Children in cinema
List of movies with stories where children are in special place or are the protagonists. Most films are about children and not-for children.
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119 titles
- DirectorCéline SciammaStarsZoé HéranMalonn LévanaJeanne DissonA family moves into a new neighborhood, and a 10-year-old named Laure deliberately presents as a boy named Mikhael to the neighborhood children.
- DirectorGina Prince-BythewoodStarsDakota FanningJennifer HudsonQueen LatifahIn 1964, a teenage girl in search of the truth about her mother runs away to a small town in South Carolina and finds a family of independent women who can connect her to her past.
- DirectorGore VerbinskiStarsNaomi WattsMartin HendersonBrian CoxA journalist must investigate a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone one week to the day after they view it.
- DirectorRichard BenjaminStarsCherBob HoskinsWinona RyderAn unconventional single mother relocates with her two daughters to a small Massachusetts town in 1963, where a number of events and relationships both challenge and strengthen their familial bonds.
- DirectorJonathan DaytonValerie FarisStarsSteve CarellToni ColletteGreg KinnearA family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant take a cross-country trip in their VW bus.
- DirectorNeil JordanStarsBrad PittTom CruiseAntonio BanderasA vampire tells his epic life story: love, betrayal, loneliness, and hunger.
- DirectorJessie NelsonStarsSean PennMichelle PfeifferDakota FanningAn intellectually disabled man fights for custody of his 7-year-old daughter and in the process teaches his cold-hearted lawyer the value of love and family.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsBarney ClarkBen KingsleyJeremy SwiftAn adaptation of the classic Dickens tale, where an orphan meets a pickpocket on the streets of London. From there, he joins a household of boys who are trained to steal for their master.
- DirectorPeter HedgesStarsJennifer GarnerJoel EdgertonCJ AdamsA childless couple bury a box in their backyard, containing all of their wishes for an infant. Soon, a child is born, though Timothy Green is not all that he appears.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsSean AstinJosh BrolinJeff CohenA group of young misfits called The Goonies discover an ancient map and set out on an adventure to find a legendary pirate's long-lost treasure.
- DirectorDennis DuganStarsAdam SandlerJoey Lauren AdamsJon StewartA lazy law school graduate adopts a kid to impress his girlfriend, but everything doesn't go as planned.
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsIvana BaqueroAriadna GilSergi LópezIn the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.
- DirectorZana BriskiRoss KauffmanStarsKochiAvijit HalderShanti DasTwo documentary filmmakers chronicle their time in Sonagchi, Calcutta and the relationships they developed with children of prostitutes who work the city's notorious red light district.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHaley Joel OsmentJude LawFrances O'ConnorA highly advanced robotic boy longs to become "real" so that he can regain the love of his human mother.
- CreatorCarol BlackNeal MarlensStarsFred SavageDan LauriaAlley MillsKevin Arnold recalls growing up during the late 60s and early 70s; the turbulent social times make the transition from child to adult unusually interesting.
- DirectorNick CassavetesStarsCameron DiazAbigail BreslinAlec BaldwinAnna Fitzgerald looks to earn medical emancipation from her parents who until now have relied on their youngest child to help their leukemia-stricken daughter Kate remain alive.
- DirectorM. Night ShyamalanStarsBruce WillisHaley Joel OsmentToni ColletteMalcolm Crowe, a child psychologist, starts treating a young boy, Cole, who encounters dead people and convinces him to help them. In turn, Cole helps Malcolm reconcile with his estranged wife.
- DirectorJaume Collet-SerraStarsVera FarmigaPeter SarsgaardIsabelle FuhrmanA husband and wife who recently lost their baby adopt a 9-year-old girl who is not nearly as innocent as she appears.
- DirectorAlejandro AmenábarStarsNicole KidmanChristopher EcclestonFionnula FlanaganIn 1945, immediately following the end of Second World War, a woman who lives with her two photosensitive children on her darkened old family estate in the Channel Islands becomes convinced that the home is haunted.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsAngelina JolieColm FeoreAmy RyanAfter Christine's son goes missing, she reaches out to the LAPD to find him. But when they try to pass off an impostor as her son to quieten public protests, she refuses to accept him or give up hope.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsDaveigh ChaseSuzanne PleshetteMiyu IrinoDuring her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.
