The Oxford Handbook of Children's Film

This comprehensive study offers an essential examination of children's cinema that moves far beyond Disney and Hollywood to provide a truly global perspective on the genre. The book's interdisciplinary approach brings together insights from film studies, education, media studies, and animation studies to create a multidimensional understanding of how children's films operate culturally and educationally. Readers will appreciate the international scope, which includes analysis of iconic productions from Britain, France, Germany, and extends to films from China, Japan, South Korea, India, and Iran. The scholarly yet accessible approach makes complex concepts about children's media literacy and cultural representation understandable without sacrificing academic rigor.

What makes this volume particularly valuable is its refusal to treat children's film as a monolithic category, instead exploring how different cultures approach storytelling, animation techniques, and childhood representation through cinema. Film students and educators will find the cross-cultural comparisons invaluable for understanding how children's media shapes—and is shaped by—societal values across continents. The inclusion of often-overlooked cinematic traditions from countries like Hungary, Norway, and Australia provides fresh perspectives that challenge Western-dominated narratives about children's entertainment. This handbook ultimately reframes how we understand the global impact and cultural significance of films created for young audiences.