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Need recommendations for good family movies please :)


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Here are some of our favorites (I see you have dd's, which makes things easier):

 

The Secret of Roan Inish

The Secret Garden (1993 version)

Little Women (1993 version)

The Indian in the Cupboard (one hell and one ****, otherwise fine I think)

The Apple Dumpling Gang

Escape to Witch Mountain

The Railway Children

The Education of Little Tree

 

I know there are more, but they aren't right in front of me.

 

Barb

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I'm NOT a movie person but lately we've been trying to watch movies as a family on Friday nights. Friday is our HUGE day when we are out of the house from about 8:30 to either 2:30 (all of us have co-op followed by karate) or 5:30 (big girls also dance). We're exhausted!

 

Why not consider some older movies? There are some real gems out there if you consider some older movies.

 

Lately, we've watched:

 

Chariots of Fire (not older)

Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang (older)

Evan Almighty (they DO say OMG, which I find totally offensive) It's a good movie to watch and discuss.

 

I second the recommendation for Apple Dumpling Gang. Lots of fun.

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Preferably nothing in black and white or pre 1970. ;)

 

Wholesome, no crummy attitudes, no loopy/out to lunch parents...

 

From toddler to 60something!

 

TIA!

 

 

One of my all-time favorite movies.

 

Lonesome Dove- it's a miniseries, so you could have 3 nights of it easily.

 

Iron Giant

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Akeelah and the Bee (we loved it, too!), Because of Winn Dixie, Bridge to Terabithia, Everyone's Hero (animated, but really cute!). If you can get your hands on some of the Feature Films for Families movies...we still LOVE Braniacs, How I Saved the President, A Little Inside, No More Baths and probably the one the dc watch the most...The Paper Brigade (very funny and cute). I don't know if libraries carry those or stores. Have fun!

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Preferably nothing in black and white or pre 1970. ;)

 

Wholesome, no crummy attitudes, no loopy/out to lunch parents...

 

From toddler to 60something!

 

TIA!

 

...that I recommend over and over is a series: The Road to Avonlea.

Netflix has it. From the same producer comes another wonderful series: Wind at my back.

As for movies: Cheaper by the Dozen (the original version with Myrna Loy and Clifton Webb)

The Magic of Ordinary Days (has adult theme of having baby out of wedlock but is dealt with so graciously and shows moral consequences. It all ends well, of course. Likely not very exciting for young boys)

 

The Sandlot

The Waltons (series)

 

Can't think of anything else at the moment.

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no crummy attitudes

 

When you say this, do you mean never, ever in the movie or that don't persist? There are some wonderful kid/ family movies where the beauty lies in the heart changes of the characters.

 

Some of our favorites:

The Secret of Roan Innish

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Finding Nemo

The Emperor's New Groove

Duma

Secondhand Lions

Whale Rider

March of the Penguins

The Incredibles

Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

The Truman Show

 

 

A great site for checking out recommended movies is Kinds-In-Mind. They not only give ratings for violence, language, mature content, etc but will actually describe scenes that some may find objectionable so that you can decide how it fits with your family's judgments about such content. I like that they put these scene descriptions in because they are way more conservative than I would be in many of their definitions of "violence" and such. For example, in the new movie, Nim's Island under violence this is one of the scenes they describe:

 

"A large spider walks onto a computer keyboard where a woman is working, the woman screams, backs away, throws a book at the spider but misses, and the woman is terrified from then on about the possibility of encountering a spider."

 

This wouldn't even make it onto my violence radar, but I can see how a parent with a child who scares easily or who has a fear of spiders may want to avoid this movie.

 

HTH

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When you say this, do you mean never, ever in the movie or that don't persist? There are some wonderful kid/ family movies where the beauty lies in the heart changes of the characters.

 

 

 

 

Definately I don't mean movies that have no sin! LOL What I meant was that the kids are smart aleks in general. Snarky, "smarter" than others in authority - a theme throughout, not just an outburst of bad temper or rudeness here or there that a child sees wrong in.

 

Thanks for the website recommendation! :)

 

I so appreciate these and will be looking at the reviews on them!

 

We went with Bee Movie and Stranded...LOL.

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Watch the older version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and than watch the newer version and see which one the kids like best. I was pleased that the kids liked the older Gene Wilder version (since this is my favorite) than the horrible remake with Johnny Depp.

 

Blesssings

 

Zoraida

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Watch the older version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and than watch the newer version and see which one the kids like best. I was pleased that the kids liked the older Gene Wilder version (since this is my favorite) than the horrible remake with Johnny Depp.

 

Blesssings

 

Zoraida

 

Thank you for clarifying. The new version is just plain awful!

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It's been a while since I've seen Enchanted but I remember liking it. :)

 

And a friend of mine let me know Stranded may not be a good fit for my girls so it looks like I'll be trying to find some movies at the library tomorrow! LOL

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I haven't seen the movie, but the book -- ! Yikes! Whores, cussing, s*x, murder, kidnapping, r*pe.

 

It was a riveting book, but not a family story!

