Hollywood's Top 10 Family Films of 2009

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6. 'Where the Wild Things Are'Having undergone a lot of controversy as to whether or it was suitable for kids, the film offered a refreshingly stark and poignant glimpse into the mind of a child struggling with upset in his domestic life. Running away from home after an angry bout with his mother, 8-year-old Max

finds himself in a land inhabited by giant monsters (played by live action puppets with CG faces). These "wild things" become Max's adopted family (though he professes to be their king to avoid getting eaten), and as he struggles to make everyone in his surrogate family feel loved, he realizes the stress and compromise it requires to be in charge of a family.

Director Spike Jonze and writer Dave Eggers claimed this is a film about childhood, and in many ways it is, but it's also largely about a child faced with understanding the challenges of parenthood.

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5. 'Ponyo'
Only from the imagination of amine legend Hayao Miyazaki could this elegant and playful interpretation of Hans Christian Anderson's 'The Little Mermaid' have been born. Sprinkling a little Darwinism to the original fairy tale, 'Ponyo' tells the story of an aquatic demi-godess who wishes to become human, and by tasting a drop of one little boy's blood,

she gets her wish. Slowly evolving from tadpole to little girl, Ponyo's desire to be on land enrages her sea wizard father, who employs every measure to get her back. With gorgeous animation and some seriously fine voice acting (Liam Neeson, Tina Fey and Cate Blanchett all are outstanding), this love story of sorts is as beautiful as it is truly touching.

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4. 'The Princess and the Frog'
This 2D fairy tale is a Disney throwback to the days before A-listers voiced animated characters who rattled of pop culture references like their on a VH1 clip show.

As such, this musical brings back the majesty of Disney's heyday, telling the story of Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) who attempts to restore amphibious Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos) back into a human, but by kissing him, ends up a frog herself.

Set in the French Quarter of New Orleans during the 1920s, there's plenty of jazz, masquerade and voodoo enmeshed within it, that this films feels adequately otherworldly, but not out-of-this-world entirely.

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3. 'Coraline'
Stop-motion animation is cool. Stop-motion animation in 3D is extraordinary. And as is 'Coraline,' an adaptation of Neil Gaiman's novella that really makes the most of the 3D without overwhelming the story itself: Attention-starved Coraline (voiced to perfection by Dakota Fanning) has recently moved with her family to a new home, and there she finds a portal to

parallel world, that looks just like her own, except there her "Other Mother" always has time for her. Directed by Henry Selick, this film certainly borrows from a Tim Burton film or two, but it remains distinctly its own with compelling, complex characters and wholly immersive visuals.

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2. 'Fantastic Mr. Fox'
Wes Anderson likes to make films about families, but none of them could hardly have been considered "family films." Until now. This stop-motion masterpiece puts the title character (voiced by ever-foxy George Clooney) in the middle of a mid-life crisis. In an attempt to recapture his waning sense of adventure, he endeavors to steal chickens from local farmers, even though he promised his wife he'd give up his thieving

ways years ago. With a loving Mrs. (Meryl Streep) and a misunderstood son (Jason Schwartzman), Mr. Fox's quirky family, even though they are woodland creatures, are all deeply felt, and as a result seem reminiscent of our own. Between the pitch-perfect kitsch of the furry puppets, to how faithful Anderson kept his film to Roald Dahl's original children's novel, everything about this film is indeed fantastic.