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55 Essential Movies Kids should see before they are 13

SamQuint

SamQuint

Golden Member
Entertainment weekly made this list.

From Entertainment Weekly; The 55 Essential Movies Kids Must Experience (Before They Turn 13) is a starting point. This isn’t a list of the 55 “best” kids movies, nor a compendium of hidden gems. Rather, it’s a survival-guide syllabus of films that we all need to know to be able to speak the same pop-cultural language, listed in order by when they might be best introduced. It starts with a film that is a perfect introduction to the cinematic universe and ends with one that is an ideal capper before graduating into the world of PG-13 and R movies—and the age when kids begin to make their own theater decisions

  1. The Muppet Movie (1979)
  2. Toy Story (1995)
  3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
  4. Babe (1995)
  5. Mary Poppins (1964)
  6. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
  7. The Little Mermaid (1989)
  8. Finding Nemo (2003)
  9. The Red Balloon (1956)
  10. Pinocchio (1940)
  11. Annie (1982)
  12. The Kid (1921)
  13. WALL•E (2008)
  14. The Sound of Music (1965)
  15. The Lion King (1994)
  16. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
  17. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
  18. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
  19. The Iron Giant (1999)
  20. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
  21. Elf (2003)
  22. How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
  23. Star Wars (1977)
  24. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
  25. Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985)
  26. March of the Penguins (2005)
  27. Home Alone (1990)
  28. The Black Stallion (1979)
  29. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
  30. Yellow Submarine (1968)
  31. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
  32. The Incredibles (2004)
  33. The LEGO Movie (2014)
  34. The Princess Bride (1987)
  35. The Goonies (1985)
  36. A Christmas Story (1983)
  37. West Side Story (1961)
  38. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
  39. Duck Soup (1933)
  40. Back to the Future (1985)
  41. Young Frankenstein (1974)
  42. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
  43. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
  44. The Karate Kid (1984)
  45. Stand By Me (1986)
  46. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
  47. Big (1988)
  48. Some Like it Hot (1959)
  49. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
  50. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
  51. The Avengers (2012)
  52. Titanic (1997)
  53. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
  54. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
  55. Jurassic Park (1993)
There are a lot of notable movies that I would put on the list
Dumbo
Bambi
The Yearling
Old Yeller
add some westerns
High Noon
The Searchers
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
add some war movies
The Longest Day
Bridge on the River Kwaii
White Christmas
and of course
Jaws
 
Seen most of those. Pretty good list. I strongly approve of them listing the original Star Wars and Grinch movies. :thumbsup:
 
And, as a matter of fact, I am on disability right now so I think I will go watch Stand By Me. Thanks for the idea.
 
DaTT said:
Stand By Me needs to be number 1
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listed in order by when they might be best introduced.

Stand By Me should be towards the end, so the kid is old enough to understand.

edit: and I'll try to read the whole thread when it only has a few posts before I reply. 😉
 
SamQuint said:
This isn’t a list of the 55 “best” kids movies, nor a compendium of hidden gems. Rather, it’s a survival-guide syllabus of films that we all need to know to be able to speak the same pop-cultural language
Click to expand...

I would hope most parents understand that the idea that it is important for their kids to be able to speak the "same pop-cultural language" is utter garbage.

-KeithP
 
CZroe said:
The Lego Movie? Srsly?!
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The Lego Movie was actually a very good concept. The struggle of an overbearing, structure orientated parent unable to give up his "childhood toys" and a child just having fun.



Also, most of that list is utter crap. Hardly any offer anything of value except "these were popular in their time". The only movies a kid needs to watch are: A Goofy Movie, Aladdin, The Lion King, Star Wars Trilogy, and Surf Ninjas. They are then a complete person.
 
The Muppet Movie (1979)
Toy Story (1995)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
Babe (1995)
Mary Poppins (1964)
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
The Little Mermaid (1989)
Finding Nemo (2003)
The Red Balloon (1956)
Pinocchio (1940)
Annie (1982)
The Kid (1921)
WALL•E (2008)
The Sound of Music (1965)
The Lion King (1994)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
The Iron Giant (1999)
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Elf (2003)
How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
Star Wars (1977)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985)
March of the Penguins (2005)
Home Alone (1990)
The Black Stallion (1979)
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Yellow Submarine (1968)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
The Incredibles (2004)
The LEGO Movie (2014)
The Princess Bride (1987)
The Goonies (1985)
A Christmas Story (1983)
West Side Story (1961)
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Duck Soup (1933)
Back to the Future (1985)
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
The Karate Kid (1984)
Stand By Me (1986)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Big (1988)
Some Like it Hot (1959)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
The Avengers (2012)
Titanic (1997)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Jurassic Park (1993)
Click to expand...


As a 20 year old I have seen most, only haven't seen a few on the list. Meh.
 
smackababy said:
Hardly any offer anything of value except "these were popular in their time".
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well, that's exactly the point of the list

films that we all need to know to be able to speak the same pop-cultural language
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but if we're going to be including films like crouching tiger, hidden dragon, shouldn't we be including stuff like The Matrix and Terminator 2 and Alien?
 
I've seen less than half of those (19)... and about 5 of those I've only seen recently because my wife "made" me watch them. meh
 
tynopik said:
well, that's exactly the point of the list



but if we're going to be including films like crouching tiger, hidden dragon, shouldn't we be including stuff like The Matrix and Terminator 2 and Alien?
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They are assuming that they shouldn't be seeing PG-13 and R rated movies. The exception on the list is Stand by Me. (although I think there are some PG-13 movies in there)

Although nowadays it seems most "parents" have no problem letting their young ones watch R rated movies.

But yes Crouching Tiger is a really odd choice. If I were to include a martial arts movie I would have gone with Enter the Dragon.
 
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SamQuint said:
They are assuming that they shouldn't be seeing PG-13 and R rated movies. The exception on the list is Stand by Me. (although I think there are some PG-13 movies in there)

Although nowadays it seems most "parents" have no problem letting their young ones watch R rated movies.

But yes Crouching Tiger is a really odd choice. If I were to include a martial arts movie I would have gone with Enter the Dragon.
Click to expand...

It's funny that you see the flaw in tynopik's reasoning, then make the same mistake yourself. Enter the Dragon is a much more "adult" movie than Crouching Tiger, imo.
 
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Uhh Pirates of the Caribbean is PG-13.

Seen most of that list. Only ones I haven't are: The Kid, March of the Pengiuns (only snippets), Yellow Submarine (hate anything Beatles), Duck Soup, and Titanic. There are a few I wouldn't have mind not seeing like Fantastic Mr Fox. and Some Like it Hot as examples.

There are certainly other movies I would put on that list and usually do them in a different order as well.

I would break down movies to watch by age category.

2-5,
6-8
9-10
11-13
13-16
17+

That's where I would start my list to fill in for movie/story selections personally. The numerical thing is just junk.
 
If I had kids, I'd like to get them to watch a lot of Classic pre-1950s movies. Just to give them perspective. Citizen Kane, Wizard of Oz, Metropolis, and a ton of others. In my limited experience, you pretty much have to start them with these or else they will be rejected for being Old.
 
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