Top 10 Family Movies
Because who doesn't love a list? And a family movie?
What was your New Year’s Resolution? This year, I reiterated my resolution from the year before: to be less productive.
That sounds like a humble-brag but it’s not intended that way. The besetting sin of people like me is that I focus on producing things – writing, recording and releasing. I don’t spend enough time telling people what I have actually produced.
For some the reason is shyness, or Britishness, or a reluctance to tell people about what you’ve done. For me, it’s lack of interest. Once I’ve written a script or produced a video or a podcast, I move on. If you’re a part of a team, with a marketing department and social media manager, that’s not a problem. But if you’re a one-man band, which essentially I am, it just means you are prolific in obscurity. Maybe you’ll be hailed as a genius after your death, but why not have a stab at putting your work in front of eye-balls, or earholes, now?
In recent months, I have been harping on about my new book, The Gospel According To A Sitcom Writer. If you’re in the UK, you can still get a signed copy directly from me along with access to the hour-long elaunch I did.
But there are other things I’ve been up to in the past few years, and over the summer, I’m going to be pointing you in the direction of those things. This time, it’s the Popcorn Parenting podcast.
On the Popcorn Parenting podcast, Nate Morgan Locke and I talk about family movies, and how we can discuss them with our kids, especially in the light of the Christian faith. Nate thinks a lot about these things, and goes by the title ‘Reformed Mythologist’, and I really think that’s what he is.
So, I’d like to tell you about my top ten family movies. This list isn’t the ten best family movies. Clearly Mary Poppins is one of the best, but it didn’t speak to me or stay with me like other movies did. So this is a personal list, and I’ll briefly explain why each is on the list.
But let’s just do some honourable mentions in no particular order.
Up is brilliantly, optimistically sad. The Incredibles is great fun, and the sequel might be even better. Paddington 2 was definitely better than the original, which was pretty good to begin with. And my wild card on this list is Megamind, which I wasn’t expecting to enjoy as much as I did.
If I had to pick a Star Wars movie, I’d pick Rogue One, not least because it’s the movie that made my youngest daughter leap in the air, punching the sky when the X-Wings come to the rescue here:
Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade are movies I adore and grew up with. And they would be on my list if I’d been able to watch them with my kids. But they’re not quite family movies, being a little too violent for our tastes, even though it’s mostly Nazis being thrown under the bus, or, in the case of The Last Crusade, huge tank.
The closest we’ve been to that kind of caper is National Treasure, which my kids and I are slightly obsessed with. It’s well worth a look for a wet Wednesday afternoon in the summer holidays. The soundtrack’s really good too. And the sequel is nonsense but also entertaining.
So here is my list. Make of it what you will.
10. Monsters Inc
This is a brilliantly conceived film with some intricate plotting. Somehow Pixar made a movie about scary monsters at the end of the bed without it being scary. How did they do that? Find out on the Popcorn Parenting podcast.
9. Tangled
I saw Soul and Tangled fairly close together. Soul was a disaster, but Tangled was “a classic fairy tale retold in a way that seems fresh, funny and full of action. The storytelling is masterful (except for that bit where her tear lands on him at the end. That was proper cheating. Naughty).” That’s what I wrote on my sitcom blog. Nate found himself shouting ‘You go, girl!’ at the screen. Let him tell you why over on the podcast.
8. Hercules
When this movie came out in 1997, I hoped it would be as funny as Aladdin that had come out five years earlier, featuring Robin Williams at his best. It wasn’t quite up there, but we did get a wonderful Hades played by James Woods. And Megara is one of the greatest female Disney characters of all time. Listen to Nate and I have a chat about this movie which is perfect for watching with teens.
7. Onward
I hadn’t seen this movie when it came out and we recorded the episode about it - because Nate was living in America and everything’s better there, if John Hughes’ movies are to be believed. But since then I’ve seen Onward twice and adored it. I’m open to criticism that the set-up is a little bit clunky and contrived in that ‘the magic didn’t quite work’, but then you’re allowed one clunky contrivance at the start of the movie. What really interested me is that the characters live in a magic world, but the rise of tech means that magic is essentially forgotten. Kind of like of our own world.
6. Bill
I think every family weirdly latches onto a movie and watches it over and over. Bill, a comedy about Shakespeare, is ours. We’ve seen it at least eight times. And it makes me laugh all the way through every time. And we constantly quote it at each other. (There are a few moments not suitable for kids that pass by very quickly. The version aired on the BBC snicked those out.) It’s by the original Horrible Histories cast and is many times funnier than the official Horrible Histories movie about Boudicca. Sorry. It just is. It think it’s on Amazon Prime at the moment. Watch the trailer.
5. Castle in the Sky
This animated movie by Hayao Miyazaki was on TV when I was a teenager, and it captivated me. It’s based on one of the overlooked parts of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels about the flying island of Laputa. Except it’s also futuristic. And there are pirates, and a funny old granny who means business. It’s fab and enchanting. I recently bought it on DVD and it’s as brilliant as I remember. And now it’s on Netflix.
4. Wall-E
I think it was only on the second viewing I appreciated what a jaw-droppingly brilliant movie this is. It’s 2001: A Space Odyssey meets Noah’s Ark. And it’s one of the most humane and touching movies I can remember. And yet the main protagonists are robots. A treat. Watch it again, having listened to Nate and I have a natter about it.
3. Aladdin
Dead Poets’ Society, Good Morning, Vietnam and Mrs Doubtfire are great Robin William movies. But Aladdin might be his best. He completely steals the show and I think that’s what they were hoping.
2. The Princess Bride
William Goldman wrote the original book for his children and it’s worth a look. But this movie is better. It’s a distillation of the essence, perfectly conceived, eminently quotable and quirky. It’s not a parody of fairy tales, but a love letter to fairy tales. An open letter of joy and we get to read it and hug ourselves at how wonderful it is. I’ve watched it with my kids at least once and I will always go back to with.
1. Toy Story 2
Every line, every frame, every moment, every beat of this movie is perfection. It is the perfect movie. Listen to Nate and I have a chat about it. Along with the original Toy Story Movie, and Toy Story 3, which is just downright creepy.
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In the podcast we also talk about Moana (which Nate did NOT like), The Lego Movie, Peter Pan, Willy Wonka, The Iron Giant, Frozen II and a bunch of other movies. Have you not clicked a link yet? Over here. Happy listening, and viewing. Or search for ‘Popcorn Parenting’ on your podcast app or Spotify.