I appreciate the "Not just for girls!" and "Not just for boys!" One of the silliest things going on on social media recently has been stuff about how girls who like X movie can't possibly be feminine...c'mon people. We all love compelling human stories.
Ooh some total favorites on this list (Fantastic Mr. Fox! Little Women!) and some new ones I'm excited to watch! Every once in a while we'll get a hankering for a movie night but spend so much time trying to decide what to watch. I'll be returning to this list!!
I have strange taste in movies (I'm a big Wes Anderson fan if that tells you something). I have what I think are some great picks, but that would require me to draft too many caveats for parents. However, one of my favorites has a PG rating and at least for me a lot of resonance with today's tendency to craft fake narratives. Even if you don't usually care for Jim Carrey, The Truman Show is worth viewing with older kids. It would bore young ones.
1. The Book Thief 2. The Princess Bride 3. Saving Mr. Banks 4. Soul Surfer 5. Stan and Ollie 6. The Court Jester 7. Freaky Friday (Jamie Lee Curtis) 8. The Parent Trap (the old and reboot) 9. Prince Valiant 10. The Adventures of Tin-Tin 11. We Bought a Zoo 12. All Saints 13. Shipwrecked 14. The Bishop's Wife 15. Far From the Madding Crowd (Julie Christie and Carey Mulligan) 16. Little Women (Winona Ryder) 17. The Christmas Bells 18. Mrs. Doubtfire 19. Rookie of the Year 20. Ramona & Beezus 21. Mr. Holland's Opus 22. Horatio Hornblower 23. Amazing Grace 24. Emma (G. Paltrow) 24. Miracle on 34th Street (old and new) 25. The Drop Box
Have you watched Of Gods and Men? A French film (subtitle) about a Trappist monastery during the Algerian Civil war if I remember correctly. I would not consider it a family film for young ones based on the theme-it could be for older (high school perhaps/college). But I just had to mention it here because I think it is a beautiful film-and if you have not seen it, I think you would be moved by it....
My kids all run for sport and we watch Chariots of Fire as a family regularly per their request. I heard my oldest quote Isaiah 40 to his little sister before a race because of it! "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up - with wings as eagles. They shall run - and not be weary."
Not a movie, but we also love All Creatures Great & Small. Movie, Princess Bride!
Fantastic list! A few at the top of ours are: Dead Poets Society, Hunt for the Wilderpeople (most quoted in our household), Night at the Museum, How to Train Your Dragon, Dolphin Tale, Finding Forrester, Sandlot, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Love this list; new subscriber here. Chiming in with a few favorites - #1 is The Princess Bride (how did it get left off your list, tho?) - all the characters and all great lines: “As you wish,” “I don’t think that means what you think it means,” “You killed my father, prepare to die.” It’s fun from start to finish.
#2 (stick with me on this one) is The Lost Boys - yes it’s about Vampires, but the moral of the story is fantastic (it’s about the decision to invite evil in) and Grandpa proves to be the (nonchalant) quiet hero - the protector of his family (the one where wisdom & experience win over youth & impulsiveness) and he’s the real terror of demons - like who? Like St. Joseph, that’s who.
Besides, vampire stories are always the inversion of the source and summit of our Catholic faith (you know, “eat my body and drink my blood, or you have no life within you”). How can anybody not love that? Or, maybe that’s just me? 😅
#3 is It’s A Wonderful Life, although it gets some important theology wrong, wrong, wrong - a ringing bell means a soul becomes an Angel in heaven (ummm, nope, but a great opportunity to discuss theological truths with teens) - and it’s the American parallel of A Christmas Carol. In a word, it’s simply wonderful. What could be better?
Hm, I think I’d add Man in the Iron Mask (with DiCaprio). History, loyalty, standing up against tyranny, sacrificial love. Definitely some inappropriate moments, though.
Hi Tsh! I love this list! I second them all, and agree with the previous comments about "not just for girls/boys"... so good. It was such a fun exercise to think over my film viewing history and choose the ones that impacted me and that I would recommend for families (and honestly everyone!!), assuming your caveats of reading the parent advisory guide on IMDb, fast forwarding, standing in front of the screen, etc. Here's what I came up with, organized by genre, with comments on some but not all 😁:
Classic:
1 - Life Is Beautiful
2 - Fiddler on the Roof (the 1971 Topol version)
3 - Footloose - themes of identity and generational rebellion, legalism, classic cultural touchstone
4 - Steel Magnolias - based on a play based on the playwright's life with heavy-hitting actors
Documentary:
5 - Won't You Be My Neighbor? - beautiful portrait of an incredible man
6 - Three Identical Strangers - a bizarre doc that made me like documentaries, and a reminder that there are so many different kinds of people in the world
7 - Audrey (2020) - intimate look at the life of a celebrity actress, surprising, moving
Foreign:
8 - The Farewell - about a family putting on a fake family wedding to have a chance to say goodbye to their grandmother who doesn't know that she's dying of cancer. Stunning performance by Awkwafina
9 - A Man Called Ove (the original, not the American remake!) - about the power of love and neighborliness
10 - Roma (2018) - many tears were shed, the theme that struck me most was the dignity of all human life
Coming of Age (I can't resist a good one):
11 - Lady Bird
12- Little Miss Sunshine
13 - Eight Grade
14 - Hunt for the Wilderpeople
15 - Captain Fantastic - what happens when a family opts out of society?
