My kids don’t like to watch cartoons or movie explicitly made for kids. What are some good movies targeted toward adults that kids can watch? (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 months ago by thewanderingbackpack@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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[-] whotookkarl@lemmy.world 14 points 1 month ago

Lots of Spielberg directed stuff fits here I think like close encounters, Indiana Jones, Jaws

The blues brothers I remember was a lot of fun & don't recall anything that stands out as too adult. tons of music, violence is not very serious

mst3k/rifftrax take a lot of old cheap movies and have comedians joke over the movie's audio, I think most of it is pretty pg-13 stuff but not pandering to kids

Some Coen brothers/Ethan Coen movies like O brother where art thou and raising Arizona, true grit, add a bit more complexity to stories over kids movies, but keep the violence not too scary

[-] hactar42@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

If it wasn't for a few f bombs the Blue Brothers could have been rated PG. And maybe the used condom joke at the very beginning.

[-] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

All the films in the following list are PG-13, PG, or older and unrated, and I went light on sexual themes in the PG-13 part (except for Austin Powers, because... it's Austin Powers). This is just me quickly going through my own movie collection.

PG-13:

Arachnophobia (1990)
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
Cabin Boy (1994)
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
Gremlins (1984)
Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
Kung Pow: Enter the Fist (2002)
Life is Beautiful (1997)
Little Shop of Horrors (1986) Director's Cut, if you can
Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)
The Mummy (1999)
The Mummy Returns (2001)
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
Pirates of the Carribean (2006)
Princess Mononoke (1997)
Raising Arizona (1987)
Sneakers (1992)
UHF (1989)
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)

PG:

*batteries not included (1987)
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)
Back to the Future trilogy (1985-1990)
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991)
The Dark Crystal (1982)
Dreams by Akira Kurosawa (1990)
Flow (2024)
Ghostbusters (1984)
Ghostbusters II (1985)
The Goonies (1985)
Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
Jewel of the Nile (1985)
Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
Porco Rosso (1992)
The Princess Bride (1987)
The Producers (1967)
Indiana Jones original trilogy (1981-1989)
Real Genius (1985)
Shaolin Soccer (2001)
Spaceballs (1987)
Strange Brew (1983)
Three Amigos! (1986)
Time Bandits (1981)
Twins (1988)
Uncle Buck (1989)
War Games (1983)
The Wizard (1989)
Wizards (1977)
Young Frankenstein (1974)

Unrated:

The Great Escape (1963)
Hundreds of Beavers (2024)
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
Nova Seed (2016)
Rashomon (1950)
Seven Samurai (1954)
Stalker (1979)

Also, special mention to Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987) which would be otherwise PG except for the scene where Steve Martin says "fuck" 18 times, which alone earned it it's R rating.

[-] Drusas@fedia.io 5 points 2 months ago

You might want to switch Gremlins to the PG-13 category. The PG-13 rating was invented as a response to Gremlins being PG.

https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/how-gremlins-helped-change-movie-ratings-forever-with-pg-13

[-] NielsBohron@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Really? I always heard/read that it was as a response to Alien getting an R rating.

And actually, Alien is not a bad answer to this question. It was my 9yo and 7yo's first R rated movie and they absolutely loved it. Plus, it sets them up for more good sci-fi down the road. My kids just watched Interstellar at 11 and 9 and really enjoyed themselves

[-] FrChazzz@lemm.ee 3 points 1 month ago

Showed my 10 and 9 year old boys Alien a few months back. Followed by Aliens (and then AVP). 9 year old was way more scared by Aliens and AVP than the first Alien. But I tested the water on them with Prey, which they really dug.

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[-] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 months ago

Done, it was showing as PG in my collection, thanks for the tip.

[-] AndyMFK@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 months ago

Depends on what countries classification system you're using. Most countries don't use pg-13

[-] gothic_lemons@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

If the adventures of Baron Munchausen is the movie I think it is, Uma Thurman's nipple is on screen for a minute. Just the one nipple I believe.

[-] iheartneopets@lemm.ee 1 points 2 months ago

Proceed with caution with the Dark Crystal. Idk if I was too young to watch when I did, or what, but it scared the bejeebus outta me; I couldn't even look at the cover until I was an older teen

[-] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Nope. I didn't see that movie till I was 23 and my reaction at the end was, "Your parents showed you this as a kid and thought that was ok, but TMNT was 'too violent'‽" This was said to my girlfriend at the time. That movie was DARK. I haven't seen it since then, so about 20 years, and IIRC genocide, slavery, and the apocalypse all feature heavily in the main plot, and almost the only redeeming character in the movie was named Fizzgig. He was a mutant Pomeranian.

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[-] baronvonj@lemmy.world 10 points 2 months ago

Tron. Labyrinth. Goonies. Legend. Etc.

