One of our favorite things to do Sunday evening is have ‘Family Movie Night’. It’s a fun little tradition, that comes complete with popcorn and those cheap, chewy, box-mix brownies. Yum! In the past, we’ve watched plenty of total duds. Movies that literally stunk, or movies we THOUGHT we remember being family-friendly when we were younger, only to find out we were completely wrong. Blah.
Anyway, I recently asked y’all on Facebook to share with me some of your favorite family movies. With your suggestions, some of mine, and a little research…I think I came up with a pretty good list of movies to refer to for our Family Movie Night. I’m excited!
Here we go…100 Family Movies:
Flubber
The Shaggy Dog
The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes
Ramona and Beezus
Cool Runnings
The Secret Garden
A Cinderella Story
The Princess Bride
Rudy
Seven Days in Utopia
~
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Houseboat
Operation Petticoat
Gifted Hands
Sandlot
The Princess Diaries
Moondance Alexander
Rocket Man
The Kid
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
~
The Rocketeer
The Ghost & Mr. Chicken
The Incredible Mr. Limpet
Freaky Friday
Snowball Express
We Bought a Zoo
Good Boy
The Parent Trap
The Happiest Millionaire
Follow Me, Boys
~
Swiss Family Robinson
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Bedtime Stories
Hotel for Dogs
Marmaduke
The Little Vampire
The Adventures of Milo & Otis
Nanny McPhee
Homeward Bound
Ella Enchanted
~
While You Were Sleeping
The Never Ending Story
Matilda
Mirror, Mirror
Thunderstruck
You Again
Sleepless in Seattle
Stuart Little
Enchanted
Dolphin Tale
~
Angels in the Outfield
The Mighty Ducks
Charolotte’s Web
Meet the Robinsons
Holes
Because of Winn-Dixie
Sky High
The Big Year
The Ugly Dachshund
Pippi Longstocking
~
Ever After
The Worst Witch
Slappy & the Stinkers
Dennis the Menace
Home Alone
Baby’s Day Out
The Little Rascals
Cheaper by the Dozen
You’ve Got Mail
The Game Plan
~
A Little Princess
Miracle
Night at the Museum
Hachi: A Dog’s Tale
Legend of the Guardians
Iron Will
Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken
Galaxy Quest
Sister Act
Napoleon Dynamite
~
A Far Off Place
Troop Beverly Hills
Emma
Savannah Smiles
Maverick
Forever Young
Simon Birch
The War
Spellbound
Soul Surfer
~
Little Women
Mars Needs Moms
A Shine of Rainbows
Starstruck
The Fox and the Child
Geek Charming
Buck
Wild America
Camp Nowhere
Max Keeble’s Big Move
Mariel
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We were just trying to think of a good movie to get for a movie night we’re hosting for my daughter and her friends this weekend, so this is perfect. Thanks!
That Thing You Do is our favorite family movie!
It is of our favorites too. We quote it all the time!
It is of our favorites too. We quote it all the time!
We rented We Bought a Zoo a few a month’s ago. It was a good movie but I was very disappointed in some of the language. I wouldn’t recommend it for children under 10.
Thanks so much for the info!
I agree on the bad language.
I highly recommend the Wilderness Family Trilogy movies! Great wholesome, family movies for any age….among our very favorites! Also, Johnny Shilo, Savage Sam, National Treasure, Night at the Museum, Toby Tyler, It Happened to Jane, Summer Stock, The Gnome Mobile, Soul Surfer, and Secretariat, are others that we very much enjoy for our family movie nights.
Gifted hands, is a great movie!
Thank you!
How about Willow, Princess Bride, Never ending story, Labrynth, & Uncle Buck!
Good ones! All of them!
My brothers and I used to–and still do(at 31, 29, and 27 years old)–love Candleshoe, Father Goose, Muppets Christmas Carol(at that time of year). More good ones are Tale of Despereaux and National Velvet,
Thanks for the list of great movies!
I noticed The Sand Lot on your list. It is a GREAT movie. The only problem is one of the little boys does some cursing which is a shame because it doesn’t add anything to the movie.
I agree, too much language in The Sandlot. I wouldn’t let my kids watch that.
