Family film/movie ideas

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faithsmind

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Any unique family films that aren’t schmaltzy? 😛 Edifying adventures that an adult would enjoy, too? I feel liked we’ve watched all the usual Disney movies and Sand Lot stories, and am looking for some new adventure films.

2 recent hits with my school-aged kids were Empire of the Sun and “Oliver”. They also enjoyed the old version of Swiss Family Robinson.
 
Would the like “Huckleberry Finn” or “Tom and Huck”? Or How about “Newsies”, if they like musicals? If they like animals, what about “Homeward Bound”?
 
The original Disney version of “Tuck Everlasting.”

The remake of “The Parent Trap.”

The classic “National Velvet.” 👍
 
Any unique family films that aren’t schmaltzy? 😛 Edifying adventures that an adult would enjoy, too? I feel liked we’ve watched all the usual Disney movies and Sand Lot stories, and am looking for some new adventure films.

2 recent hits with my school-aged kids were Empire of the Sun and “Oliver”. They also enjoyed the old version of Swiss Family Robinson.
Narnia 😃 that is my all-time favorite. not the 3rd one tho, that one’s just not so very good. but the first and evren 2nd are great

depends how old they are, but if they are old enough I think they’d enjoy it. I consider it adventurous and has a good message.
 
Duma
Sister Act
Never Cry Wolf
Harry and the Henderson
The Cowboys
 
Any unique family films that aren’t schmaltzy? 😛 Edifying adventures that an adult would enjoy, too? I feel liked we’ve watched all the usual Disney movies and Sand Lot stories, and am looking for some new adventure films.

2 recent hits with my school-aged kids were Empire of the Sun and “Oliver”. They also enjoyed the old version of Swiss Family Robinson.
Have you guys watched Fantastic Mr. Fox? Because that’s just a thoroughly enjoyable and fun, completely brilliant movie.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Mr.Fox(film

What about Young Sherlock Holmes? That’s a fun one, too.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Sherlock_Holmes

I’ve heard that Over the Garden Wall is a really touching and well done mini-series, but I haven’t personally watched them yet.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over_the_Garden_Wall_(miniseries

Maybe some more will pop into my head…
 
Shipwrecked
The Little Princess-Shirley Temple version
The Secret Garden
 
Any unique family films that aren’t schmaltzy? 😛 Edifying adventures that an adult would enjoy, too? I feel liked we’ve watched all the usual Disney movies and Sand Lot stories, and am looking for some new adventure films.

2 recent hits with my school-aged kids were Empire of the Sun and “Oliver”. They also enjoyed the old version of Swiss Family Robinson.
I know you asked for films, but just wanted to put 2 options out there. When the kids were young I bought all of the original Little House on the Prairie on DVD. Took me about a season to get into it, but I would say it is good family programming. As they got older I bought myself the original McGyver series, loved it as a kid, surprisingly they were hooked. I like the older TV series, from when I was growing up, they were able to tell a story without all of the filler of sex, drugs and killing.

Kids are older now so can’t help you out on recent films for kids.

God Bless
 
*Captains Courageous
Watership Down
The Princess Bride
Apollo 13
True Grit *(mostly 1969, but 2010 is not bad)

Who knows how many more? 🤷

🍿
tee
 
Some very good ideas - thanks so much for helping me to remember some forgotten classics, too 🙂 I forgot about Captain Courageous ❤️ and I’ve never even heard of Fantastic Mr. Fox. Looking forward to some of these! We actually put on the old Robin Hood with Kevin Costner last night. I forgot about a couple of scenes and then saw the movie was rated PG 13 😊 but was able to fast-fw through the witch. The bits of violence don’t bother me as much as the other stuff ( we have a comic book version of the bible which is just as violent, honestly:eek:)

Keep em coming!
 
We really enjoyed The Secret of Kells, which may be a little intense at parts for preschoolers but otherwise good for all ages. The animation is really beautiful. It’s on Netflix. 🙂
 
We really enjoyed The Secret of Kells, which may be a little intense at parts for preschoolers but otherwise good for all ages. The animation is really beautiful. It’s on Netflix. 🙂
Oh yes, it’s a really great film. I agree about the animation. It’s really beautiful. 🙂

Since we can’t go back and edit our posts after a certain period of time, I wanted to clarify my last post:

The “Shipwrecked” movie that I was referring to in my last post is the movie from 1990. I am not referring to anything related to Alvin and the Chipmunks. 😉

I guess that there was some kind of a “Shipwreck” Alvin and the Chipmunks’ movie. 😛

Here is the synopsis from IMDB (Internet Movie Data Base) for the 1990 version, if anyone thinks that they might be interested in seeing it:

A young Norwegian boy in 1850s England goes to work as a cabin boy and discovers some of his shipmates are actually pirates.

