Best Childhood Movies
by jorge_barrio_uribarri | created - 16 Feb 2016 | updated - 29 Sep 2022 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. E.T. (1982)
PG | 115 min | Adventure, Family, Sci-Fi
A troubled child summons the courage to help a friendly alien escape from Earth and return to his home planet.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Peter Coyote, Dee Wallace
Votes: 437,492 | Gross: $435.11M
2. The NeverEnding Story (1984)
PG | 102 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
A troubled boy dives into a wondrous fantasy world through the pages of a mysterious book.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Noah Hathaway, Barret Oliver, Tami Stronach, Gerald McRaney
Votes: 156,941 | Gross: $20.16M
3. Leolo (1992)
Not Rated | 107 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
The story of a young Canadian boy who tries to escape mentally from his disturbed family thanks to his fantasy and imagination.
Director: Jean-Claude Lauzon | Stars: Maxime Collin, Ginette Reno, Gilbert Sicotte, Julien Guiomar
Votes: 7,336 | Gross: $0.61M
4. Captains Courageous (1937)
G | 117 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
A spoiled brat who falls overboard from a steamship in the 1920s gets picked up by a New England fishing boat, where he's made to earn his keep by joining the crew in their work.
Director: Victor Fleming | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Freddie Bartholomew, Lionel Barrymore, Melvyn Douglas
Votes: 10,921
5. Stand by Me (1986)
R | 89 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A writer recounts a childhood journey with his friends to find the body of a missing boy.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell
Votes: 441,609 | Gross: $52.29M
6. The Secret Garden (1993)
G | 101 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
A young, recently-orphaned girl is sent to England after living in India all of her life. Once there, she begins to explore her new, seemingly-isolated surroundings, and its secrets.
Director: Agnieszka Holland | Stars: Kate Maberly, Maggie Smith, Heydon Prowse, Andrew Knott
Votes: 44,479 | Gross: $31.18M
7. The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)
Not Rated | 98 min | Drama, Fantasy
In 1940, after watching and being traumatized by the movie Frankenstein (1931), a sensitive seven year-old girl living in a small Spanish village drifts into her own fantasy world.
Director: Víctor Erice | Stars: Fernando Fernán Gómez, Teresa Gimpera, Ana Torrent, Isabel Tellería
Votes: 20,668
8. Fanny and Alexander (1982)
R | 188 min | Drama
Two young Swedish children in the 1900s experience the many comedies and tragedies of their lively and affectionate theatrical family, the Ekdahls.
Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Bertil Guve, Pernilla Allwin, Kristina Adolphson, Börje Ahlstedt
Votes: 67,492 | Gross: $4.97M
9. Kikujiro (1999)
PG-13 | 122 min | Drama, Comedy
A young, naive boy sets out alone on the road to find his wayward mother. Soon he finds an unlikely protector in a crotchety man and the two have a series of unexpected adventures along the way.
Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Yusuke Sekiguchi, Kayoko Kishimoto, The Great Gidayû
Votes: 22,165 | Gross: $0.20M
10. Hope and Glory (1987)
PG-13 | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Bill, a young boy living on the outskirts of London experiences the exhilaration of World War II. During this period, Bill learns about sex, death, love, hypocrisy, and the faults of adults as he prowls the ruins of bombed houses.
Director: John Boorman | Stars: Sarah Miles, David Hayman, Sebastian Rice-Edwards, Geraldine Muir
Votes: 14,596 | Gross: $10.02M
11. The Tree of Life (2011)
PG-13 | 139 min | Drama, Fantasy
The story of a family in Waco, Texas in 1956. The eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence and struggles with his parents' conflicting teachings.