Historical Bio-pics:
16 - The Young Victoria - a longtime favorite looking at the character and virtues of an influential queen
17 - Oppenheimer - powerful questions about nuclear warfare, individual or collective culpability
18 - Hidden Figures - fun, inspiring, great performances, themes about race and racism
19 - Loving - about the couple who's case went to Supreme Court, legalizing interracial marriage
20 - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood - again, Mister Rogers
21 - Loving Vincent - a gorgeous film about Vincent Van Gogh's final days, depicted in oil-painted animation
Other:
22 - Blade Runner - a cultural touchstone, innovative for its time (and very wierd, sometimes scary to me!)
23 - Blade Runner 2049 - I loved this follow-up! Questions about the dignity and value of every human life
24 - All Miyazaki films for various themes, beautiful art, a sense of magic and enchantment
25 - A Knight's Tale - my all-time favorite film that I've been watching since I was 12, mostly for fun, but also for friendship, Heath Ledger, great quotes, and classic rock music
Honorable mention: Frances Ha, Sense and Sensibility, La La Land, Ford V Ferrari, Green Book, If Beale Street Could Talk, Jojo Rabbit, Green Book, in theaters now -- The Holdovers (lots of language in this one though so definitely family discretion advised...)
I appreciate the "Not just for girls!" and "Not just for boys!" One of the silliest things going on on social media recently has been stuff about how girls who like X movie can't possibly be feminine...c'mon people. We all love compelling human stories.
Yes indeed! Agreed completely.
Ooh some total favorites on this list (Fantastic Mr. Fox! Little Women!) and some new ones I'm excited to watch! Every once in a while we'll get a hankering for a movie night but spend so much time trying to decide what to watch. I'll be returning to this list!!
I'm glad, Chloe! And I completely understand the spend-the-evening-deciding-what-to-watch experience of a movie night...
I have strange taste in movies (I'm a big Wes Anderson fan if that tells you something). I have what I think are some great picks, but that would require me to draft too many caveats for parents. However, one of my favorites has a PG rating and at least for me a lot of resonance with today's tendency to craft fake narratives. Even if you don't usually care for Jim Carrey, The Truman Show is worth viewing with older kids. It would bore young ones.
Yes, that's one of our favorites as well! All our kids love it.
1. The Book Thief 2. The Princess Bride 3. Saving Mr. Banks 4. Soul Surfer 5. Stan and Ollie 6. The Court Jester 7. Freaky Friday (Jamie Lee Curtis) 8. The Parent Trap (the old and reboot) 9. Prince Valiant 10. The Adventures of Tin-Tin 11. We Bought a Zoo 12. All Saints 13. Shipwrecked 14. The Bishop's Wife 15. Far From the Madding Crowd (Julie Christie and Carey Mulligan) 16. Little Women (Winona Ryder) 17. The Christmas Bells 18. Mrs. Doubtfire 19. Rookie of the Year 20. Ramona & Beezus 21. Mr. Holland's Opus 22. Horatio Hornblower 23. Amazing Grace 24. Emma (G. Paltrow) 24. Miracle on 34th Street (old and new) 25. The Drop Box
Some great choices here!
Thank you for including Master & Commander. That’s one of my all time favorites for it’s virtue and ideas of courage and honor.
I love it too! A hidden gem.
Have you watched Of Gods and Men? A French film (subtitle) about a Trappist monastery during the Algerian Civil war if I remember correctly. I would not consider it a family film for young ones based on the theme-it could be for older (high school perhaps/college). But I just had to mention it here because I think it is a beautiful film-and if you have not seen it, I think you would be moved by it....
I haven't seen it! Thanks for the rec.
My kids all run for sport and we watch Chariots of Fire as a family regularly per their request. I heard my oldest quote Isaiah 40 to his little sister before a race because of it! "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up - with wings as eagles. They shall run - and not be weary."
