I need suggestions for family friendly movies that aren't the typical animated Pixar stuff because my kids have seen all of those. Things along the lines of Jumanji, Ghostbusters, Willow, Star Wars, The Hobbit, Harry Potter, etc...
I'd prefer movies with enough complexity to keep adults entertained, but they've got to be off the beaten path a bit. Classics with some artistic merit are preferred. We're talking a mature (too mature) 6 year old and a 9 year old here. The Hobbit is about as far as I'll go with the six year old as far as adult themes, and I caved on that one in a moment of weakness (I wanted to see the damned thing too, and I figured letting him see it was my best bet).
Some others they've enjoyed lately:
Escape to Witch Mountain
The Last Mimzy
Air Bud and all the "buddy" movies (groan, I can't stand watching these).
I'm thinking I may hit up all the Miyazaki movies soon. They saw Ponyo when they were younger, but I think they'd like all of them. My older child is obsessed with movies (like on the verge of Asperger's obsessed), so I'd like for him to at least watch stuff that isn't total shit, as he'll sit there and watch Super Buddies, Air Bud, Santa Buddies, and that dreck over and over if I let him, which causes no end of fights about what we're going to watch on family movie nights.
Originally Posted by mr. tegu:
The Land Before Time! I loved that movie.
Their grandmother literally has every single one of those on VHS. Prior to the "buddy" movies, they were my eldest's obsession. He talked like that ****ing pterodactyl for about a year.
He's really into music as well. His first song he "wrote" contained the lyrics "Petrie in the sky, flying so high" sung while he banged on drums and his little brother thrashed a guitar into oblivion. [Reply]
I need suggestions for family friendly movies that aren't the typical animated Pixar stuff because my kids have seen all of those. Things along the lines of Jumanji, Ghostbusters, Willow, Star Wars, The Hobbit, Harry Potter, etc...
I'd prefer movies with enough complexity to keep adults entertained, but they've got to be off the beaten path a bit. Classics with some artistic merit are preferred. We're talking a mature (too mature) 6 year old and a 9 year old here. The Hobbit is about as far as I'll go with the six year old as far as adult themes, and I caved on that one in a moment of weakness (I wanted to see the damned thing too, and I figured letting him see it was my best bet).
Some others they've enjoyed lately:
Escape to Witch Mountain
The Last Mimzy
Air Bud and all the "buddy" movies (groan, I can't stand watching these).
I'm thinking I may hit up all the Miyazaki movies soon. They saw Ponyo when they were younger, but I think they'd like all of them. My older child is obsessed with movies (like on the verge of Asperger's obsessed), so I'd like for him to at least watch stuff that isn't total shit, as he'll sit there and watch Super Buddies, Air Bud, Santa Buddies, and that dreck over and over if I let him, which causes no end of fights about what we're going to watch on family movie nights.
The main villain was pretty lame and the fight scenes didn't really do it for me but the comic relief alone was worth it.
Pretty much any scene with Loki was tits. Also:
Spoiler!
I'm very curious to see what happens with Loki after seeing that ending.
I knew they wouldn't be able to kill him off, but that character has to be hella easy to write in. Oops, there. He's dead... Nope, never mind. That was just an illusion. Welp, he's dead now... Wait, nope. Just kidding. That was another illusion; he's back again.
If you're looking for a good family friendly movie, my two favorite ones (I'm a sap for dogs) Bolt and Hachi (the movie is actually not as cheesy as I thought)
If you want the exact opposite, watch some korean movies. These movies are fucking brilliant, but unbelievably graphic. Man from Nowhere is violent but tremendous. Oldboy is really fucked up, but terrific. [Reply]
This isnt a new movie, but it was new to me. It is called Existenz (1999). Movie was extremely awesome. It is similar to an Inception-esque type movie, but better. Left me asking a lot of questions at the end of the movie. I give it an 8/5/10. [Reply]
Originally Posted by SilentHell:
This isnt a new movie, but it was new to me. It is called Existenz (1999). Movie was extremely awesome. It is similar to an Inception-esque type movie, but better. Left me asking a lot of questions at the end of the movie. I give it an 8/5/10.
If you liked that "The Thirteenth Floor" is another good one that's actually relevant now... [Reply]
Originally Posted by patteeu:
Good ones. Here are a few more.
Big (Tom Hanks)
Parent Trap (Lindsay Lohan)
Stardust
The Last Starfighter Dragonslayer
One of my favorite movies but does have boobies in it briefly so NewChief would have to decide how family friendly that is.
Another of my favorites from that era was "Ladyhawke". I went to find it recently and it looks like it might be out of print. It's pretty expensive for an old movie.
If you liked "Stardust" there is also "The Golden Compass". It wasn't great but I found it entertaining. They were supposed to make the sequels but it doesn't look like it will happen anytime soon. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Frosty:
One of my favorite movies but does have boobies in it briefly so NewChief would have to decide how family friendly that is.
Another of my favorites from that era was "Ladyhawke". I went to find it recently and it looks like it might be out of print. It's pretty expensive for an old movie.
If you liked "Stardust" there is also "The Golden Compass". It wasn't great but I found it entertaining. They were supposed to make the sequels but it doesn't look like it will happen anytime soon.
LadyHawke! Damn that is a blast from the past. Great call. And we've debated Dragonheart, but I wasn't sure if it was worth the effort of me driving the family toward consensus on viewing. [Reply]
Originally Posted by NewChief:
And we've debated Dragonheart, but I wasn't sure if it was worth the effort of me driving the family toward consensus on viewing.
My boys and I quite like the movie and have seen it several times. It's not high art, obviously, but it's fun. We got it in a pack that had Dragonheart 2 but I haven't watched that yet.
You mentioned Miyazaki earlier. I would definitely recommend them. My boys really enjoyed them, especially the earlier ones like "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" and "My Neighbor Totoro". [Reply]