100 best G-rated movies to watch as a family
Pixar Animation Studios
100 best G-rated movies to watch as a family
The earliest movies, some only mere seconds long, were made in the last decade of the 19th century after Thomas Edison invented the kinetoscope. As technology quickly advanced, the demand for more moving pictures, longer in length, and with more elaborate story lines, increased. By the early 20th century the motion-picture industry as we know it today was beginning to emerge. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Things in the motion picture industry have changed dramatically since those early days, including how we rate films. For example, in 1922, in the early days of studios, William Hays formed the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America. This governing body would go on to create the moral censorship guidelines, or the Hays Code, as it was often referred to, which provided regulations about the types of content that could or could not be shown on screen. The Hays Code, which remained in place for nearly 40 years, was incredibly strict with rules like “films can only present correct standards of life,” “crime and immorality could never be portrayed in a positive light,” and “religion could never be depicted in a mocking manner.”
Then, in 1968, the modern voluntary movie rating system was born. The new system rated films G, M, R, and X and focused less on determining what audiences could see and more on giving parents a system that they could use to decide what was appropriate for their families. This modern-day system has gone through several rounds of refinement over the years, but since the beginning, the G rating has indicated that a film is appropriate for audiences of all ages.
In the following slides, Stacker has rounded up a list of the 100 best G-rated films to watch as a family. To do so, we’ve compiled data on all G-rated movies to come up with a Stacker score—a weighted index split evenly between IMDb and Metacritic scores. To qualify, the film had to be listed as G-rated on IMDb, have a Metascore, and have at least 5,000 votes. Ties were broken by Metascore and further ties were broken by IMDb user rating.
From “Bugsy Malone” to “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” any one of these movies would make a great pick for your next family movie night.
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The Rank Organisation
#100. Bugsy Malone (1976)
– Director: Alan Parker
– Stacker score: 76
– Metascore: 71
– IMDb user rating: 6.9
– Runtime: 93 min
Generally speaking, classic gangster movies aren’t exactly appropriate for children because of things like violence and language. The only exception to this rule is “Bugsy Malone,” a G-rated spoof of these classic movies where all the mobsters are children and the machine guns are replaced with cream-shooting “splurge guns.” The film stars Jodie Foster (who had just finished the very adult “Taxi Driver”) and Scott Baio.
Universal Pictures
#99. The Land Before Time (1988)
– Director: Don Bluth
– Stacker score: 76
– Metascore: 66
– IMDb user rating: 7.4
– Runtime: 69 min
Grab the tissues before settling in with this film, because “The Land Before Time” is certainly a tear-jerker. In the first moments of the dinosaur classic produced by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, Littlefoot’s mother dies as she attempts to protect him from a carnivore. For the rest of the movie, Littlefoot and his pals, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike, battle the murderous T-Rex and journey to the Great Valley where there are more of Littlefoot’s kind.
98 MPH Productions
#98. The Rookie (2002)
– Director: John Lee Hancock
– Stacker score: 77
– Metascore: 72
– IMDb user rating: 6.9
– Runtime: 127 min
“The Rookie” is one of those feel-good movies that’s based on a true story. It’s about a high school baseball coach (played by Dennis Quaid) whose major league dreams were cut short by a shoulder injury. He makes a deal with his last-place team that if they win the district championships he’ll try out for the major leagues, and is quickly on his way to becoming the oldest rookie in the MLB.
Walt Disney Animation Studios
#97. The Jungle Book (1967)
– Directors: Wolfgang Reitherman, James Algar, Jack Kinney
– Stacker score: 77
– Metascore: 65
– IMDb user rating: 7.6
– Runtime: 78 min
Loosely based on the book by Rudyard Kipling, the Disney animated classic “The Jungle Book” was the last film Walt Disney himself had a hand in. The first draft of the adventure tale about a boy raised by wolves and his jungle pals was deemed too dark for young audiences, and it had to be completely rewritten before the studio head would sign off on it.
Walt Disney Pictures
#96. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
– Director: Brian Henson
– Stacker score: 77
– Metascore: 64
– IMDb user rating: 7.7
– Runtime: 85 min
A Muppet spin on the classic Charles Dickens tale, “The Muppet Christmas Carol” is great to watch during the holiday season and year-round. Much of the script was pulled directly from the book, but the puppets—who fill every role except that of Scrooge, which was played by Sir Michael Caine—help to dull the scary bits for younger viewers.
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Henson Associates (HA)
#95. The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
– Director: Jim Henson
– Stacker score: 77
– Metascore: 70
– IMDb user rating: 7.2
– Runtime: 97 min
“The Great Muppet Caper” is the second live-action muppet film. In the movie, Kermit, Fozzie, and Gonzo must clear Miss Piggy’s name after she’s framed for a jewel heist. An often underrated Muppets movie, the 1981 picture marks Jim Henson’s directorial debut, and one of its songs, “The First Time It Happens,” was nominated for an Academy Award.
Hakuhodo
#94. The Cat Returns (2002)
– Director: Hiroyuki Morita
– Stacker score: 77
– Metascore: 70
– IMDb user rating: 7.2
– Runtime: 75 min
A Studio Ghibli production, “The Cat Returns” is about a young Japanese girl who saves the life of a cat who turns out to be a prince and then narrowly avoids getting trapped in the Cat Kingdom after she accompanies him home. Anne Hathaway and Peter Boyle lend their voices to the English version of this fantastical fairytale.
Walt Disney Animation Studios
#93. Alice in Wonderland (1951)
– Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske
– Stacker score: 77
– Metascore: 68
– IMDb user rating: 7.4
– Runtime: 75 min
Based on Lewis Carroll’s books “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass,” “Alice in Wonderland” tends to be one of Disney’s lesser-praised projects. Walt Disney had originally envisioned the movie as part live-action, starring none other than Mary Pickford, and part animated, before realizing he could do far more with a film that was completely animated.
Walt Disney Productions
#92. The Absent-Minded Professor (1961)
– Director: Robert Stevenson
– Stacker score: 78
– Metascore: 75
– IMDb user rating: 6.8
– Runtime: 92 min
In 1959, Walt Disney drew inspiration from two short stories from Samuel Taylor about a professor who creates a revolutionary flying rubber and invents a flying car. Three years later, “The Absent-Minded Professor” starring Fred MacMurray premiered at Radio City Music Hall where it ran for seven straight weeks and earned three Academy Award nominations.
Walt Disney Animation Studios
#91. The Rescuers (1977)
– Directors: John Lounsbery, Wolfgang Reitherman, Art Stevens
– Stacker score: 78
– Metascore: 74
– IMDb user rating: 6.9
– Runtime: 78 min
“The Rescuers” is a Disney classic about a mouse detective named Miss Bianca, and her assistant, Bernard, both members of the Rescue Aid Society, who spring into action to save a human girl named Penny from the evil Madame Medusa. For a while, there was a rumor flying around that a topless woman could briefly be seen in the background of a scene, but have no fear, the images have been edited out in every current release of the film.
