Entertainment Weekly's Essential Movies Kids Must Experience (Before They Turn 13)
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There are people out there who have never seen The Princess Bride. They walk among us, holding down jobs, contributing to society, and generally living happy, semi-fulfilled lives. But whisper a perfectly-timed “mawage” in their direction during a wedding, and the resulting blank stare or awkward chuckle will expose an inconceivable pop-cultural blind spot. Someone failed them when they were growing up.
In many ways it’s too late for them, but we can still save the next generation. The 55 Essential Movies Kids Must Experience (Before They Turn 13) is a starting point. This isn’t a list of the 55 “best” kids movies, nor a compendium of hidden gems. Rather, it’s a survival-guide syllabus of films that we all need to know to be able to speak the same pop-cultural language, listed in order by when they might be best introduced. It starts with a film that is a perfect introduction to the cinematic universe and ends with one that is an ideal capper before graduating into the world of PG-13 and R movies—and the age when kids begin to make their own theater decisions.
These are the cinematic building blocks for future film connoisseurs, movie-literate enthusiasts who can gracefully segue from a George Bailey impression into a spirited debate over whether Han Solo shot first. The important stuff.
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1 new
The Muppet Movie
1979, in 5 top lists Check -
2 new
Toy Story
1995, in 25 top lists Check -
8 new
Finding Nemo
2003, in 17 top lists Check -
13 new
WALL·E
2008, in 26 top lists Check -
15 new
The Lion King
1994, in 24 top lists Check -
16 new
The Wizard of Oz
1939, in 38 top lists Check -
19 new
The Iron Giant
1999, in 14 top lists Check -
22 new
How to Train Your Dragon
2010, in 11 top lists Check -
23 new
Star Wars
1977, in 40 top lists Check -
24 new
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
2001, in 5 top lists Check -
25 new
Pee-wee's Big Adventure
1985, in 4 top lists Check -
28 new
The Black Stallion
1979, in 7 top lists Check -
30 new
Yellow Submarine
1968, in 8 top lists Check -
32 new
The Incredibles
2004, in 13 top lists Check -
33 new
The Lego Movie
2014, in 5 top lists Check -
34 new
The Princess Bride
1987, in 19 top lists Check -
35 new
The Goonies
1985, in 5 top lists Check -
40 new
Back to the Future
1985, in 25 top lists Check -
43 new
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2001, in 31 top lists Check -
45 new
Stand by Me
1986, in 11 top lists Check -
46 new
Fantastic Mr. Fox
2009, in 9 top lists Check -
48 new
Some Like It Hot
1959, in 35 top lists Check -
49 new
Raiders of the Lost Ark
1981 — a.k.a. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, in 29 top lists Check -
50 new
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the...
2003, in 13 top lists Check -
51 new
The Avengers
2012, in 7 top lists Check -
55 new
Jurassic Park
1993, in 23 top lists Check
Last updated on Nov 7, 2015; source