You’re a savvy parent. Why read The Bigger Picture?

What movie should we watch with the kids? You’ve said it. We’ve all said it. It’s a common question that, before The Bigger Picture, has never had a fun, progressive go-to resource for finding the answer. Now you won’t have to doomscroll Netflix ever again. Subscribe to get full access to our newsletter—chockablock with weekly movie recommendations, rankings, and more—that will ensure you enjoy family movie night as much as your kids do. In other words: Goodbye, Frozen!

It’s time to join the family.

Yes, you can be a part of The Bigger Picture community starting right this instant! Tell us what you think in the comments. Subscribe and ask your friends to please-please-please subscribe, too.

How did this newsletter come to be?

As a former magazine editor, camp counselor, and video librarian who has found herself living in Charlottesville, Virginia, I spend a lot of my free time obsessively unearthing movies that I, my two stepkids, now 10 and 14, and my husband, James, now 45, will all enjoy together. At this point, we’ve watched hundreds of films together. (Our baby has a lot of catching up to do once she turns 2 and is old enough to actually see a screen.) There have been some misses (Forrest Gump really has not aged well). But there have been many more hits. “That was actually really good!” is a common review—and the equivalent of 100% Fresh at our house—even for movies made way before the kids were born. 

My parent-friends and I have long lamented that there’s no resource for generations-spanning movies that are aligned with our tastes and child-rearing styles, which is to say, responsible but not puritanical. So here I am, deciding to be the change and offering you The Bigger Picture newsletter.

Those illustrations are cool. What’s the deal?

Mara Sprafkin is The Bigger Picture’s in-house artist. (Total coup, eh?) Each week, she contributes an exclusive illustration—that doubles as a printable coloring page—for The Bigger Picture’s readers to enjoy.


We’d Like to Thank the Academy: The Bigger Picture has been recognized by Substack as a hot ticket.

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An obsessive's guide to family movies.

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Rachel is a writer and editor living in Charlottesville, Virginia. She's the cofounder of the Spread, a weekly newsletter that weighs in on the wide, wild world of women's media.
Dad, editor, nonprofit founder, friend of the Pic
Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Mara has lived in Charlottesville, Virginia for almost ten years. Mara is an artist and lives with her husband and two kids.