Barbie in A Mermaid Tale stars Barbie as a Malibu surfing champion who learns a family secret and sets off on an undersea adventure.

The award-winning University of Hawaiʻi KIDS FIRST! Film Festival returns to Mānoa with four summer Sundays of free family films.

This year’s screenings—suitable for children ages 2 to tweens—include green themes, animations adapted from beloved children’s literature, plus stories about kids and pets from around the world.

A project of the Coalition for Quality Children’s Media, KIDS FIRST!, is the largest traveling children’s film festival in the world, according to UH Mānoa’s Outreach College, which curates the festival.

Films are free of gratuitous violence; race, gender or religious bias; inappropriate content; and condescension toward children. Age-appropriate groupings of films entertain through a balance of animation and live action, plus varied themes from different cultures. Films are juried by kids, parents, teachers and child advocates nationwide to qualify for the festival.

Screenings are June 13 and 27 and July 11 and 18 at 3 p.m. in the UH Mānoa Art Auditorium.

Film themes

June 13, Ages 5–10: Surf’s Up!

A short animation on the perils plastic poses in our oceans plus a feature with Barbie as a champion surfer who sets out to save the ocean kingdom.

June 27, Ages 3–8: Animated Shorts: Storybook and Song

Award-winning animated short films that bring picture books to life. The best in children’s literature is rendered by esteemed authors, illustrators and musicians, with narration by well-known actors.

July 11, Ages 2–5: Go Green Go!

Wubbzy, a cute, crooked-tailed animated character, uses singing and dancing to teach pre-schoolers fun lessons about ecology and personal responsibility. Preceded by a short storybook animation, In the Small, Small Pond, narrated by Laura Dern.

July 18, Ages 8–12: Worldwide Kids and Critters

Short live-action and animated films from around the world (all in English) deal with universal themes of families and pets with creativity and wit.

For information, visit the KIDS FIRST! website or call (808) 956-9883.