Play Library

Must-See Movies for Children Meme

by Hsien-Hsien Lei on August 6th, 2005

The British Film Institute says the following 50 films should be seen by children by the time they’re 14 years old. Which of the films have you seen and which have your kids seen? Copy the list and highlight in bold which ones you have seen yourself and italicize the ones your kids have seen. I’ve marked the ones my family has seen. (I can’t believe some of these movies made the list, like Some Like It Hot?!)

THE TOP 10

1. Spirited Away (2001) - Animated Japanese film about gods and sorcerers
2. The Wizard of Oz (1939) - Musical classic
3. Les Quatre Cents Coups (1959) - French 12-year-old turns into a hellraiser
4. The Night of the Hunter (1955) - Robert Mitchum as a serial killer in America’s Deep South
5. Where is My Friend’s House? (1987) - One of Iranian director Kiarostami’s earlier works
6. Show Me Love (1998) - Coming-of-age tale of two Swedish girls
7. Toy Story (1995) - Buzz Lightyear and Woody brought to life by computer animation
8. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) - Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi tearjerker
9. Bicycle Thieves (1948) - Italian film focusing on life after World War II
10. Kes (1969) - Gritty working class British drama

THE REMAINING 40

A Day at the Races (1937) - Marx Brothers comedy

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) - Oscar-winning Sherwood Forest action

Au Revoir les Enfants (1987) - World War II drama set in French boarding school

Back to the Future (1985) - Michael J Fox’s time-travelling adventure

Beauty and the Beast (1991) - Disney’s musical masterpiece

La Belle et la Bete (1946) - French telling of Beauty and the Beast

Billy Elliot (2000) - Working class boy discovers a love of ballet

Edward Scissorhands (1990) - Romantic tale of an uncommonly gentle man

Etre et Avoir (2002) - Portrait of a French school staffed by one teacher

Finding Nemo (2003) - Underwater animation

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) - Frank Capra’s uplifting family feature

Jason and the Argonauts (1963) - Greek hero and his adventures

The Kid (1921) - Charlie Chaplin as a tramp

King Kong (1933) - Giant ape thriller

Kirikou et la Sorciere (1998) - Animated African folk tale

Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (1953) - French comedy about a holidaymaker who wreaks havoc

My Life as a Dog (1985) - Swedish boy abused by his family

My Neighbour Totoro (1988) - Japanese animation

Oliver Twist (1948) - Charles Dickens’ classic

The Outsiders (1983) - Francis Ford Coppola crime drama

Pather Panchali (1955) - Indian story of survival for a boy in Bengal

Playtime (1967) - Jacques Tati in a French farce

The Princess Bride (1987) - Rob Reiner directed fantastical fairytale

Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) - Aboriginal epic

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) - Harrison Ford goes on a perilous quest

The Railway Children (1970) - Charming drama set in Edwardian England

The Red Balloon (1956) - French parable

Romeo & Juliet (1996) - Baz Luhrmann’s modern take on Shakespeare’s tragedy

The Secret Garden (1993) - Maggie Smith stars in the classic journey of discovery

Singin’ in the Rain (1952) - Gene Kelly musical

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs(1937) - Classic animated fairytale

Some Like it Hot (1959) - Classic comedy with Marilyn Monroe and Tony Curtis

The Spirit of the Beehive (1973) - Tense drama set in post civil war Spain

Star Wars (1977) - George Lucas’s sci-fi epic

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) - Movie of the Pulitzer winning novel

Le Voyage dans la Lune (1902) - Vintage French space travel

Walkabout (1971) - Children stranded in the Australian outback

Whale Rider (2002) - New Zealand tale of love

Whistle Down the Wind (1961) - Hayley Mills finds Jesus on a farm

The White Balloon (1995) - Iranian tale

Share This

Related Stories

I’ve Been Tagged!
Disney Princess Stories
Top 30 Animated Movies
The Chronicles of Narnia Series: Must-Read Classics!
Free Movies at Regal Cinemas

POSTED IN: Children's Movies / DVDs