- DirectorBrad SilberlingStarsJim CarreyJude LawMeryl StreepWhen a massive fire kills their parents, three children are delivered to the custody of cousin and stage actor Count Olaf, who is secretly plotting to steal their parents' vast fortune.
- DirectorBarry SonnenfeldStarsAnjelica HustonRaul JuliaChristopher LloydCon artists plan to fleece an eccentric family using an accomplice who claims to be their long-lost uncle.
- DirectorMarc ForsterStarsJohnny DeppKate WinsletJulie ChristieThe story of Sir J.M. Barrie's friendship with a family who inspired him to create Peter Pan.
- DirectorMel StuartStarsGene WilderJack AlbertsonPeter OstrumA poor but hopeful boy seeks one of the five coveted golden tickets that will send him on a tour of Willy Wonka's mysterious chocolate factory.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsJohnny DeppFreddie HighmoreDavid KellyCharlie, a young boy from an impoverished family, and four other kids win a tour of an amazing chocolate factory run by an imaginative chocolatier, Willy Wonka, and his staff of Oompa-Loompas.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsJulie AndrewsChristopher PlummerEleanor ParkerA young novice is sent by her convent in 1930s Austria to become a governess to the seven children of a widowed naval officer.
- DirectorGabriele MuccinoStarsWill SmithThandiwe NewtonJaden SmithA struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career
- DirectorChris WeitzPaul WeitzStarsHugh GrantNicholas HoultToni ColletteWill, who attends single parent meetings to woo women, meets Marcus, a troubled 12-year-old boy. As they become friends, Will learns to be responsible while he helps Marcus with his studies.
- DirectorCameron CroweStarsTom CruiseCuba Gooding Jr.Renée ZellwegerWhen a sports agent has a moral epiphany and is fired for expressing it, he decides to put his new philosophy to the test as an independent agent with the only athlete who stays with him and his former colleague.
- DirectorJoe JohnstonStarsRobin WilliamsKirsten DunstBonnie HuntWhen two kids find and play a magical board game, they release a man trapped in it for decades - and a host of dangers that can only be stopped by finishing the game.
- DirectorCameron CroweStarsMatt DamonScarlett JohanssonThomas Haden ChurchSet in Southern California, a father moves his young family to the countryside to renovate and re-open a struggling zoo.
- DirectorBrian LevantStarsJohn RitterMichael OliverJack WardenThe worst child in the world makes an unthinkable discovery: there is another child even worse than he is--and it's a girl.
- DirectorPenelope SpheerisStarsTravis TedfordBug HallBrittany Ashton HolmesAlfalfa is wooing Darla and his "He-Man-Woman-Hating" friends attempt to sabotage the relationship.
- DirectorChris ColumbusStarsMacaulay CulkinJoe PesciDaniel SternOne year after Kevin McCallister was left home alone and had to defeat a pair of bumbling burglars, he accidentally finds himself stranded in New York City - and the same criminals are not far behind.
- DirectorPete DocterDavid SilvermanLee UnkrichStarsBilly CrystalJohn GoodmanMary GibbsIn order to power the city, monsters have to scare children so that they scream. However, the children are toxic to the monsters, and after a child gets through, two monsters realize things may not be what they think.
- DirectorPete DocterBob PetersonStarsEdward AsnerJordan NagaiJohn Ratzenberger78-year-old Carl Fredricksen travels to Paradise Falls in his house equipped with balloons, inadvertently taking a young stowaway.
- DirectorPierre CoffinChris RenaudStarsSteve CarellJason SegelRussell BrandGru, a criminal mastermind, adopts three orphans as pawns to carry out the biggest heist in history. His life takes an unexpected turn when the little girls see the evildoer as their potential father.
- DirectorStephen DaldryStarsJamie BellJulie WaltersJean HeywoodA talented young boy becomes torn between his unexpected love of dance and the disintegration of his family.
- DirectorCarlos SauraStarsAna TorrentConchita PérezMayte SanchezIn the twilight of Francisco Franco's dictatorship, an 8-year-old orphan and her two sisters find shelter in the house of their stern aunt and try their best to acclimatize to a new reality. Can they summon up the courage to grow up?
- DirectorVíctor EriceStarsFernando Fernán GómezTeresa GimperaAna TorrentIn 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.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsYûya YagiraAyu KitauraHiei KimuraIn 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.
