Best Family Movies Of The 80s That Your Kids Must See. One of the many joys of parenting is the ability to sit back, relax, and watch movies with kids. My kids and I make it a point to pick one of the best family movies we can think of and watch it on the weekend. I’ve compiled a list of seven good movies for 13 years olds that my boys loved watching. Hope you and your kids will enjoy them, too!
In this article:
7 Movies From The 80s To Watch With Your Kids.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
This is one of the best movies with kids in leading roles ever made, according to my 14-year-old son. This is among the first Steven Spielberg classics. Several scenes and gestures from this movie became iconic in the following years, but none more than E.T. and Elliot flying across the moon on Elliot’s cycle. A definite tear-jerker, this film is a tale of love and compassion only a child’s heart is capable of. Be prepared to hear some after you’ve watched this one!
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids! (1989)
An incredibly hilarious family movie from the late 80s which was easily among the best-animated movies of the time. Scientist Wayne Szalinski has a lab in his house which is out of bounds for the kids, but their baseball falls into the lab. Somehow, they end up getting hit by their father’s latest invention – the shrink ray – and they become a quarter of an inch tall! The rest is just completely nuts. An excellent pick for a family movie night!
Footloose (1984)
This 80s classic is a good movie for 13-year-olds or above because younger children will not really be able to relate to what’s happening in it. It is the story of Ren McCormack who lives in a town that has banned dancing and rock music. It depicts his struggle to fit in, but he gets together with two of his friends, it turns into a struggle to change the town to fit their lifestyles instead. A very interesting family movie that’s bound to start some interesting conversations!
Ghostbusters (1984)
This should be a particularly interesting pick for movie night with kids because Sony Pictures did a remake of this iconic movie in 2016. The old classic is centered around four professors who lose their jobs and decide to take on the supernatural for a living. They find a gateway to another dimension which could ruin the whole of New York City, and it’s now up to them to save the day. The best part is, you can do a weekend movie marathon and watch everything within the Ghostbusters franchise at one go!
Annie (1982)
A heartwarming little girl, Annie, believes she has been left at the orphanage by mistake and is determined to find her parents. The tyrannical matron of the orphanage, Miss Hannigan, will have none of it. But when Oliver Warbucks, a rich businessman, lets Annie live with him to improve his image, he launches a search for them and announces a reward. What makes this an amazing family movie is a way Oliver and Annie’s bond changes as all kinds of fraudsters come to try and take her away.
Uncle Buck (1989)
An absolutely hilarious family movie with kids in leading roles, this is an all-time classic. Cindy and Bob have to leave home for a few days to attend to an emergency. The only person they can get to babysit their three kids is Bob’s carefree bachelor brother, Buck. The film focuses mostly on Buck’s struggle to get beyond his bachelor lifestyle to play parent to two young children and a rather distant teenage girl. This is one of the best family movies of the 80s.
Big (1988)
12-year-old Josh Baskin really wants to be a grown-up and do the things adults do. He wishes to grow up so hard that it comes true, and one fine day, he wakes up as a 30-year-old man played by Tom Hanks. He gets a job at a toy factory, gets moved to the new toys testing department, and attracts the attention of a female coworker. Soon enough, the stresses of adult life catch up to little big Josh and he longs to go back to his simple life as a little boy. This is easily my personal favorite family movie of all time.
