The NeverEnding Family Movie List: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
A list by John Perritt
John Perritt's G/PG family movie list from his Family Movie Night newsletter (johnperritt.substack.com), from The Wizard of Oz (1939) to Sonic the Hedgehog (2020). John's note: not every film here is an endorsement, so check the content before you press play.
- 1
The Wizard of Oz
Movie · 1939
“The ultimate 'there's no place like home' story—if your kids can handle flying monkeys and can sit through 1939 pacing.”
IMDb 8.1RT 98% - 2
Treasure Island
Movie · 1950
“Robert Newton rolls his eyes and growls through the definitive pirate performance that invented every 'arrr, matey' trope in history.”
- 3
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Movie · 1954
“Steampunk submersibles and a giant squid fight that still holds up, even if the 1954 pacing is as slow as a deep-sea trench.”
- 4
Mary Poppins
Movie · 1964
“The iconic singing nanny is lovely in theory, but 139 minutes of 1960s pacing is a tough sell for kids raised on Bluey's seven-minute perfection.”
IMDb 7.8RT 97% - 5
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Movie · 1971
“Gene Wilder's iconic but genuinely unsettling candy man teaches kids about greed—through mild psychological torture.”
IMDb 7.8RT 90% - 6
Star Wars
Movie · 1977
“The OG space opera that launched a thousand lunchboxes—but will your kid actually sit through two hours of 1970s pacing?”
IMDb 8.6RT 94% - 7
The Empire Strikes Back
Movie · 1980
“The darker, richer middle chapter that proved Star Wars wasn't a fluke—and gave us the most famous plot twist in cinema history.”
IMDb 8.7RT 93% - 8
Flash Gordon
Movie · 1980
“A campy 1980s sci-fi spectacle that's aged like milk left in a disco ball—visually wild but genuinely hard to sit through.”
IMDb 6.5RT 83% - 9
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Movie · 1981
“Spielberg's iconic adventure is still a blast—just wait until your kid can handle melting Nazi faces without years of therapy.”
IMDb 8.4RT 94% - 10
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Movie · 1982
“Spielberg's iconic alien-friendship tale that your parents loved—but will your kids sit through two hours of 1982 pacing?”
IMDb 7.9RT 99% - 11
Tron
Movie · 1982
“The 1982 computer-world pioneer that's more interesting to read about than actually watch.”
IMDb 6.7RT 60% - 12
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
Movie · 1983
“Luke faces Vader, rescues Han, and befriends teddy bears with spears in the OG trilogy's feel-good finale—still holds up, mostly.”
IMDb 8.3RT 83% - 13
The Karate Kid
Movie · 1984
“Wax on, wax off—the original underdog karate story that launched a thousand crane kicks and taught kids that the best revenge is a well-executed tournament win.”
IMDb 7.3RT 81% - 14
The Last Starfighter
Movie · 1984
“Kid beats arcade game, gets drafted by aliens—charming '80s concept trapped in genuinely slow execution.”
IMDb 6.7RT 76% - 15
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Movie · 1984
“The Indy sequel so intense it invented PG-13—darker, gorier, and way less fun than Raiders.”
IMDb 7.5RT 77% - 16
The NeverEnding Story
Movie · 1984
“A beloved '80s fantasy that celebrates books and imagination—but prepare for genuine emotional trauma and a pace that tests modern attention spans.”
IMDb 7.3RT 84% - 17
Cloak & Dagger
Movie · 1984
“An 80s spy thriller where an 11-year-old witnesses a murder and goes on the run—imaginative premise, but emotionally heavy and showing its age.”
- 18
The Goonies
Movie · 1985
“The OG kids' treasure hunt that Gen X parents remember fondly but is way scarier and cruder than they recall.”
IMDb 7.7RT 77% - 19
The Karate Kid Part II
Movie · 1986
“Mr. Miyagi takes Daniel to Okinawa for family drama and another predictable showdown—but this time with higher stakes and lower ratings.”
- 20
Flight of the Navigator
Movie · 1986
“80s Disney time-travel adventure that's sweet in theory but moves at the speed of a dial-up modem for today's kids.”
- 21
Labyrinth
Movie · 1986
“Jim Henson's puppet masterpiece is visually stunning and deeply weird, but the creepy older-man-pursues-teen vibe hasn't aged well.”
IMDb 7.3RT 77% - 22
The Princess Bride
Movie · 1987
“The ultimate quotable fairy tale—true love, sword fights, and ROUSes—that's somehow both genuinely romantic and hilariously self-aware.”
IMDb 8.0RT 96% - 23
Willow
Movie · 1988
“An 80s fantasy quest with heart and magic—if your kid can handle the dated effects and genuinely creepy monsters.”
