Immigration and Movement

Cert

Age group7–14

Duration91 mins

Paddington(2014)

Charming family film about an accident prone young bear from Peru arriving in London and searching for a new home.

Although his story might be a funny and adorable tale of a famous marmalade-eating bear, Paddington is often referred to as a "refugee" and many of the problems he faces in this film center on assimilation into a new society that he has recently become a part of.

Cert

Age group7–14

Duration103 mins

Paddington 2(2017)

Paddington gets a series of jobs in the local community to buy his Aunt Lucy a birthday present, only for the gift to be stolen.

The sequel to the first Paddington film again sees the famous bear faces a number of issues relating to his status as an illegal immigrant in a city that is not always welcoming to him.

Cert

Age group7–14

Duration76 mins

Zarafa(2012)

Stunning animation about a young Sudanese boy’s escape from slave traders and his incredible and perilous journey to Paris with an orphaned giraffe.

Filled to the brim with a variety of wild animals and told with a fantastical edge, this engaging animation nevertheless aims to spotlight the importance of immigration and the limits that come with restricting freedom of movement.

Cert

Age group5–11

Duration77 mins

An American Tail(1986)

Warm animated family adventure in which a Russian mouse flee his homeland and persecution by cats for a new life in America.

This classic animated adventure is a warm, accessible entry point to talking about the immigrant experience with younger audiences. The film uses its story of mice fleeing persecution from cats as a gentle allegory for the treatment of Jewish people and other minorities.

CertUnclassified

Age group5–14

Duration5 mins

Home(2023)

A short collaboration between Aardman and Save the Children about a young person’s experience of having to leave their home and start in a new school.

Although this short animation from Save the Children was born, creatively, from the refugee crisis stemming from the war in Ukraine, it also holds true to the immigrant experience as well, allowing children to gain knowledge and empathy through the tender story of shapes trying to fit into a new environment.

Cert

Age group5–11

Duration90 mins

Home(2014)

Colourful comedy adventure about a tribe of aliens in search of a new place to live.

Filmmakers often use the visits of aliens to Earth as allegories for the immigrant experience and Home is a lovely, accessible example of that. Director Tim Johnson has said "When you're an immigrant, you're a stranger in a strange land and all the faces you see are new faces and that's true for both of our big characters."

CertUnclassified

Age group11+

Duration9 mins

Migrants(2020)

After two polar bears are forced to leave their home, they attempt to find a new community in which to live.

This 3D computer animated short film doesn’t shy away from reflecting the harsh reality of many refugees’ and migrants’ stories, depicting how these people are regularly persecuted by wider society.