What Movies Are You Watching With Your Kids?

Fred Ward and Kevin Bacon, Tremors

We’ve been having A LOT of movie nights in our house recently and watching a lot more TV in general, as I’m sure most of you can relate. As such, we’ve been introducing our kids to a lot of older movies. This is nothing new really, as I’ve always loved showing them old favorites like Goonies, A League of Their Own, ET. But the pandemic has us reaching deep for some oldies but goodies and I thought we could share what we’re all watching with our kids these days.

Tremors (on Netflix)
I admit I was a little nervous when we pulled this one out our first week, but the kids all loved it. Even my 6 year old. It’s scary, but not too scary. A sweet and gentle introduction to the horror genre you could say. (I actually hate horror films, so I say that in jest.) The only thing the husband and I kept giving each other eyes about during the movie was the high volume of cussing. Oh well.

Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure
Zuzu has been watching Pee-Wee’s Playhouse on one of the streaming channels and we’re not even sure how she found it. But with her newfound interest in Mr. Herman, we decided to pull this one out of the ol’ vault as it was something my husband and I had very little recollection about as well. It has held up pretty well I must say. By “held up pretty well” I mean, it is still as weirdly dumb and brilliant as ever and even my teenager laughed more than once in spite of herself. And since it was only a dollar more to purchase rather than rent on Amazon, we now own this classic.

Marley and Me
I know… it’s a dog movie. But really, it’s so sweet and funny in a light-hearted, kid way. And since my girls are still obsessed with our dog August, I knew they’d really get this one.  Also, it may be my favorite Jenifer Aniston movie ever.

Turner and Hooch
I know… another dog movie. This one didn’t hold up as well as I had hoped in that it wasn’t as funny as I remembered. But, it was still a fun dog movie with the added cop drama mystery. And for the most part, you can never go wrong with Tom Hanks.

My Girl (Netflix)
I once heard that showing kids sad movies is a good way to help them learn how to process sad emotions when the stakes are low, which I think is actually pretty smart. That being said, my kids didn’t cry, or barely seemed phazed by this movie so not sure what that says about them! But I love a good coming of age movie, especially if it’s set back in the 60’s (or 50’s? 70’s? I’m really not sure.)

Onward (Disney+)
Honestly, I wasn’t impressed. I don’t think my kids were either. It felt too disjointed–were we supposed to care about bringing magic back or the dad? Both? It just didn’t land with me.

Other Movies We Plan On Watching:
Read Window–Jimmy Stewart + Grace Kelly’s dresses + mystery/thriller and I think it’s going to be a win.
Labrynth–Um, I have NEVER seen this movie. I’m worried it won’t translate well if I see it the first time as an adult, but oh well.
Forrest Gump–I would only watch this with my oldest, but I think she would love it.
Charade–Audrey and Cary, I hope they’ll love them as much as I do.
Can’t Buy Me Love–One of my favorite 80’s teen movies… might be too mature for my youngest though.
The Burbs–Another Tom Hanks classic I can’t wait to introduce to my kids.
The Journey of Natty Gann–I LOVED this one as a kid and I think my girls will too.
The Money Pit–I’ve never seen this, but it’s another Tom Hanks movie and I hear it’s hilarious.

OK, that’s all I’ve got for now. Tell me, what have you been watching with your kids?