Entertainment Weekly's Essential Movies Kids Must Experience (Before They Turn 13)
Created by Fergenaprido.
Favorited 7 times, disliked 0 times, added to 6 watchlists.
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.
Filter
-
1 new
The Muppet Movie
1979, in 5 top lists Check -
2 new
Toy Story
1995, in 25 top lists Check -
3 new
How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
1966, in 0 top lists Check -
4 new
Babe
1995, in 12 top lists Check -
5 new
Mary Poppins
1964, in 15 top lists Check -
6 new
Beauty and the Beast
1991, in 19 top lists Check -
7 new
The Little Mermaid
1989, in 8 top lists Check -
8 new
Finding Nemo
2003, in 17 top lists Check -
9 new
Le ballon rouge
1956 — a.k.a. The Red Balloon, in 11 top lists Check -
10 new
Pinocchio
1940, in 16 top lists Check -
12 new
The Kid
1921, in 17 top lists Check -
13 new
WALL·E
2008, in 26 top lists Check -
14 new
The Sound of Music
1965, in 25 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 -
17 new
Singin' in the Rain
1952, in 37 top lists Check -
18 new
Miracle on 34th Street
1947, in 7 top lists Check -
19 new
The Iron Giant
1999, in 14 top lists Check -
20 new
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
1982, in 31 top lists Check -
21 new
Elf
2003, in 3 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 -
26 new
La marche de l'empereur
2005 — a.k.a. March of the Penguins, in 3 top lists Check -
27 new
Home Alone
1990, in 6 top lists Check -
28 new
The Black Stallion
1979, in 7 top lists Check -
29 new
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
1971, in 8 top lists Check -
30 new
Yellow Submarine
1968, in 8 top lists Check -
31 new
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
1988, in 16 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 -
36 new
A Christmas Story
1983, in 4 top lists Check -
37 new
West Side Story
1961, in 22 top lists Check -
38 new
It's a Wonderful Life
1946, in 33 top lists Check -
39 new
Duck Soup
1933, in 24 top lists Check -
40 new
Back to the Future
1985, in 25 top lists Check -
41 new
Young Frankenstein
1974, in 14 top lists Check -
42 new
Edward Scissorhands
1990, in 10 top lists Check -
43 new
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2001, in 31 top lists Check -
44 new
The Karate Kid
1984, in 3 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 -
47 new
Big
1988, in 7 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
Last updated on Nov 7, 2015; source