In this post I talked about some of my favorite movies that tackled the race issue. If you check out the comments, some people added some other great titles to my short list. There are literally hundreds of movies that deal with racial issues, some good, some bad.

Well, yesterday on one of the email adoption lists I am on, someone posted a link of adoption related movies. I have to say that there is a part of me that cringes when I hear about a movie with adoption in it. Don’t get me wrong…I love a good movie. But it seems like so many of the “adoption” movies or adoption specials on television do more harm than good.

For instance, in the Disney Movie “The Country Bears” there are several insensitive comments on adoption, especially for kids that were adopted. And Stuart Little, a classic kid’s story, has that horrible scene where two villains pretend to be Stuart’s birthparents and come and take him back from his adoptive family. NOT the message I really want my kids to get from a “fun family movie”.

The adult programs aren’t much better. I think what bothers me the most is that they tend to focus on the sensational stories, and a lot of people get the idea that those types of stories are the norm for adoptions. In fact, I have a friend who was being interviewed for a TV news special on adoption, and during the interview she was asked, “what went wrong with the adoption.” When she said nothing, they told her that they weren’t interested in her story then, because “happy endings don’t sell”.

Sure, there are real life adoptions with some not-so-happy endings and there are people who have adoption stories full of drama, some even full of heartbreak. But the reality is that most adoptions do have a happy ending. I wish that that would be portrayed in the media more often (although it does seem to be getting a bit better lately).

Here is the link for the list of adoption related movies. It is presented by Adoption Crossroads, a search and support network dedicated to adoptees and birth family reunions. It is certainly not an all-inclusive list, but I thought it was really interesting.

I have to admit that I haven’t seen many of the movies on the list…some I know are bad (Problem Child and Problem Child 2 IKES!) and a few I know are good, (The Other Mother). I am sure there are many we could add to the list, both in the good and bad categories. I was a bit impressed with Disney’s Snow Dogs…Cuba Gooding, Jr. plays a dentist who lives in Florida and was adopted as a baby. He finds out that his birthfather lives in Alaska and races sled dogs. He goes to Alaska and has a huge adventure. There are several great scenes as his adoptive mother is supportive of his reunion with his roots and his birth family. Definitely sends good messages. (And there’s lots of snow, dogs and humor that make it a fun family movie).


So, there you go… some movies to avoid with your kids and some to watch (or watch again). I am going to start renting some of the movies on the list above (I’ve already admitted to being a movie buff). I’ll let you know what I think as I watch them.