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Walt Disney Animation Studios
#90. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
– Directors: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
– Stacker score: 78
– Metascore: 74
– IMDb user rating: 6.9
– Runtime: 91 min
“The Hunchback of Notre Dame” contains heavier themes than some other Disney movies, like abuse of authority, racism, and the importance of civic action to end injustices. Loosely based on Victor Hugo’s novel of the same name, Disney studios actually expected the film to get a PG rating from the MPAA rating board because of these heavier themes. In the end, it kept the G rating and opened in 1996 to an underwhelming response at the box office.
Jalem Productions
#89. The Out of Towners (1970)
– Director: Arthur Hiller
– Stacker score: 78
– Metascore: 72
– IMDb user rating: 7.1
– Runtime: 101 min
In “The Out of Towners,” small-town Ohio couple George and Gwen set out for the big city (New York City, to be precise) after George receives a job interview there. Travel snafus make their journey a frustrating one, and it takes a plane, train, taxi, and some good old-fashioned walking to get George and Gwen to their destination. According to John Mahoney of The Hollywood Reporter, the Neil Simon flick is “the closest the sound film has come to recapturing the genius of the silent movie chase comedy.”
Oakhurst Productions
#88. The Italian Job (1969)
– Director: Peter Collinson
– Stacker score: 78
– Metascore: 70
– IMDb user rating: 7.3
– Runtime: 99 min
In the 1960 version of “The Italian Job,” Michael Caine plays a British crook who plans to steal millions of dollars of gold from a convoy of cars in Turin, Italy, by fixing the traffic lights in order to establish a gridlock that would allow him to sneak away. Irreverent and goofy, the film has one of the best and most copied cliffhanger endings of all time.
Walt Disney Animation Studios
#87. The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)
– Director: Mark Dindal
– Stacker score: 78
– Metascore: 70
– IMDb user rating: 7.3
– Runtime: 78 min
An arrogant young emperor is taught his lesson after a scheming adviser turns him into a llama in “The Emperor’s New Groove.” Set in the ancient Incan Empire, the film was originally titled “Kingdom of the Sun” and would have been a “Prince and the Pauper”-type tale until a total overhaul gave us this classic, comedy gem.
George Pal Productions
#86. The Time Machine (1960)
– Director: George Pal
– Stacker score: 78
– Metascore: 67
– IMDb user rating: 7.6
– Runtime: 103 min
A faithful adaptation of the H.G. Wells classic, “The Time Machine” tells the story of a scientist who tempts fate by creating a machine that allows him to jump into three different periods of the future. Special effects, including the design of the aforementioned time machine, were a major hurdle for the filmmakers, but in the end, they managed to pull off some pretty impressive feats and even won an Oscar for best special effects.
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Robert Wise Productions
#85. The Sound of Music (1965)
– Director: Robert Wise
– Stacker score: 78
– Metascore: 63
– IMDb user rating: 8.0
– Runtime: 172 min
Movie musical “The Sound of Music” took the world by storm, earning $158.7 million at the box office and taking home five Academy Awards. Based on the last musical Rodgers and Hammerstein ever made, the movie tells the story of a governess (Julie Andrews) who falls in love with her employer (Christopher Plummer) and is forced to flee Austria with him and their seven children after they refuse to join the Nazi party.
Walt Disney Animation Studios
#84. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
– Directors: James Algar, Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney
– Stacker score: 78
– Metascore: 74
– IMDb user rating: 7.0
– Runtime: 68 min
“The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad” is actually two different animated stories packaged into a single film. The first, about the wealthy Mr. Toad who sets out to get a car any way he can, is derived from “The Wind and the Willows,” while the second, about a schoolmaster who’s caught in a love triangle and deathly afraid of the Headless Horseman, was pulled from “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Originally, the movie was set to be called “Two Fabulous Characters” drawing a clearer distinction between the tales and characters, whose only real link is how prone they are to disaster.
Walt Disney Productions
#83. The Parent Trap (1961)
– Director: David Swift
– Stacker score: 78
– Metascore: 73
– IMDb user rating: 7.1
– Runtime: 129 min
In “The Parent Trap,” twin sisters Susan and Sharon, who were separated at birth, meet at a summer camp and plan to switch places in an attempt to get their parents back together. Hayley Mills stars as both sisters, a feat that was accomplished by a trick shot that allowed her to appear in two places at one time. Originally, the film contained very few of these processed shots, but as soon as Walt Disney saw how seamless they looked he ordered more to be added in.
Walt Disney Animation Studios
#82. The Princess and the Frog (2009)
– Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker
– Stacker score: 78
– Metascore: 73
– IMDb user rating: 7.1
– Runtime: 97 min
Set in New Orleans during the 1910s and ‘20s, “The Princess and the Frog” is about a young woman with dreams of owning her own restaurant, who kisses a frog prince, is turned into a frog herself, and must seek the help of a voodoo priestess in order to return to her human form. The film is notable among the Disney classics, as it is the first film to feature African American characters since 1946’s “Song of the South,” a deeply racist movie that has been locked in the Disney vault for years.
Pixar Animation Studios
#81. Cars (2006)
– Directors: John Lasseter, Joe Ranft
– Stacker score: 78
– Metascore: 73
– IMDb user rating: 7.1
– Runtime: 117 min
When racing car Lightning McQueen falls out of his trailer on the way to an important race, he winds up in Radiator Springs, where he meets new faces like Tow Mater and Sally, and learns the true meaning of friendship. Aside from the fact that the cars can talk, the film was noted for its realism, and most of the characters in the film are based on real cars, like a 1960s Volkswagen Microbus and a 1932 Ford Model T. “Cars” was such a success that it has since spawned a whole franchise of movies and a Disney+ TV show.
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Walt Disney Pictures
#80. The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
– Directors: Ron Clements, Burny Mattinson, David Michener, John Musker
– Stacker score: 79
– Metascore: 73
– IMDb user rating: 7.2
– Runtime: 74 min
Basil of Baker Street, a mouse detective, lives in the same London flat as Sherlock Holmes and shares his same mystery-solving abilities. In “The Great Mouse Detective” he’s hired by the mouse daughter of an abducted toymaker to find her father and uncovers a plot against the crown along the way. The film earned $25.3 million at the box office, which helped Disney Studios recoup some of the losses from “The Black Cauldron,” an expensive flop that had premiered the year before.
Rankin/Bass Productions
#79. The Last Unicorn (1982)
– Directors: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr.
– Stacker score: 79
– Metascore: 70
– IMDb user rating: 7.5
– Runtime: 92 min
Mia Farrow lends her voice to the titular character in “The Last Unicorn,” playing a young, frightened creature who sets out to save her kind from the evil hands of King Haggard, finding help from a gentle sorcerer named Schmendrick along the way. Described as highly imaginative and innovative, the cartoon, which deals with themes like loss and regret, is based on a novel by Peter S. Beagle, who also wrote the screenplay. An interesting note: the animation was completed by a studio that would go on to be known as Studio Ghibli.
Wolper Pictures Ltd.
#78. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
– Director: Mel Stuart
– Stacker score: 79
– Metascore: 67
– IMDb user rating: 7.8
– Runtime: 100 min
A screen adaptation of a Roald Dahl book “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” is about a poor kid named Charlie Bucket who finds a golden ticket that gains him entrance to a famed candy factory alongside four other children. Starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka, the film was oddly financed by the Quaker Oats Company, which was looking to make a movie that could promote their new candy, the Wonka Bar. After purchasing the rights to the story, the company shifted around the words in the title in order to make the tie-in more obvious.
