My kids don’t like to watch cartoons or movie explicitly made for kids. What are some good movies targeted toward adults that kids can watch?
My kids don’t like to watch cartoons or movie explicitly made for kids. What are some good movies targeted toward adults that kids can watch?
All the films in the following list are PG-13, PG, or older and unrated, and I went light on sexual themes in the PG-13 part (except for Austin Powers, because... it's Austin Powers). This is just me quickly going through my own movie collection.
PG-13:
- Arachnophobia (1990)
- Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
- Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
- Cabin Boy (1994)
- Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
- Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
- Gremlins (1984)
- Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
- Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
- Kung Pow: Enter the Fist (2002)
- Life is Beautiful (1997)
- Little Shop of Horrors (1986) Director's Cut, if you can
- Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)
- The Mummy (1999)
- The Mummy Returns (2001)
- O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
- Pirates of the Carribean (2006)
- Princess Mononoke (1997)
- Raising Arizona (1987)
- Sneakers (1992)
- UHF (1989)
- Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)
PG:
- *batteries not included (1987)
- The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)
- Back to the Future trilogy (1985-1990)
- Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
- Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991)
- The Dark Crystal (1982)
- Dreams by Akira Kurosawa (1990)
- Flow (2024)
- Ghostbusters (1984)
- Ghostbusters II (1985)
- The Goonies (1985)
- Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
- The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
- Jewel of the Nile (1985)
- Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
- Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
- Porco Rosso (1992)
- The Princess Bride (1987)
- The Producers (1967)
- Indiana Jones original trilogy (1981-1989)
- Real Genius (1985)
- Shaolin Soccer (2001)
- Spaceballs (1987)
- Strange Brew (1983)
- Three Amigos! (1986)
- Time Bandits (1981)
- Twins (1988)
- Uncle Buck (1989)
- War Games (1983)
- The Wizard (1989)
- Wizards (1977)
- Young Frankenstein (1974)
Unrated:
- The Great Escape (1963)
- Hundreds of Beavers (2024)
- Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
- Nova Seed (2016)
- Rashomon (1950)
- Seven Samurai (1954)
- Stalker (1979)
Also, special mention to Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987) which would be otherwise PG except for the scene where Steve Martin says "fuck" 18 times, which alone earned it it's R rating.
Lots of Spielberg directed stuff fits here I think like close encounters, Indiana Jones, Jaws
The blues brothers I remember was a lot of fun & don't recall anything that stands out as too adult. tons of music, violence is not very serious
mst3k/rifftrax take a lot of old cheap movies and have comedians joke over the movie's audio, I think most of it is pretty pg-13 stuff but not pandering to kids
Some Coen brothers/Ethan Coen movies like O brother where art thou and raising Arizona, true grit, add a bit more complexity to stories over kids movies, but keep the violence not too scary
My kids and I watched a lot of Futurama.
Star Wars: Clone wars, Bad Batch, and Rebels.
All animated, very much not cutesy little kid stuff. War, trauma, death, PTSD for soldiers, all of it. Its also something special to watch a sith lord murder their way out of a ship using nothing but the force.
Edit: oh, movies, my bad. Hmm, thats a little trickier for me.
My father got into serious trouble with my mom when my little brother was two because of Blazing Saddles. My mom had taken me somewhere, and my brother was in the playroom playing with blocks. Dad figured it was safe to watch Blazing Saddles, as little bro wasn't able to see the TV, and he could see little bro.
A few days later, little bro walks up to my mother and casually called her a "tonic bitch," and wandered off.
Needless to say Mel Brooks was banned in our house for a few years, but we all loved it when we were allowed to watch it. Spaceballs as well.
Maybe they'd like some of the kids cartoons I enjoy as an adult or when I was in high school?
Dexter's Lab, Ed Edd and Eddy, Power Puff Girls, 2 Stupid Dogs, Home Movies, Dr. Katz., Invader Zim, Rugrats, Ren and Stimpy, Hey Arnold, Rocko's Modern Life, Phineas and Ferb, Daria, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Regular Show, and Adventure Time.
Family friendly / older fare. Labyrinth, goonies, princess bride, frighteners, galaxy quest, original clash of the titans, fifth element, back to the future etc etc.
The princess bride
Young kids: The Iron Giant, Princess Bride, and if shows count, Adventure Time and Avatar
Teenagers: Everything, Everywhere, All at Once
When my son first starting getting out of kids movies, he liked Indiana Jones and back to the future a lot. Ghostbusters went over well.
Also, Phineas and Ferb is great for every age. Old Simpsons are good too!
How old are your kids?
Edward scissor hands! And other Tim Burton
The movie I had on tape when I was a kid and I watched over and over again is Young Frankenstein.
The Gods Must Be Crazy had me in stitches as a kid.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show springs to mind.
they aren't movies, but Doctor Who is a fantastic show for the whole family. maybe start at Matt Smith episodes unless they don't mind cheesier effects and costumes.
Simpsons, South Park, modern family, futurama, bobs burgers
Not knowing their age, I still go with anything PG13 or your local equivalent is likely to be fine for most kids depending on what they like and how they react to different situations. My kiddo liked Jurrasic World at 10, but couldn't handle Jurrasic Park because JP did a better job at making scary scenes scary.
I enjoyed a lot of Rated R movies as a kid, especially when the rating was from language. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles wasn't any more adult than Uncle Buck except for the F bomb laden rental scene. Both are completely appropriate for kids around 10 years old with parental guidance if needed.
We never hid cursing from our kiddo and she didn't repeat it elsewhere, so it really came down to what held her attention and what seemed like something we felt might need some explaining.
My kids like horror movies since they were little.
Remember the Titans. Absolute cinema
The only thing my mind could come up with that isn't animated would be The Ring. I personally have the original Japanese version, so I have no clue how good or bad the western version is, though.
The only thing I can think of is Midnight Gospel, if your kid doesn’t mind the quick-talking podcast interview going on in the background. But the animation is great. 😃
ETA: Oops you said no animation. I’m sorry!
I would recommend polterghast as a nice PG* horror movie.
*it came out before pg-13 existed.
Since its 25th anniversary of its western release just passed and it’s on my mind, Princess Mononoke is a good one. It’s bloody but tasteful.