Director: Terrence Malick | Stars: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain, Hunter McCracken
Votes: 184,124 | Gross: $13.30M
12. Flipped (I) (2010)
PG | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Two eighth-graders start to have feelings for each other despite being total opposites.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Madeline Carroll, Callan McAuliffe, Rebecca De Mornay, Anthony Edwards
Votes: 97,463 | Gross: $1.75M
13. I Was Born, But... (1932)
Not Rated | 90 min | Comedy, Drama
Two young brothers throw a tantrum when they discover that their father isn't the most important man in his workplace.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Tatsuo Saitô, Tomio Aoki, Mitsuko Yoshikawa, Hideo Sugawara
Votes: 6,212
14. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)
PG-13 | 94 min | Drama, War
Through the innocent eyes of Bruno, the eight-year-old son of the commandant at a German concentration camp, a forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy on the other side of the camp fence has startling and unexpected consequences.
Director: Mark Herman | Stars: Asa Butterfield, David Thewlis, Rupert Friend, Zac Mattoon O'Brien
Votes: 246,425 | Gross: $9.03M
15. Empire of the Sun (1987)
PG | 153 min | Drama, War
A young English boy struggles to survive under Japanese occupation of China during World War II.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, Nigel Havers
Votes: 134,303 | Gross: $22.24M
16. Agostino (1962)
90 min | Drama
Agostino is a 13-year-old boy on vacation in Venice with his widowed mother. When a local stud seduces her, jealous Agostino joins a local group of juvenile delinquents out of protest. They force him to face his budding sexuality.
Director: Mauro Bolognini | Stars: Ingrid Thulin, Paolo Colombo, Mario Bartoletti, Aldo Bussaglia
Votes: 238
17. Little Fugitive (1953)
Not Rated | 75 min | Drama, Family
A young boy fears that he shot his older brother, who is only faking. He then runs away to Coney Island, a crowded beach area, and gets money by returning soda bottles for their deposits.
Directors: Ray Ashley, Morris Engel, Ruth Orkin | Stars: Richard Brewster, Winifred Cushing, Jay Williams, Will Lee
Votes: 3,034 | Gross: $0.03M
18. Small Change (1976)
PG | 104 min | Comedy, Drama
The lives of a motherless boy, who is just starting to get interested in women, and his physically abused friend, who lives in poverty, are mixed with more or less innocent childhood experiences and challenges of a number of children.
Director: François Truffaut | Stars: Georges Desmouceaux, Philippe Goldmann, Nicole Félix, Chantal Mercier
Votes: 6,389 | Gross: $0.04M
19. Butterfly (1999)
R | 96 min | Drama, War
Based in 1936 Spain, Moncho is an outcast at school but is able to form a strong bond with his outspoken teacher. When fascism arrives to Spain, his teacher is considered an enemy of the regime & arrested.
Director: José Luis Cuerda | Stars: Manuel Lozano, Fernando Fernán Gómez, Uxía Blanco, Gonzalo Uriarte
Votes: 9,751 | Gross: $2.09M
20. Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)
PG | 109 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
A prepubescent chess prodigy is encouraged to harden himself in order to become a champion like the famous but unlikable Bobby Fischer.
Director: Steven Zaillian | Stars: Joe Mantegna, Ben Kingsley, Max Pomeranc, Joan Allen
Votes: 42,411 | Gross: $7.27M
21. The Sandlot (1993)
PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
In the summer of 1962, a new kid in town is taken under the wing of a young baseball prodigy and his rowdy team, resulting in many adventures.
Director: David Mickey Evans | Stars: Tom Guiry, Mike Vitar, Art LaFleur, Patrick Renna
Votes: 102,380 | Gross: $32.42M
22. Jacquot of Nantes (1991)
PG | 118 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A boy growing up in Nantes during World War II around his father's auto shop has a love for puppet shows and cinema and develops it into his own art. Jacques Demy, the artist at the end of his life, reflects on his childhood influences.
Director: Agnès Varda | Stars: Philippe Maron, Edouard Joubeaud, Laurent Monnier, Brigitte De Villepoix
Votes: 1,997 | Gross: $0.15M
23. I'm the King of the Castle (1989)
90 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
Thomas is the 12-year-old son of a millionaire who lives in a big mansion surrounded by woods in France. When his mother dies, his father hires a widowed maid to take care of everything ... See full summary »
Director: Régis Wargnier | Stars: Jean Rochefort, Dominique Blanc, Régis Arpin, David Behar
Votes: 626
24. Kes (1969)
PG-13 | 111 min | Drama, Family
A working-class English boy spends his free time caring for and training his pet kestrel.
