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?
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:
PG:
Unrated:
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.
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
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
Done, it was showing as PG in my collection, thanks for the tip.
FYI PG-13 seems to only be a rating in a handful of countries, such as america, Iraq, Lebanon, Singapore and Qatar (I hadn't heard of it so did a quick search).
In Canada and Australia for example, Gremlins is rated PG
I came here to offer suggestions, but damn my dude, blockbuster never would have died if they had you in charge!
You're going to mention Shaolin Soccer but not Kung-Fu Hustle? Come on.
Kung Fu Hustle is rated R, which was outside of the general range of ratings I went for. It's been a while since I watched it and I couldn't remember specifically what got it that rating.
Description from Common Sense Media:
Parents need to know that Kung Fu Hustle is a Hong Kong martial arts comedy starring Stephen Chow. It has lots of stylized and cartoonish violence and blood. Scenes show the aftermath of people dead from ax wounds (axes sticking out from bodies), gunned down by gunfire, and beaten up; bullying (kids beat up a boy and urinate on him); and people dying from fighting. A person is decapitated, and a cat is cut in half, but these are only shown in shadow. People are "comically" stabbed by knives, beaten up, threatened, and chased. One effeminate man is often called a "fairy" and made fun of. The movie also has fat jokes. A married man often flirts with other women, but this is part of an act. Characters range from naive romantics to hard-core hired killers, and the tone is wildly comic, often paying homage to previous martial arts films. The main character shows some positive values in his redemption story, eventually becoming compassionate and showing integrity. Adults drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes and cigars, and one man smokes opium out of a pipe. Strong language includes "f--k," "bulls--t," "a--hole," "ass," "bitch," "fairy," "damn," "hell," and "piss."
Seems definitely a bit more mature than Shaolin Soccer was, at least in my opinion.
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
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.
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.
I watched Gremlins 2 when I was 13, and it scarred me for life. I did not find it funny at all, and it gave me nightmares for days. I have not seen it as an adult, and currently being 40+ years old, I probably never will.
Huh, I was only 11ish watching it, I think I thought the first one was scarier or had a darker tone, the pool scene was a bit scary for one, maybe it was the music? Also they seemed much more menacing in 1 but it could have been due to the slapstick comedy it was sandwiched with in part 2 that made it feel less frightening.
All that said, I ended up watching Nightmare on Elm Street too young so that may have skewed my interpretation of scary. Yes younger than Gremlins 2, but I also quite enjoyed Nightmare on Elm Street and watched them all (well not 2 as much), so maybe just my experience.
If you're a Star Trek fan the Voyager doctor is there for some comedy, if you're a Smallville fan Lyonel Luthor is there...has a decent cast for the movie it is. Oh and forgot Christopher Lee too heh.
Haven't watched it in years still.
The Princess Bride. It's got fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles...
And it seems like it could be from a ttrpg session. Very amusing!
Grave of the Fireflies will fix that. They'll yearn for Bluey.
It's one of my favourite movies that i never want to see again
Make it a marathon and put on Come and See immediately after. Hours of fun all night
Mr bean.
The T.V. series got some legitimate laughs out of my step-daughter. I can’t really remember them actually laughing at any other movies or T.V. shows.
Rowan Atkinson is imo the only actor that mastered comedic face and acting, no word needed, just his facial reaction and action is enough to bring laughter. It breach age, language, and cultural barrier. I remember watching the series as early as age 5 in the 90s and enjoy it. Holiday is good too.
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.
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.
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.
My kids and I watched a lot of Futurama.
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.
My first thoughts were the naked gun or Monty Python movies.
Naked Gun has some pretty sexual themes, Monty Python less so if you're only talking Holy Grail. Life of Brian and Meaning of Life have loads of sexual themes and nudity.
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy might be good too (at least the six episode TV series that just feels like a long film). I also think it's a little more appropriate.
Maybe they'd like some of the kids cartoons I enjoy as an adult or when I was in high school?
Dexter's Lab, Ed Edd and Eddy, Power Puff Girls, 2 Stupid Dogs, Home Movies, Dr. Katz., Invader Zim, Rugrats, Ren and Stimpy, Hey Arnold, Rocko's Modern Life, Phineas and Ferb, Daria, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Regular Show, and Adventure Time.
Ooh hey, my teenage cartoons!
checks year of release
Okay, where's that meme about getting run over by the old age truck?
Edit: I'm gonna add CatDog, Angry Beavers, Jimmy Neutron, and Johnny Bravo from around the same era. Also, how could we forget SpongeBob?
Lord of the Rings! Ditto for most of the YA film adoptions from the last twenty years
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.
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
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.
It's vague if they are okay with animated films intended for adults, so....
Titan AE, Iron Giant, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, The Rocketeer, Indiana Jones, Star Wars IV thru VI, Forever Young, The Incredible Journey (original, not the voiceover remake).
Indiana Jones was my first thought. Just have them close their eyes during the arc face-melting part
And the heart ripping scene. I looked away as a kid but I was still disturbed.
The Rocketeer is a solid suggestion.
It’s a tv cartoon, but Invader Zim covers that gap
Second this one. Excellent series.
Prepare them for life by making them watch Rick and Morty and get them jaded and nihilistic ahead of the game.
