Looking for a Great Movie for Family Movie Night?
Here's my list
Someone asked me recently for my favorite movies to watch with the family. Since I so frequently talk about the negative side of media and digital resources and their ill effects on children and families, I thought a quick look at the positive side might be in order! Here are some oldies, some goodies, some classics, and some in betweens. Some will work better with younger children, some with teens, and most will appeal to the whole family! Here we go:
Live action Aladdin (with Will Smith)
Ever After (with Drew Barrymore—all time favorite!)
Live action Cinderella (with Lily James—another all time favorite)
Babe
Cars
Incredibles (perfectly captures the heartwarming hilarity of family life!)
The Emperor’s New Groove
Megamind (perhaps one of the most underrated animated films ever)
Despicable Me
The Sound of Music (of course!!)
Elmo in Grouchland (a cult classic)
Enchanted
Ella Enchanted
Joseph King of Dreams
Prince of Egypt (who knew Sandra Bullock, Val Kilmer, Steve Martin, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfieffer, Martin Short, and Patrick Stewart would all agree to do a movie about the Bible!)
Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (with Michael J. Fox)
Kung Fu Panda
Herbie (the old one starring number 53!)
The Shaggy Dog (the old, original version)
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
Maleficent (usually don’t like movies about the villain but this one won me over)
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (a surprising win)
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
Coco (honoring family is at its core!)
Night at the Museum AND Night at the Museum 2
Nanny McPhee
Hercules
Hook
Live Action Peter Pan (2003 version with Jeremy Sumpter—Absolutely magical!)
Annie (with Carol Burnett)
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
Rise of the Guardians
Home Alone
Flipped
The Muppets (2011 with Amy Adams)
The Muppets Take Manhattan
Nim’s Island (with Gerard Butler and Jodie Foster)
The Sandlot
Tangled
A Bug’s Life
Mulan
The Princess Bride (obviously)
All the original Star Wars movies (obviously)
Popeye (with Robin Williams)
Meet the Robinsons
Princess Diaries (with Anne Hathaway)
Father of the Bride (with Steve Martin)
Narnia (fabulous)
Okay, that’s enough for now! Take a good movie, add popcorn, blankets, and a slightly later bedtime and family movie night can become a mini tradition everyone looks forward to. Happy movie night!
Kimberly