Walt Disney Pictures
#77. Winnie the Pooh (2011)
– Directors: Stephen J. Anderson, Don Hall
– Stacker score: 79
– Metascore: 74
– IMDb user rating: 7.2
– Runtime: 63 min
Three of A.A. Milne’s Hundred Acre Woods stories are brought together to create this 2011 “Winnie the Pooh” movie. The gentle hand animation adds a level of magic to this movie that follows the crew as they search for Eeyore’s missing tail and set out to save Christopher Robin from what may be a possible abduction. Appropriate for even the youngest viewers, there’s nothing in this movie that could possibly inspire nightmares.
Twentieth Century Fox
#76. The King and I (1956)
– Director: Walter Lang
– Stacker score: 79
– Metascore: 72
– IMDb user rating: 7.4
– Runtime: 133 min
A big-screen version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway musical, “The King and I” is about a widowed governess who sets out to tutor the wives and children of the King of Siam on the English language and customs. Starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr, the movie was nominated for nine Academy Awards.
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Warner Bros.
#75. The Secret Garden (1993)
– Director: Agnieszka Holland
– Stacker score: 80
– Metascore: 74
– IMDb user rating: 7.3
– Runtime: 101 min
“The Secret Garden” is based on Frances Hodgson Burnett’s tale of an orphaned girl and a sickly boy who uncover a hidden garden in the imposing mansion they call home and turn it into an oasis of their own. Produced by Francis Ford Coppola, the film’s biggest star is Maggie Smith, who won a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mrs. Medlock.
Walt Disney Animation Studios
#74. Hercules (1997)
– Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker
– Stacker score: 80
– Metascore: 74
– IMDb user rating: 7.3
– Runtime: 93 min
One of Disney’s only forays into Greek mythology, “Hercules” is about the half-man, half-god who was forced to live on Earth among mortals and prove his worth in order to regain his spot on Mt. Olympus with the gods. The 1997 animated feature starred the voices of actors like James Woods, Tate Donovan, and Danny DeVito. It’s been recently reported that Disney has a live-action remake of this classic film in the works.
Walt Disney Animation Studios
#73. Mulan (1998)
– Directors: Tony Bancroft, Barry Cook
– Stacker score: 80
– Metascore: 71
– IMDb user rating: 7.6
– Runtime: 88 min
Based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, “Mulan” was the first movie in the Disney oeuvre to feature an Asian princess. The story, about a young woman who steps up to defend her country in her father’s place and ends up saving all of China, won rave reviews from critics for bringing such a strong, self-sufficient, and brave heroine to the big screen. The warrior queen is truly an inspiring role model for children of all ages.
The Mirisch Production Company
#72. Fiddler on the Roof (1971)
– Director: Norman Jewison
– Stacker score: 80
– Metascore: 67
– IMDb user rating: 8.0
– Runtime: 181 min
An Oscar-winning adaptation of a popular Broadway musical, “Fiddler on the Roof” is about life in a Russian Jewish village pre-revolution. Tevye, the main character, is the father of five daughters, and he spends much of his time seeking to marry them off while still maintaining the cultural and religious traditions that are being eaten away by outside influences. The movie is cheerful and affirmative while showing deep respect for the values and traditions of this specific group of people.
Aardman Animations
#71. A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019)
– Directors: Will Becher, Richard Phelan
– Stacker score: 80
– Metascore: 79
– IMDb user rating: 6.9
– Runtime: 86 min
A sci-fi, claymation movie, “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon” begins with an alien spacecraft crash landing on Mossy Bottom Farms. Shaun quickly befriends the creature inside, helping him find a way to return home before being captured by a government agency. While not exactly the most thought-provoking movie on this list, it still manages to retain a fairly high audience rating on IMDb.
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Romulus Films
#70. Oliver! (1968)
– Director: Carol Reed
– Stacker score: 80
– Metascore: 74
– IMDb user rating: 7.4
– Runtime: 153 min
Based on the Broadway musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic work “Oliver Twist,” the movie’s over-the-top characters appeal to children while adults can relish in the great storyline. The movie is about a young orphan who falls in with a group of street urchins led by the Artful Dodger and Fagin, only to have them turn on him when a wealthy target, Mr. Brownlow, offers him a home. Famed film critic Roger Ebert called “Oliver!” a “treasure of a movie.”
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
#69. Gigi (1958)
– Directors: Vincente Minnelli, Charles Walters
– Stacker score: 81
– Metascore: 82
– IMDb user rating: 6.7
– Runtime: 115 min
In “Gigi,” the titular character has been raised to be a courtesan in the “family tradition,” but isn’t interested in the charms and etiquette she must learn in order to succeed and dreams of love and marriage instead. While some of the topics in the movie might be on the more risqué side, they are talked about in such coded lingo they’d fly right over the heads of most children, who are sure to be more entranced by the central love story and musical numbers anyways.
Paramount Pictures
#68. The War of the Worlds (1953)
– Director: Byron Haskin
– Stacker score: 81
– Metascore: 78
– IMDb user rating: 7.1
– Runtime: 85 min
Another sc-fi film based on an H.G. Wells novel, the 1953 version of “War of the Worlds” is far less scary than more recent editions thanks to its dated special effects (Oscar-worthy at the time) and more family-friendly tone. It sticks to the same story, about an alien war machine that crashes onto the Earth, and begins killing people at random. Their only hope for salvation? “The littlest things, which God, in His wisdom, had put upon this earth.”
Pixar Animation Studios
#67. A Bug’s Life (1998)
– Directors: John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton
– Stacker score: 81
– Metascore: 77
– IMDb user rating: 7.2
– Runtime: 95 min
Inspired by the Aesop’s fable “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” “A Bug’s Life” is about an ant named Flick who makes a huge mistake that risks the life of his colony and must find a way to save them from the nefarious grasshoppers. Hours and hours of work went into animating this Pixar feature about insects, and the film’s team pored over videos taken from a “bug’s perspective” in order to get things just right.
Walt Disney Animation Studios
#66. Peter Pan (1953)
– Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Jack Kinney
– Stacker score: 81
– Metascore: 76
– IMDb user rating: 7.3
– Runtime: 77 min
Upon his death, author J.M. Barrie left the rights to “Peter Pan” to the Great Ormond Street Hospital. When Walt Disney decided he wanted to adapt the story about the boy who never grows up, he had to make a deal with the hospital rather than the author’s estate, which is more standard, in order to receive the animation rights. In the end, it was well worth it—the film grossed over $40 million after its initial release.
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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
#65. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
– Director: Stanley Donen
– Stacker score: 81
– Metascore: 75
– IMDb user rating: 7.4
– Runtime: 102 min
Though it’s based on the decidedly not family-friendly story, “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” puts a wholesome, humorous spin on the tale. The musical comedy is about six uncultured, lumberjack brothers who are inspired to find love of their own after their oldest brother brings home a beautiful wife of his own. They go about it in all the wrong ways, however, attempting to kidnap the women they’re interested in, much to the chagrin of their village.
