Movies We Love

On a hot summer afternoon last week, I took the kids to the cheap seats theatre to see Nim's Island. I have to admit that when I watched the trailer I thought it might just be another parental snooze-fest. It looked like one of those cutesy movies with kids and animals and a happily-ever-after sappy ending with maybe some morals thrown in for good measure. In its favor was a good cast (Jodi Foster doesn't do much dreck these days) and the price of $1. Mackenzie even consented to go with a moderate amount of eye-rolling. Finding a movie that both my animal-happy 8 year old and my swashbuckling-loving tween love is not always the easiest thing in the world.

I was pleasantly surprised that the movie was engaging for all of us. The cast pulled some of the sappier bits along, you can't go wrong with slingshotting lizards, and we really enjoyed the sub-plot of the writer and her character, especially Mackenzie who is working steadily on writing his first novel (more on that later) and so really identified with many of the plot points revolving around the craft of writing.

On the way home in the car, we decided to compile a list of movies we've all liked - ones that hit the mark for every family member. So here, for your viewing enjoyment is our family's list of Great Family Flicks. Movies that have an asterisk (*) next to the name may not be appropriate for all kids and/or families. This list is not ordered in any way.

Secondhand Lions
The Princess Bride
Stardust
Toy Story 1 & 2
Star Wars
Sky High
Bend it like Beckham
Zoom
Galaxy Quest (spoof on Star Trek, a must for Trekkies)
Pirates of the Caribbean (#1 only)
Johnny English
Little Miss Sunshine *
Chronicles of Narnia
Nim's Island
Spaceballs *
Lord of the Rings *
The King of California
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines
Mr. Bean's Holiday
Monty Python's The Holy Grail * and The Life of Brian *
Disney's animated Robin Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Bambi, & Snow White
The Pink Panther Series starring Peter Sellers *
Jurassic Park
Scrooged
Monsters Inc.
Troy *
Batman & Robin
The Mouse That Roared
Operation Dumbo Drop
Spiderman
The Terminal