Need Suggestions for Wholesome/family Type Movies

What about Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, or Bednobs and Broomsticks? Or are you looking for films for grown ups that fit the bill? Anyways, these would probably work for the kids at least. Happy watching!

The Emily of New Moon series is good and so is the Anne of Greene Gables movies/series. Also any Hayley Mills movie (parent trap, summer magic, that darn cat...) is worth watching. I love the older Disney movies like Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Escape to Witch Mountain too.

Things our family really loves to watch together:

- Documentaries (BBC Walking With Dinosaurs has been in our instant Q for 2 solid years now, because we keep streaming it; Nova, Discovery, National Geographic, etc).

- Other Educational Stuff : Like Magic School Bus

- British (kids) TV (Thomas the Train, Fireman Sam, Angelina Balerina, etc.)

- British (semi-kids) TV like Doctor Who

- Jane Austin Movies

- Other older movies from books like Around the World in 80 Days, Little Women, Tom Sawyer, etc.

- Musicals (My Fair Lady, Annie, Pirates of Penzance, etc.)

- Ginger Rogers/ Fred Astair type flicks

- Totoro

- Don Bluth films (like An American Tail, The Land Before Time)

Our whole family also *really* loved the "Avatar: The Last Airbender" series (cartoon from Nick). The whole concept is about stopping a war, so there IS fighting in it... so I was really surprised when our *extremely* non-violent/pacifistic friends also turned out to be big fans for many of the same reasons we like the series.

How they saw it was that all the forms that get used for fighting are also shown really clearly to be used for other things (like building, art, medicine, sports, entertainment)... and that the way they're taught is the same way good dojo's teach... about self control, discipline, thinking ahead & on your feet, doing the right things for the right reason... and that the "bad guy" in the first 2 seasons isn't just "bad guy" but a hurt and angry kid who has a very loving uncle who is trying to help him learn to be kind to himself and others, to control his anger, etc. Same token, they liked that fully 1/3 of it is "silly". It's not all about "the war"... but also things like penguin sledding and snow ball fights, games & exploration, thinking outside the box, creativity, meeting others from different cultures and trying to understand them.

It's also one very long story arc. So instead of stand alone episodes... it very much goes in order, like chapters in books. Anyhow... I kind of wanted to explain it a bit... because it IS one of those things that has violence in it (but so does disney and pixar)... so I wanted to be able to give you an idea of what it was about rather than just listing it out. I would suggest watching it first, to see if it fits in with your family's feel of wholesome.

have you tried Anne of green gables and then anne of avonly? really cute series. also how far back with disney have you gone? pollyanna any and all Haley Mills, flubber, shaggy dog/DA. also there are the classics gone w/t wind, any of the audrey hepburn movies. you can go to a site called imdb.com and type in any actor you may like and it will give you all of their movies. also you can look up catagories and read about the movies. gl

I think it is great that you expose your children to different cultures etc. I don't have many suggestions but I know that my daughter who is 5 loves the show Mr Ed! You can get it on dvd now. She thinks it is hysterical!

I absolutely love 70s (and back) retro tv series like 8 is Enough, Great American Hero, Benson,etc. Most of them are pretty tame and you could introduce your kids to a bunch of programs they've never seen before! Gunsmoke and Bonanza were two of my favorites growing up as were Bewitched, I Dream of Jeanie, The Dick van Dyke show and Hazel.

The Apple Dumpling Gang, Herbie the Love Bug and all the Benji movies were SO good when I was a kid -check them out! Also -The Man from Snowy River and Return of the Man from Snowy River (I think).

