In all the niched and genre-heavy movies today, broad, inclusive family films tends are in short supply. Sure everyone knows The Wizard of Oz, Pixar flicks and the Harry Potter series, and they're great for family movie nights. The problem is we’ve seen them—probably over and over. Take heart, there are plenty of uplifting, family-friendly movies out there you’ve probably never heard of, and while some of them may tax the attention spans of children a little, I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. In this age of easy streaming, you can certainly give these titles a try. The family may find a new favorite or two! This is a personal list, and I’m sure there are many fine titles I’ve omitted. But you can’t go wrong with these.
Searching for Bobby Fischer
Sometimes you can make a movie filled with cliches, and the cliches just work. That’s Searching for Bobby Fischer, a film about a young boy’s journey through the world of chess. Along the way there's many a tried-and-true story element: the chess coach who comes on like a drill sergeant, but is really a softie at heart; the evil, soulless opponent who is against everything the protagonist stands for; and the big game at the end where everything is on the line. First-time actor Max Pomeranc gives an honest, unaffected performance, Ben Kingsley is terrific as the crusty and aloof coach, and Joe Mantegna strikes just the right note as the dad who’s awestruck by his son’s genius but just a little bit pushy because of it. But the real show-stealers are Joan Allen as the protective mom who quietly steals every scene she’s in, and Laurence Fishburne as a street savvy chess hustler and mentor to our hero. Parents might want to note a brief shot or two of smoking, and a little (mostly shot in soft focus) drug use in the background in some Washington Square Park scenes. But it’s pretty minor. This is a heartwarming movie that will make you cry (I promise), whether you love chess or don’t know a rook from a knight.
The Reivers
As Roger Ebert says, “The Reivers is a pleasant, wholesome, straightforward movie of the sort (as they say) they don't make anymore. Once was, Hollywood had the knack of turning out absorbing entertainments that really were family films…they neither insulted nor challenged the intelligence of any member of the family.”
Ebert perfectly summed up the appeal of this coming-of-age movie, based on Tennessee writer William Faulkner's last novel of the same name. We follow young and naive Lucius through a series of adventures on the road (in a 1905 Winton Flyer, a car that can go 25 miles per hour!). In the end he learns more about life and loss and honor—heady stuff for a 12 year-old. His friends are a group of scamps who teach Lucius more in a day than any schoolhouse can in a year. The performances are sweet, the mood is nostalgic (Lucius is recollecting from the privileged point of old age, in a Burgess Meredith voice-over) and the film looks gorgeous. WARNING: There is some language to be concerned about. This story takes place in the deep south at the turn of the last century, and the “N” word is uttered in a few scenes. We always know that the film’s heroes disapprove, but of course it isn't easy to watch. That was William Faulkner's world, however, and it can be educational to see where we once were as a nation. Another note: Part of the plot involves a trip to a house of prostitution, but there’s nothing explicit: these ladies have a heart of gold, and one of the scamps is in honest-to-goodness love. As Variety says, it’s a “nice bawdy film, sort of Walt Disney, with an adult rating.” “Adult” meaning 12 and up.
Never Cry Wolf
A deeply personal favorite. Seeing this the first time, I was so transported that when the movie house lights came back up, I literally forgot where I was. It took me several minutes to recover. That's never happened to me before or since. I saw the movie four more times in the theater, and I wore out my VHS tape. I now have it on DVD. It has not made it to Blu-ray...a crime.
Never Cry Wolf tells the story of a biologist who journeys to the arctic to study wolves because the government wants to kill them for supposedly devouring the area’s caribou. The movie depicts an almost mystical relationship to nature and has an ambiguous, open ending that encourages us to keep thinking long after the movie is over. Some may find the pacing slow, however, so it's probably best for older kids. Parents note: There are a few brief shots of our biologist’s naked tush as he dries his clothes in one scene and sunbathes in another. Oh, and it’s a Disney film, yet our guy chows down on mice in one scene. Really. And the sound design (for which the film won an award) makes the meal sound delicious.
Bim the Little Donkey, The Red Balloon and other films by Albert Lamorisse
Albert Lamorisse was a French director who made Pixar films before there was Pixar or computer animation. So he had to do it for real.
I admit I am old enough to have seen The Red Balloon back in elementary school. I never saw Bim the Little Donkey until adulthood—my loss. Probably the only way to see them today is to buy, rent or stream this Criterion set: it also contains three other short Lamorisse films. All have simple, story-book narratives, beautiful photography, and a strong moral sense. Lamorisse doesn’t need talking animals or CGI balloons to convey the rich inner worlds of his creations. Sometimes I think children’s films were better when filmmakers couldn’t do as much, visually, and so we had to use our imaginations more. No drinking or smoking or anything else objectionable, though there’s some mild bullying in The Red Balloon.
The Thief of Baghdad
Why isn’t this film the family favorite that The Wizard of Oz is? It’s another special effects marvel saturated in Technicolor, made around the same time as Oz, about a young person’s adventure-filled journey through magical worlds. Or, to put it more simply, it’s an adventure film that’s loads of fun.
While David O. Selznick was making Oz, rival producer Alexander Korda was struggling to bring this adventure to the screen in England. Because WWII broke out, Korda had to move production to the U.S. and reshoot much of it (because the lead actor, a young man named Sabu, had grown in the interim). He was such a perfectionist that he went through six directors. Yikes. But the results are on the screen. The Thief is a classic “journey” film where the protagonist grows up and helps those who helped them, and learns some great moral lessons along the way. But this is not the Arabian fantasy kids might be expecting: Don’t look for the wise-crackin’ genie Robin Williams gave us in Aladdin. That doesn’t mean kids won't love it, though. I've watched children become enchanted viewing this film. Parents should note there’s a murder scene here as a character walks into the arms of a magic statue that strangles him. But there’s no gore.
The Black Stallion
Our last selection comes from the same director as Never Cry Wolf, the criminally-underrated Carroll Ballard (who cut his teeth directing second-unit scenes in Star Wars). This film, about a boy shipwrecked with a stallion off the coast of Africa in the 1940s, was written for the screen by Melissa Mathison, who would later pen the script to E.T. and marry Harrison Ford. Long stretches of the movie are without dialogue (true also of Never Cry Wolf), revealing Ballard’s gift of telling stories through imagery. Young or old, jaded or pure, this film will impress you with its awestruck love of nature. There’s some smoking and drinking in line with the times, and an intense shipwreck that may be too scary for small folk. The nonprofit media website commonsensemedia.org suggests parents of younger children may want to start the film after the shipwreck, which is at the beginning.
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