Not a movie, but we also love All Creatures Great & Small. Movie, Princess Bride!
Yep to all three of these mentions! Great ones.
Fantastic list! A few at the top of ours are: Dead Poets Society, Hunt for the Wilderpeople (most quoted in our household), Night at the Museum, How to Train Your Dragon, Dolphin Tale, Finding Forrester, Sandlot, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Love this list; new subscriber here. Chiming in with a few favorites - #1 is The Princess Bride (how did it get left off your list, tho?) - all the characters and all great lines: “As you wish,” “I don’t think that means what you think it means,” “You killed my father, prepare to die.” It’s fun from start to finish.
#2 (stick with me on this one) is The Lost Boys - yes it’s about Vampires, but the moral of the story is fantastic (it’s about the decision to invite evil in) and Grandpa proves to be the (nonchalant) quiet hero - the protector of his family (the one where wisdom & experience win over youth & impulsiveness) and he’s the real terror of demons - like who? Like St. Joseph, that’s who.
Besides, vampire stories are always the inversion of the source and summit of our Catholic faith (you know, “eat my body and drink my blood, or you have no life within you”). How can anybody not love that? Or, maybe that’s just me? 😅
#3 is It’s A Wonderful Life, although it gets some important theology wrong, wrong, wrong - a ringing bell means a soul becomes an Angel in heaven (ummm, nope, but a great opportunity to discuss theological truths with teens) - and it’s the American parallel of A Christmas Carol. In a word, it’s simply wonderful. What could be better?
Hm, I think I’d add Man in the Iron Mask (with DiCaprio). History, loyalty, standing up against tyranny, sacrificial love. Definitely some inappropriate moments, though.
Hi Tsh! I love this list! I second them all, and agree with the previous comments about "not just for girls/boys"... so good. It was such a fun exercise to think over my film viewing history and choose the ones that impacted me and that I would recommend for families (and honestly everyone!!), assuming your caveats of reading the parent advisory guide on IMDb, fast forwarding, standing in front of the screen, etc. Here's what I came up with, organized by genre, with comments on some but not all 😁:
Classic:
1 - Life Is Beautiful
2 - Fiddler on the Roof (the 1971 Topol version)
3 - Footloose - themes of identity and generational rebellion, legalism, classic cultural touchstone
4 - Steel Magnolias - based on a play based on the playwright's life with heavy-hitting actors
Documentary:
5 - Won't You Be My Neighbor? - beautiful portrait of an incredible man
6 - Three Identical Strangers - a bizarre doc that made me like documentaries, and a reminder that there are so many different kinds of people in the world
7 - Audrey (2020) - intimate look at the life of a celebrity actress, surprising, moving
Foreign:
8 - The Farewell - about a family putting on a fake family wedding to have a chance to say goodbye to their grandmother who doesn't know that she's dying of cancer. Stunning performance by Awkwafina
9 - A Man Called Ove (the original, not the American remake!) - about the power of love and neighborliness
10 - Roma (2018) - many tears were shed, the theme that struck me most was the dignity of all human life
Coming of Age (I can't resist a good one):
11 - Lady Bird
12- Little Miss Sunshine
13 - Eight Grade
14 - Hunt for the Wilderpeople
15 - Captain Fantastic - what happens when a family opts out of society?
Historical Bio-pics:
16 - The Young Victoria - a longtime favorite looking at the character and virtues of an influential queen
17 - Oppenheimer - powerful questions about nuclear warfare, individual or collective culpability
18 - Hidden Figures - fun, inspiring, great performances, themes about race and racism
19 - Loving - about the couple who's case went to Supreme Court, legalizing interracial marriage
20 - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood - again, Mister Rogers
21 - Loving Vincent - a gorgeous film about Vincent Van Gogh's final days, depicted in oil-painted animation
Other:
22 - Blade Runner - a cultural touchstone, innovative for its time (and very wierd, sometimes scary to me!)
23 - Blade Runner 2049 - I loved this follow-up! Questions about the dignity and value of every human life
24 - All Miyazaki films for various themes, beautiful art, a sense of magic and enchantment
25 - A Knight's Tale - my all-time favorite film that I've been watching since I was 12, mostly for fun, but also for friendship, Heath Ledger, great quotes, and classic rock music
Honorable mention: Frances Ha, Sense and Sensibility, La La Land, Ford V Ferrari, Green Book, If Beale Street Could Talk, Jojo Rabbit, Green Book, in theaters now -- The Holdovers (lots of language in this one though so definitely family discretion advised...)
A great list! I hadn't heard of a few of these, so I'll add them to our TBW list. Thanks!