Director: Ken Loach | Stars: David Bradley, Brian Glover, Freddie Fletcher, Lynne Perrie
Votes: 22,938
25. My Childhood (1972)
Not Rated | 46 min | Biography, Drama
The First part of Bill Douglas' influential trilogy harks back to his impoverished upbringing in early-'40s Scotland. Cinema was his only escape - he paid for it with the money he made from... See full summary »
Director: Bill Douglas | Stars: Stephen Archibald, Hughie Restorick, Jean Taylor Smith, Karl Fieseler
Votes: 1,394
26. Lord of the Flies (1990)
R | 90 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Stranded on an island, a group of schoolboys degenerate into savagery.
Director: Harry Hook | Stars: Balthazar Getty, Chris Furrh, Danuel Pipoly, James Badge Dale
Votes: 33,611 | Gross: $13.99M
27. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Approved | 129 min | Crime, Drama
Atticus Finch, a widowed lawyer in Depression-era Alabama, defends a Black man against an undeserved rape charge, and tries to educate his young children against prejudice.
Director: Robert Mulligan | Stars: Gregory Peck, John Megna, Frank Overton, Rosemary Murphy
Votes: 332,869
28. The 400 Blows (1959)
Not Rated | 99 min | Crime, Drama
A young boy, left without attention, delves into a life of petty crime.
Director: François Truffaut | Stars: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, Claire Maurier, Guy Decomble
Votes: 128,071
29. Billy Elliot (2000)
R | 110 min | Drama, Music
A talented young boy becomes torn between his unexpected love of dance and the disintegration of his family.
Director: Stephen Daldry | Stars: Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, Jean Heywood, Jamie Draven
Votes: 142,806 | Gross: $22.00M
30. Where Is the Friend's House? (1987)
Not Rated | 83 min | Drama, Family
Eight-year-old Ahmed has mistakenly taken his friend Mohammad's notebook. He wants to return it, or else his friend will be expelled from school. The boy determinedly sets out to find Mohammad's home in the neighbouring village.
Director: Abbas Kiarostami | Stars: Babek Ahmed Poor, Ahmed Ahmed Poor, Khodabakhsh Defaei, Iran Outari
Votes: 18,702
31. D.A.R.Y.L. (1985)
PG | 99 min | Family, Sci-Fi
A seemingly normal young boy is found abandoned on a mountain road and adopted by a family who are increasingly amazed by his abilities before discovering the secret behind his real identity.
Director: Simon Wincer | Stars: Mary Beth Hurt, Michael McKean, Kathryn Walker, Colleen Camp
Votes: 14,092 | Gross: $7.84M
32. The Long Day Closes (1992)
PG | 85 min | Biography, Drama
A lyrical reverie about a young Liverpool boy coming of age in the 1950s among his loving family and the austere Catholic Church as he enters the rigors of school, nurtures a bedazzled love of the movies and longs for companionship.
Director: Terence Davies | Stars: Leigh McCormack, Marjorie Yates, Anthony Watson, Nicholas Lamont
Votes: 3,997 | Gross: $0.16M
33. Misunderstood (1966)
104 min | Drama
A study of bitter relationships between a widower and his two sons.
Director: Luigi Comencini | Stars: Anthony Quayle, Stefano Colagrande, Simone Giannozzi, John Sharp
Votes: 1,276
34. A Boy Ten Feet Tall (1963)
G | 118 min | Adventure
Ten year old Sammy travels 4500 miles on his own from the Suez Canal to Durban, South Africa.
