5 elements to consider when choosing a family movie

Family movies are wonderful vehicles for spending time with your kids, and there really isn’t much that can beat them in the way of creating opportunities to build family connections, build family traditions, and create lifelong memories.

While no two family movies are alike, the best ones (that is, the ones that prove to be the most enduring in a family’s movie library) seem to have some common characteristics. So whether you’re looking for your family’s next “ET” or your next “Lego Movie,” here are some selection tips that can help you choose the best family movie to watch, buy, or rent.

One: younger kids can get something out of the movie.

A good family movie is accessible to all members of the family, including the little ones. This doesn’t necessarily mean that your five-year-old needs to understand everything about the plot, or that your 11-year-old needs to be able to identify and explain a movie’s deeper points about the human experience. But they need to be able to enjoy the movie on some level.

Consider “The Sound of Music”, for example. Young children may not be able to follow much of the plot, but they may enjoy watching other children sing and dance. A younger child may not fully appreciate the plot and themes of “Polar Express,” but that doesn’t mean he won’t be captivated by the film’s superb animation.

Two: It’s not so childish that mom and dad don’t like it alone.

In contrast, a great family movie should be interesting enough for mom and dad to enjoy watching on their own. This could be because the film sprinkles a lot of witty “wink-wink” moments in the dialogue that only adults can understand (think “Aladdin”), or because the film’s theme addresses inspiring themes (“Free to Willie” or ” Big”) that appeals to adults and is worth watching.

Three: The movie has a great lesson.

The best classic family movies almost always offer a wonderful lesson or teachable moment, without being too preachy or too harsh, of course. Ideally, this is something the family can discuss before and after the movie, thus extending and enriching their collective enjoyment of the movie.

A handful of examples of great family movies with memorable or poignant lessons that you might consider watching include “True Courage,” “How Wonderful to Live,” “Akeelah and the Bee,” “Forrest Gump,” “Charlotte’s Web,” ” Up” and “Frozen”.

Four: A compelling plot.

Let’s face it, whether you’re eight or 80, there’s nothing like watching a great story. Even the pickiest of family members can get caught up in a movie that has an exciting story, and the arguments that can ensue after your family sees the movie for the first time can really add to your movie-watching experience.

Examples of family movies with compelling plots worth investigating include “Cloak and Dagger”, “The Karate Kid”, “The Parent Trap”, “Homeward Bound”, “National Velvet”, “Finding Nemo”, “Hugo”, “Ratatouille”, and the Harry Potter franchise, just to name a few.

Five: Memorable moments.

Some of the fondest memories you have as a family are spontaneous recitations or memories of jokes and catchphrases from your favorite family movies, or those family performances of song and dance numbers on talent shows that everyone has seen a dozen times. and they know by heart, or those heartbreaking moments when the whole family cried together before the movie lightened up and finally left everyone laughing, smiling, or cheering.

Family movies with these kinds of moments include “Toy Story”, “The Lion King”, “Annie”, “Happy Feet”, “The Wizard of Oz”, “Mary Poppins”, “Shrek”, “Miracle Street”. 34″, “Dumbo” and “Old Scream”.