Ah, childhood. That wonderful time in which our biggest concern was the next cookie break or chance to play “Super Smash Bros.” Where did all that time go?
Regardless of how exactly we all ended up barely managing our schedules as adults, we all sometimes need to pull things back and return to that glorious time–if only for a spell. And what better way to do that then relax with some films from our early years? Here, we’ve compiled a list of 10 nostalgic movies that are worth your time even all these years later.
To clarify, we aren’t including films that everyone already knows are great, your “Coraline”s, your "Labyrinth"s, your animated Disney classics. Instead this list is focused on movies that we may have forgotten about over the years or dismissed offhandedly as best left to memory. You may have seen all 10 of these, you may have seen zero. But they’re all worth checking out if you need that childhood feeling again.
10. "Ella Enchanted" (2004)
Long before she was Queen of Ithaca or crying her eyes out on the streets of Paris, Anne Hathaway was Ella in “Ella Enchanted,” an entertaining fractured fairy tale romp. The basic setup is that Ella’s titular enchantment forces her to obey anything asked of her. And yes, that means anything. This goes from innocuously taking sarcasm literally (“hold your tongue”) to defying the laws of space and time (literally freezing mid-jump on the order of a guard).
The best part of “Ella Enchanted” is our protagonist, far punchier than she was in the source novel and played with verve and wit by Anne Hathaway. She’s complemented by a solid story; abandoning the book’s-tired framing around the Cinderella story, “Ella Enchanted" concocts the far more interesting plot of Ella setting out to undue her curse and liberating the oppressed races of the kingdom along the way.
Yeah, it can feel overly juvenile at points, but it still has more than enough going for it to compensate. With not one, but two unapologetically corny musical numbers, winning (not to mention good-looking) leads and enough charm to break any bad mood, “Ella Enchanted” is worth revisiting.
9. "Mannequin" (1986)
I’m bending the rules a bit to include this one, because “Mannequin” cannot be said to be a good movie, exactly. But worth watching? 100 times over.
For those who didn’t have their childhood graced by this amazingly awkward and stupendously silly classic, “Mannequin” follows an artistic department store worker who discovers that one of the, you guessed it, mannequins comes to life at night as the beautiful Kim Cattrall. Hijinks ensue as he finds himself falling for an oversized plastic doll.
“Mannequin” is endlessly populated by wacky characters way more enjoyable than they have any right to be, from the scheming ex to the closeted security guard to the anything-but-closeted window dresser. You’ve also got some earworm pop power ballads, most famously the Oscar-nominated “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,” and enough fanciful leaps in logic to make anyone howl (the department store’s roughly the size of the Tower of London). Quality or no, it’s a blast from start to finish, the kind of cheesy 80s fantasy we all need every once in a while.
8. "Barbie and the Diamond Castle" (2008)
Cast away your shame and sink into “Barbie and the Diamond Castle,” unquestionably the best movie based on Mattel’s toy-line (with the possible exception of Greta Gerwig’s 2023 feature). It’s got everything you could want in a Barbie movie: magical jewelry, trophy love interests, vibrant dresses and, of course, an honest-to-god diamond castle. Yes, it’s all very adolescent and naive, but that’s part of the fun of basking in childhood innocence. Really, the test for these kinds of movies is how interesting they remain and how much heart they have.
On those bases, “Barbie and the Diamond Castle” succeeds with flying colors. Oh, and it features the closest thing to lesbian representation in any kids movie I’ve seen, with our best friends frollicking, singing and even living together in the same isolated cottage.
At its core, is “Barbie and the Diamond Castle” an 80-minute toy commercial? Sure. But it might just be the greatest toy commercial of all time–one that can make you feel like a giddy kid all over again.
7. "Return to Oz" (1985)
The original “Wizard of Oz” is a time-honored treasure, bringing its magic to generation after generation. Instead of recapturing the original’s heartwarming tone, “Return to Oz” flies in the opposite direction with a memorably disturbing trip over the rainbow. We start with Dorothy escaping from electroshock therapy, and it only gets more intense from there. In a sense, “Return to Oz” probably works better when you’re grown-up; children are likely to flee in terror from the screaming decapitated heads or the melting giant.
