We've started having more family movies nights and I'm looking for some ideas. Last night we watched Men in Black. Earlier this week we watched Gremlins. She loves Goonies, The Princess Bride and Labyrinth. We've also watched Ghostbusters, The Hobbit, LOTR, and episodes IV-VI of the Star Wars trilogy and a lot of the superhero type movies (Spiderman, Fantastic Four, Transformers). She was a lot more scared by Gremlins than LOTR (go figure). I'm guessing Poltergeist is out..lol (even though I was her age when I watched it the first time). Oh, and age appropriate documentaries would be good too. A lot of our TV viewing is documentaries (how the states got their shapes, mythbusters, nova, etc) but I think the only movie documentaries she's seen have been the few we saw years ago at the Omnimax and March of the Penguins. She loves fantasy and science fiction and anything to do with animals. Here are a few movies I know we've talked about watching. Star Trek (probably starting with Star Trek 2) The Neverending Story Who Framed Roger Rabbit The Avengers So what am I missing...so many things out there seem either a little too young or too old for her. I'm hoping y'all will have some great suggestions.
Check out Common Sense Media. I really heavily on them for reviewing movies before I let my boys watch them (ages 7 and 9). They have several Best Movie Lists based on age. They have one for preteens (9-11) and one for teens (12-14): http://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-lists
Secret Garden NEVER gets old! What about National Velvet with Elizabeth Taylor. Love that one! The Justin Bieber documentary. Bwaa haa haaa!
International Velvet too... I remember watching that at a similar age... Shannon... Justin Bieber for a family movie night? arrrggghhhh could be classed as cruel and unusual punishment! Well for the parents anyways... Karen checking out that site you mentioned now... could be a huge help here too!
at about 10 my brother watched Arachnophobia and loved it. (BTW, Gremlins totally freaked me out, too when I was a pre-teen/teen!) It's a PG-13 movie but he was old enough to work the VCR rotfl. Anyway, that's an idea for a "scary" movie, I guess. Umm, anyway, let's see... Jane Goodall's docs on Chimpanzees might be good for her Monster House ParaNorman Nightmare Before Christmas Beetlejuice (my brother and I loved that movie!) Matilda (she should read the book, too, if she hasn't. LOVED it when I was a kid! ) the How It's Made show Gilmore Girls series Bedknobs and Broomsticks the old Muppets movies have lots of silly jokes for older kids Edward Scissorhands Ghostbusters Glory (not a doc., and it's rated R, but it's a great way to introduce/reinforce history and maybe a jumping-off point for you guys to discuss some political issues) The Goonies The Great Outdoors with John Candy and Dan Ackroyd Pirates of the Caribbean Indiana Jones Steel Magnolias What About Bob? Beaches (can't remember how old I was when I first saw it, but I BAWLED!) Waking Ned Devine Mr. Mom It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World Timeline
Ooooo treecity you picked out some GREAT ones. I may have to rent some of these myself! LOL, cherpea, didn't think about the fact that it's a FAMILY movie night. Bieber would be punishment for grown ups! Ha!
What about Napoleon dynamite and nacho libre? If you like that kind of humor... We sure do! Also faves from my childhood included clue, willow, and cool runnings.
Whale rider Monsters Inc (I really do love Pixar movies, but it's obvious they prefer not to feature female characters *doing* things) Anything by Hayao Miyazaki, including Nausicaa, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service********!!!!!!!! MUST WATCH!!!! Castle of Cagliostro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, etc. Virtually all of his films star female characters AND involve positive or complex themes that can generate a lot of conversation.
Cats vs Dogs. Or is it Dogs vs Cats? Cute movie starring a beagle. And the Spy Kid movies! They're so much fun!
Thanks for the great suggestions everyone. Nissa, The Princess Bride is our favorite around here, it's been watched many many times. and LOL @ Shannon. Luckily she's not a Beiber fan so I won't have to sit through that one. I'm thinking she might really enjoy the Indiana Jones movies (thanks Sara!) Loving that I have all these movies to add to the list!
