10 Great Childhood Flicks
A word of caution here, not all titles are perfectly suitable for young kids of four or five but for the most part we are doing okay here. The other warning is, the main crunch of these films stem from my childhood. Question yourself, is this (ahem) writer the way I want my child to turn out?
Click or scroll down for more info on each of the titles:
Princess Bride, Toy Story 1 and 2, E.T., Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, Babe 1 and 2, Big, Ghostbusters, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Goonies, Who Framed Roger Rabbit
1. Princess Bride:
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| The Princess Bride |
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Hands down one of the finest films in the family, romance, action, adventure, comedy genres. It encompasses sooo much and entertains over and over again with it's great acting, story and priceless quotes. If you have never seen this you have deprived yourself of one the great joys of life.
Even better on DVD as of Sept. 4, 2001:
The Special Edition Of The Princess Bride includes:
• Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only).
• Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby.
• Commentary by director Rob Reiner.
• Commentary by author William Goldman.
• Brand-new "As You Wish" documentary featuring all-new interviews with Cary Elwes, Robin Wright Penn, Billy Crystal, Mandy Patinkin and more.
• Exclusive footage shot by Cary Elwes during the making of the movie.
• 2 original featurettes
2. Toy Story 1 & 2:
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| Toy Story Box Set |
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I consider these almost one film now. The two seamlessly match in story, and if the truth be told, the characters become even stronger in the sequel. A rarity if ever there was one. Great humor and stellar voice work all the way around, including the stand out piece by Joan Cusack in part 2. The way to buy this for the fan though is the Toy Box set, rather than the double disc. Why? Because it has a lot of perks the two disc set doesn't.
The Toy Box Set Includes:
• Disc One: Toy Story
• Audio Commentary By The Filmmakers
• Widescreen (1.77:1) - Enhanced For 16x9 Televisions
• The Making of Toy Story
• On-Set Interviews
• Academy Award® - Winning Short: Tin Toy
• Toy Story Treats
• Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins Preview
• THX-Certified
• Disc Two: Toy Story 2
• Widescreen (1.77:1) - Enhanced For 16x9 Televisions
• Academy Award® - Winning Short: Luxo Jr.
• Outtakes
• Monsters Inc. Sneak Peek
• Audio Commentary
• Music - Only Track
• Effects - Only Track
• THX-Certified
• Disc Three: Supplemental Features
• The History of Toy Story
• Characters & Design
• Story Development
• Movie- Making Secrets
• Music & Sound Design
• Deleted Animation
• Publicity
• The Toy Box
• Outtakes
• Widescreen anamorphic format
• Number of discs: 3
3. E.T.
Come on, you have to know this is going to be on a list like this somewhere. One of the most popular movies of all time? How stupid would I look (and be) if I glossed over it.
Question though: Why is this not on DVD?
4. Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory:
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| Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory |
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Too trippy for words, and not afraid to punish the kids in this film when they misbehave, in fact, that's part of the point. I'm not a musical fan but this is one of the few that makes an exception. The special edition includes:
• Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
• Color, Closed-captioned
• Audio Commentary With All The Wonka Kids
• Documentary, "Pure Imagination"
• Sing-Along Songs
• Original Theatrical Featurette
• Full-screen and widescreen anamorphic formats This needs to be double checked, rumours are the studio will only be releasing a full screen version!
5. Babe (1 and 2):
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| Babe 1&2 |
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This follows my opinion on Toy Story rather nicely. These two films, very different and moods apart are both excellent, however some will find the sequel a little darker than the previous outing and Mickey Rooney just too damn scary for kids...I can understand that, he is too damn scary for kids. Pick up an Andy Hardy movie if you want them to see Mickey in his prime.
You can get these both seperate but again, I feel the double disc set is the better deal though each of the titles are super-sparse on special features.
6. Big:
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Some kids might see this as slow moving or just plain dull but if your kid (and you) can handle a smart script, a nice little morality tale and some very funny moments this is one great little film to go back to. This was Penny Marshall's second film (her first being Jumpin' Jack Flash) and her first pairing with Tom Hanks. Later, when Hanks career had hit a slump (Bonfire of The Vanities, remember?) It was Marshall who came swinging to the rescue with the role of Jimmy Dugan in League of Their Own which put Hanks back on a winning streak that has since seen him score two Oscars and a slew of nominations. A slight side note: A League of their own isn't a half bad recommendation to the younger teens and up, especially those females who want to see a well-written girl-power esque flick that doesn't involved everybody wearing belly shirts.
Not much in the way of special feautres on this release but still a damn fine film.
• Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
• Color, Closed-captioned, Dolby, Widescreen
• Theatrical trailer(s)
• Widescreen letterbox format
7. Ghostbusters:
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| Ghostbusters 2 Pack |
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| Ghostbusters |
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| Ghostbusters 2 |
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Though a touch risque/scary for some younger ones Ghostbusters is still a great movie and better than ever on DVD. This one was given the full treatment. Now, the recommendation here...there is a duo pack available just like Toy Story and Babe, but I personally was very disappointed in the second one, however if you feel you must have the box set...
The Original includes:
Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
• Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby
• Commentary by Live video commentary by Ivan Reitman and Harold Ramis (using the multi-angle function)
• Production notes
• Theatrical trailer(s)
• Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1
• Storyboards with split-screen compare
• Production photographs
• Deleted scenes
• 1999 star featurette
• Special effects team documentary
• Special effects before and after
• Original featurette
• Widescreen anamorphic format
The sequel includes
Color, Closed-captioned, Dolby, Widescreen
• Production notes
• Theatrical trailer(s)
• Full-screen and widescreen anamorphic formats
I recommend buying the first and forgeting the other was ever made.
8. Raiders of the Lost Ark (again for kids 8 and up):
One of my favourite childhood flicks and the damn thing isn't available at all on DVD, what is Spielberg doing? No, I have a theory. I figure he's going to have this great pack, a real nice set, commentary, featurette's, outtakes, original trailers and interviews, etc. It will be worth the wait.
See my wish list for more like this!
9. Goonies:
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| The Goonies |
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A weakness for me. I still have the original collector's magazine on this one. I admit it doesn't hold up so well in parts today but it is one I look back on with fondness and would expect kids of the 6 to 12 range to do the same...six might be a bit young, it has a few scary moments, but the sense of adventure is what all boys (or at least I) want(ed).
• Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
• Color, Closed-captioned
• Commentary by Richard Donner
• Theatrical trailer(s)
• Making Of The Goonies Documentary
• Cyndi Lauper Music Video "Goonies R Good Enough II"
• Deleted Scenes
• Widescreen anamorphic format
10. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?:
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| Who Framed Roger Rabbit? |
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Actually as much as I love this flick, I have yet to buy it. I know that there will be a Special Edition one day. When? I have no idea. But it's there, just looming around the corner waiting to happen. I watched this on T.V. a couple of years ago and there were some added scenes not included in the theatrical...so here's my guess...a new disc, commentary by Zemeckis, a featurette on the making of and the deleted scenes...and hopefully that's just for starters.
• Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
• Color, Animated, Closed-captioned, Widescreen
• Widescreen letterbox format
Copyright© August 2001 DVDwolf.com
Copyright© Staffwriter: Rob Paul
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