This one stars Stian Smestad as the young Norwegian boy Haakon Haakonsen, and Gabriel Byrne as Lt. John Merrick.
 
Faithsmind,

I was thinking that if your kids enjoyed “Oliver,” they might really like the story of “David Copperfield” by Charles Dickens. There’s a really great version that was on Masterpiece Theater that stars Maggie Smith and a young Daniel Radcliffe before he went on and starred in the Harry Potter movies. 🙂

Some more adventures movies that I thought of:

**Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog
**

From moviefone.com:

While sailing off the shore of British Columbia, John McCormick (Bruce Davison), his son, Angus (Jesse Bradford), and the boy’s Labrador retriever, Yellow, encounter severe weather. When Angus and Jesse are knocked overboard, John struggles to rescue them, but to no avail. After washing up on the coast of a remote wilderness region, Angus and his dog do their best to survive, contending with both the elements and dangerous wildlife as the boy’s parents embark on a quest to find them.

Iron Will

From moviefone.com:

His father’s demise leaves young Will Stoneman (Mackenzie Astin) and his mother struggling to save their farm from financial ruin. When options run out, Will registers for a marathon dogsled race, which touts a prize of $10,000, but is barred by race benefactor J.W. Harper (David Ogden Stiers), who believes Will is too young. However, a reporter (Kevin Spacey) with dubious motivations advocates on Will’s behalf. Soon enough, Will is back in the race, hoping to save his father’s legacy.

**Seabiscuit (2003 remake with Toby McGuire)
**

From moviefone:

In the midst of the Great Depression, a businessman (Jeff Bridges) coping with the tragic death of his son, a jockey with a history of brutal injuries (Tobey Maguire) and a down-and-out horse trainer (Chris Cooper) team up to help Seabiscuit, a temperamental, undersized racehorse. At first the horse struggles to win, but eventually Seabiscuit becomes one of the most successful thoroughbreds of all time, and inspires a nation at a time when it needs it most.

Hidalgo–based on the life story of Frank Hopkins

From moviefone.com:

Rugged cowboy Frank Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen) is an expert horseman who performs in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. When affluent Sheik Riyadh (Omar Sharif), piqued by tales of Hopkins’ talent, challenges Hopkins to prove himself in a treacherous long-distance horse race called the Ocean of Fire, Hopkins is forced to oblige. In the Middle East with his American mustang, he must race against thoroughbred horses ridden by the best riders in the world with his reputation – and his life – at stake.

Eight Below–based on a true story

From moviefone.com:

The frozen wasteland of Antarctica serves as the background for a tale about the bonds of friendship and loyalty. Three members of a scientific expedition, Jerry Shepard (Paul Walker), his friend Cooper (Jason Biggs) and an American geologist (Bruce Greenwood), must leave their beloved sled dogs behind after a devastating accident and increasingly perilous weather conditions. Alone, the dogs struggle to survive the harsh Antarctic winter.

Then there are the old classics, too:
**Born Free
Living Free
**
The Lassie series of movies, with a young Elizabeth Taylor and also a young Roddy McDowell:
Lassie
Lassie Come Home
 
The Iron Giant

(I really need to get it on DVD, since I haven’t been able to watch the VHS in years)

🍿
tee
 
Antenna TV and Me TV all show television shows from the 50’s 60’s and 70’s. Leave it to Beaver, Andy Griffith, Happy Days. All would be tame enough for little kiddos.
 
I’d consider the movie version of Holes to be family-friendly, though I think parts of it would be too scary for little kids as it does have scenes that make it obvious a person was killed though nothing too gory gets shown. It also depicts two curses and while I didn’t find them problematic at all, but I know some people here don’t think Harry Potter is appropriate, so maybe they’d have a problem with these curses, too.

One is explicit, one of the premises is that the protagonist, Stanley Yelnats, as well as his whole family, has perpetually bad luck because an ancestor was cursed by a “Madame Zeroni” who is portrayed like a stereotypical “gypsy” in flashbacks. It also is strongly implied that the “Camp Green Lake” Stanley goes too, is on the site of an actual lake, that dried up from a curse. The reason for this comes out later in the movie, so I won’t spoil it.

I guess some people might find it too sympathetic to juvenile delinquents, as the “Camp Green Lake” is a camp that some kids decide to go to as an alternative to juvenile hall. Stanley winds up there because of a miscarriage of justice, he is innocent of the crime he is accused of. So I can see a parent who has a very strict authoritarian “children must respect their elders no matter what” stance might not find the movie appropriate either.
 
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