Are There Any Movies For Children Anymore?

02-23-02 | PaulJ

[PaulJ]

My wife and I just returned from Blockbuster where we were looking for something we could watch with our nine year old son. I am not a prude, but I prefer my son not watch films with profanity and certainly without nudity or sexual content. Out of the hundreds and hundreds of films for rent there was almost nothing suitable. We've seen most of Disney's stuff and he is a bright and mature boy for his age, so it doesn't have to be animated (in fact, I'm not crazy about animated movies) nor does it have to be a movie geared for little children. I just want something where they aren't swearing every other word and they're not parading around the house naked discussing their private parts. Even an occasional cuss would be alright ( I cluck my tongue to show my disapproval) as long as it's not the "F" word or something as bad. But, holy cow, there's nothing there!

Can any of you good folks here recomend something for us to watch? Or do you know of any web sites that maybe could help. I feel so bad for my son to go in there and leave empty handed. Any help you can give us would be appreciated.

[Jeremy_Bentham]

I have seen four good movies these past two months, not all of which I would take children to see, but Count of Monte Cristo was one of them. Certainly a good movie, one which I recommended as well.

The others were:
Brotherhood of the Wolf - a good movie, if you have some knowledge of Enlightenment France. There is some nudity, rather mild, but the violence is the real reason why children should probably not see it.
SuperTroopers - an adult comedy.
Gosford Parl - Good, somewhat light hearted movie about the relationship between the aristocrats and their servants in 1930's Britain.

[Jeremy_Bentham]

That should be Gosford Park.

[RnMomof7]

Here is focus on the family review..this is the current movies but they also have old ones

Plugged in

[diefree]

More

Enid Blyton's series

The Neverending Story

[My back yard]

I watched a recent one called 'Osmosis Jones' that wasn't 'tooo' bad. I found it really very funny, but not too gross for my 14 yr old and his friends. You might want to watch it first and decide.

[strela]

A few more:

Davy Crockett. The original TV episodes are out on DVD. The set I have includes "Davy Crockett and the River Pirates" and "King of the Wild Frontier." A good opportunity to explain how this character became a national obsession in the 1950s.

Atlantis: The Lost Empire. You had said in your post that you've seen most of Disney's offerings, but this one is good if you haven't seen it yet.

The African Queen. Classic Bogart/Hepburn, gripping story.

The Patriot. There is a little coarse language, some rough war violence, and a snippet of nudity in this one (I wasn't able to find the nudity but my fellow movie freaks assure me its there). In my opinion though, the positive lessons overshadow the negatives.

[rwfromkansas]

Beethoven movies.

[RnMomof7]

My stepmom 80 years old and a 27 year old friend went with me to see the Count of Monte Cristo, and we all loved it. It was an amazing movie. I was sorry my 13 year old granddaughter was busy..it has everything ..drama,comedy , beautiful sets and costumes and great acting.. the rating is for the duels..

[PaulJ]

I knew you folks would come through for us. There are some terrific suggestions here. Thank you all so much.

[My back yard]

There's also a great organization called 'Future Films for Families'. I have bought a lot of films from them in order to support their idea of bringing full length film to families who care. (too many 'f' words? lol)

They have a website, I believe.

[octobersky]

October Sky

[SupplySider]

Not to mention nudity, language, and violence, if you just don't want smart alecky role models and disrespectful attitudes towards adults, you are really out of luck. If someone in Hollywood would drop the ideology and make some decent childrens fare, they could be very very rich.

[southern rock]

Sometimes the children in the movie were rude and poorly behaved..

Heavens!!!

[PaulJ]

I think you mis-spelled that. I looked up "Future Films For Families" and didn't find anything, so I tried "Feature" instead and found their website. Thank you.

[ActionNewsBill]

Here are a few, just off the top of my head...

October Sky

Flight of the Navigator

Big

Cats and Dogs

Chicken Run

Hunt for Red October (My son saw it when he was about ten....now he's an Ensign stationed on the USS Nevada)

[diefree]

Oliver

[Jeremy_Bentham]

It really was. I cannot say enough good things about.

However, I was a little disheartened to see parents taking their children to the other movies I mentioned. If the children are mature enough, they might be able to understand and appreciate Brotherhood of the Wolf and Gosford Park(no children there), but there is no reason why young children should see SuperTroopers.

[lindsay]

Secret Garden

[PaulJ]

We watched October Sky recently and you are right. What a great movie it was. And true. I highly recomend this wonderful film for any family.

[oremus]

A River Runs Through It, is a nice movie for a boy, if I remember correctly.