Top Five Films I Love Watching with My Kids

Every parent knows the feeling of burnout on a kid’s movie.  There is always that movie that enchants your child to the point where you will have violent tendencies towards the characters or thoughts of mysteriously losing the movie on the top shelf of a bookcase in the house.  My kids have got hooked on films I can’t stand like Shark Tale, Happy Feet, Gnomeo & Juliet, or one of those God-awful Barbie movies.  Then there are some I enjoy letting them watch on their own, like Tangled, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and any Pixar movie (Except Cars 2).   Finally there are the movies, that I have to sit and watch with them, because you should have that sit-down time with your kids, but secretly I love watching them over and over too.

#5- The Sandlot

The movie fueled my son’s love for baseball, even though there is not much baseball through the last quarter of the film.  Other than the boys trying to get back an actual baseball that’s been hit over a fence.  However the magic of that film is it does make you want to go outside and throw the ball around while still telling a fun story about a group of friends and their fantastic summer.  There is a couple of “S”-bombs in the movie, but it never stops me from watching my son watch it all the way though, all the time.

#4- Bolt

On paper, this is an awesome premise.  What if Lassie didn’t know he was on a show and that he didn’t really save the day all the time, and what if he had to survive in a the real world?  On film it’s presented even better as Bolt and his two new friends have to travel across the country to get him back to his person Penny.  With a cute opening that transitions into an action-packed super charged intro to the title character, this movie is about discovery and finding your place in the world, especially after you find out your world is not what you thought.  This at a time when Disney had nothing worth watching that didn’t have Pixar attached to it.  Bolt is a great little film worth re-watching.

#3- Monster House

At first I didn’t even think of showing my kids this movie until they were at least six or seven, however the daycare that watches them had other plans.  One day my daughter grabbed it from the shelf and insisted “I like this movie!”  I said no, and the next week I pick them up from daycare and guess what they’re watching?  So I let them watch even with the scary images and pretty sad and somewhat horrifying backstory of Mr. Nebbercracker.  Both my kids get entranced when watching it, as does anyone who watches a Spielberg/Zemeckis collaboration.  As do I.

#2- The Incredibles

Of the twelve Pixar movies, this one still remains my favorite and after almost burning out on it myself before the kids were even born, I re-discovered its greatness through my kids eyes.  The family values, the amazing adventure set pieces, the humor, and the look on my kids face when Dash runs across that water (I’d say spoiler*, but this movie is almost ten years old, you need to see it).  I never get tired of it, and now that my son is really into superheroes, The Sandlot may have to take a backseat to Mr. Incredible and his super family.

#1- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

This film, is not just one of the best cartoons, it is one of the best films of the last ten years.  The story of a failed inventor whose greatest invention may also be his worst, as fame and long awaited acceptance make its way into his life.  This film is very funny and nostalgic without trying to be nostalgic.  It has memorable lines, and a snowball fight scene that had me laughing for days.  It is the film when my kids as to see it and it’s late I look to my wife as one of them and ask to stay up late to see it from beginning to end.

Now I learned a few tricks to the repeated viewings of my kid’s movies, like stashing them on that high shelf to starting them in the middle as to not keep them on the couch too long.  But as a lover of film I can’t deny the joy I get it watching my kids discover and wonder at the first time the Rocketeer flys, when Jack Skellington finds the land of Christmas, or hearing the Iron Giant’s final line of his film.  I do see it as quality time with my kids, there is something about those images connected to time spent beside a parent.  I’ve been on one side of that connection, and now that I’m on the other, there is no other place that I rather be.

--Robert L. Castillo