FOR KIDS : Family Film Festival Is Long-Running Hit

Even with TV, videotape recorders and personal film libraries, most children still enjoy an afternoon at the movies--especially if the movies are made especially for kids.

“No matter how many toys and films and books they have at home, the children always love to sit in the dark and watch a film on the big screen,” said Mindy Liberman, supervisor of the Young People’s Library in Glendale. “The Saturday Family Film Festival at our library is one of the most popular programs we have.”

Each Saturday from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. for more than five years, the Young People’s Library--part of the Glendale Public Library--has held a free family film festival.

The films, some of which are animated, are made for children. Most of the films shown are part of the Young People’s Library collection and are also used in public classrooms in the area, Liberman said.

This month, many of the films to be shown are based on popular children’s books.

“We always have a larger attendance when we show films based on the most popular children’s books,” Liberman said. “This is one of those months.”

The films typically draw 80 children each Saturday and more than 100 children on the last Saturday of each month, when cartoon classics are shown.

“We have children of all ages attending the festival and there is plenty of room for more children,” she said of the program, which is funded by the city of Glendale. “It’s free to all parents and children.”

The film series will be shown at least through the summer except for the first two Saturdays in April when the library is planning its annual fund-raising book sale.

This is the film schedule for March:

Saturday: “There’s a Nightmare in My Closet,” a film based on the popular children’s story by Mercer Mayer; “Nature’s Strangest Creatures,” a nature film based on the wildlife of Australia; and a surprise film.

March 16: “Curious George,” an animated children’s favorite based on the popular book of the same name; “Corduroy,” based on the book by Don Freeman about a girl who falls in love with a stuffed teddy bear; and “Summer Switch,” based on the book by Mary Rodgers about a boy and his father who switch places for the summer.

March 23: “The Amazing Bone,” an animated film based on the story by William Steig about a magic talking bone that rescues a pig from an evil fox; “Frog Goes to Dinner,” based on Mayer’s book about a boy who sneaks his frog into a fancy restaurant for dinner; and “Soldier Jack,” an adaptation of an American folk tale set in rural America after World War II.

March 30: A special program of cartoon classics including “By Word of Mouth,” with Sylvester the cat; “Tacky Trout,” with Chilly Willy; “Go West Magoo,” featuring Mr. Magoo; “Perils of Pearl Pureheart,” featuring Mighty Mouse; and “Chick and Double Chick,” a Little Lulu cartoon.

The Family Film Festival takes place from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. each Saturday in the auditorium of the Glendale Public Library, 222 E. Harvard St. For information, call (818) 548-2035.