A friend of mine has been talking about the movies from the Anne of Green Gables books and I remember loving those when I was little. My boys are pretty young but actually like watching old tv shows with us--my 3 year old has favorite Gilligan's Island characters and likes Green Acres. They don't understand them but they seem to enjoy the lightheartedness. I don't know if tv shows are on netflix. I also grew up watching old movies--Cary Grant, Spencer Tracy, etc. If your children are school age they might enjoy movies like Captains Courageous, The Adventures of Robin Hood (with Errol Flynn), or any Errol Flynn movies for that matter (Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk are great adventures). It can be hard for the grown-ups sometimes. We rarely watch adult movies because we can't watch them around our kids, so we watch a lot of Disney movies and old tv shows. :)

Oh, and my 3 year old now apparently loves the movie The Bear. It surprised me since it is more of an art film but he loves it. It is very charming. For music, I love Koyanisquatsi (I might have spelled that wrong...) but the music is Phillip Glass and the visuals are haunting. We also like the older live action Disney like Swiss Family Robinson, Treasure Island, etc. I also grew up loving old Biblical epics like Quo Vadis and the 10 Commandments, but there is a bit of violence in them. (I'm a lover of action movies and epic, but my kids also are not ready for those quite yet!) :)

I hope you don't mind me asking, but why would you be worried about someone giving you negative comments about family viewing?
That's not even a controversial subject as far as everyone watching what is fun for the whole family.
I mean no offense, I'm just wondering if people have been rude to you about that subject in the past.

I don't know how old your kids are, and I'm older, not ancient, but pushing 50 and my kids have seen all the "classics". Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Apple Dumpling Gang, Pippi Longstockings, one of their very favorites is the original "Parent Trap" with Haley Mills. There ARE so many things to choose from!

You've gotten lots of great suggestions.
Nickelodeon used to have great shows like, "Pete, Pete and Pete", "Doug". There was a cute movie "Harriet the Spy". (She was a "detective"). My son and I saw "The Sandlot" on TV a couple weeks ago. That was a good family movie.
Oh..."The Gods Must Be Crazy". I know people who rarely let their kids watch ANYTHING and they recommended that movie. It's older, but very funny. You will laugh.
Research "Corrina, Corrina" with Whoopie Goldberg and Ray Liotta. It's one of our all time favorites. But, research it first. I didn't see anything wrong with it, but it might be too out there for you, I don't know. We loved it so much we bought it and the soundtrack as well.
I have to second Avonlea and Anne of Green Gables.
"The Long, Long Trailer" (1954) Lucille Ball and Dezi Arnaz. Hilarious!
"Yours Mine and Ours" Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda. (Again, research first, one of the daughters has boyfriend trouble because she's too "old fashioned" so I don't know if you'd find it appropriate. It was made in 1968 so it's pretty tame, but the words birth control are used. It's certainly one you and your husband could have fun watching together and then deciding for your kids. It's really cute and funny.
Driving Miss Daisy is a good movie too.

For what it's worth, I think it's great that you care about family viewing.
My kids are older, 24 and almost 15. I wouldn't even watch Titanic because, lets's face it....I know how that story comes out. And I've never seen Saving Private Ryan. I can't stand movies with shooting or killing.

You've got a great list of suggestions to get you started.

Have fun and best wishes!

We (My 21 year old daughter) still watch back to back episodes of Little House every weekday. Young didn't mention how old you kids are, but the Cosby shows all seasons are great for family. I know when my daughter was a lot younger we watched 7th heaven together every week, although it did show average teen and child behavior, it also showed consequences as well.What my husband does is hen watches the trailors before he orders nexflex movies, I like the old shows, Brady Bunch, I love Lucy, I'm weird, i know there's just not a whole lot of family oreinted shows anymore. J.

Dersu Uzala, by Akira Kurosawa, is a great movie.
Great.
I don't know how old your kids are... but it is simply a masterpiece.
About humanity.

I am actually toying with the idea of signing up for Netflix so that we can get you hands on all those fun family films from the 60's and the 70's like the original Parent Trap, Escape from Witch Mountain, The Shaggy DA, and Benji.