Aside from the novelty of its status as a true kids horror movie, “Return to Oz” is brimming with creativity and surprisingly solid filmmaking for this sort of film. The gangly pumpkinhead Jack and a makeshift flying bed constructed from a moose head and leaves (yes, really) make the talking scarecrow and tinman look pedestrian by comparison.
“Return to Oz “never reaches the heights of its predecessor, but it wisely isn’t trying to. Instead, it crafts an intriguing, twisted adventure all its own.
6. "Bugsy Malone" (1976)
There are quite a few child-starring period live action musicals, from “Mary Poppins” to several versions of “Annie” to Disney’s “Newsies.” But “Bugsy Malone” is the gutsiest of them all: it’s child stars, a musical and a gangster movie. You read that right, child gangsters singing and dancing for 90 minutes. And it rocks.
What should feel like cinematic mad libs instead plays as bold and imaginative, thanks to pure commitment from the entire cast and crew. The jokes are surprisingly almost entirely composed of sardonic wordplay, putting a spin on the venom that every character spits at every other character in your average Scorsese film.
The film is strangely cohesive for such an ungainly mix of genres, with the only wrongheaded creative decision being to lend adult voices to the song numbers. Even then, the tunes are so toe-tapping it doesn’t make much a difference.
Special shoutout to a memorable turn from future Oscar winner Jodie Foster, who shows up in this the same year she starred as a child prostitute in the harrowing “Taxi Driver.”
5. "The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie" (2004)
Death. Taxes. “SpongeBob SquarePants." The three constants in life. Longer than you or I have been alive, “SpongeBob” has been on air, and it will continue to exist long after we’re gone. Near the peak of its popularity in the early 2000s, “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie” was released to theaters nationwide. It would have been so easy–expected, even–for a media property as giant as “SpongeBob” to coast by with toilet humour and manufactured plotting. Instead, “The SpongeBob Movie” is nothing short of a delightfully fun time.
SpongeBob and Patrick’s quest to stop Plankton is full of quirky detours and memorable lines (one of my favourites being an exchange about Patrick’s undergarments, of all things) and a weirdly compelling through-line of SpongeBob embracing his inner Goofy Goober.
“The SpongeBob Movie” has enough heart that it never feels like it’s talking down to its audience as much as telling them a good story. Stephen Hillenburg’s passion for the series shines through, from the cubist monster designs to the legendary rock song climax to the traumatizingly gut-wrenching heat lamp scene. That’s what sets “The SpongeBob Movie” apart from other kids' franchises brought to the big screen–a real desire to make a great movie. And they certainly succeeded.
4. "Hoodwinked!" (2005)
Our second Anne Hathaway movie and also our second film that could have easily been a cheap cash-in on “Shrek,” but chose instead to be good. “Hoodwinked” takes the Red Riding Hood story we all know and love and reimagines it as an Agatha Christie-style investigation, where Red, the wolf, the grandma and the lumberjack all give their accounts as to what really went down.
What makes “Hoodwinked” work is that it never opts to settle for cheap shots or tired cliches, but crafts a whodunnit that can be enjoyed by all ages. I’m not sure how much I buy into the elaborate film analyses positing the film as an in-depth critique of capitalism, but the mystery and twists are just as entertaining today as they were in your childhood. Trust me.
As you can tell, the animation wasn’t good in 2006, and doesn’t look any better today. Yet even that adds to the fun, as it’ll lead to reminiscing over the hours you spent playing “Mario Kart” on your Wii.
Overall, “Hoodwinked” has more than enough decent jokes and a clever plot to keep you hooked. I compared it to “Shrek” earlier, but, to be clear, there’s no comparison–“Hoodwinked” is much better.
3. "The Divergent Series: Insurgent" (2015)
Sandwiched between the astonishingly by-the-numbers “Divergent” and the lifeless “Allegiant” lies “Insurgent,” a young adult dystopia flick that’s far better than it has any right to be. For those not familiar with the “Divergent” series, it’s one of the many “Hunger Games” derivatives. This time, instead of districts, people are split into groups (“factions”) based on a singular personality trait, a gimmick so pandering it feels designed for Buzzfeed quizzes.