 

Is the movie any different? I can't help but wonder because my pastor refers to Lonesome Dove frequently as a great movie. ???

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I think these meet most criteria--

 

The Sandlot (maybe iffy, but just a great movie)

October Sky

The Princess Bride

Wild America (this is really a great movie, but you should probably screen it first.)

Cool Runnings (A father is not supportive at first, but then is 100%)

Apollo 13

Brother Bear

Spirit

The Secret of Roan Inish

The Brave Little Toaster

(Is Shrek or Monster's Inc out? We love those. Also, I adore Finding Nemo...)

Kiki's Delievery Service

Happy Feet

Tutoro

Night at the Museum

Galaxy Quest

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I haven't seen the movie, but the book -- ! Yikes! Whores, cussing, s*x, murder, kidnapping, r*pe.

 

It was a riveting book, but not a family story!

 

Is the movie any different? I can't help but wonder because my pastor refers to Lonesome Dove frequently as a great movie. ???

 

I LOVE LD. Before the kids were born we watched it a lot. Yes, it does have all that in it, but to me it's a real "heart" movie. I used to bawl when I heard the music. I still want to slap Gus for being so bull headed. And why in the world won't Call acknowledge Newt? It breaks my heart to see him waiting for what is never going to come. "I gave him my horse." Come on Call, that just doesn't cut it, even with me!

 

And Lori mourning Gus...........and Call almost killing that guy in town......and Newt trying to save his friend's horse.........and Gus fighting off the Indians.... and Deets dying. Waahhh.

 

I'm off to Amazon to see about getting a copy.

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Dd says "Castle in the Sky"

 

Ultimate Gift --kids may not follow it, but there's nothing "bad"

Cars

Flushed Away

Nancy Drew (it is a murder mystery, but it happened 30 yrs earlier)

Game Plan

Lassie (new one)

Oscar (w/Stallone--kids may not get all of it, but mine still found it funny.)

One night w/the King

Mr. Magoo

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Well giving someone a horse IS a pretty big deal. :)

 

Have you read all the sequels and prequels? There are a lot of plot twists that I wasn't happy with. All through the series, IMO, the wrong people die, the wrong people get together, the right people don't get together, the wrong people get away, too many injustices aren't righted. There were *almost* too many mistakes. If it weren't so beautifully written, it would have been a disaster. As it IS so beautifully written, it (the whole series) is merely exquisitely painful.

 

There were times, during the weeks that I was reading it, that I would find I felt incredible tension and pressure that had nothing to do with what I was doing in my real life. I was tied up in knots worrying about Call, Gus, and Lori even when I wasn't reading the books.

 

Tell me if you've read the sequel and what you think about Larry Mc's treatment of Newt.

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Well giving someone a horse IS a pretty big deal. :)

 

Have you read all the sequels and prequels? There are a lot of plot twists that I wasn't happy with. All through the series, IMO, the wrong people die, the wrong people get together, the right people don't get together, the wrong people get away, too many injustices aren't righted. There were *almost* too many mistakes. If it weren't so beautifully written, it would have been a disaster. As it IS so beautifully written, it (the whole series) is merely exquisitely painful.

 

There were times, during the weeks that I was reading it, that I would find I felt incredible tension and pressure that had nothing to do with what I was doing in my real life. I was tied up in knots worrying about Call, Gus, and Lori even when I wasn't reading the books.

 

Tell me if you've read the sequel and what you think about Larry Mc's treatment of Newt.

 

That's what I need to do this summer, catch up on the LD gang. I've not read the sequels yet.

 

Exquisitely painful describes reading LD very well.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Watch the older version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and than watch the newer version and see which one the kids like best. I was pleased that the kids liked the older Gene Wilder version (since this is my favorite) than the horrible remake with Johnny Depp.

 

 

That's funny because after I read the book, I rented both versions. My 8 year old said the newer one was more accurate. He gave me a run-down of the examples, but I cannot remember them now.

 

I have no idea, though, because I had NO desire to watch either of the movies.

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That's funny because after I read the book, I rented both versions. My 8 year old said the newer one was more accurate. He gave me a run-down of the examples, but I cannot remember them now.

 

I have no idea, though, because I had NO desire to watch either of the movies.

 

hee hee... my oldest [almost 14yos] just finished reading Wizard of Oz and HATED it. That's one movie that i think is way better than the book.

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my oldest [almost 14yos] just finished reading Wizard of Oz and HATED it. That's one movie that i think is way better than the book.

 

I grew up watching that movie every year. I have never read the book.

My 8 year old listens to the unabridged Wizard of Oz and the Patchwork Girl of Oz over and over and over again! He draws maps of all of the different lands. Perhaps when he's 14 he will grow out of it. ;)

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We love the Love Comes Softly series based on the books written by Janet Oke.

Some more favorites here are:

 

Dreamer (does have the word D*** a few times)

Eight Below

Facing the Giants

Little House on the Prairie (the first five or so seasons)

Drive-Thru History Series (most are available from Netflix)

The Apple Dumpling Gang

The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again

and Roy Rogers shows/movies (pre-70's but we love 'em!)

 

Kim O.

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