- 24
Honey I Shrunk The Kids
Movie · 1989
“Kids get accidentally shrunk to ant-size and must survive the backyard jungle while Dad frantically searches—'80s effects included.”
IMDb 6.4RT 76% - 25
Field of Dreams
Movie · 1989
“Farmer hears voices, builds baseball field in corn, ghosts show up—it's either magical or he needs a therapist.”
IMDb 7.5RT 88% - 26
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
Movie · 1989
“Two lovable idiots time-travel through history in a phone booth—peak 80s absurdity that's aged like milk left in the sun.”
IMDb 6.9RT 83% - 27
Home Alone
Movie · 1990
“The Christmas classic where an 8-year-old defends his house with paint cans and blowtorches—heartwarming AND borderline Home Depot assault.”
IMDb 7.7RT 66% - 28
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Movie · 1990
“Four wisecracking turtles fight a teen ninja cult in a version of New York City that’s way grittier and more tactile than anything in a modern CGI reboot.”
- 29
The Hunt for Red October
Movie · 1990
“Sean Connery with a Russian accent so bad it’s legendary, in a sub movie that actually uses its brain.”
- 30
Hook
Movie · 1991
“Spielberg's bloated but heartfelt 'what if Peter Pan became a corporate lawyer?' adventure—Robin Williams vs. Dustin Hoffman in tights.”
- 31
Home Alone 2 Lost In New York
Movie · 1992
“Kevin tortures the Wet Bandits again, this time in Manhattan—with even more bricks to the face and your credit card bill.”
IMDb 6.9RT 35% - 32
The Sandlot
Movie · 1993
“Nine kids, one legendary summer, and a terrifying dog that guards the greatest baseball of all time—peak 90s nostalgia for 60s childhood.”
IMDb 7.8RT 66% - 33
Jumanji
Movie · 1995
“Robin Williams plays a board game that tries to kill everyone—and the CGI monkeys from 1995 are here to haunt your dreams.”
IMDb 7.1RT 53% - 34
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Movie · 2001 · J.K. Rowling
“The movie that launched a thousand Hogwarts letters—magical, heartwarming, and yes, occasionally nightmare-inducing for the littles.”
IMDb 7.7RT 80% - 35
Harry Potter Chamber Of Secrets
Movie · 2002
“Year two at Hogwarts brings giant spiders, a killer snake, and some uncomfortable conversations about wizard racism—significantly scarier than round one.”
- 36
Holes
Movie · 2003
“A wrongfully convicted kid digs holes in the desert and uncovers a multi-generational mystery involving curses, treasure, and deadly lizards.”
IMDb 7.0RT 78% - 37
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Movie · 2004
“The HP film where things get real—time travel, soul-sucking Dementors, and the realization that Hogwarts might need better background checks.”
IMDb 7.9RT 91% - 38
National Treasure
Movie · 2004
“Nicolas Cage steals the Declaration of Independence and somehow makes it wholesome family fun.”
IMDb 6.9RT 47% - 39
“Four kids, one wardrobe, a talking lion, and a battle for a frozen kingdom—C.S. Lewis's classic gets the big-budget treatment.”
IMDb 6.9RT 76% - 40
Night at the Museum
Movie · 2006
“Museum exhibits come alive, Ben Stiller runs around a lot, and your kid suddenly wants to visit the Smithsonian.”
IMDb 6.5RT 42% - 41
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Movie · 2008
“Siblings discover a magical field guide and fight off genuinely creepy goblins in this 2008 fantasy that's darker than you remember.”
IMDb 6.5RT 81% - 42
The Chronicles Of Narnia Prince Caspian
Movie · 2008
“The Pevensies return to a war-torn Narnia in this darker, battle-heavy sequel that trades wonder for swordplay and runs about 45 minutes too long.”
IMDb 6.5RT 66% - 43
Cinderella
Movie · 2015
“Kenneth Branagh ditches the snark for a lush, sincere, and visually stunning take on the classic that actually lives up to its own 'be kind' mantra.”
- 44
Pete's Dragon
Movie · 2016
“A gentle boy-and-his-dragon tale that trades spectacle for heart—think E.T. with fur and wings in the Pacific Northwest.”
IMDb 6.7RT 88% - 45
The Jungle Book
Movie · 2016
“A visually stunning, surprisingly intense survival story that swaps the catchy 1967 jazz for some actual jungle grit.”
- 46
The BFG
Movie · 2016
“Spielberg's Roald Dahl adaptation has heart and whimsy, but honestly? Most kids find it kind of a slog.”
- 47
Sonic the Hedgehog
Movie · 2020
“A hyperactive blue hedgehog teams up with a small-town cop to stop Jim Carrey from taking over the world—it's exactly as chaotic as it sounds.”
IMDb 6.5RT 64%
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