I am looking for movies for my family because I like to do a movie night once a week. My son is 14 years-old. Any suggestions for something age appropriate? We love Parent Trap, Sound of Music, Paddington (I realize this is a little youngish), The War with Grandpa, etc.
It is very hard to find appropriate movies! Some of our favorites are :
The Princess Bride
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
Star Wars (the originals)
It might help us to know some of your criteria. For example I dont mind some good vs evil violence but will avoid any modern movies with “romance.” Gratuitous coarse language is another thing I cant tolerate, though a word here and there I can overlook.
I have found the book “The Best Old Movies for Families” by Ty Burr to be an AMAZING resource! My now-13-year-old son and I have been working our way through the lists for several years now. Some of our favorites have been Bringing Up Baby, The Court Jester, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Destry Rides Again, Help!, It’s Always Fair Weather, La Belle et La Bete, Monkey Business, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Mysterious Island, National Velvet, A Night At the Opera, Safety Last!, Sherlock Jr., Singin’ in the Rain, Top Hat, Young Mr. Lincoln, Adam’s Rib, Arsenic and Old Lace, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Forbidden Planet, Franksentein, High Noon, His Girl Friday, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, My Man Godfrey, North by Northwest, Only Angels Have Wings, The Palm Beach Story, The Phantom of the Opera, The Pride of the Yankees, Rear Window, and Twelve Angry Men.
Thanks for the responses. I don’t mind some violence if it involves a war in a movie, such as the Narnia movies. A few words here and there, I will overlook unless it is the “f” word or something really egregious. I won’t allow my son to watch anything with sex in it. If a movie shows a married couple kiss each other, fine but not much more than that. The problem is finding something my son hasn’t seen and that he is still willing to watch.
My kids (including my 12-year-old son) love the BBC’s “Pride and Prejudice”. 🙂
They also love Titanic. Yes, Titanic! I was able to get a clean version (the website is called Clean Media Works. We also got a clean Monty Python and the Holy Grail there!). The drawing scene only shows when her face is drawn and then cuts away, the car scene is completely removed, and all swearing/irreverent uses of “God” are removed. My 7-year-old has been obsessed with all things ships since we watched it! 🙂 My 4- and 6-year-old girls like to reenact the dancing scene.
I’ve recently introduced them to I Love Lucy, too and they beg to watch more.