Is There Room on the Broom?

Charming British tale Room on the Broom

If you love art, or perhaps are just a parent, there is currently a little gem on Netflix called Room on the Broom. It’s a sweet tale of including others, but for me, it was also an opening into yet another beautiful artistic world. I couldn’t help myself as I stared at the shots and thought ‘Is that clay, no wait, that’s too clean, probably computer, but it looks like clay!’

Somehow this little tale, its story and its artistry, swept me away. And it also mesmerized my kids. They are 5, 3, and 2, and it’s very rare that all of them will stay put on the couch at once for a single show or movie—but this had them all engaged from start to finish. It just reaffirmed what I already believe, which is that kids LOVE good stories that are slowly and thoughtfully told—something that allows them to explore and look at things and fall in love with the characters. The same thing that was happening to me, all over again.

The bonus of course is that I was also ‘introduced’ to the illustrator of the original book, Axel Scheffler and pointed back to the genius of Studio AKA animation. We’ll be seeking out as much British animation as we can in the coming months, including a welcome visit back to ‘Wallace and Gromit.’