Family movies are timeless. No matter how old one is, the right film can instantly transport viewers back to being a kid, when adventures felt bigger, jokes were funnier, and happy endings were the only endings.
Over the decades, some of these family films have become staples that are passed through generations. These are the kind of stories that families revisit together year after year, without ever getting bored. Here is my list of 10 great family movies that are always worth watching again.
10
‘Home Alone’ (1990)
Home Alone is a Christmas classic that you can never really get tired of watching because it’s equal parts slapstick comedy and a cozy family story. The film follows eight-year-old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin), the youngest of the chaotic McCallister family, who gets into a fight with his older brother Buzz (Devin Ratray) the night before their trip to Paris. In an unexpected turn of events, Kevin’s family ends up leaving him behind as they rush to catch their flight the next day, and he couldn’t be happier. What starts with Kevin’s celebration of this unexpected freedom turns into one of the greatest showdowns in cinematic history when criminals Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern) try to break into the house on Christmas Eve.
Kevin uses his wild imagination and every household item he can find to lay out traps for the wet bandits. From swinging paint cans to gross tarantulas, Kevin’s ideas to protect himself and the house are both hilarious and brave. At the same time, though, Home Alone is way more than just the laughs and gags. Kevin starts off wishing that he could be alone, but as the days go on, he starts missing his family, despite how chaotic and loud they are. In his loneliness, Kevin befriends his misunderstood neighbour Marley (Roberts Blossom), who teaches him an important lesson about forgiveness and love. The best thing about Home Alone is its perfect mix of humor and genuine heart. Culkin’s brilliant performance, of course, is the cherry on top. The film’s success has led to several sequels, but the first one remains the most special.
9
‘Matilda’ (1996)
Danny DeVito’s take on Roald Dahl’s Matilda never gets old. The film tells the deeply heartwarming and eye-opening tale of six-year-old Matilda (Mara Wilson), who is simply born into the wrong family. Her dad, Harry Wormwood (Danny DeVito), is a sleazy used-car salesman, her mom, Zinnia (Rhea Perlman), is self-absorbed, and her brother, Michael (Brian Levinson), is just mean. No one at home can truly understand or appreciate that Matilda is actually a genius with psychokinetic abilities, so she starts to find comfort in books. After begging her parents to send her to school, Matilda crosses paths with the gentle and supportive Miss Honey (Embeth Davidtz), who is the only adult who truly attempts to understand her. However, Matilda’s terrifying and child-hating headmistress Miss Trunchbull (Pam Ferris) threatens to take that away from her too.
Watching Matilda as a kid feels magical and thrilling. However, watching it as an adult makes you realize that the story is actually about resilience and holding on to hope in the darkest of places. The film’s brilliance lies in the small details, like how Miss Honey, just like Matilda, has also been carrying years of trauma, and how the two eventually become the little family they have always wished for. All the actors deserve their flowers for how convincing they are in their roles. Wilson, of course, is the heart of the movie, and you can’t help but root for her every step of the way. From the iconic chocolate cake scene to Matilda driving Trunchbull out of Miss Honey’s home, Matilda is the perfect mix of Dahl’s signature sharp wit and childhood wonder. This one is the perfect watch for any family movie night.
8
‘Back to the Future’ (1985)
Back to the Future is one of the greatest time travel films of all time, because it doesn’t just focus on the spectacle of science fiction, but also places a genuinely heartfelt story at its center. Back to the Future follows 17-year-old Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), who accidentally travels back in time to 1955 with his eccentric friend Doc Brown’s (Christopher Lloyd) time-traveling DeLorean. What ensues is pure chaos as Marty accidentally interrupts the very moment his future parents were supposed to meet and fall in love. After that, Marty is in a race against time to fix history and rush back to his own life before he literally fades out of existence.
What’s so great about Back to the Future is how it delivers the thrill of messing with the past as Marty gets to exist in an era he has only known second-hand. However, the fact that he ends up becoming his dad’s closest friend and helping him find confidence is what really pulls you in. The entire cast delivers compelling performances that never feel preachy. Part of the charm of Back to the Future is how it manages to be a comedy, an adventure, a love story, and a sci-fi film at the same time. It’s clever enough for adults but simple enough for kids to enjoy, which explains why it has remained a family favorite even four decades later. No matter how many times you watch the film, watching Marty sit in the DeLorean and leaving the present behind still feels like magic.