Argyle Enterprises
#64. The Haunting (1963)
– Director: Robert Wise
– Stacker score: 81
– Metascore: 74
– IMDb user rating: 7.5
– Runtime: 112 min
While technically rated G, this low-key horror movie isn’t suited for kids who are nightmare-prone. In “The Haunting,” four people (an anthropologist, an ESP, a lonely woman with experience in supernatural events, and the heir of the mansion in question) set out to spend the night in a house that’s rumored to be haunted and quickly discover that the old stories are true. The film would make a good watch around Halloween.
Highland Films
#63. A Man for All Seasons (1966)
– Director: Fred Zinnemann
– Stacker score: 81
– Metascore: 72
– IMDb user rating: 7.7
– Runtime: 120 min
In “A Man for all Seasons,” Sir Thomas Moore seeks to remain true to his convictions even in the face of treason charges that were leveled against him after he refused to help King Henry VIII obtain a divorce. The movie is not quickly paced, but it’s historically accurate, and its message about remaining true to the things you believe in is one for the ages.
Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia
#62. The Road Home (1999)
– Director: Zhang Yimou
– Stacker score: 81
– Metascore: 71
– IMDb user rating: 7.8
– Runtime: 89 min
A beautiful love story, “The Road Home” tells the story of the courtship between Luo Changyu and Zhao Di via a series of flashbacks as their son returns home to their small village in order to make the necessary preparations for his father’s funeral. The movie received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics, who even called it one of the best films of 2001.
Walt Disney Animation Studios
#61. The Three Caballeros (1944)
– Directors: Norman Ferguson, Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney, Bill Roberts, Harold Young
– Stacker score: 82
– Metascore: 85
– IMDb user rating: 6.5
– Runtime: 71 min
A mix of animation and live-action, “The Three Caballeros” is made up of four short stories featuring Donald Duck as he travels around to various countries in South America. If the plot strikes you as odd, that’s because it is. The film was one of the Disney company’s contributions to the war effort under the Good Neighbor Policy, which sought to develop closer bonds with neighboring countries in an effort to keep Axis powers’ influence at bay.
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Universal Pictures
#60. Babe (1995)
– Director: Chris Noonan
– Stacker score: 82
– Metascore: 83
– IMDb user rating: 6.7
– Runtime: 91 min
One of the few children’s films to have ever been nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, “Babe” is about a talking pig who learns he has talent as a sheepherder. A live-action movie, Babe and all of his farm friends are a mixture of real, trained animals and animatronic doubles, all of whom “speak” thanks to a computer program that made their mouths move in the correct patterns.
Henson Associates (HA)
#59. The Muppet Movie (1979)
– Director: James Frawley
– Stacker score: 82
– Metascore: 74
– IMDb user rating: 7.6
– Runtime: 95 min
The big-screen debut of the muppets, “The Muppet Movie” is an original story starring Kermit the Frog, who sets out to go meet a talent agent in Hollywood, and is captured by Doc Hopper, an evil villain who sells frog legs in his restaurant. Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, and the rest of the gang have to jump into action in order to save Kermit before it’s too late. One of the most memorable scenes in the movie is the finale, which featured 250 different puppets who all had a unique role to play, and required Jim Henson to hire 150 extra puppeteers through the Los Angeles Guild of Puppeteers of America.
Bejing New Picture Distribution Company
#58. Not One Less (1999)
– Director: Zhang Yimou
– Stacker score: 82
– Metascore: 73
– IMDb user rating: 7.7
– Runtime: 106 min
“Not One Less” is an incredibly interesting film for many reasons, the chief among them being there are no professional actors in it. Instead, the actual residents of the small village the film was shot in play its various characters, giving the movie an incredibly authentic feeling. The story of the movie is about a 13-year-old girl, Wei Minzhi, who is tasked with acting as a substitute teacher at the local school when the regular teacher, Gao Inman, is unexpectedly called away. Before he leaves, Inman instructs Minzhi to make sure all of the students are still there when he returns, as the school’s subsidy is dependent on numbers—when one boy leaves in search of work, Minzhi goes to great lengths to find him and bring him back.
Walt Disney Animation Studios
#57. Lady and the Tramp (1955)
– Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske
– Stacker score: 82
– Metascore: 78
– IMDb user rating: 7.3
– Runtime: 76 min
“Lady and the Tramp,” the 1955 Disney movie about a pampered pooch and a streetwise dog who fall in love, was first inspired by sketches that one of the animators, Joe Grant, made of his own springer spaniel. As the studio worked up a treatment to accompany the sketches, other influences, like a short story by Ward Green titled “Happy Dan the Whistling Dog,” were mixed in, in an effort to create a film that contained the classic Disney formula. Funnily enough, the movie’s most classic scene, where the two pups share a plate of spaghetti, almost didn’t make the cut, after Walt complained that it didn’t really make much sense.
Winslow Partners Ltd.
#56. The Winslow Boy (1999)
– Director: David Mamet
– Stacker score: 83
– Metascore: 79
– IMDb user rating: 7.3
– Runtime: 104 min
Based on a 1940s play by Terence Rattigan, which was inspired by the true story of the Winslow family, “The Winslow Boy” is about the lengths a father will go to in order to clear his son’s—and by association his own—name. After being accused of theft, Ronnie Winslow is expelled from his school, his father, convinced that his son is innocent, spares no expense in publicly clearing the boy’s name, all but ruining the rest of his family in the process. A tense film at times, this movie places more importance on character development than it does on plot, making it an interesting watch for adults as well as kids.
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Walt Disney Animation Studios
#55. Tarzan (1999)
– Directors: Chris Buck, Kevin Lima
– Stacker score: 83
– Metascore: 79
– IMDb user rating: 7.3
– Runtime: 88 min
Edgar Rice Burroughs first came up with the character of Tarzan in his 1912 novel, “Tarzan of the Apes.” In 1999, Disney studios brought the tale of an orphaned boy raised by kindly apes in the African wilderness to life. English musician Phil Collins wrote and recorded most of the music included in the movie.
Don Bluth Productions
#54. The Secret of NIMH (1982)
– Director: Don Bluth
– Stacker score: 83
– Metascore: 76
– IMDb user rating: 7.6
– Runtime: 82 min
An adaptation of the Newbery Award-winning children’s novel, “Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH,” “The Secret of NIMH” was made and directed by a whole team of former Disney animators. It’s about a widowed mouse who must move her home and children before they’re crushed by the farmer’s plow. When one of her children comes down with an illness, she turns to the rats of NIMH, who have heightened intelligence, and who give her a sacred object that will help her get the job done.
Apple Corps
#53. Yellow Submarine (1968)
– Director: George Dunning
– Stacker score: 83
– Metascore: 79
– IMDb user rating: 7.4
– Runtime: 85 min
The Beatles (or at least their images) star in this animated film about a city called Pepperland that is under siege by the music-hating Blue Meanies. Pepperland’s last hope, the group is called in to save the day by playing some of their hits, which the Blue Meanies stand no chance against. While this is touted as a Beatles film, John, Paul, George, and Ringo actually only appear in the final scene of “Yellow Submarine,” throughout the rest of the flick they’re voiced by other actors.