Director: Alexander Mackendrick | Stars: Edward G. Robinson, Fergus McClelland, Constance Cummings, Harry H. Corbett
Votes: 649
35. Paradise (I) (1991)
PG-13 | 111 min | Drama
Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson (at the time married to each other) play Lily and Ben Reed, a young couple torn apart by a family tragedy. It would take a miracle to rekindle their love ... See full summary »
Director: Mary Agnes Donoghue | Stars: Melanie Griffith, Don Johnson, Elijah Wood, Thora Birch
Votes: 3,128 | Gross: $18.63M
36. Oliver! (1968)
G | 153 min | Drama, Family, Musical
After being sold to a mortician, young orphan Oliver Twist runs away and meets a group of boys trained to be pickpockets by an elderly mentor in 1830s London.
Director: Carol Reed | Stars: Mark Lester, Ron Moody, Shani Wallis, Oliver Reed
Votes: 41,399 | Gross: $16.80M
37. Pather Panchali (1955)
Not Rated | 125 min | Drama
Impoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work.
Director: Satyajit Ray | Stars: Kanu Bannerjee, Karuna Bannerjee, Subir Banerjee, Chunibala Devi
Votes: 38,540 | Gross: $0.54M
38. Goodbye, Children (1987)
PG | 104 min | Drama, War
A French boarding school run by priests seems to be a haven from World War II until a new student arrives. Occupying the next bed in the dormitory to the top student in his class, the two young boys begin to form a bond.
Director: Louis Malle | Stars: Gaspard Manesse, Raphael Fejtö, Francine Racette, Stanislas Carré de Malberg
Votes: 36,117 | Gross: $4.54M
39. Shoeshine (1946)
Not Rated | 87 min | Drama
Two shoeshine boys in postwar Rome, Italy save up to buy a horse, but their involvement as dupes in a burglary lands them in juvenile prison; the experience take a devastating toll on their friendship.
Director: Vittorio De Sica | Stars: Rinaldo Smordoni, Franco Interlenghi, Annielo Mele, Bruno Ortensi
Votes: 8,111
40. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
G | 86 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, Shigesato Itoi
Votes: 380,240 | Gross: $1.11M
41. Boyhood (I) (2014)
R | 165 min | Drama
The life of Mason, from early childhood to his arrival at college.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Elijah Smith
Votes: 367,161 | Gross: $25.38M
42. Nobody Knows (2004)
PG-13 | 141 min | Drama
In a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.
Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Yûya Yagira, Ayu Kitaura, Hiei Kimura, Momoko Shimizu
Votes: 31,405 | Gross: $0.68M
43. Two Bits (1995)
PG-13 | 85 min | Comedy, Drama
Gennaro lives with his ailing grandpa, who sits outside holding tight to his last quarter. But grandpa's not ready to die, he has some unfinished business with a woman from his past and he enlists Gennaro to act as his emissary.
Director: James Foley | Stars: Al Pacino, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Jerry Barone, Patrick Borriello
Votes: 3,608 | Gross: $0.03M
44. Melody (1971)
G | 103 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Two youngsters declare to their parents that they want to get married as soon as possible.
Director: Waris Hussein | Stars: Mark Lester, Tracy Hyde, Jack Wild, Colin Barrie
Votes: 3,172
45. The Experience (1973)
53 min | Drama
The hard daily life of a kid working in a photo shop while trying to get closer to the girl he likes.
Director: Abbas Kiarostami | Stars: Hossein Yarmohammadi, Andre Govalovish, Parviz Naderi, Mostafa Tari
Votes: 975
46. Storm Boy (1976)
Not Rated | 88 min | Drama, Family
Mike is a lonely Australian boy living in a coastal wilderness with his reclusive father. In search of friendship he encounters an Aboriginal native loner and the two form a bond in the care of orphaned pelicans.
Directors: Henri Safran, Ian Goddard | Stars: Greg Rowe, Peter Cummins, David Gulpilil, Judy Dick
Votes: 1,517
47. Giacomo Casanova: Childhood and Adolescence (1969)
123 min | Biography, Comedy, History
Through the childhood and adolescence of Signor Giacomo Casanova (from his memoirs), this is a description of how people lived in 18th-century Venice: their customs, habits, medicine, ... See full summary »
Director: Luigi Comencini | Stars: Leonard Whiting, Maria Grazia Buccella, Lionel Stander, Raoul Grassilli
Votes: 461
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