What to Watch: Movies and Series to Celebrate Thanksgiving

By Leigh Hewett

Thanksgiving is a time to gather as a family and reflect on gratitude. What better way to celebrate the holiday than to snuggle up as a family and have a movie night? From historical dramas like JOHN ADAMS to classic stories like LITTLE WOMEN, this curated list has something for everyone to enjoy!

AVALON

Quality:

****

Content:

-1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.

Spanning the years 1914 through the late 1960s, AVALON is a powerful, pro-family saga about the Krachinsky family, Jewish immigrants who move to the mythically symbolic Avalon section of Baltimore. AVALON is an extremely enlightening, entertaining movie celebrating American traditions that are losing their meaning over time. It has some light foul language, so caution is advised for older children.

 

 

SQUANTO: A WARRIOR’S TALE

Quality:

****

Content:

+3 Some minor questionable elements. (Media-wisdom is suggested to discuss.)

The exciting historical-adventure drama, SQUANTO: A WARRIOR’S TALE, tells the amazing legend of a Native American Indian and his enslavement at the hands of English traders, his daring escape and his miraculous return to his New England homeland where he risks his life for peace and helps Pilgrim settlers survive in the early 1600s. Disney’s SQUANTO is free of offensive content — save for appropriate action violence — and contains an exceptionally positive portrayal of Christian belief and principles.

LITTLE WOMEN

Quality:

****

Content:

+3 Some minor questionable elements. (Media-wisdom is suggested to discuss.)

LITTLE WOMEN is Louisa May Alcott’s classic story of four sisters in Civil War era New England. While the strong religious themes in Alcott’s book are toned down, the movie does contain positive Christian characters & actions, strong parental figures, chaste courtships, and especially winning performances by Winona Ryder, Kirsten Dunst and Claire Danes.

A WALTONS THANKSGIVING

Quality:

****

Content:

+2 Moderately questionable elements.

In A WALTONS THANKSGIVING airing on the CW channel, the Walton family experiences all sorts of fun and challenges during the annual Harvest Festival Fair, including a talent show, a pie contest, an orphaned boy being mistreated by a carnival worker, and a missing Walton girl, while John Boy must deal with the two girls he’s interested in. A WALTONS THANKSGIVING is another wonderful, exciting program where faith and family underlie every scene.

SAINTS & STRANGERS: Episode 1 & 2

Quality:

****

Content:

-1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.

SAINTS & STRANGERS is an exciting, faith-filled, jeopardy-filled two part TV miniseries from National Geographic. It tells the story of the Mayflower and the settling of Plymouth by the Pilgrims, the soldiers, the fortune hunters, and the sailors who arrived in Massachusetts in 1620 on Nov. 11. MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for SAINTS & STRANGERS because of some foul language and intense violence.

JOHN ADAMS

Quality:

****

Content:

-1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.

JOHN ADAMS is the acclaimed HBO TV miniseries on one of America’s most important founding fathers, and the second president of the United States, who led a glorious, mostly positive life of great influence. The acting, writing and direction are superb, and this miniseries is rich in political, philosophic and spiritual dialogue that recognizes Christian faith in every critical moment.

BREAKTHROUGH (2019)

Quality:

****

Content:

+1 Moderately questionable elements. (Discernment required for young children.)

BREAKTHROUGH is a must-see, entertaining, powerful, convicting, heartrending story about the real-life incident of a boy who fell through some ice and had no pulse for a longer period than any doctor thought possible when he then miraculously revived. Each character, believers and unbelievers, undergoes a tremendous journey in BREAKTHROUGH, an inspiring movie that will make you laugh and cry.

THE PILGRIMS

Quality:

****

Content:

+1 Moderately questionable elements. (Discernment required for young children.)

THE PILGRIMS is an awesome documentary that tells the Christian history of the Pilgrims who landed in Cape Cod on November 9, 1620 and, with the Mayflower Compact and other subsequent actions, established the first Christian, capitalist republic in America that became the foundation for the Declaration of Independence and the United States of America. THE PILGRIMS gives an inspiring, incredibly informative and concise history lesson on all the religious, political and economic benefits that this tiny group of people gave not only to America but also the entire world.