Twentieth Century Fox
#52. The Longest Day (1962)
– Directors: Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, Gerd Oswald, Bernhard Wicki, Darryl F. Zanuck
– Stacker score: 83
– Metascore: 75
– IMDb user rating: 7.8
– Runtime: 178 min
A G-rated war film about the D-Day landings in Normandy, this flick probably isn’t appropriate for young audiences or sensitive viewers, but it would be a great watch with older children and teenagers. “The Longest Day” shows what happened on several different fronts on D-Day, and provides a historically accurate and atmospheric retelling of the biggest event in WWII, making it both educational and entertaining.
Tokuma Shoten
#51. Whisper of the Heart (1995)
– Director: Yoshifumi Kondô
– Stacker score: 84
– Metascore: 75
– IMDb user rating: 7.9
– Runtime: 111 min
Another Studio Ghibli movie, “Whisper of the Heart” is about an avid young reader named Shizuku who notices that all of the library books she’s taken out have also been checked out by a mysterious young man named Seiji. Believing the boy to be her soulmate, Shizuku sets out on a journey to find him. The animated movie was based on a Japanese anime of the same name.
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Walt Disney Productions
#50. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
– Director: Richard Fleischer
– Stacker score: 84
– Metascore: 83
– IMDb user rating: 7.2
– Runtime: 127 min
In “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” Captain Nemo is an eccentric (and possibly mad) submarine captain who tries to cross the seven seas with his ragtag crew of captured sailors in tow. The group must uncover Nemo’s real motive for the deadly journey before it’s too late. While the story is, by now, a familiar one, viewers will delight in the extravagant set design that brings the story to life in an entirely new way.
Walt Disney Animation Studios
#49. One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
– Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, Wolfgang Reitherman
– Stacker score: 84
– Metascore: 83
– IMDb user rating: 7.2
– Runtime: 79 min
Artists drew more than 6 million spots in the course of animating the 1961 Disney classic “101 Dalmations.” For viewers who have never seen the movie, it’s part love story between dalmatian parents Pongo and Perdita and their owners Roger and Anita, and part adventure story as Pongo and Perdita must save their own 15 puppies, plus 84 others, from the greedy hands of Cruella de Vil, who would turn them into a coat.
Studio Ghibli
#48. The Secret World of Arrietty (2010)
– Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi
– Stacker score: 85
– Metascore: 80
– IMDb user rating: 7.6
– Runtime: 94 min
“The Secret World of Arrietty” is about a 14-inch tall teenager named Arrietty who lives with her family underneath the floorboards of another family’s home. On one of her above-board missions to gather supplies, she meets a normal-sized boy named Shawn and begins to develop a relationship with him, a relationship that could threaten the safety and future of her people. This Studio Ghibli film is loosely based on “The Borrowers,” a novel by Mary Norton.
Panorama Film A/S
#47. Babette’s Feast (1987)
– Director: Gabriel Axel
– Stacker score: 85
– Metascore: 78
– IMDb user rating: 7.8
– Runtime: 103 min
A Danish film, “Babbette’s Feast” is about the almost magical meal a refugee from Paris cooks for the two sisters who are hosting her as well as their aging congregation, and the impact it has on their small village. A commentary on art and divine grace, this movie is a true feast for the eyes and mind.
Walt Disney Animation Studios
#46. Sleeping Beauty (1959)
– Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Les Clark, Hamilton Luske, Wolfgang Reitherman
– Stacker score: 85
– Metascore: 85
– IMDb user rating: 7.2
– Runtime: 75 min
When “Sleeping Beauty” premiered in 1959, it did so poorly at the box office and with critics that Disney didn’t release another fairytale for 30 years, until “The Little Mermaid” in 1989. Critics found the linear-styled artwork “oppressive” and New York Times critic Bosley Crowther questioned whether the film was appropriate for young children due to the story’s scary villain, Maleficent.
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Omni Zoetrope
#45. The Black Stallion (1979)
– Director: Carroll Ballard
– Stacker score: 85
– Metascore: 84
– IMDb user rating: 7.3
– Runtime: 118 min
One of the best-loved horse movies of all time, “The Black Stallion” is about the bond shared between a horse and a boy as they’re stranded on a deserted island together and then, upon their rescue, as they prepare for the most anticipated horse race of the year. It’s beautifully shot and, as Roger Ebert noted, full of “terrific energy, beauty, and excitement.”
Walt Disney Productions
#44. Old Yeller (1957)
– Director: Robert Stevenson
– Stacker score: 85
– Metascore: 84
– IMDb user rating: 7.3
– Runtime: 83 min
Another movie you simply must have tissues on hand for, “Old Yeller” has been previously ranked as one of the “saddest kid’s movies of all time” by TIME. The Disney film is about an adopted yellow lab who proves time and again how loyal and worthy of love he is, before meeting one of the most tragic endings that’s ever existed in cinema.
Walt Disney Productions
#43. Treasure Island (1950)
– Director: Byron Haskin
– Stacker score: 86
– Metascore: 89
– IMDb user rating: 6.9
– Runtime: 96 min
One of many adaptations of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel “Treasure Island,” this 1950s movie was one of Disney’s first attempts at a live-action adventure film. Bobby Driscoll, who played the main character Jim Hawkins, appeared in several more Disney films including “Peter Pan.”
Aardman Animations
#42. Chicken Run (2000)
– Directors: Peter Lord, Nick Park
– Stacker score: 86
– Metascore: 88
– IMDb user rating: 7.0
– Runtime: 84 min
A stop-motion animation film, “Chicken Run” was released in 2000, but production on the picture had actually started four years earlier in 1996. Stop-motion is a very involved form of filmmaking, and it took a team 20 months to finish the principle photography, shooting 100 seconds a week in their most productive periods. The finished movie is about a group of foul, lead by the fearless Ginger and Rocky the Flying Rooster, who are trying to escape their evil owners at the Tweedy Chicken Farm.
Walt Disney Productions
#41. Cinderella (1950)
– Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske
– Stacker score: 86
– Metascore: 85
– IMDb user rating: 7.3
– Runtime: 74 min
“Cinderella” is literally a tale as old as time, with the earliest known versions of the story dating back to the sixth century B.C. The version, popularized by the 1950 Disney animated film, is Charles Perrault’s, which was written in 1697. The movie was a massive success, having been nominated for three Academy Awards, and essentially saved the company, which was over $4 million in debt prior to the release.
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Twentieth Century Fox
#40. Planet of the Apes (1968)
– Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
– Stacker score: 86
– Metascore: 79
– IMDb user rating: 8.0
– Runtime: 112 min
“Planet of the Apes” is now a full-blown franchise that includes nine feature-length films, but it was this 1968 film that started it all. The movie is about three human astronauts who find themselves stranded on a planet where walking, talking apes are the rulers and humans are their slaves. A sharp social commentary, the movie doesn’t sacrifice any action or adventure in the quest to make its point.
Pixar Animation Studios
#39. Monsters, Inc. (2001)
– Directors: Pete Docter, David Silverman, Lee Unkrich
– Stacker score: 86
– Metascore: 79
– IMDb user rating: 8.0
– Runtime: 92 min
Singer-songwriter Randy Newman, a staple in the Disney Pixar world, won his first Oscar for the closing song of “Monsters, Inc.” called “If I Didn’t Have You.” The touching ballad was a fitting end to the sweet comedy about the monsters under your bed. The central story of which is this: best friends and colleagues, Mike and Sully work for the most successful scream factory in the world and enjoy plenty of professional success until they accidentally let a human girl into Monstropolis, almost ruining everything.
