100 Recommended
Childrens Movies


by The New York Times Essential Library



Greatest Childrens/Family Movies: The New York Times Essential Library: A Critic's Guide to the Best Films Available on Video and DVD selected 100 Children's Movies in their publication, authored by Peter Nichols.

See also this site's informational genre section on Children/Kids/Family-Oriented Films

Facts and Commentary About the List:

  • It profiled one hundred top cinematic works available on DVD or video that were recommended for children (ages 8-12), with a brief original essay that covered their aesthetic value as well as historical and cultural information.
  • The book ended with Another 100: More Movies Your Family Should View Together.
  • Not unexpectedly, many of the choices were animated films, standard films for kids, and hits from more recent years. However, the listings included lots of sophisticated, unconventional choices from Hollywood's Golden Era.
  • There were many great dramas and comedies included, but films from the horror genre, and films with religion as their subject matter were virtually non-existent.
Note: The films that are marked with a yellow star are the films
that "The Greatest Films" site has selected as the "100 Greatest Films"
100 Recommended
Childrens Movies

by The New York Times
Essential Library

(alphabetical)

  1. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
  2. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
  3. The African Queen (1951)
  4. Apollo 13 (1995)
  5. Babe (1995)
  6. Back to the Future (1985)
  7. The Bad News Bears (1976)
  8. The Bear (1988)
  9. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
  10. Beetlejuice (1988)
  11. Big (1988)
  12. The Black Stallion (1979)
  13. Bound for Glory (1976)
  14. Breaking Away (1979)
  15. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
  16. The Buddy Holly Story (1978)
  17. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
  18. Casablanca (1942)
  19. Cat Ballou (1965)
  20. Chariots of Fire (1981)
  21. Chicken Run (2000)
  22. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
  23. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
  24. Dick Tracy (1990)
  25. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
  26. Duck Soup (1933)
  27. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
  28. Emma (1996)
  29. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
  30. Fiddler on the Roof (1971)
  31. Field of Dreams (1989)
  32. Fly Away Home (1996)
  33. Gandhi (1982)
  34. Ghostbusters (1984)
  35. The Gold Rush (1925)
  36. The Great Escape (1963)
  37. Great Expectations (1946)
  38. Groundhog Day (1993)
  39. A Hard Day's Night (1964)
  40. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
  41. High Noon (1952)
  42. The Iron Giant (1999)
  43. It Happened One Night (1934)
  44. James and the Giant Peach (1996)
  45. Jurassic Park (1993)
  46. The King and I (1956)
  47. King Kong (1933)
  48. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
  49. A League of Their Own (1992)
  50. Lilo & Stitch (2002)
  51. The Lion King (1994)
  52. Little Fugitive (1953)
  53. Little Man Tate (1991)
  54. The Little Mermaid (1989)
  55. A Little Princess (1995)
  56. Little Women (1994)
  57. The Longest Day (1962)
  58. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
  59. Lost Horizon (1937)
  60. The Magnificent Seven (1960)
  61. Mary Poppins (1964)
  62. Monsters, Inc. (2001)
  63. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
  64. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
  65. The Music Man (1962)
  66. My Fair Lady (1964)
  67. National Velvet (1944)
  68. Never Cry Wolf (1983)
  69. North by Northwest (1959)
  70. Peter Pan (1953)
  71. Pinocchio (1940)
  72. The Princess Bride (1987)
  73. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
  74. Rear Window (1954)
  75. Rocky (1976)
  76. The Rookie (2002)
  77. The Secret Garden (1993)
  78. The Secret of Roan Inish (1994)
  79. Shane (1953)
  80. Shrek (2001)
  81. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
  82. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
  83. Some Like It Hot (1959)
  84. The Sound of Music (1965)
  85. Spirited Away (2001)
  86. Star Wars (1977)
  87. Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)
  88. Sullivan's Travels (1941)
  89. Superman (1978)
  90. Swiss Family Robinson (1960)
  91. The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers (1974 and 1975)
  92. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
  93. Toy Story (1995) and Toy Story 2 (1999)
  94. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
  95. Walkabout (1971)
  96. West Side Story (1961)
  97. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
  98. The Winslow Boy (1999)
  99. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
  100. Yellow Submarine (1968)

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