Foster care movies can provide parents and kids alike with a greater understanding of this unique family experience, sparking discussions on feelings of loss or disappointment, reunion with birth parents, and finding new connections within foster care families.
Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne star in this heartwarming drama about a couple who pursue adoption and end up with three siblings instead. It explores parenting a teenager while emphasizing family love regardless of blood ties.
Instant Family
Instant Family is an engaging yet heartfelt film about foster care that draws inspiration from director and co-writer Sean Anders’ experience adopting children. Following Pete (Mark Wahlberg) and Ellie Wagner (Rose Byrne) as they first enter the realm of child welfare for themselves, Instant Family shows how rewarding foster parenting can be as well as its challenges, from navigating reunification programs to communicating with kids via naked selfies and food tantrums, Instant Family showcases just how deeply Pete and Ellie connect with their new siblings; making Instant Family an apt introduction for those thinking of adopting kids as well as existing foster families or current foster families to see just what awaits them before making their decisions or currently supporting foster families better prepared.
One of the film’s hallmarks is its portrayal of the challenges involved with fostering teenage children. While foster children sometimes get the reputation for being difficult and disrespectful, this film shows otherwise and also underscores how challenging it can be to connect with a teen who has been living in care for some time.
However, one aspect that could have been improved upon in the movie was its inattention to birth mothers. While it is understandable that most of the focus of the film lies with foster parents rather than biological families, showing the difficulty children have maintaining healthy relationships would have been beneficial in delivering foster families can be just as loving and supportive as biological ones. Therefore, it would be helpful for foster care children to watch this film together in order to demonstrate that there can be nothing but loving support provided by both families.
Shazam!
The film stars a young boy with body-changing powers who must defeat an evil villain. Though not particularly heartfelt, the movie does show how families are more potent than superheroes – something foster children should see reflected in film form. Additionally, teamwork and courage are promoted throughout.
The movie follows Billy, an exasperated foster kid with dreams of finding his birth mother. When this fails, he ends up at an all-inclusive last-chance foster home populated with five other kids from various races and backgrounds; such portrayals avoid perpetuating negative stereotypes by showing that children placed into foster care are diverse in terms of both race and personality.
Although this movie features plenty of action and humor between kids, its core lies in Billy’s relationships with his foster siblings – providing a valuable lesson about family being anyone there for you when no one else can be. Foster siblings support Billy when no one else can. This foster family serves as an inspiring reminder that family doesn’t necessarily mean blood relations but can include those who support one when no one else does.
Mark Strong portrays Dr. Thaddeus Sivana as an antagonist with family issues of his own. Although ruthless and power-hungry, viewers will gain enough background information on him to understand his motivations and empathize with him. Furthermore, Shazam! Emphasizes the significance of forgiveness over neglect or abuse, as seen through its narrative.
Shazam! is an entertaining, hilarious, and heartwarming film that portrays an all too realistic situation many children must navigate during their lives. Hollywood rarely succeeds at portraying this scenario realistically on screen; Shazam! is the exception that proves it. It teaches important lessons about family through its message about its importance – making for an excellent viewing experience all around!
Tarzan
Foster children can use this movie to learn how important it is to love their biological family even if you won’t always be together with them. You could also use this as an opportunity to talk with your kids about the many times when such situations may arise and that their biological parents still love them deeply.
As in the film, when Tarzan discovers creatures that look similar to him, he becomes overjoyed and wants to learn more about them, but Kerchak reminds him they don’t belong in his family. This provides an excellent opportunity to discuss how foster and adoptive children may feel part of multiple families and how this does not preclude them from getting along well together.
Cynthia and her husband are social workers and foster parents to an energetic little girl named Annie, whom they care deeply for; unfortunately, they’ve yet to adopt because they lack the qualifications.
After numerous rejections, they finally find Tarzan. At his mother’s request and with her blessing, they become permanent foster parents and become his kinship caregivers.
This movie’s story is highly heartwarming and can help children understand the importance of feeling loved in all circumstances, particularly those living in foster care where biological family relationships may clash with adoptive or foster families.
The California Angels
The California Angels is an endearing, lighthearted film about how foster families can affect children’s lives. The plot follows Roger (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), an 11-year-old foster home student living near Los Angeles Angels stadium who idolizes them so much he makes a wish that they win, only for it to turn out that angels only Roger can see have heard his prayer and are helping the last-place team succeed.
Tony Danza stars as an over-the-hill pitcher, Dermot Mulroney deserves more recognition, and Brenda Fricker should have received more significant acclaim after her Oscar-winning role in My Left Foot.’ The film contains much physical comedy sure to delight children while conveying an important message: that people around them must show that they care, even when others cannot provide everything that may be required of them.
Angels Foster Family Network founder Cathy Richman saw this firsthand during her years serving as a court-appointed special advocate (CASA) in San Diego’s foster system. She realized it was best for infants and toddlers to remain with one family until either reunified with their birth families or adopted. Brain and cognitive research now supports what Cathy instinctively knew – that young children must form healthy attachments with adults early in life, which cannot happen when constantly moving between families. That is why the Angels Foster Family Network explicitly targets young children as its focus area of operation.
Michael Oher
The Blind Side, the 2009 Oscar-winning blockbuster film, chronicles Michael Oher’s incredible journey as an NFL player, overcoming stuttering and an unstable upbringing to become a first-round draft pick for the Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, and Tennessee Titans. Starring Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy (Tim McGraw portraying Sean Tuohy), Quinton Aaron as Oher himself, and Sandra Bullock herself portraying Leigh Anne Tuohy (Leigh Anne Tuohy), critics have claimed it shows the Tuohy family as white saviors exploiting Oher’s story for financial gain.
Oher is in a legal battle with the family who played him on screen ten years after The Blind Side’s release, alleging they have wronged him with their portrayal. Oher filed suit this week alleging the Tuohys have misrepresented his relationship to them as depicted in The Blind Side; Oher alleges they tricked him into signing conservatorship agreements that gave them access to do business under his name and capitalize on its massive box office success of over $309 Million worldwide.
Oher’s lawsuit demands a court to end his conservatorship agreement and stop them from exploiting any aspect of his name, likeness, or image for financial gain. Additionally, Oher requests monetary compensation for any harm done.
The Blind Side has long been controversial due to its portrayal of Oher as being unintelligent and wholly dependent upon the Tuohys for his success both on the football field and beyond. Critics contend that its description plays into negative stereotypes about Black people being subservient or dependent upon white authority and power.