Our series follows Tris Pryor, who’s not like the other girls on account of being divergent, AKA fitting into multiple factions perfectly. The series never felt particularly good as it covered Tris’ obligatory overthrowing of the tyrannical government, but the middle film is surprisingly inspired.
“Insurgent” is the only film in the series where the characters feel like actual characters and not sewn-together YA tropes. While that sounds like a low bar, it’s nevertheless impressive how interesting and complex they make characters that were so dull in movie one. Tris’s brother Caleb, a thankless role in the surrounding movies, is given interiority over his struggle to fit into the resistance when he thrives in the Erudite faction. Girlboss villain Jeanine both exploits our protagonist for her own goals, but harbors an unexpected affection for her, like destined mortal enemies.
Best of all, Tris’ emotional journey grappling with her place as a revolutionary is not only compelling on its own, but woven into the story with surprising deftness. Add in some great action scenes, trippy visuals and an intriguing mystery-box setup and you’ve got yourself a rollicking movie night with friends.
2. "Addams Family Values" (1993)
Long before Jenna Ortega, there were the 90s “Addams Family” films. While both are solid, it’s the sequel “Addams Family Values” that really takes the freaky fun up to an 11. Our ghoulish family of misfits has a lot to deal with in this iteration: a new baby, a nanny (and eventual suitor to Uncle Fester) with a sinister plot and, funniest of all, children Wednesday and Pugsley surviving Camp Chippewa summer camp. The Addams, simply put, have never been better.
Christina Ricci was born to play Wednesday Addams, and a highlight of the franchise is witnessing her put the spoiled, racist trust fund babies of the camp in their place. Joan Cusack gives a career-defining performance as Debbie the nanny, who starts normal and ratchets up the insanity until she’s clearly the most unhinged of all. These game performers are matched by a witty script that throws pitch black jokes about tossing babies off of roofs and serial killer trading cards at every turn. At no point is there any semblance of restraint, from the actors to the director to anyone else on the team. And it’s all the more wicked for it.
Despite the Addams’ penchant for mordancy, “The Addams Family Values” is a riot from start to finish.
1. "Alice in Wonderland" (2010)
The original “Alice in Wonderland” book ends with a chapter reflecting on Alice’s childhood innocence and endless imagination, and how one should hold it tight no matter how old they get. Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” takes this idea and makes it the emotional core of the story. Here, we follow Alice right as she turns 18, an age when the rest of your life suddenly crashes into you before you know it. Faced with living her life in a loveless marriage, Alice instead chooses to chase that darn white rabbit and unravel what’s truly going on in Wonderland.
There’s so much to love about this movie: the gothic and whimsical production design, the career-best performance from Helena Bonham Carter as the cackling Queen of Hearts, the Danny Elfman score that, for my money, belongs in the same pantheon as “Jaws” or “Star Wars”... and on and on I could go. On an aesthetic basis alone, this movie conjures a world just as immersive and memorable as anything you can see on the big screen.
What makes “Alice in Wonderland” truly something special is how it’s a coming-of-age movie. Alice is right on the cusp of adulthood, and risks dooming herself to living a passionless and empty life that society’s plotted out for her. But, on the other hand, she can’t just remain without responsibilities or always depend on others to make life’s hard decisions; she has to grow up. Finding how to grow up without losing yourself is what “Alice in Wonderland” is really about, more than playing card soldiers, or a traumatized Mad Hatter, or a disappearing cat.
Alice’s journey to finding her own place in the world is incredibly moving and powerful, and something I’m sure everyone reading this article can relate to. There have been many movies about this, but weaving it together with the foundational text of childhood whimsy is, frankly, brilliant.
Yes, it takes itself very seriously. Yes, the CGI is dated. Yes, the name changes are wildly unnecessary (it’s called Underland in this version). But I can forgive all that because Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” understands the heart of the source material and uses it to craft a riveting movie both for kids and adults. In other words, it’s the perfect childhood classic.