7
‘The Little Rascals’ (1994)
The Little Rascals is a staple comfort watch for anyone who grew up in the ‘90s. At the same time, though, it’s one of those films that has aged surprisingly well and never fails to be entertaining, even to this day. The story, inspired by Hal Roach‘s Our Gang shorts, follows a bunch of neighborhood kids who run the iconic “He-Man Woman Haters Club.” Spanky (Travis Tedford) is the group’s proud president, and his best friend Alfalfa (Bug Hall) is supposed to be focused on racing their prized go-kart, The Blur, in the big soapbox derby.
However, the problem is that Alfalfa is head over heels for Darla (Brittany Ashton Holmes), and that obviously does not go over well with his boys-only club. The Little Rascals isn’t groundbreaking cinema, but it is the perfect representation of what childhood looks and feels like. All the kids in the film deliver earnest and endearing performances that really capture the essence of being young, where playground grudges feel like the end of the world. The Little Rascals leans into surreal, almost cartoon-like humor, and that gives the film its timeless charm. However, it also makes you realize that the story is not actually meant to be realistic, because it’s supposed to feel like a kid’s mind come to life. This is the kind of movie that makes you feel nostalgic for simpler times, which is the essence of a great family flick.
6
‘School of Rock’ (2003)
School of Rock, with its wacky humor and over-the-top antics, is the perfect vehicle for Jack Black to really shine. The story follows Black as guitarist Dewey Finn, who uses his roommate’s identity to land a substitute teaching job after getting kicked out of his band. What starts off as a way for Dewey to make quick cash quickly turns into something more meaningful when he discovers that his fifth-graders have musical talent like no other. He is then determined to turn them into a rock band and enter the upcoming Battle of the Bands as a way to reclaim himself in the music world. School of Rock feels like the ultimate childhood dream come true, where a teacher comes in and lets you ditch boring lessons for jam sessions.
However, revisiting it as an adult also delivers some important lessons about the importance of self-expression and finding your own voice. A lot of early 2000s comedies haven’t really aged well, but the way School of Rock handled its characters and the overall message still feels way more thoughtful than one might expect. The scene where Dewey takes out the uptight Principal Mullins (Joan Cusack) for a drink shows a completely different side of her, given all the pressure she is under when it comes to her job. That’s just one of the examples of how the film flips traditional tropes and makes its characters feel like real human beings instead of just the butt of a joke. For adults, School of Rock is the dream of having a job filled with passion and energy, and for kids, it’s the fantasy of school being exciting and creative instead of boring and monotonous. If that’s not the perfect family watch, what is?
5
‘Honey, I Shrunk the Kids’ (1989)
Many might write Honey, I Shrunk the Kids off for being too dated, but the truth is it still holds up as one of the greatest Disney films of all time. Not to mention that it completely changed the way filmmakers thought about practical effects and set design. The story follows eccentric inventor Wayne Szalinski (Rick Moranis), who accidentally shrinks his two kids and the neighbors’ kids down to the size of ants. The real trouble starts when the kids are swept into the trash and now have to make their way through the giant backyard, while dodging all its sprinklers, bees, lawn mowers, and a terrifying scorpion.
The premise of the film is as imaginative as it gets, and the way Honey, I Shrunk the Kids brings an oversized world to life with little to no digital tricks is absolutely brilliant. However, beneath all those oversized props and inventive set pieces, the film tells a sweet, funny story about a group of kids discovering their own strength. Moranis is the quintessential Disney dad and has an awkward charm that instantly makes him likable. The child actors also hold their own, and through their eyes, the danger and excitement of being shrunk feels all too real, even today. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids might not be flashy by today’s CGI standards, but there’s no denying that the film is still one of the most creative and rewatchable family movies of all time.
4
‘The Parent Trap’ (1998)
Disney’s The Parent Trap might look like a story for kids, but it’s a must-watch for adults, too. The film, directed by Nancy Meyers, is a remake of the 1961 Disney classic, but proves to be just as good, if not better, than the original. The Parent Trap marks the debut of an 11-year-old Lindsay Lohan, who delivers one of the greatest dual role performances of all time, to the point where it’s hard to believe that this was her first movie. The story follows Lohan as Annie James and Hallie Parker, identical twin sisters who were separated at birth when their parents, Nick (Dennis Quaid) and Elizabeth (Natasha Richardson), divorced.