Warner Bros.
#38. A Little Princess (1995)
– Director: Alfonso Cuarón
– Stacker score: 87
– Metascore: 83
– IMDb user rating: 7.7
– Runtime: 97 min
Frances Hodgson Burnett’s other big novel, “A Little Princess” has also been turned into a film starring Liesel Matthews, Liam Cunningham, and Camilla Belle. The movie is about a young girl sent to boarding school who suffers a huge reversal of fortunes and must make the best of her poor new situation. It’s a heartwarming and magical tale that’s sure to be enjoyed by audiences of all ages.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
#37. The Yearling (1946)
– Director: Clarence Brown
– Stacker score: 88
– Metascore: 89
– IMDb user rating: 7.2
– Runtime: 128 min
In 1947, Claude Jarman Jr. won the best juvenile actor Oscar for his portrayal of Jody in “The Yearling.” A tragic tale about the son of a Florida farmer and his pet fawn, the movie was praised by The New York Times’ Bosley Crowther for its precise portrayal of the “innocence and trust and enchantment that are in the nature of a child [and] the yearning love and anxiety that a father feels for his boy.”
Aardman Animations
#36. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
– Directors: Steve Box, Nick Park
– Stacker score: 88
– Metascore: 87
– IMDb user rating: 7.4
– Runtime: 85 min
“Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” is the big-screen debut of the two titular characters, who had previously only starred in a number of shorts. In the stop-motion movie, the two pals open a pest control business and are given the job of stopping a giant rabbit from eating all of the town’s crops. Peter Sallis, Helena Bonham Carter, and Ralph Fiennes lend their voices to this laugh-out-loud tale.
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Kiki’s Delivery Service Production Committee
#35. Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
– Director: Hayao Miyazaki
– Stacker score: 88
– Metascore: 83
– IMDb user rating: 7.8
– Runtime: 103 min
In “Kiki’s Delivery Service,” a witch-in-training named Kiki and her talking black cat set up a delivery service in their local community, which is threatened when Kiki begins to doubt herself and her abilities. Before the film’s 1989 release, Studio Ghibli had been struggling and was actually on the verge of bankruptcy, but luckily for audiences everywhere, Kiki’s success saved them all.
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#34. Toy Story 4 (2019)
– Director: Josh Cooley
– Stacker score: 88
– Metascore: 84
– IMDb user rating: 7.8
– Runtime: 100 min
Reviews have been decidedly mixed since “Toy Story 4” was released in 2019. Many critics raved about the film, praising its layered metaphors and the franchise’s ability to reinvent itself, while many viewers expressed frustration over the story line and choices made by the characters which they felt weren’t in line with the personalities they’d come to know and love. Whichever side of the debate you stand on, it’s hard to argue that the movie wasn’t a success, as it earned more than $1 billion at the box office globally.
Columbia Pictures
#33. Funny Girl (1968)
– Director: William Wyler
– Stacker score: 89
– Metascore: 89
– IMDb user rating: 7.4
– Runtime: 151 min
Barbra Streisand’s first film role was as Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl.” The stage musical turned film is about a vaudeville star whose career takes off as her private life—namely her marriage—begins to falter.
Paramount Pictures
#32. The Odd Couple (1968)
– Director: Gene Saks
– Stacker score: 89
– Metascore: 86
– IMDb user rating: 7.7
– Runtime: 105 min
“The Odd Couple” is a buddy comedy starring Walter Matthau (Oscar) and Jack Lemmon (Felix) as two polar-opposite best friends. After splitting up with his wife, Felix moves in with Oscar, but his neurotic ways soon get on his pal’s nerves, threatening their living arrangements. The movie is laugh-out-loud funny, so successful that it ended up being the inspiration for an ABC sitcom of the same name.
Studio Ghibli
#31. Ponyo (2008)
– Director: Hayao Miyazaki
– Stacker score: 89
– Metascore: 86
– IMDb user rating: 7.7
– Runtime: 101 min
A different sort of retelling of “The Little Mermaid,” animated by Studio Ghibli, “Ponyo” is about a princess fish who wants to become human. After meeting and befriending a little boy named Sosuke, Ponyo decides she will no longer be contained to the sea, but in the process of breaking free, she accidentally releases the magical Water of Life, which disrupts the balance of nature and threatens to destroy the whole world. Several recognizable stars lent their voices to the English version of the film, including Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Cate Blanchett, Liam Neeson, Betty White, Cloris Leachman, Lily Tomlin, Frankie Jonas, and Noah Cyrus.
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Walt Disney Animation Studios
#30. Bambi (1942)
– Directors: James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, David Hand, Graham Heid, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, Norman Wright, Arthur Davis, Clyde Geronimi
– Stacker score: 89
– Metascore: 91
– IMDb user rating: 7.3
– Runtime: 70 min
“Bambi” is based on a novel by Felix Salten, titled “Bambi, a Life in the Woods.” While the novel is intended for adults, Walt Disney reworked the material about a young fawn and his forest friends to be appropriate for children. Some, including his own daughter, argue that he didn’t change it enough, saying that he should have cut the entire story line where Bambi’s mother dies, which is truly one of the more tragic moments in the Disney canon.
Walt Disney Pictures
#29. The Little Mermaid (1989)
– Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker
– Stacker score: 89
– Metascore: 88
– IMDb user rating: 7.6
– Runtime: 83 min
“The Little Mermaid” as we know it today almost never made it to the big screen. Initially, the CEO of Disney nixed the film entirely as the studio was already working on another mermaid picture. When he finally relented, the movie’s most iconic song, “Part of Your World,” nearly landed on the cutting room floor after the first round of test audiences weren’t into it. Luckily, the production team stuck with their film, because in 1990, it won Disney its first Oscar since 1972.
Walt Disney Productions
#28. Mary Poppins (1964)
– Director: Robert Stevenson
– Stacker score: 90
– Metascore: 88
– IMDb user rating: 7.8
– Runtime: 139 min
Audiences around the world have adored the magical nanny Mary Poppins ever since she landed on the big screen in 1964. However, the author of the “Mary Poppins” books P.L. Travers famously did not. When she attended the premiere of the movie, she reportedly cried through the entire thing, furious with Disney for bastardizing her tale.
Asymmetrical Productions
#27. The Straight Story (1999)
– Director: David Lynch
– Stacker score: 90
– Metascore: 86
– IMDb user rating: 8.0
– Runtime: 112 min
A great American road movie about slowing down and focusing on what’s meaningful in life, “The Straight Story” was inspired by a true event that occurred in 1994. In the movie, an aging farmer named Alvin Straight sets out to make things right with his younger brother Lyle, who has just suffered a stroke. Unfortunately for Alvin, he doesn’t own a car, so he decides to make the multistate journey on his lawnmower.