- DirectorWim WendersStarsYella RottländerRüdiger VoglerLisa KreuzerA German journalist is saddled with a nine-year-old girl after encountering her mother at a New York airport.
- DirectorAllan KingStarsMartin FischerChronicles 7-weeks in the lives of 12 emotionally disturbed children and their therapist's experimental method of treatment at the Toronto-area Warrendale facility.
- DirectorTheodoros AngelopoulosStarsMichalis ZekeTania PalaiologouStratos TzortzoglouTwo children journey the long road to Germany to find the man they believe to be their father.
- DirectorSerge BourguignonStarsHardy KrügerNicole CourcelPatricia GozziStory of a lonely young girl who is befriended by an innocent but emotionally disabled veteran of the French Indochina War.
- DirectorAndrei TarkovskyEduard AbalovStarsNikolay BurlyaevValentin ZubkovEvgeniy ZharikovDuring WWII, Soviet orphan Ivan Bondarev strikes up a friendship with three sympathetic Soviet officers while working as a scout behind the German lines.
- DirectorBahman GhobadiStarsAyoub AhmadiRojin YounessiAmaneh Ekhtiar-diniYoung Iranian Kurdish siblings try to save the youngest of them, who is seriously ill.
- DirectorFernando MeirellesKátia LundStarsAlexandre RodriguesLeandro FirminoMatheus NachtergaeleIn the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.
- DirectorNancy MeyersStarsLindsay LohanDennis QuaidNatasha RichardsonIdentical twins Annie and Hallie, separated at birth and each raised by one of their biological parents, discover each other for the first time at summer camp and make a plan to bring their wayward parents back together.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsJames MasonShelley WintersSue LyonA middle-aged college professor becomes infatuated with a 14-year-old girl.
- DirectorHector BabencoStarsFernando Ramos da SilvaJorge JuliãoGilberto MouraThe life of a boy on the streets of Sao Paulo, involved with crimes, prostitution, and drugs.
- DirectorElem KlimovStarsAleksey KravchenkoOlga MironovaLiubomiras LauceviciusAfter finding an old rifle, a young boy joins the Soviet resistance movement against ruthless German forces and experiences the horrors of World War II.
- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsBertil GuvePernilla AllwinKristina AdolphsonTwo young Swedish children in the 1900s experience the many comedies and tragedies of their lively and affectionate theatrical family, the Ekdahls.
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsJean-Pierre LéaudAlbert RémyClaire MaurierA young boy, left without attention, delves into a life of petty crime.
- DirectorGeorge SeatonStarsEdmund GwennMaureen O'HaraJohn PayneAfter a divorced New York mother hires a nice old man to play Santa Claus at Macy's, she is startled by his claim to be the genuine article. When his sanity is questioned, a lawyer defends him in court by arguing that he's not mistaken.
- DirectorLes MayfieldStarsRichard AttenboroughElizabeth PerkinsDylan McDermottA lawyer and a little girl must prove that a man claiming to be Santa Claus is the real thing.
- DirectorDanny DeVitoStarsDanny DeVitoRhea PerlmanMara WilsonA girl gifted with a keen intellect and psychic powers uses both to get even with her callous family and free her kindly schoolteacher from the tyrannical grip of a sadistic headmistress.
- DirectorSteve MinerStarsMel GibsonJamie Lee CurtisElijah WoodDuring a cryogenics test, a pilot frozen in 1939 awakes in 1992 but time is running out, as his body starts to age rapidly.
- DirectorVincent ParonnaudMarjane SatrapiStarsChiara MastroianniCatherine DeneuveGena RowlandsA precocious and outspoken Iranian girl grows up during the Islamic Revolution.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroJodie FosterCybill ShepherdA mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHenry ThomasDrew BarrymorePeter CoyoteA troubled child summons the courage to help a friendly alien escape from Earth and return to his home planet.
- DirectorGiuseppe TornatoreStarsPhilippe NoiretEnzo CannavaleAntonella AttiliA filmmaker recalls his childhood when falling in love with the pictures at the cinema of his home village and forms a deep friendship with the cinema's projectionist.
- DirectorChris ColumbusStarsDaniel RadcliffeRupert GrintEmma WatsonAn orphaned boy enrolls in a school of wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world.
