We love family film night. More often than not, Saturday night in our house is a movie night. Our family film night recommendations list includes top live motion pictures in no particular order that adults and children are sure to enjoy, and as such, I’d say that these are the 15 perfect films for family film night.
We all enjoy snuggling down and watching a film (snacks are invariably involved too) and I have lost count of the number of films that we’ve all watched together.
If you’ve yet to do this in your house, or are on the lookout for a few recommendations, these are the movies that we have all loved (my kids are currently 9 and 6). I am not including animated films in this list, but I think it goes without saying that most Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks films are also fabulous choices.
Films for Family Film Night
Mr Popper’s Penguins
The life of a businessman begins to change after he inherits six penguins, and as he transforms his apartment into a winter wonderland, his professional side starts to unravel.
The Muppets
A Muppet fanatic with some help from his 2 human compatriots must regroup the Muppet gang to stop an avaricious oil mogul from taking down one of their precious life-longing treasures.
The Jungle Book
After a threat from the tiger Shere Khan forces him to flee the jungle, a man-cub named Mowgli embarks on a journey of self discovery with the help of panther Bagheera and free-spirited bear Baloo.
Paddington
A young Peruvian bear travels to London in search of a home. Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, he meets the kindly Brown family, who offer him a temporary haven.
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
The scientist father of a teenage girl and boy accidentally shrinks his and two other neighbourhood teens to the size of insects. Now the teens must fight diminutive dangers as the father searches for them.
Descendants
The teenage son of the king and queen of Auradon offers the trouble-making children of villains a chance to attend prep school in the kingdom.
The Greatest Showman
Celebrates the birth of show business and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.
Harry and the Hendersons
The Henderson family adopt a friendly Sasquatch but have a hard time trying to keep the legend of ‘Bigfoot’ a secret.
Beauty and the Beast
A selfish prince is cursed to become a monster for the rest of his life, unless he learns to fall in love with a beautiful young woman he keeps prisoner.
Gulliver’s Travels
Travel writer Lemuel Gulliver takes an assignment in Bermuda, but ends up on the island of Lilliput, where he towers over its tiny citizens.
Night at the Museum
A newly recruited night security guard at the Museum of Natural History discovers that an ancient curse causes the animals and exhibits on display to come to life and wreak havoc.
Enchanted
A young maiden in a land called Andalasia, who is prepared to be wed, is sent away to New York City by an evil queen, where she falls in love with a lawyer.
Nanny McPhee
A governess uses magic to rein in the behaviour of seven ne’er-do-well children in her charge.
George of the Jungle
A man raised in the jungle by apes falls in love with a wealthy American heiress.
Peter Rabbit
Feature adaptation of Beatrix Potter’s classic tale of a rebellious rabbit trying to sneak into a farmer’s vegetable garden.
Bonus Additions!
For those of you with older children, these are also hits in our house, so you might like to try The Zookeeper, Stardust, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Jumanji (the new one, the old one scares my two), National Treasure, Indiana Jones and Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. Oh, and Harry Potter!
I hope this has helped if you’re looking for a film to all watch together.
I always check the parental advisory section over on IMDB before deciding whether a film will be suitable for us. You know your children best and know the things that might upset them.
There are films that my youngest can watch that upset my eldest and then vice versa, as they each have their triggers over the things that they don’t like to see. However, for us, the above list is good for them both and we also enjoy the films. I hope you do too!
And if you’re looking for perfect family entertainment, these book series’ for kids might also help you out.
Which films are popular in your house?
These are some of our favourite films. I love the Paddington one’s so much that I watched the 2nd one first while the kids were at school. lol
We watch at least one Harry Potter film a month. We’re obsessed. hehehe
You just can’t beat Harry Potter!
Fantastic list Jocelyn ! I recently introduced the kids to Honey I Shrunk The Kids and Honey I Blew Up The Kid and they loved it. I really enjoy sharing the films I loved growing up with my pair.
Me too, it’s lovely to see them enjoy them as much as I did at their age x
These are some of my family’s favourite films. After reading this I want to go home and have a movie night with my girls 🙂
They are all so good, aren’t they? Happy film night!