Less & More: The WFH Mom Edit

One of the highlights of our family’s week is Saturday night, because that is family movie night (though, more and more, it does seem to get interrupted with friend plans, which I’m sure we can expect a lot more of as the kids get older). When the kids were younger, it was easy, because we spent each week introducing them to an animated Disney Classic and they were happier than clams. They’d cackle and sit enthralled at Sword in the Stone, Aladdin, The Lion King and The Jungle Book. But as they’ve gotten older, for some reason, THEY want to pick movies occasionally too! Imagine that. Well, we’ve developed a raffle system and whoever’s name gets picked that week chooses the movie (we do have a “gotchas” system where you can block someone else’s choice, or swoop in and steal it. But that’s a post for another time.

The kids pick a lot of newer movies, but Dan and I have had a lot of fun using our movie night choices to introduce them to some movies from “back in the olden days” and some of them have been HUGE hits. Here are the top contenders:

Princess Bride

Like the young Fred Savage in the film, my kids were skeptical about this one at first, but now they love it – Linus looks forward to the swamp rats and Ella thinks the whole thing is hysterical. And now she gives it bonus points because she learned that Fred Savage is the brother of the main character from Boy Meets World, her new favorite show.

Sandlot

They were both obsessed with this one from the getgo. They’ve seen it MANY times and love the “Great Hambini” as well as shouting “WENDY PEFFERCORN!”

(Image from TODAY.com)

Homeward Bound

We’re an animal loving family, so this one wasn’t a huge surprise, but they’ve watched it multiple times and it’s spanned several years of interest.

ET

Even though this one is a little long, they’ve both requested it multiple times. They think it’s funny when ET gets drunk on beer when he’s home alone.

Little Shop of Horrors

This one isn’t for everyone, but fortunately, my kids are not easily scared. They both love the songs and the campy humor. It was a favorite of mine as a child, so I’m super happy to share this one with them.

(Image from IFC Center)

Hocus Pocus

Duh, right?

Little Rascals

I was surprised about how much they liked this one. But Alfafa and Spanky’s antics really crack my kids up. And Linus loves the go kart race at the end.

Hook

They really seemed to like this one while we were watching, but I will say that they haven’t asked to watch it again, which is kind of rare (especially for Linus!).

October Sky

Dan chose this one, but Linus was obsessed. Starting drawing up plans for his rocket immediately after the movie was over.

(Image from Common Sense Media)

Beethoven

My kids have each seen this movie a dozen times. They LOVE it when Mark drives the car through the building. And again, animals? Sold.

Swiss Family Robinson

This one was an unexpected champion. I remembered really liking it when I was a kid, but it’s definitely firmly in the classics genre (from 1960!), but the kids LOVED it. Linus loved the adventure of building a treehouse home on a deserted island and Ella was obsessed with all the animals (ostrich races, anyone?).

(Image from D23.com)

The Miracle

We just watched this one right before the 2024 Winter Olympics, so from a timing standpoint, it couldn’t have been better. They also LOVE The Christmas Chronicles, so I told them about how Santa (Kurt Russell) was the star of this one to reel them in.

Blank Check

They’ve chosen this one a few times. They love the slapstick humor and the sibling rivalry Preston has with his brothers.

Honey I Shrunk the Kids

This one is always a crowd pleaser from start to finish.

(Image from ScreenRant)

Space Jam

Another one we’ve seen multiple times. Both my kids own the soundtrack on CD as well (as did I, as a child!).

Neverending Story

I actually think we need to watch this one again. They might have been a little young the first time. I loved it as a kid!

(Image from Common Sense Media)

We have a running list of the wishlist to choose from when Dan and I get our turn to pick on movie night. Here are the ones I still have up and coming on my list to show them:

The Karate Kid

I actually did not see this one until I was an adult (gasp!), but Dan introduced me to it and I think Linus will absolutely adore it.

School of Rock

This one is rated PG-13, so we’ve been holding off on it, but since the kids are 11 and 8, we have made exceptions for certain movies in the past (we let Linus watch Spiderman, for example). We’re planning to watch this one again to see if it might be OK to show the kids.

(Image from IMDB)

Back to the Future

We’ve been holding off on this one, thinking some of it might fly a bit over their heads (Get it? Delorian? Fly?), but we’re definitely getting closer.

A League of Their Own 

This has been one of my absolute faves my whole life (I still have the DVD!). Both of them are a lot more into sports these days – especially baseball – so I think they’ll love and appreciate it.

Short Circuit

This one is a bit more Dan than me. I saw it when I was little, but Dan is really rooting for it and Linus loves robots, so it’ll probably be more for them (like Star Wars!) but Ella and I can enjoy.

(Image from Amazon)

Newsies

Dan is not big on musicals, but this is one he actually likes. I mean, Christian Bale? What’s not to like?!

Frequently, my kids will choose “new” movies. Sometimes, there are movies from this category that Dan and I also like (the Despicable Me series!), but a lot of times, we just don’t love them. Smurfs (the new ones), Minecraft (funny once, maybe) and Sonic (see notes on Minecraft). Or sometimes there will be movies that just Ella and I like (ahem, Wicked), but Linus and Dan are not all that impressed. (BTW – I DO have a whole list of girly movies just for Ella and I since Dan and Linus go camping twice a year with the Boy Scouts – that’s a whole separate conversation!). But in any event, making family movie night fun for the whole family can be a little tricky, so I hope this list helps a little bit with inspiration. Please share any of your family’s favorites that I missed in the comments!