The twins first cross paths at a summer camp, and quickly decide to switch places in a scheme to get their parents back together. One might assume that, as a young actor, Lohan might have found it difficult to play two characters who spend half the movie impersonating each other. However, Annie and Hallie never fail to feel like completely distinct people with their own personalities, and that’s what makes the film the masterpiece it still is today. The story itself is so heartwarming, with the perfect blend of humor and romance. All of this makes The Parent Trap a timeless family film that will really surprise you with how cozy and clever it feels at the same time.
3
‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ (1993)
Mrs. Doubtfire stars Robin Williams in one of the greatest roles of his career. The film, directed by Chris Columbus, follows Williams as Daniel Hillard, a struggling voice actor who is heartbroken after his wife, Miranda (Sally Field), divorces him and wins full custody of their three kids. Daniel is desperate to stay in his kids’ lives, and to do so, he disguises himself as a British nanny named Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire and gets hired to watch over his own children. To some, the premise of the film might sound like an over-the-top, dress-up comedy. However, it’s so much more meaningful than just that.
There’s no denying that Mrs. Doubtfire is full of hilarious gags and chaos, but beneath that, it’s a surprisingly touching story about the bitterness of divorce and the love of a parent. Mrs. Doubtfire works so well because it’s much smarter and more emotionally layered than it seems. The film cleverly shows how Daniel outgrows his disguise as he becomes a better, more responsible parent. The arguments in the film feel authentic without being melodramatic, the child actors are believable in their roles, and even the final reveal plays out with raw, intense emotion rather than being loud or cartoonish. What’s brilliant is that the film doesn’t really have a villain. Both Daniel and Miranda are flawed individuals who eventually learn to look past their own feelings and put their kids first. As a kid, Mrs. Doubtfire is hilarious and entertaining, but as an adult, it’s one of the most poignant reflections on the harsher realities of life.
2
‘The Goonies’ (1985)
The Goonies is the ultimate childhood adventure movie that’s bound to entertain kids and adults alike. The film follows a group of kids from the Goon Docks who set out on an adventure after discovering an old pirate map that tells them about the lost fortune of One-Eyed Willy. However, what hits you hard is the fact that they want this treasure to save their homes from foreclosure, which adds very real stakes to the entire story. The Goonies holds up so well today because of how realistic it is in its depiction of kids.
This is one of those rare movies where children are messy, loud, sarcastic, and constantly talking over each other, just as you’d expect them to in real life. The film has that signature ’80s charm with thrilling booby traps, goofy villains, and a sense of danger that never feels mean-spirited. Anyone who watched the movie as a kid will remember it feeling magical and larger than life, and that doesn’t change when you watch it as an adult. The adventure and the thrill of The Goonies remain the same, no matter what stage of life you are in. The film might not be a cinematic masterpiece that might appeal to everyone, but it has to be appreciated for the nostalgia trip that it is.
1
‘Baby’s Day Out’ (1994)
Image via 20th Century Fox
Baby’s Day Out is often dismissed for being just another silly slapstick comedy, but it really is one of John Hughes’s best family films of all time. The story follows Baby Bink (Adam Robert Worton and Jacob Joseph Worton), the adorable son of a wealthy couple, who gets kidnapped by crooks Eddie (Joe Mantegna), Norby (Joe Pantoliano), and Veeko (Brian Haley). Now, while the kidnappers think they are in for a major payday, they are shocked to realize that handling a baby is more complicated than they might think.
Things take a turn when Bink crawls out of their hideout and sets off on a wild adventure of his own all over Chicago. The premise of Baby’s Day Out is refreshingly simple, but the chain of events that unfold as Bink makes his way through the big city is hilariously entertaining. The film’s charm comes from its simplicity. Bink obviously doesn’t talk, but Hughes still manages to convey the baby’s natural curiosity and wonder at seemingly normal things like buses, department stores, and even a gorilla at the zoo. In many ways, Baby’s Day Out feels like a cartoon come to life with silly gags and the perfect depiction of what the world looks like from a baby’s eye.
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