How about some of the Mayasaki films? Japanese animation, and very beautiful though completely different stories from anything American.
Our favorite is "Howell's Moving Castle", but there are many more. No cussing, nudity, sexuality, etc. Very wholesome, but also very "other" and wonderful.

If you are open to other cultures and their religious views, "Little Buddha" is another one of our favorites. It tells the story of Siddhartha--who became the Buddha--intertwined with a modern day story of Tibetan monks searching for the reincarnation of one of their wisest monks, and working with three children and their families, including one from Seattle, who they believe may be that incarnation.

We also really love the Disney "Earth" series.

we have recently starting watching/renting older disney movies. not the cartoons but the movies shot in the 50's 60's and early 70's here are a few to check out. they are a riot and even my very jaded 15 year old likes them lol

tonight we watched the apple dumpling gang
candleshoe
the parent trap (original with haley mills)
treasure island
that darn cat (again the original with haley mills)
freaky friday
apple dumpling gang rides again
escape to witch mountain (original not the newer one)
the incredible mr limpet
20,000 leagues under the sea
the horse in the grey flannel suit
herby the love bug (original)
the shaggy dog
swiss family robinson
old yeller
the ugly dachsund
bed knobs and broomsticks
pete's dragon
the journey of natty gan
milo and otis
black beauty
white fang
incredible journey (1 and 2)
these are just a few but we love them. my sons also loved the older musicals that were in black and white with gene kelly, fred astair, ginger rogers etc. oh and laurel and hardy good luck

We like animal movies: Quigley, all the Air Buddy and Air Buddies movies, Benji, old Lassie shows. Eight Below (kinda sad),

i dont know how old your kids are, but if you dont have a problem with everyone laughing at people falling down, we have a great time watching americas funniest videos. love the ones with animals and babies, though i have to bite my tongue a lot because i have worked so hard teaching them that its not funny when others get hurt, but ive decided to lighten up about it because there is not much else that makes everyone laugh till they cry together.
taking the higher road, the "life" series is absolutely unbelievable, especially if you have a nice tv. we watch them over and over together, i cant recommend it enough for a million different reasons.
and if you have curious kids, we also watch a lot of "how its made" and those type of shows on discovery or tlc or whatever channel its on.

Evan Allmighty is very funny and family friendly.

If you like scifi, old Dr. Who is great. No sex, no dirty stuff, just fun adventures with a Time Lord who travels in time and space. We've been watching the Tom Baker years and love them. They were done late 70's, early 80s and have very cheesy graphics, but I think that makes it better. There is also a recent spin off that is geared towards children called the Sarah Jane Adventures, about the Doctor's companion from the Tom Baker years, Sarah Jane Smith. She's an investigative reporter and helps protect the earth from aliens with her adopted 14 year old and his 2 friends.

Also, the Chronicles of Narnia are great. There's a little violence, but it's got no sexual innuendo and cussing that I can remember.

Have you seen the movie "Up" yet? My daughter thought that one was cute. Also, for future reference, if I haven't seen a movie that my daughter wants to watch, I go to the Plugged In Movie Review website to get a great "family friendly" review of the film just Google it). It is sponsored by Focus on the Family and it really helps you to understand the good and the bad that is in the film and they will honestly tell you whether or not a movie is good for the whole family or not good for younger children. It's great! I use it a lot. Best of luck to you. I hope you're able to find something decent. I know what you mean though...not much these days that is appropriate. We do love the Veggie Tales around here. My son is a little obsessed actually (he is 2 and I think half of his vocabulary is Veggie related...haha!). They have some of those on Netflix, so you can check those out as well. Hope this helps!

There is a fairly recent movie, "The Velveteen Rabbit" that uses both cartoons and real people to tell the story. It got pretty good reviews on rottentomatoes and I'm looking forward to watching it soon. Saw it on netflix the other day :)

A few that come to mind...

The Secret Garden
Selma, Lord Selma (about the march on Montgomery) good for older kids

the old Shirley Temple movies