In today's society, the media are an integral part of our lives and that is why they have a great impact on children, and their development and upbringing and education. Mass media, film and television, can be a stimulating model for a child if used in a positive and correct way. Through film and television, the child acquires different knowledge of speech and expression and develops different abilities: communication, intellectual, logical, emotional, moral and aesthetic, as well as his visual and auditory perception. This final paper explores the influences of television and film on the preschool child. The paper briefly deals with the mass media, specifically film and television, and various types of films. It also deals with animated film that is primarily intended for children and the history of Croatian animated film are also covered in order to get an insight into the first animated films. It also talks about what today’s television specifically offers children from animated series and how those series can affect children. The relationship between the child and the film is discussed in more detail, where it is discussed what film and television enable the child and what role the child's parents and educators play in all this. There are different relationships between a child and television and a different understanding of what is shown on television depending on the child's age. Various authors cite a lot of positive, but also a lot of negative influences of film and television on preschool children. One of the main positive influences is the one on the child's speech and his speech expression, as well as the possibility of expression through music, fine and dramatic arts.