[-] OhmsLawn@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago

And by etc, OP means Princess Bride.

[-] P00ptart@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

I cannot for the life of me understand the love for this movie. But the love for it spans generations so assume I'm the one in the wrong, but I just don't see it.

[-] JoMiran@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

The Neverending Story

EDIT: Stoopid autocorrect

[-] Nibodhika@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

The Everending Story

Is that a short movie about a kid finishing reading a book about a hero completing his quest?

[-] iheartneopets@lemm.ee 1 points 2 months ago

Watched that for the first time while really high in college, and the horse sinking in the swamp really fucked me up lol. I've had no desire to revisit it, personally :/

Kids and animals dying really ruin media for me

[-] ace_garp@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

It's OK, Artax the horse survived.

https://lemmy.ca/post/41712442

[-] dominiquec@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago

The Princess Bride. It's got fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles...

[-] Ziglin@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

And it seems like it could be from a ttrpg session. Very amusing!

[-] Taleya@aussie.zone 8 points 1 month ago

Family friendly / older fare. Labyrinth, goonies, princess bride, frighteners, galaxy quest, original clash of the titans, fifth element, back to the future etc etc.

[-] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

My father got into serious trouble with my mom when my little brother was two because of Blazing Saddles. My mom had taken me somewhere, and my brother was in the playroom playing with blocks. Dad figured it was safe to watch Blazing Saddles, as little bro wasn't able to see the TV, and he could see little bro.

A few days later, little bro walks up to my mother and casually called her a "tonic bitch," and wandered off.

Needless to say Mel Brooks was banned in our house for a few years, but we all loved it when we were allowed to watch it. Spaceballs as well.

[-] Boeman@lemm.ee 8 points 1 month ago

Galaxy Quest… while not a great movie, it’s a fun movie.

[-] mostNONheinous@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Excuse, me, what the fuck!? Galaxy quest managed to be one of the best Star Trek flicks out there while not even being in the same universe. By Grabthar’s Hammer, YOU…SHALL…BE…APOLOGETIC!

[-] hactar42@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

It's not a great movie, it's superb!

[-] Professorozone@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Yeah, what he said. Not a great movie? Are you nuts. I just can't....

[-] kandoh@reddthat.com 8 points 2 months ago

Grave of the Fireflies will fix that. They'll yearn for Bluey.

[-] Glitterbomb@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Make it a marathon and put on Come and See immediately after. Hours of fun all night

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[-] jared@mander.xyz 4 points 2 months ago

My kids and I watched a lot of Futurama.

[-] PolydoreSmith@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago

Any of the Studio Ghibli anime. Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke are two of my favorites. If you’re not into anime, just trust me and give them a try; the writing and drama is on par with any Grammy-winning blockbuster from the past 50 years.

[-] FrChazzz@lemm.ee 3 points 1 month ago

My Neighbor Totoro is magic for children. I have four kids and each one of them, starting at around 2, would go silent and sit for the entirety of that film any time I put it on.

[-] cyphear@lemm.ee 2 points 2 months ago

Princess Mononoke and Howl's Moving Castle are some of the best media I have ever come across. Oh, Kiki's Delivery Service is an amazing story about having faith in yourself.

[-] stelelor@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Police Academy

The Mask of Zorro (1998, with Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones)

The Tenth Kingdom

[-] hakunawazo@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

Police Academy: sex and voyeur jokes

Mask of Zorro: suicide of brother, head in jar:

Don't know. Depends on age of kids.

[-] Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Star Wars: Clone wars, Bad Batch, and Rebels.

All animated, very much not cutesy little kid stuff. War, trauma, death, PTSD for soldiers, all of it. Its also something special to watch a sith lord murder their way out of a ship using nothing but the force.

Edit: oh, movies, my bad. Hmm, thats a little trickier for me.

[-] 843563115848z@lemm.ee 3 points 1 month ago

The Rocky Horror Picture Show springs to mind.

[-] cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 months ago

The princess bride

[-] psx_crab@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 months ago

Mr bean.

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[-] blackbeards_bounty@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 month ago

Edward scissor hands! And other Tim Burton

[-] FunnyUsername@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

they aren't movies, but Doctor Who is a fantastic show for the whole family. maybe start at Matt Smith episodes unless they don't mind cheesier effects and costumes.

[-] PunkRockSportsFan@fanaticus.social 1 points 2 months ago

My kids like horror movies since they were little.

[-] UntitledQuitting@reddthat.com 1 points 2 months ago

is everybody making suggestions in here a millennial? or is there really no examples of family-friendly films from the last 10-20 years?

[-] Beacon@fedia.io 1 points 2 months ago

Doctor Who!

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this post was submitted on 12 Apr 2025

32 points (97.1% liked)

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