It's been too long since we've had a Friday Favourites post! This edition is brought to you by our Friday Night Cinema Parties; the one tradition our family keeps, no matter where in the world we happen to be.
I distinctly remember my early childhood movies: Close Encounters of the Third Kind and ET, introduced to me by my science-fiction-buff father, despite the fact I vomited my very first theatre popcorn in the back of his K-car and was probably a good 5-10 years too young to see them. But since that fateful day (still sorry, Dad!), one of my favourite things is finding that one movie we love as much as our kids do, and vice versa.
These days, a plethora of not-great movies abound. Trolls? No thanks. Smurfs? I'd rather not. Shrek? Jackson still has nightmares. Yet we've become reluctant connoisseurs of the family film, having spent countless hours finding films that appeal to both big and little kids alike. I felt it incumbent on myself to share our hard-earned wisdom with other Disney-fatigued parents.
So here are 20 movies (10 animated/10 live-action) I actually enjoy watching with my kids:
Animated:
Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse
Fantastic Mr Fox
Lego Movie
Any Wallace & Gromit film/short
Tangled
Despicable Me
Big Hero 6
Megamind
Wall-E
The Penguins of Madagascar
Live Action:
Age 10+
Super 8
Jumanji reboot
That Thing You Do
Star Wars (any, but especially The Force Awakens)
School of Rock
Any age
Paddington (1 and 2!)
Nacho Libre
Goosebumps
Alexander and the Terrible, No Good, etc etc.
Gulliver's Travels
Yes, that's a lot of Jack Black. But that's the price you pay with sassy tweens. We also recommend gratuitous amounts of pizza and popcorn.
Next time, I'll cover grown-up movies perfect for growing teen boys. Spoiler alert: Christopher Nolan is the perfect gateway drug for the creative teen.