- DirectorHoward ZieffStarsAnna ChlumskyMacaulay CulkinDan AykroydVada is obsessed with death. Her mother is dead, and her father runs a funeral parlor. When Vada's father hires Shelly, a makeup expert, and begins to fall in love, Vada is outraged and does everything in her power to split them up.
- DirectorAlejandro AgrestiStarsRodrigo NoyaAlejandro AgrestiJulieta CardinaliAn 8-year-old boy, raised by his grandmother, is surrounded by problems in his family he finds only himself capable of solving.
- DirectorLaurent TirardStarsMaxime GodartVincent ClaudeCharles VaillantNicholas has every reason to keep things in life unchanged; however, when he accidentally overhears mum and dad talking about a new baby brother, his world will turn upside down. Will they abandon him to make room for the little stranger?
- DirectorDennis DuganStarsMichael OliverJohn RitterJack WardenA young boy just short of a monster is adopted by a loving man and his wacky wife. The laughs keep coming as the boy pushes them to the limits.
- DirectorJulie GavrasStarsNina Kervel-BeyJulie DepardieuStefano AccorsiA 9-year-old girl weathers big changes in her household as her parents become radical political activists in 1970-71 Paris.
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsFrançois TruffautJean-Pierre CargolFrançoise SeignerIn a French forest in 1798, a child is found who cannot walk, speak, read or write. A doctor becomes interested in the child and patiently attempts to civilize him.
- DirectorHarry Bromley DavenportStarsMelissa ErricoMichael LernerJoe RegalbutoBased on the actual events of one of the most horrific cases of child abuse ever to be documented, this haunting drama tells the tale of a young girl that was locked in a room for over 12 years.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsBruno S.Walter LadengastBrigitte MiraA young man named Kaspar Hauser suddenly appears in Nuremberg in 1828, barely able to talk or walk, and bearing a strange note.
- DirectorWolfgang ReithermanStarsPhil HarrisSebastian CabotLouis PrimaBagheera the Panther and Baloo the Bear have a difficult time trying to convince a boy to leave the jungle for human civilization.
- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsNick NolteSusan SarandonPeter UstinovLorenzo Odone, a Virginia 5-year-old, develops a degenerative nerve disease so rare that nobody is working on a cure, so his parents decide to immerse themselves in research and tackle the problem themselves.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsDenzel WashingtonChristopher WalkenDakota FanningIn Mexico City, a former CIA operative swears vengeance on those who committed an unspeakable act against the family he was hired to protect.
- DirectorJohn GatinsStarsKurt RussellDakota FanningOded FehrCale Crane catalyzes the rescue and rehabilitation of Sonador, a race horse with a broken leg.
- DirectorJohn PolsonStarsRobert De NiroDakota FanningFamke JanssenAs a widower tries to piece together his life in the wake of his wife's suicide, his daughter finds solace, at first, in her imaginary friend.
- DirectorGary J. TunnicliffeStarsLynn RedgraveJacob SmithTaylor MomsenA modern retelling of the classic tale. Teen siblings must escape from a psychotic recluse living in the woods.
- DirectorDean DeBloisChris SandersStarsDaveigh ChaseChris SandersTia CarrereA young and parentless girl adopts a 'dog' from the local pound, completely unaware that it's supposedly a dangerous scientific experiment that's taken refuge on Earth and is now hiding from its creator and those who see it as a menace.
- DirectorMario CastellacciPier Francesco PingitoreStarsEnrico MontesanoGabriella FerriPippo FrancoRomulus and Remus are abandoned in the river Tiber and are then nursed and raised by the prostitute Lupa.
- DirectorCao HamburgerStarsMichel JoelsasGermano HaiutDaniela PiepszykA boy is left alone in a Jewish neighborhood in 1970, when the World Cup coincides with political crackdowns by the military dictatorship.
- DirectorWalter SallesStarsFernanda MontenegroVinícius de OliveiraMarília PêraThe emotive journey of a former schoolteacher who writes letters for illiterate people, and a young boy whose mother has just died, as they search for the father he never knew.
- DirectorHelvecio RattonStarsSamuel CostaPatricia PillarRoberto BomtempoThe adventures of a nutty little boy of unique personality traits who finds comfort at his grandfather's farm after his parents are divorced.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsWil WheatonRiver PhoenixCorey FeldmanA writer recounts a childhood journey with his friends to find the body of a missing boy.
