A-List: Movies for the Whole Family
By Josh Spiegel
July 16, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
But what makes a movie sufficiently entertaining for adults and children alike? More often than not, such a film will be predominantly for kids. It's rare that movies rated PG-13 or higher can be successful for the youngest kids in your brood. On the other hand, some G-rated fare may be so determined to talk down to little kids that the adults being dragged to the theater will get no satisfaction from the movie. What you'll find from the following list is how many adventure or action movies are here. One of them, certainly, has the possibility to give kids nightmares, but some of the best movies for kids are the ones that scare the living daylights out of them. As much as you may cry about Bambi's mom getting shot, is it a movie you hate?
As time goes by, fewer movies are made for the entire family to enjoy. Even a great movie like this May's Up, which is a lot of fun for kids and something a little deeper for adults, isn't really perfect for the whole family. In some ways, the kids in the audience may not get much out of the movie's first 15 minutes, if only because...well, if you haven't seen it yet, just take heart that before balloons start lifting the main character's house up, the story's a bit darker than other Pixar movies. Either way, Up may not be remembered as a great family film, even if it is a great film. The movies on this list are great films and great for families; most stand the test of time despite many competitors. So, let's get to this week's A-List.
The Wizard of Oz
If you need any solid proof that great family films are still able to scare kids, look at the 1939 classic adaptation of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It's the story of Dorothy Gale, a farm girl who gets magically transported to a colorful land called Oz when a hurricane lifts her house up into the air. With only her cheerful dog, Toto, and a powerful pair of ruby slippers swiped off the unfortunate victim of her house landing into Oz, Dorothy goes on a journey to meet the title character, who may have the power to send the innocent child back home. There's songs, there's action, drama, comedy, and memorable characters. Not only that, but Judy Garland, one of the biggest stars Hollywood ever produced, got a huge break from being the lead of The Wizard of Oz.
Like all classics, there are many urban legends that surround the film, from a shadowy figure in one scene actually being a person who hanged himself (not true...or is it?), and the story of how Buddy Ebsen (who went on to star in The Beverly Hillbillies) nearly died from the makeup he had to don as the original Tin Man (Jack Haley would supposedly replace him in the role for this reason). Some may find the movie a bit cutesy, but with its timeless story of good versus evil, it's hard to imagine even the sourest member of your family not falling in love all over again, or for the first time, with Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and all those lions and tigers and bears. Yes, I really went there.
Star Wars—Episode IV: A New Hope
More than any other science-fiction film, more than any of the other movies in this epic series (and let's once again forget that the new trilogy ever happened), the first...and fourth entry in the Star Wars series is the perfect movie for everyone in the family. Again, there are plenty of places where the young ones could be scared big-time (Darth Vader, the method he uses to get information from Princess Leia, the aliens, and so on), but to watch a boy become a man, to watch dogfights in space, to watch romance, derring-do, and the like, there's nothing better. Anybody who watches this Star Wars movie should find it awfully hard to not get sucked in; over the July Fourth weekend, I found myself watching this and the other two older Star Wars movies, becoming so engrossed as to lose track of time.
Luke Skywalker may be a bit of a goof, an innocent and naïve farmboy, but he's also each and every one of us, dreaming of something better, something more. His heroic journey begins here, but there's so much to triumph over for the kid in all of us. If you forget that he's pining over his sister, there's the unrequited romance with the highfalutin royalty. His fight against Darth Vader isn't as climactic as it could be, but why worry? Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope is fantastic family entertainment; it's worth risking it to see if your kids get a little scared.
Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade
I realize that some of you may be slapping your keyboard or computer screen in anger right now, as I've chosen to forego the first two films in the Indiana Jones series (and am ignoring the fourth one altogether). Here's my justification: like the first two films, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is exciting, fast-paced, suspenseful, and has a villain who meets a gruesome end. I do, however, think that the violent finale in this third film is not nearly as icky as that of the two preceding movies. The melting of the Nazis' faces, the heart-pulling...it doesn't compare to a man rapidly aging and dying. Sure, that latter fate is gross, but kids may not be as squeamish. Even better, if your kids haven't seen the Indiana Jones series yet, this may be the best entry point.
There's really only one line that will go over their heads if they haven't seen the first two ("Ark of the Covenant." "You sure" "...Pretty sure."). The rest is filled with Harrison Ford at his charming best, Steven Spielberg's well-choreographed action scenes, and a delightful Sean Connery as Indy's rascally father. No, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is not as monumentally awesome as Raiders of the Lost Ark, but it is easily the second best film of the series, and is wildly enjoyable for everyone in your clan.
Mary Poppins
Now, I realize that some of the adults here will wither and moan at the mention of this movie, which may bring pain-filled remembrances of dancing chimneysweeps, a spoonful of sugar, a lengthy nonsense word, goofy penguins and, worst of all, Dick Van Dyke's awful attempt at an English accent. That last part aside (I'm not about to defend that voice), the 1964 Disney movie that made Julie Andrews a household name and Academy Award winner is the ultimate in family entertainment. This fantasy is about the Banks family: the father is a work-obsessed banker, the mother is a flighty socialite, and the children are lonely for well-deserved attention. When a magical nanny with some tricks up her sleeves becomes their new governess, adventure ensues.
Like it or not, the movie has some of the most memorable songs ever put to film, dazzling animation effects (at least, dazzling for the time in which it was released), and two very good performances: Andrews, of course, is a delight as the titular character, but David Tomlinson, as the Banks patriarch, is the only other actor in the movie who doesn't play things wildly over-the-top. He grounds his character in a little bit of reality, even if his daily commute involves saying hello to a military man who shoots cannons off his roof. The kids will love the animation and high-flying excitement; you might even end up humming along to a song like "Chim Chim Cheree," even if you try to hide it.
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Even though I'm a big fan of the 2005 remake from director Tim Burton, it's not hard for me to recommend the 1971 children's movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, about a poor boy who ends up being one of five lucky kids who gets to visit a chocolate factory run by a reclusive oddball. It's what would happen if Walt Disney made chocolate and didn't like people...kind of. Though the child actors, all playing gross caricatures of the worst traits kids can have (and the best, as well), are fine, it's Gene Wilder as the title character who delivers an iconic performance. From his memorable entrance to the chilling final scene, which begins with him excoriating our hero for being, if only temporarily, exactly like all the other children, Wilder is breathtaking to watch.
Wilder's quirks are a bit more natural than those of Johnny Depp, who took on the role a few years back. This movie is not nearly as technically proficient as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, not just because the movies were separated by over three decades; who cares, though, if the chocolate factory is a bit too plastic? If anything, it feels more realistic than the stylized version we saw in Burton's vision. If you've got to choose between one Willy Wonka or the other, stick with the poetry-spewing Wilder.