Walt Disney Pictures
#26. Aladdin (1992)
– Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker
– Stacker score: 90
– Metascore: 86
– IMDb user rating: 8.0
– Runtime: 90 min
The late, great Robin Williams was truly one of the brightest gems in Hollywood. He particularly shines in his role as Genie in Disney’s “Aladdin,” which was designed, created, and scripted just for him. In order to convince him to accept the role, Disney animated Genie performing a number of Williams’ own stand-up sets, which helped demonstrate to the comedian the amount of potential there was in the blue wish-granter.
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Canal+
#25. A Summer’s Tale (1996)
– Director: Éric Rohmer
– Stacker score: 91
– Metascore: 91
– IMDb user rating: 7.6
– Runtime: 113 min
“A Summer’s Tale” is a French arthouse film about a young man named Gaspard who goes on vacation and finds himself in love with three different women for three different reasons. The romance film is certainly chaste enough to watch with the whole family, but as it’s in French and deals solely with more adult relationships, it wouldn’t make a good family movie night pick in homes that have younger audiences.
Pixar Animation Studios
#24. Toy Story 2 (1999)
– Directors: John Lasseter, Ash Brannon, Lee Unkrich
– Stacker score: 91
– Metascore: 88
– IMDb user rating: 7.9
– Runtime: 92 min
In the second installment of the “Toy Story” franchise, Andy heads off to cowboy camp for the summer, leaving his toys home alone for a whole season of adventures. After Woody is kidnapped by a toy collector, he discovers that he’s a highly valued collectible with his own TV show and is at risk of being sent off to a toy museum. The rest of the gang must band together in order to rescue Woody and his newfound friends Jessie and Bullseye before Andy returns home.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
#23. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
– Director: Stanley Kubrick
– Stacker score: 91
– Metascore: 84
– IMDb user rating: 8.3
– Runtime: 149 min
When “2001: A Space Odyssey” premiered in 1968, its lack of a strong narrative or clear main characters caused many to hate it, and several of the day’s biggest stars even walked out of the premiere. Today, it’s often regarded as one of the most important and influential films of the 20th century. The movie becomes especially impressive when you consider that the computerized special effects so many sci-fi movies rely on today didn’t even exist back then, and so many of the film’s features, like the moon sand and the black monolith, were created entirely by hand.
Walt Disney Animation Studios
#22. Dumbo (1941)
– Directors: Samuel Armstrong, Norman Ferguson, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, Bill Roberts, Ben Sharpsteen, John Elliotte
– Stacker score: 91
– Metascore: 96
– IMDb user rating: 7.2
– Runtime: 64 min
“Dumbo” premiered at the Broadway Theater in New York City in 1941, and The New York Times critic Bosley Crowther called it “the most genial, the most endearing, the most completely precious cartoon feature film ever to emerge from the magical brushes of Walt Disney’s wonder-working artists!” The movie is about a circus elephant with unusually large ears. His ears get him bullied for most of his young life until he learns that they actually allow him to fly and he’s able to take control of his own destiny.
Tokuma Japan Communications
#21. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
– Director: Hayao Miyazaki
– Stacker score: 91
– Metascore: 86
– IMDb user rating: 8.2
– Runtime: 86 min
Real-life sisters Dakota and Elle Fanning brought the English-language versions of animated sisters Satsuki and Mei to life in “My Neighbor Totoro” in 2005. The animated Japanese movie is about two sisters who move into a new house in the countryside only to find out that it’s “haunted.” Their new neighbor, a spirit named Totoro who can only be seen by children, introduces them to the friendly creatures that inhabit their new home.
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Les Artistes Associés
#20. The Wild Child (1970)
– Director: François Truffaut
– Stacker score: 92
– Metascore: 94
– IMDb user rating: 7.5
– Runtime: 83 min
A story in the vein of “Tarzan” or “The Jungle Book,” “The Wild Child” is about a young boy who has been raised by wolves. He’s discovered by hunters and sent to Paris, where the kindly Dr. Itard sets out to civilize him. Shot in black and white, the movie, about the pains of adolescence, is regarded as a poetic masterpiece.
Walt Disney Animation Studios
#19. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
– Directors: William Cottrell, David Hand, Wilfred Jackson, Larry Morey, Perce Pearce, Ben Sharpsteen
– Stacker score: 93
– Metascore: 95
– IMDb user rating: 7.6
– Runtime: 83 min
Based on the Brothers Grimm fairytale of the same name, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was Disney’s first animated feature and the first full-length animated film in U.S. history. The project took three years to complete and was massively expensive—Walt Disney had to mortgage his own home in order to finance the production. But some 80 years on, it still remains one of the most beloved films of all time.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
#18. Ben-Hur (1959)
– Director: William Wyler
– Stacker score: 93
– Metascore: 90
– IMDb user rating: 8.1
– Runtime: 212 min
“Ben-Hur” was a record-breaking movie in more ways than one. Not only did the film have the largest budget of any movie up to that point at $15 million, but it also took home 11 Oscars at the Academy Awards ceremony. A Christian story, though not a biblical one, the epic drama follows an Israelite Jew as he takes on the Roman Empire during the lifetime of Christ himself.
Pixar Animation Studios
#17. Finding Nemo (2003)
– Directors: Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich
– Stacker score: 93
– Metascore: 90
– IMDb user rating: 8.1
– Runtime: 100 min
When his son Nemo swims too close to the surface at the beginning of “Finding Nemo” and is captured by a diver, overprotective parent Marlin must set out on an epic journey to save him. Ellen DeGeneres voices Marlin’s absent-minded but devoted friend Dory who accompanies him in his quest. Beloved by audiences of all ages, “Finding Nemo” is a surprisingly scientifically accurate portrayal of marine life (minus the anthropomorphism, of course).
Walter Shenson Films
#16. A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
– Director: Richard Lester
– Stacker score: 93
– Metascore: 96
– IMDb user rating: 7.6
– Runtime: 87 min
The second Beatles film on this list, “A Hard Day’s Night,” was actually the band’s feature film debut. A mockumentary-style film, the movie coincided with their third studio album that shared the same name. Even so, long after its release, the movie remains a funny, irreverent look at the life of these rock ‘n‘ roll idols.
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Charles Chaplin Productions
#15. The Circus (1928)
– Director: Charlie Chaplin
– Stacker score: 93
– Metascore: 90
– IMDb user rating: 8.2
– Runtime: 72 min
The oldest movie on our list, “The Circus” was the last project Charlie Chaplin made during the silent film era. Despite its famously troubled production, the movie, featuring Chaplin’s most famous character The Tramp who evades pursuing officers by fleeing into the circus and posing as a performer, was wildly successful, earning Chaplin his first Academy Award.
Walt Disney Animation Studios
#14. Pinocchio (1940)
– Directors: Norman Ferguson, T. Hee, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, Hamilton Luske, Bill Roberts, Ben Sharpsteen
– Stacker score: 94
– Metascore: 99
– IMDb user rating: 7.4
– Runtime: 88 min
Very few of Walt Disney’s early works were original stories, and “Pinocchio” is no exception. The 1940 animated flick was based on the 1883 Italian children’s novel called “The Adventures of Pinocchio,” which is about a puppet whose nose grows every time he lies. The movie won two Academy Awards for its soundtrack and contained Walt Disney’s favorite animated character, the kitten Figaro.
Warner Bros.
