Fly Away Home (1996)
[9]
Admittedly, I’m a bird fan, but don’t let the marketing fool you. This is not just a kid’s movie — it’s an incredibly moving, gorgeously made film based on an inspirational true story, and I blubber every time I see it. After losing her mother, young Amy (Oscar winner Anna Paquin, The Piano, True Blood) goes to live with her eccentric inventor father (Jeff Daniels). They’re estranged from one another, but they bond over a common cause: a gaggle of orphaned geese. The hatchlings imprint on Anna, believing she is their mother. Since the geese can’t learn their migratory path unless their mother teaches them, Dad builds a pair of ultra-light planes so he and Amy can lead the geese on an amazing journey to their winter grounds.