enthusiast heavily inspired by her godfather, the skilled engineer Drosselmeyer. We are first introduced to Clara as she is demonstrating her latest invention: an elaborate mousetrapping device. 

All throughout this visually stunning adventure, Clara shows a natural talent for innovation and critical thinking.

You can view a clip of the film here.

Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey

Film certified PG – Suitable for children aged 8+

This festive musical is about Jeronicus Jangle, a gifted toymaker and owner of the once world-famous toyshop, Jangles and Things, which is currently facing foreclose after the blueprints to his prized inventions are stolen.

Related:New Sci-Fi Movies Are Rocking 2022

Jeronicus’s granddaughter, Journey, is an engineering prodigy who sets out on a mission to fix The Buddy 3000, a flying and talking robot, that could be the key to saving her grandfather’s store.

As a lover of all things related to STEM, Journey will surely serve as an inspiration for any child who dreams of building robots, problem-solving, or inventing something of their very own.

You can view the film’s trailer here.

Arthur Christmas

Film certified U – Suitable for children aged 5 - 10

How does Santa deliver all those presents in one night? This fantastically fun roller coaster ride of a film answers that very question.

Watch this film and you’ll be amazed to see just how much science, engineering, and technology goes into the magic of Christmas!  

From the present sorting conveyor belts, parachuting delivery teams and North Pole Mission Control, it’s safe to say that this film certainly tells us that Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the inventions behind Santa’s sleigh full of presents.  

You can preview the film here.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Film certified U – suitable for children aged 5 - 10

Dating back to 1968(!), this classic has the famous car that is invented and throughout the film we can see loads of inspiring inventions and ideas that Caractacus Potts has dreamt up. It is full of crazy, cooky engineering, wonderful songs and loveable characters.   

The people who design and test cars are called Automotive Mechanical Engineers. Not only do they design the actual cars, but they also design the machines that build them.

Did you know: cars are the most recycled product in the world? In addition to so many being bought second hand, when they come to the end of their useable life, they are stripped down and the component parts are used in other products.   

You can preview this classic film here.

Home Alone

Film certified U – suitable for children aged 6 - 11

In this classic film from 1990 that helped propel Macaulay Culkin’s film career, we think of Culkin’s character, Kevin, a boy left all alone at Christmas, doing battle with the evil burglars, but have you ever thought of him as an engineer?   

Once left all alone in the house, Kevin discovers the joy of having the place all to himself! Pizzas are ordered, films are watched, beds are bounced on and an enormous mess is made! Kevin is enjoying playing at being a grown up until two burglars turn up at the house with a plan to rob it.   

Kevin gets creative and wires the house up and creates traps to stop the two burglars getting what they want.   

This film is full of incredible inventions, and just as you think the burglars can’t come off any worse, another of his cleverly designed traps is set off.   

This classic family film owes quite a bit to Kevin's engineering skills.

You can view the film’s trailer here.

Bechtel’s Dream Big

Film certified PG – suitable for children aged 5+

While not marketed necessarily as entertainment, this film narrated by Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges is a film that will transform how we think about engineering.

At only 42 minutes long, Dream Big will let you find out all about the Great Wall of China and the world’s tallest buildings, through to underwater robots, solar cars and smart, sustainable cities.

Dream Big celebrates the human ingenuity behind engineering marvels big and small and reveals the heart that drives engineers to create better lives for people around the world.

You can preview the film here.

Big Hero 6

Film certified PG – suitable for children aged 6 - 12

Hiro, is, well, the hero of the film. He is a 14-year-old robotics genius and uses all his skills and knowledge to save the day when a terrible event occurs in the city of San Fransokyo and catapults Hiro into great danger.

Hiro transforms his friends into a band of high-tech heroes called "Big Hero 6” to uncover the mystery.

Baymax is the robotic character in the film. We normally think of robots as machines that builds things such as cars or develop products in factories. However, in this film Baymax is a robot that helps people.

You can preview the film here.