#13. My Fair Lady (1964)
– Director: George Cukor
– Stacker score: 94
– Metascore: 95
– IMDb user rating: 7.8
– Runtime: 170 min
“My Fair Lady” is a movie musical starring Audrey Hepburn as a cockney-class working girl turned proper lady and Rex Harrison as the phonetics professor who transforms her on a bet. The film version is the third iteration of the story, which started out as a stage play by George Bernard Shaw called “Pygmalion,” then became a stage musical by partners Lerner and Loewe, before finally winding up as an eight-time Academy Award-winning film.
Walt Disney Animation Studios
#12. The Lion King (1994)
– Directors: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff
– Stacker score: 94
– Metascore: 88
– IMDb user rating: 8.5
– Runtime: 88 min
“The Lion King” was advertised as the first Disney film to have a completely original story line, though many argue that it was obviously pretty heavily influenced by William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” Its degree of originality has never seemed to be an issue for audiences who flocked to see the movie about a pride of lions in the plains of Africa. “The Lion King” holds the title as the highest-grossing hand-drawn animated feature of all time, bringing in more than $986 million at the box office worldwide.
Walt Disney Animation Studios
#11. Fantasia (1940)
– Directors: James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, Ford Beebe Jr., Norman Ferguson, David Hand, Jim Handley, T. Hee, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, Ben Sharpsteen
– Stacker score: 95
– Metascore: 96
– IMDb user rating: 7.8
– Runtime: 125 min
When a team set out to restore “Fantasia,” the animated classical music concert, in time for its 50th anniversary in 1990, they had their work cut out for them. Disney’s third full-length animated film, “Fantasia” is also the longest with a runtime of two hours and five minutes. The length was not the only issue: the original negatives had been locked in the vault since 1946 and were in bad condition and the original soundtrack had also been lost. In the end, it took the team two years to bring the movie back to its (almost) former glory.
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Walt Disney Pictures
#10. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
– Directors: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
– Stacker score: 95
– Metascore: 95
– IMDb user rating: 8.0
– Runtime: 84 min
Six-hundred animators and artists worked on the 1991 smash hit “Beauty and the Beast.” Their work was so impressive that the film became the first fully animated feature flick to ever be nominated for a best picture Oscar. Although they lost in that category, the movie, about a prince cursed to spend his days as a monster and the young woman whose true love may turn him back, brought home two other trophies.
Pixar Animation Studios
#9. Toy Story 3 (2010)
– Director: Lee Unkrich
– Stacker score: 95
– Metascore: 92
– IMDb user rating: 8.3
– Runtime: 103 min
“Toy Story 3” marked the end of an era in the movie’s universe as Andy, now all grown up, heads off to college, and the toys find themselves in the hands of a new owner after making a pit stop at a daycare center along the way. Hilarious and heartfelt, the movie will certainly be a tear-jerker for those who grew up alongside Andy and the toys.
Pixar Animation Studios
#8. Ratatouille (2007)
– Directors: Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava
– Stacker score: 96
– Metascore: 96
– IMDb user rating: 8.0
– Runtime: 111 min
In “Ratatouille,” a young rat named Remy has dreams of becoming a gourmet chef, but his furry little body has proven to be an obstacle that’s too big to overcome. Upon arriving in Paris, Remy teams up with a hopeless chef named Luigi, exercising his skills through the human while remaining in hiding. His ultimate success proves that “a great artist can come from anywhere,” according to Anton Ego of The New York Times.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
#7. Gone with the Wind (1939)
– Directors: Victor Fleming, George Cukor, Sam Wood
– Stacker score: 97
– Metascore: 97
– IMDb user rating: 8.1
– Runtime: 238 min
A Civil War drama starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, “Gone with the Wind,” released in 1939, remains the highest-grossing film of all time when adjusted for inflation. In total, the movie about a woman who’s torn in love and fighting to restore her family’s plantation, which earned eight Academy Awards, has grossed more than $3.44 billion.
Pixar Animation Studios
#6. Toy Story (1995)
– Director: John Lasseter
– Stacker score: 97
– Metascore: 95
– IMDb user rating: 8.3
– Runtime: 81 min
“Toy Story” holds the record as being the first full-length film to be fully animated via computers. It’s about a group of toys that comes to life when they’re out from under the eyes of their watchful humans. When Woody and Buzz get left behind on moving day, the formerly feuding rivals must work together if they’re going to escape the clutches of their evil neighbor Sid and be reunited with their boy, Andy.
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Pixar Animation Studios
#5. WALL·E (2008)
– Director: Andrew Stanton
– Stacker score: 97
– Metascore: 95
– IMDb user rating: 8.4
– Runtime: 98 min
The last robot on Earth, Wall-E is destined to spend his days cleaning up the planet that has been trashed by humans. When he meets Eve, a robot who has been sent back to Earth on a scanning mission, he quickly falls in love and sets out across the galaxy to be with her. There are very few spoken lines in this film, but “Wall-E” still manages to pack an emotional punch.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
#4. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
– Directors: Victor Fleming, George Cukor, Mervyn LeRoy, Norman Taurog, Richard Thorpe, King Vidor
– Stacker score: 98
– Metascore: 100
– IMDb user rating: 8.0
– Runtime: 102 min
The classic musical “The Wizard of Oz” stars Judy Garland as Dorothy, a young girl swept away from her Kansas home by a tornado, landing in the magical land of Oz, where she and her new friends—a scarecrow, a tin man, and a cowardly lion—follow the yellow brick road toward the Emerald City in order to obtain the deepest desires of their hearts. The often imitated film struggled through several production challenges, like an ever-rotating cast of directors, on-set accidents, and costume paint that caused health issues for several cast members. But in the end, it came together, winning two Oscars and cementing itself as one of the most beloved films of all time.
Charles Chaplin Productions
#3. Modern Times (1936)
– Director: Charlie Chaplin
– Stacker score: 98
– Metascore: 96
– IMDb user rating: 8.5
– Runtime: 87 min
Charlie Chaplin’s 1936 film “Modern Times” marked the last on-screen appearance of his character, the Little Tramp. In the movie, the character struggles to hold on to gainful employment in this modern, industrialized world. Along the way, he befriends an orphan girl with whom he joins forces, facing the world they don’t quite fit into together.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
#2. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
– Directors: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly
– Stacker score: 99
– Metascore: 99
– IMDb user rating: 8.3
– Runtime: 103 min
A movie about making movies, Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, and Debbie Reynolds sing and dance their way through “Singin’ in the Rain.” While the film, which came before the Broadway show, had an original script and original dance numbers, almost everything else in it, from the music to the costumes to the sets, had been borrowed from previous MGM films.
Charles Chaplin Productions
#1. City Lights (1931)
– Director: Charlie Chaplin
– Stacker score: 100
– Metascore: 99
– IMDb user rating: 8.5
– Runtime: 87 min
The title for best G-Rated movie of all time goes to “City Lights” by Charlie Chaplin. The ultimate installment in the Little Tramp chronicles, the movie sees the character doing everything in his power to earn money so that he can take care of the blind flower girl he’s fallen in love with. It’s not until he accidentally saves a millionaire’s life and earns a giant reward that he’s able to do so, and everything begins to fall together.
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