Would have to agree on the We Bought a Zoo. I enjoyed it, but wouldn’t let my little ones watch it. I have forgotten all about Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken! Saw it in high school and loved it. Will have to see if our library has it. As for Princess Diaries . . . I agree it is cute and my 10 year old wants to see it. But I am putting that off. It seems like the whole movie is spent fantasizing about her first kiss and I really don’t want my little ones watching all the making out. Maybe when she’s older . . . .
Good to know about We Bought a Zoo. Thanks! Oh, the guy from Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken…I literally had the biggest crush on him when I was little. I would just pause the movie and stare. Ha!
Not to mention how she is considered “ugly” with braces, glasses and curly hair…which IS my daughter. Then is beautiful when all of that is removed and her hair is straight. Really sends a bad message to young girls who are struggling with self image. It’s a cute movie but I won’t let me daughter watch it.
I LOVED Maverick, but wanted to point out the sorta-sex scene in it….Just a friendly reminder that it’s there so folks are aware of it.
That is a good one, one of my faves! Thanks for the little note.
Oh my goodness! The 3 Amigos! No language, no sex scenes, good vs bad guys, character-building in the protaganists, and it’s slap stick with 3 of the best comedians ever!!! Steve Martin, Chevy Chase & Martin Short. And I didn’t see Honey I Shrunk the Kids on here (it’s been a long time, but I don’t think it has language or innuendo).
I forgot all the Narnia movies–for slightly older kids especially; A Wrinkle in Time–book made into a movie (the books are far better, but a Christian allegory is always good in my opinion). I also didn’t see Babe, which is adorable!
Love, love, loved Cheaper by the Dozen as a kid. I remember my mom laughing so hard she was crying. I decided to watch it with my kids the other night and found myself crying like my mom:). Some things I guess you appreciate more as you age.
Just a warning, though, one of the boys is caught looking at a Playboy magazine(mild by today’s standards, but still), which the mom promptly takes away. The oldest daughter’s boyfriend is trying to convince her to have sex with him, and at one point she yells at him, “You’re just sex crazed!” (Or something along those lines) The dad’s best friend also has pictures of pin-ups by his bunk in contrast to the faithful father of 19 who has his kids’ drawings and pictures.:)
Overall, it’s hilarious and contains a great message about the beauty of family, kids, sacrifice, etc. I just didn’t remember those few instances, and I was totally caught off guard. I thought I forewarn your readers just in case so they can decide when it would be appropriate for their kids to watch.
I’m so embarrassed! I just realized I was thinking of “Yours, Mine, and Ours” in my above comment….not “Cheaper by the Dozen! So sorry!
Honey I Shrunk the Kids!
I would not call Galaxy Quest a family movie. It’s in the same category as Space Balls. Its hilarious for a couples night though.
We love Rigaletto from Feature Family Films! It’s hard to find though. It has a wonderful moral story in it. The Buttercream Gang from FFF as well is adorable and family friendly.
Sound of music, the black stallion, gnomemobile, pollyanna
I would also recommend Five Children and It, the Arthur and the Invisibles trilogy, and The Last Unicorn.
Thanks for the suggestions! I’ve only seen The Last Unicorn, it’s a great one!
This is great to have a list of go to movies! Thank you! But there is at least one scene in “The Big Year” that is inappropriate/sensual, and there was also more language than I was expecting.
Thanks, Melissa! Actually just saw The Big Year, and really…it was super boring. We couldn’t even finish it! I may replace that on the list with something else, and sounds like I should replace We Had a Zoo too. (I think that’s the name of it.)
Our kids are older (tweens and teens) but we still search out good quality family movies. Love your list. I’d add National Velvet (Elizabeth Taylor), International Velvet, Fairy Tale: A True Story, Akeelah and the Bee, October Sky, Searching for Bobby Fischer, and Oh Brother Where Art Thou.
My daughter’s name is Mariel, pronounced like yours.
Thanks for sharing those, Michele! And…CRAZY. Very rarely, pretty much never, do I hear about someone with my name, pronounced the same. Pretty neat. Tell her ‘hello’, for me!