One of my favorite things to do is snuggle up on the couch with my boys and watch a feel good movie. I’m hoping to do watch a movie or two over spring break. I’m looking for some feel good movies that we haven’t seen yet. I thought I would share my feel good movies with y’all, in hopes that you share one or two or more with me! Oh, and by feel good, I mean G, PG or PG-13 (if it’s mild), that is fun, sweet, cute and good for kids and adults alike. For reference my boys are 8 and 9.
Here’s my list:
Sandlot (PG)
The Princess Bride (PG)
Night at the Museum (PG)
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (PG)
Secretariat (PG)
Field of Dreams (PG)
War Room (PG)
Send me your recommendations!!! Pretty please!
P.S. My dog is relentless -hahaha!
These are a few we have watched with our boys through out the years. Hope these suggestions help you. From a long time reader of your blog!
Dolphin Tale
Angels in the Outfield
The Parent Trap
Flipper
Free Willy
Evan Almighty
The Goonies
Up
Mrs Doubtfire
The Karate Kid
Matilda
More kids sports movies: Rookie of the Year, Little Big League, Little Giants, Hoosiers and Angels in the Outfield.
Also Homeward Bound, ET, Free Willy
Seems like most of the best movies were made so long ago. Rarely can I find a good movie made this decade to watch with my kids.
We also like Parent Trap—even the boys!
Oooh – Field of Dreams wasn’t even on my radar!
We just finished The Rookie with Dennis Quaid and The Greatest Game Ever Played. We really enjoyed both of them.
I’ve also been trying VidAngel to help make some movies more age appropriate for our younger kids. It’s pretty cool for the movies it is allowed to edit!
Swiss Family Robinson is our favorite!
National Treasure is always fun and it has that adventure vibe with some history!
School of Rock
School of Rock
Remember the Titans
Another great movie is Ruby Bridges. It is a true story. You will definitely want to watch it with your kids to be able to explain it to them as it is all about the desegregation of schools. It is fabulous!
When my son (!) was really little, he LOVED Aquamarine. Now that he’s a 15-year-old high school football player, we tease him about it, but he still says how good it was! 🙂
Cheaper By the Dozen ( 1 and 2 are both cute!). Finding Nemo, Finding Dory
We saw a documentary called, “On the Way to School” which shows the journeys several kids from around the world go through to get to school everyday. It’s fantastic, and a real eye opener for kids, and beautiful to watch. Enjoy your vacation!
Here’s the trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIsQ0B43Q9Y&app=desktop
“Wonder” with Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson was excellent! Everyone liked it (and it was even free streaming on Prime).
Yay, Carly! This is a great topic! I second “National Treasure.” We just let the kids watch it for the first time this past weekend and they wanted to see it all over again. We muted the tv when they go to the Dad’s house, and Jon Voight opens the front door and says, “Is she pregnant?” We did not want to hit that question yet. (And it might have just flown over their heads if I had timed it right…) And there are two long-dead seamen on the Charlotte, so Little One closes her eyes. My girls loved National Treasure! Your list is great- and I forgot about “Night at the Museum.” We also do “Indiana Jones and Last Crusade.” My little one closes her eyes when Indy and Elsa are in the catacombs, and the skulls are everywhere. (She knows that they are there, just prefers not to see them.) Oh- an when the Nazi guy chooses “poorly,” and he ages to death at the end. We skip “Temple of Doom.” I do want to keep my little one in her room all night if I can… haha!
A lot of these on my list are Disney, I realize, but they made some fun ones. My girls tend to like adventure movies, so we go back to some old-school favorites… I just explain that many of the films were before my time, and so were the styles, but what they like are the stories. We are ALWAYS on the look out for great movies, and maybe one of these will help someone to find a new favorite for their munchkins. I am definitely going to go pick up several new titles! Thank you to all who contributed suggestions!!!
“Treasure Island,” We started by reading this, and then watching the film, and they loved it. You could also watch the movie and then read the book. The book is ever so much richer, but sometimes it helps to watch then read. Do the old Disney color version from the 50’s. If you have been to Disney World in Florida, then the original voices from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride will come right back to you. They are all from this movie.
“The Wizard of Oz,” plus we finally read the books to them last year.
“Pete’s Dragon,” (the original) is cute, with Mickey Rooney.
“Swiss Family Robinson”
“The Muppets,” with Amy Adams is a favorite one still.
“The Incredible Mr. Limpet,” and
“The Apple Dumpling Gang (1 & 2),” with Don Knotts.
“In Search of the Castaways” – Hailey Mills
“That Darn Cat” – Hailey Mills
“The Parent Trap” – Hailey Mills
“Lt. Robin Crusoe, USN” – Dick Van Dyke and a monkey; silly fun, but they like it.
“Meet the Robinsons” – a terrific and underrated Disney cartoon film
“The Misadventures of Merlin Jones,”
“Million Dollar Duck,”
“Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” (original)
“The Sound of Music”
“Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” (I skip the part about Large Marge, just in case for my little one)
“Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”
“Napoleon Dynamite” (I skip the part where Uncle Rico gives the papers to Summer Wheatley and Trisha)
“Pride and Prejudice” with Keira Knightley. It’s our favorite. It is gentle, lovely, and my girls quote it all the time. It may help that I love it, and I laugh at all the funny parts. But if you watch it your boys could also watch it without the worry of “scenes” or language.
“Gilligan’s Island” (Series, not a movie) The complete series is a big hit. It is still funny in 2019, and my girls can watch it over and over. Season One is in black and white, but because they laugh so much they do not complain about it not being in color.
“Laramie” (series) is a cowboy show from the 50’s that my Dad and brother got them stuck on watching. It is fun, it always has a moral, and the kids seem to like Westerns.
Thanks, Carly!
Ginni, This is awesome!! Thank you!!