I played my youngest (11) the Pickle Rick episode but told them a lot of the other episodes had adult themes that night go over their head so maybe when they're older.
So that's how the family ended up running through all the seasons over about 3 weeks. Some stuff they didn't pick up on but got raised eyebrows from the older sibling (13) but all in all they loved it. Rick's even trying to improve as a person in the latter seasons so it's not totally niahlistic.
How old are your kids?
When my son first starting getting out of kids movies, he liked Indiana Jones and back to the future a lot. Ghostbusters went over well.
Also, Phineas and Ferb is great for every age. Old Simpsons are good too!
Police Academy
The Mask of Zorro (1998, with Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones)
The Tenth Kingdom
Police Academy: sex and voyeur jokes
Mask of Zorro: suicide of brother, head in jar:
Don't know. Depends on age of kids.
Young kids: The Iron Giant, Princess Bride, and if shows count, Adventure Time and Avatar
Teenagers: Everything, Everywhere, All at Once
The Truman Show
Maybe not.
If I watched that as a kid, I'd be doubting if my parents were just actors.
I saw it as a kid, it didn’t scar me for life by any means but it was pretty creepy.
The princess bride
The Martian was excellent.
The first Guardians of the Galaxy movie was a hell of a lot of fun.
I'm guessing that's (cartoons or movies) (made for kids), not (cartoons) or (movies made for kids) - so the Spiderverse moves were also excellent.
All right lemme tell you the good news...
I'm gonna second the Spiderverse films.
Family friendly / older fare. Labyrinth, goonies, princess bride, frighteners, galaxy quest, original clash of the titans, fifth element, back to the future etc etc.
Galaxy Quest… while not a great movie, it’s a fun movie.
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!
It's not a great movie, it's superb!
Yeah, what he said. Not a great movie? Are you nuts. I just can't....
The Gods Must Be Crazy had me in stitches as a kid.
is everybody making suggestions in here a millennial? or is there really no examples of family-friendly films from the last 10-20 years?
Suggestions already in this thread from the last 10-20 years:
Doctor Who!
My son love Rocky horror picture show. We skip the big sex scene in the middle.
I hope you eventually teach him about the audience script. I wouldn't take him to a live showing till highschool though.
Interstellar is pg 13. It's kind of a heavy movie but younger kids won't pick up on it.
Not knowing their age, I still go with anything PG13 or your local equivalent is likely to be fine for most kids depending on what they like and how they react to different situations. My kiddo liked Jurrasic World at 10, but couldn't handle Jurrasic Park because JP did a better job at making scary scenes scary.
I enjoyed a lot of Rated R movies as a kid, especially when the rating was from language. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles wasn't any more adult than Uncle Buck except for the F bomb laden rental scene. Both are completely appropriate for kids around 10 years old with parental guidance if needed.
We never hid cursing from our kiddo and she didn't repeat it elsewhere, so it really came down to what held her attention and what seemed like something we felt might need some explaining.
My kids like horror movies since they were little.
The Aventures of Baron Von Munchausen is fine for kids.
Yes there's some tasteful nudity, but if I'm being real it's less than any of us are comfortable with in the home.
Uma Thurman as Venus, no less.
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.
Depending on the age, but if they are still not truly able to follow complex storylines and conversations, you could really get away with anything that isn't scary, sexual or violent.
My parents watched Friends all the time, I didn't understand half of it but it was fun to watch as kid.
Connections and The Day The Universe Changed
Edit: Oh, movies. Sorry.
For being a jerkface, you have great taste.
Simpsons, South Park, modern family, futurama, bobs burgers
Remember the Titans. Absolute cinema
The human centipede
It's basically a live-action version of the Very Hungry Caterpillar.
I would recommend polterghast as a nice PG* horror movie.
*it came out before pg-13 existed.
Fuck all that. 5th-grade me didn't sleep for two weeks behind that seeing that shit in the theater.
The only thing I can think of is Midnight Gospel, if your kid doesn’t mind the quick-talking podcast interview going on in the background. But the animation is great. 😃
ETA: Oops you said no animation. I’m sorry!
The Rocky Horror Picture Show springs to mind.
I watched Robocop at a birthday party when I was 9. Does that count?
That's one hell of a birthday party.
Gotta love 80s free-range parenting
Since its 25th anniversary of its western release just passed and it’s on my mind, Princess Mononoke is a good one. It’s bloody but tasteful.
Edward scissor hands! And other Tim Burton
A lot of Chris Lilley's shows could do the trick. They do have some adult references and some swearing here and there but nothing you wouldn't hear from going out side.
The movie I had on tape when I was a kid and I watched over and over again is Young Frankenstein.
The only thing my mind could come up with that isn't animated would be The Ring. I personally have the original Japanese version, so I have no clue how good or bad the western version is, though.
Robin Hood (Prince of Thieves, Men in Tights, etc.)
V for Vendetta.
Fight Club.
The Patriot
Braveheart
Tron. Labyrinth. Goonies. Legend. Etc.
And by etc, OP means Princess Bride.
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.
Yes
The Neverending Story
EDIT: Stoopid autocorrect
Is that a short movie about a kid finishing reading a book about a hero completing his quest?
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
Yes.
HUGE second on all of these
Oh and Willow