It can be difficult to find the right films to watch with your kids so I’ve come up with the best lists of movies by decade.  This list of the Best 90’s Movies for Kids is great, but my favorite decades are the 70’s and 80’s.  You can check out my other posts here:

The Best 70’s Movies for Kids

The Best 80’s Movies for Kids

The Best Movies for Kids 2000 – 2009 

My favorites:

1. Beauty and the Beast – Be my guest and try not to love this one!
2. The Lion King – This story about the African plains and the circle of life will keep you on your toes and teach you the meaning of life.
3. A Bug’s Life -Flick’s not like the other ants, he’s trying to work smarter not harder, which gets him into trouble with the higher ups.
4. Babe – Babe charms most of the farm animals with his sheep herding skills, but not everyone is a fan of this adorable little piglet.
5. Dennis the Menace – Walter Mattheau plays George Wilson, neighbor to the trouble maker Dennis .  When the Wilson’s are asked to care for Dennis for a weekend, trouble ensues.
6. Hocus Pocus – Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler and Kathy Najimy play three evil witches who are freed after a ghost story turns out to be true.
7. Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace – I know you’re thinking “seriously, this is one of your favorites?”  I thought the same thing, until I re-watched it with my daughter and realized it never got enough credit.  It’s actually really good.
8. The Parent Trap – In 1998 Lindsay Lohan’s star shone bright, partly because of her role as twins working to get their parents back together in this Disney classic remake.

The Classics:

1. 101 Dalmatians – With the recent announcement that Cruella de Ville will be getting her own live action Disney movie, you may want to go back and take a look at this one starring Glenn Close.
2. Home Alone – When youngest sibling Kevin gets left home alone while his family heads to Paris, he must use all of his cunning skills to beat two would be robbers at their own game.
3. Aladdin – It’s a whole new world now that Aladdin has been released from the Disney Vault and is available on DVD, Blue-Ray and streaming.
4. Harriet the Spy – 6th grader Harriet wants to be a spy and she quickly learns, she’s pretty good at it.
5. The Mighty Ducks – When a lawyer is forced into community service, he must coach a youth hockey team.
6. The Sandlot – “You’re killing me smalls!”  Enough said.
7. Matilda – Another Roald Dahl classic made for the big screen.  Rhea Perlman and Danny DeVito star as self absorbed parents to Matilda, an inquisitive and smart little girl who wants to do nothing besides read.
8. Flubber (remake) – Robin Williams stars in this Disney remake about Professor Brainard who loves to experiment with new kinds of energy.
9. That Darn Cat (remake) – Maybe I’m including this one because I love cats, but this Disney remake is staying on my list. Starring Christina Ricci as Patti Randall, a girl whose cat D.C. may hold the clue to a local kidnapping.
10. Adventures of Huck Finn – Wow, Disney made a lot of remakes in the 90’s.  This is another great one starring Elijah Wood as Huck, a little boy who escapes from his evil father and meets Jim, a slave on the run from his owner.  An unlikely bond between the two results in a raft trip down the Mississippi River.
11. Stuart Little – The E.B. White classic comes to life on the big screen.  The Littles are looking to adopt, but they end up falling in love with the charming Stuart, a mouse who lives at the orphanage.
12. Toy Story 2 – The adventures of Buzz, Woody and the gang continue and this time there’s a love interest for Woody, a little lady named Jessie.
13. Lassie – The adorable Collie, Lassie, helps her new family adjust to their new life on the farm.
14. White Fang – Ethan Hawke stars as Jack Conroy, who rescues White Fang from an abusive owner.
15. Homeward Bound : The Incredible Journey – This tale about two dogs and a cat left to spend time on a farm while their family is on vacation, only to leave the farm to try and get back home, will have you laughing and crying.
16. Free Willy – Prior to Blackfish, there was Free Willy.
17. The Little Rascals – The tale of Alfalfa, Spanky, Buckwheat and the rest of the womun haters will have your kids laughing and wondering why they wear such funny looking clothes.
18. Pocahontas – Have you ever heard the wolf cry to a blue corn moon?  You will when you watch this Disney classic about Pocahontas and John Smith.
19. Newsies – Now a Broadway musical, Newsies is the story of three young newspaper salesman during the great depression.
20. Madeline – 12 girls in two straight lines the youngest one was Madeline.  When Madeline and Pepito are kidnapped, leave it to Miss Clavel to save the day.
21. Fantasia 2000 – Technically, it came out in 1999, but it follows in the vein of the original, with music, artistry and storytelling.
22. Jumanji – Robin Williams stars in this story of a board game gone bad.
23. A League of Their Own – There’s no crying in baseball, but there are wonderful performances in this movie about the Rockford Peaches, an all-female baseball team in the Midwest during WWII.
24. Back to the Future Part III – Marty and Doc have an adventure in the old west.
25. My Girl – This coming of age story of Veda and Thomas is so good and so heartbreaking at the same time.

Wikipedia has an extensive list of kids films by year and you can click each link for more information on a film. All of the films listed are rated G or PG.

Did I forget something?  Let me know!