Movies from your childhood you’ll want to watch with your (older) kids. Ultimate family movie night from the 80’s and 90’s. NO CARTOONS!
Now that our oldest is 8, it’s been eight long years of watching cartoons. Although I do love cartoons, after a while you sit in limbo just waiting for them to be old enough to watch the movies YOU use to love as a kid.
The movies that are not cartoons and hold a little nostalgia thinking back to them.
It’s time for the ultimate family movie list. (for families with older kids)
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Finding a family movie in the 90’s wasn’t really a struggle. At any given time you had 3 different movies on TV to choose from and let’s not pretend we didn’t try to watch them all by switching the channel during the commercials.
But now we have so many streaming platforms before us that it can be difficult finding something you want to watch. After 20 minutes of scrolling you finally give up and let the kids decide. I’m hoping this movie list will help point you in the right direction.
So hang up the projector screen and start the popcorn because we have the ultimate list of movies from your childhood with NO CARTOONS!
101 Movies from your Childhood | No Cartoons
Action/Adventure- Family Movies
- Hook- 1991
- Back to the Future- 1985
- The Goonies- 1985
- Labyrinth- 1986
- Jumanji- 1984
- The Never Ending Story- 1984
- Candleshoe- 1977
- Star Wars- 1977-2019
- Escape to Witch Mountain- 1975
- Wild America- 1997
- Tom & Huck- 1995
- The Borrowers- 1997
- Harry Potter- 2001
- Chronicles of Narnia- 2005
A few of these can be a little bit scary depending on your child’s maturity level. For instance Labyrinth can be a little dark and The Goonies (spoiler alert) have a dead man in the freezer. Also, there is one scene in Back To The Future that personally we fast forward through since Biff can’t keep his hands to himself in the car.
Just keep those things in mind while watching them with your older children, and maybe keep the remote nearby.
Comedy/Drama- Family Movies
- Beethoven- 1992
- Dunstin Checks In- 1996
- The Princess Bride- 1987
- Mrs. Doubtfire- 1993
- The Sandlot- 1993
- Matilda- 1996
- The Mighty Ducks- 1992
- Babe- 1995
- Little Giants- 1994
- Space Jam- 1996
- The Parent Trap- 1961 &1998
- Cool Runnings- 1993
- Mary Poppins- 1964
- Mouse Hunt-1997
- Blank Check- 1994
- Richie Rich- 1994
- Camp Nowhere- 1994
- The Little Rascals- 1994
- Dennis The Menace- 1993
- Jungle 2 Jungle- 1997
- That Darn Cat- 1997
- George of the Jungle- 1997
- Mr. Bean- 1990
- The Flintstones- 1994
- Flipper- 1996
- Problem Child- 1990
- BIG- 1988
- How The West Was Fun- 1994
- Getting Even With Dad- 1994
- Short Circuit- 1986
- Spaceballs-1987
- Born to be Wild- 1995
- Rookie of the Year-1993
- The Big Green-1995
- First Kid- 1996
- Flubber- 1997
- Air Bud- 1997
- Leave it to Beaver- 1997
- Mr. Magoo- 1997
- My Favorite Martian- 1999
The majority of these are all really great and a lot of fun to watch with the family. However, even though Spaceballs and My Favorite Martian are both rated PG, I would strongly suggest checking out their parent guide on IMDb.
Many of us remember these movies from television and with that came a few parts that were edited to be appropriate for TV and to fit within an allotted timeframe. Just something to keep in mind when renting the full version of the movie on Amazon Prime.
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Family/Drama- Movies
- Fly Away Home- 1996
- The Wizard of Oz- 1939
- Free Willy- 1993
- Honey I shrunk the Kids- 1989
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial- 1982
- Overboard- 1987
- Annie- 1982
- Curly Sue- 1991
- October Sky- 1999
- Corrina Corrina- 1994
- Charlets Web- 2006
- Homeward Bound- 1993
- It Takes Two- 1995
- The Indian in the Cupboard- 1995
- The Secret Garden- 1993
- Simon Birch- 1998
- Gold Diggers, The Secret of Gold Mountain- 1995
- Iron Will- 1994
- The Karate Kid- 1984
- The War- 1994
- Remember the Titans- 2000
- Radio- 2003
- My Dog Skip-2000
- War of the Buttons- 1994
- Man of the House- 1995
- Andre- 1994
- Shiloh- 1996
- The Sound of Music- 1965
- The Newsies- 1992
- A Little Princess- 1995
These family drama movies have many of my favorites as a kid and even now I can’t watch A Little Princess without tearing up.
Halloween- Family Movies
- Hocus Pocus- 1993
- Casper- 1995
- Beetlejuice- 1988
- Bedknobs & Broomsticks- 1971
- Earnest Scared Stupid- 1991
- Halloweentown-1998
- Under Wraps- 1997
- Ghostbusters- 1984
I so badly wanted to put The Nightmare Before Christmas on this list but since it’s a cartoon, it doesn’t make the cut. Wink wink.
Christmas- Family Movies
- Home Alone- 1990
- Miracle on 34th St- 1994
- A Christmas Story- 1983
- Jack Frost- 1998
- Elf- 2003
- The Grinch- 2000
- Prancer- 1989
- The Muppet Christmas Carol- 1992
- I’ll be home for Christmas- 1998
- Jungle All the Way- 1996
- The Santa Clause- 1994
MOVIE NIGHT MUST HAVES
Make family movie night a little extra special with some of these movie night must haves, including a mini movie projector with speaker.
Of course you can set up a movie night in the living room but why not make it a little extra special with a movie night in the sunroom or outside by the fire. And let’s not forget that a simple sheet is the perfect movie screen as is the garage door in the front yard.
- Movie Theater Popcorn Popper
- Popcorn Boxed Party Pack
- Movie Clapboard
- Mini Movie Projector with Speaker
PINTEREST COMMENTS FAVORITES
It seems like silly me forgot a few really great ones. So thanks to some great comments on Pinterest, we’ll add them here!
- Harry and the Hendersons- 1987
- Baby’s Day Out- 1994
- The Great Outdoors- 1988
Since these movies are older be sure to check them out on IMDB for a full parent guide. It was the 80’s and 90’s, so some may have smoking, language or adult implied themes.
I hope you enjoy this movie list and make some wonderful family night memories!
Best Wishes,
Sara
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You should probably rewatch Big before showing it to your kids—I did and was surprised at how much inappropriate language there was that I’d forgotten about.
I do agree that made for TV movies were great in that sense. We usually keep the remote close by for some of the movies on this list and have even cleared our throat loudly a time or two. However, since our children are a bit older now, it is nice to watch some of the movies we used to enjoy as a kid. Maybe with just a bit of fast forwarding. Thank you Denise!
The Sandlot
The three fugitives
Death becomes her