Has anyone noticed that children’s movies have phases of popular animal species? I, for one, grew up in the late 80s-early 90s where almost every movie I watched had to do with rodents:

• The Secret of Nimh(1982) – A field mouse must consort with super-smart rats to help her ill son
• The Rescuers (1977) – The mice Bernard and Bianca must save an orphan girl who is being held captive in the bayou and forced to gather jewels
•  The Rescuers Down Under (1990) – The mice Bernard and Bianca go to Australia to help save a boy and an eagle from a poacher
• An American Tail (1986) – A mouse emigrates from Russia to escape from Bolshevik cats
• The Great Mouse Detective (1986) – Basically Sherlock Holmes in mouse form
• Once Upon a Forest (1993) – A badger is poisoned by evil men and his friends, a mouse, a mole, and a hedgehog must find him a cure
• The Witches (1990) – A boy stumbles upon a witch convention and as punishment, is turned into a mouse. Together with another boy who has been turned into a mouse, they must prevent the witches from turning other children into mice.
• Chip n’ Dale Rescue Rangers (1989-1992) – Chipmunks fight crime (yes this is a television series but I think it’s relevant)

Children born during the aughts will probably have an unusual attachment to penguins:

• The March of the Penguins (2005) – A documentary about Emperor Penguins annual journey
• Happy Feet (2006) – An Emperor Penguin dances instead of singing
• Surf’s Up (2007) – Penguins surf
• Madagascar (2005) – While penguins aren’t the main characters in this movie they certainly provide a big source of the comedy
• Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) – This time the penguins are in Africa

In conclusion, we pick strange ways of entertaining/educating our children.