FReeper-Recommended Family Films

Us | 3/24/2002 | Daniel J. Phillips (BibChr)

[BibChr]

I am here to ask for, and offer, help!

We have a weekly tradition called Burger Night. I cook for the family my own special formula for burgers, and show them a movie.

Here's the hard part: the movie has to have something for a family ranging in age from 2 to 46. Okay, we go soft on the 2yo, because he's hit-and-miss at this point. But that leaves boys aged 6 and 15, an 18yo girl, my wife and me.

Here are the criteria.

• Positively: It's got to have enough action to hold the 6yo, humor for all preferably, and if there are positive role models and moral lessons, all the better.
• Negatively: no sex, little or no profanity, little or no blood, not too intensely scary.

Here are some examples in both categories:

HITS (to varying degrees)

• Prince of Egypt
• Sgt.York
• Baby's Day Out
• Cats and Dogs
• Princess Bride (have to fast forward one scene)
• Sands of Iwo Jima
• Emperor's New Groove
• Toy Story I and II
• Stagecoach
• Rio Grande
• Hondo
• The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance (a little talky for the younger set)
• McClintock!
• Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
• Ever After (a little talky)
• Time Machine
• Iron Giant
• Atlantis
• Shane
• Tarzan and the Lost City
• Tarzan Finds a Son
• The Last Starfighter
• Star Trek: Generations
• All Star Wars movies

A COUPLE OF MISSES

• Big Jake (a few spurts of explosive blood, and everyone started looking at me)
• Indiana Jones and Anything (not yet, too violent)
• Quiet Man (not yet; favorite for my wife and me, but probably too talky)

Those are not exhaustive lists, but they should give you an idea (and maybe ideas of your own).

So now it's your turn. Every week, it gets harder for me to pick another movie that'll be a winner. I'm soliciting suggestions.

So please name your recommendations for family fare, with any brief comments you'd add. My (our) thanks in advance.

[BibChr]

And don't even mention Willy Wonka. We have it, and I lose an IQ point every time a sound wave from it reaches my ears. (c8

Dan

[jlogajan]

Shrek

[brothersjudddotcom]

Try here: Brothers Judd Conservative Films

[stumpy]

How Green was my Valley. Classic

[Sangamon Kid]

George of the Jungle

[BibChr]

Good one; that was a hit. Couple of winces, but more laughs. Thanks, that's the idea.

Dan

[BibChr]

Tell me more?

[stumpy]

Also, I forget the name, but Sp[encer Tracy played a Portugese fisherman, with Rodney McDowel in it.

[BibChr]

Right on; George was a hit, as was Dudley Do-Right and Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle. (You're jogging my memory; I should have written all these down.)

[I still care]

We always do well with comedies at our house. "Support Your Local Sherriff" is a cutie, (although Prudy does use the word "Damn" once, and although I DETEST Barbara Striesand she has one really cute movie "What's up Doc". Many Cary Grant movies are really cute too such as Bringing up Baby and Father Goose. Also if you like music my kids, believe it or not, really liked "The Pirates of Penzance" with Kevin Kline. It is all operetta but quite funny.

If you get movies from the early 60's with kids you can't really go wrong - it was a great time for family movies. Two that come to mind are "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and "Magnificent men in their Flying Machine". We also like the original "Robin Hood" with Errol Flynn. I collect family movies like this, these are some we watch over and over again. Oh, also if you like Beatle music Help! is fun.

[hole_n_one]

[ikka]

The Pixar films are good but oriented towards kids. Bug's Life in particular is VERY good. Pay attention to the scene in the Mexican hat when the lead grasshopper talks about keeping the ants in line - very much tied in to how the gov't keeps us sheep in line to be sheared.

[duvausa]

I think you mean Captians Courageous--really good one.

A couple my kids liked:

Cloak and Dagger (a little scary in parts, but my kids could handle it from about age five)

Bugsy Malone (the guns shoot whipped cream)

[dawn53]

The Black Stallion

Otis and Milo

Kidnapped

Shipwrecked

Treasure Island

Princess Bride

All those old Dean Jones Disney movies like: Love Bug; Blackbeard's Ghost, etc.

The Abbot and Costello movies

Ernest movies (if you have the stomach for them, most kids love them, but not much adult appeal)

[wimpycat]

"Pride of the Yankees" with Gary Cooper
"The Friendly Persuasion" with Gary Cooper (again!)
"Lilies of the Field" with Sidney Poitier
"The Courage of Lassie" with a very young Elizabeth Taylor
Any Rogers and Hammerstein musical, such as "The King and I", "The Sound of Music", "South Pacific", etc.
"High Noon" with Gary Cooper (I didn't realize how big a fan I was of Gary Cooper!)
"Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison" with Deborah Kerr and Robert Mitchum
"Mrs. Miniver" with Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon
"Quo Vadis" with Deborah Kerr, Robert Taylor and a wonderfully evil Peter Ustinov

[hole_n_one]

Ya big butthead!

[wimpycat]

I forgot all about "Chicken Run". That's a great movie for kids, but I enjoyed it as well.

[July 4th]

North by Northwest, although I can't recall if there's much shooting, and My Fair Lady.