- DirectorLuiz VillaçaStarsMarco AntonioTeuda BaraJu ColomboO Contador de Histórias (The Story of Me), a Luiz Villaça;a movie based on the life of Roberto Carlos Ramos, is a story about how affection can change reality. The youngest of 10 brothers, Roberto showed a special talent to tell stories, by changing through narrative his own experiences about frustration into beautiful and touching fables. At age 6, the boy filled with imagination goes to live in a newly opened government institution, which main goal is to help young and poor children. His mother takes him there believing it will guarantee a better future for her child. But the reality of the institution is very different from what was advertised on TV. Roberto, little by little, loses hope. At age 13, after hundreds of escapes, he's considered "irrecoverable", in the words of the headmaster of the facility. However, Roberto proves to be a challenge to the French pedagogue Margherit, who comes to Brazil to work on a research. Determined to make the boy her object of study, she tries to get closer to him. At first, Roberto struggles, but after a traumatic experience, he looks for shelter in Margherit's home. What comes out of it is a relationship based on friendship and tenderness, that will put Roberto's disbelief in his future at check and will challenge Margherit to keep her beliefs.
- DirectorAndre Alves PintoCésar RodriguesStarsPaolla OliveiraChico AnysioSuely FrancoAfter studying in the capital, the teacher Cate returns to her small town in Minas Gerais to teach at primary school in the early 40's. Her way of teaching students delights and irritates the other teachers. She just wants to give students something essential to education: enthusiasm.
- DirectorDanny BoyleLoveleen TandanStarsDev PatelFreida PintoSaurabh ShuklaA teenager from the slums of Mumbai becomes a contestant on the show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati?' When interrogated under suspicion of cheating, he revisits his past, revealing how he had all the answers.
- DirectorMaurício FariasStarsAndrea BeltrãoJulio AdriãoCamila AmadoA teacher takes a student to his house in the slum, but on arrival discovers that drug traffickers have killed his parents and now are looking for him.
- DirectorRobert EnricoStarsPhilippe NoiretRomy SchneiderJean BouiseDuring World War II, a peaceful French surgeon decides to ruthlessly exterminate an SS squad because of the atrocities they'd just committed in his countryside home and childhood village.
- DirectorCarlos SauraStarsJosé Luis López VázquezLina CanalejasFernando DelgadoAfter being given permission to re-inter his mother's body in their family vault, a middle-aged man who survived the Spanish Civil War as a child returns home and relives old memories.
- DirectorIsild Le BescoStarsCindy DavidKolia LitscherLila SaletFollows the low-key adventures of three young siblings, Romeo (Kolia Litscher), Launa (Lila Salet), and the youngest, Leo (Cindy David), left on their own in a rundown Paris apartment.
- DirectorLucile HadzihalilovicStarsZoé AuclairLea BridarolliBérangère HaubrugeA look inside an offbeat boarding school for young girls.
- DirectorMehdi CharefEmir KusturicaSpike LeeStarsAdama BilaElysée RouambaRodrigue OuattaraThrough the plights of seven different children, seven cruel destinies unfold, as the unknown innocents who share the same sensitivities and desires struggle for survival, understanding--and above all--love, in an apathetic grown-up world.
- DirectorUrsula MeierStarsIsabelle HuppertOlivier GourmetAdélaïde LerouxLife for an isolated rural family is upended when a major highway next to their property, constructed 10 years before but apparently abandoned, is finally opened.
- DirectorIvan ReitmanStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerPenelope Ann MillerPamela ReedA tough cop must pose as a kindergarten teacher in order to locate a dangerous criminal's ex-wife, who may hold the key to putting him behind bars.
- CreatorDavid W. DuclonStarsSoleil Moon FryeGeorge GaynesCherie JohnsonYoung Punky Brewster is abandoned with her dog, Brandon, in a supermarket. When she befriends Henry Warnimont, her new family life begins.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsNoah HathawayBarret OliverTami StronachA troubled boy dives into a wondrous fantasy world through the pages of a mysterious book.
- CreatorAli LeRoiChris RockStarsTerry CrewsTichina ArnoldTequan RichmondA young African-American teen attempts to survive with his dysfunctional family and his all-white school in the 1980s.
- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsLiesel MatthewsEleanor BronLiam CunninghamSara is sent to a strict boarding school after her father enlists in WWI. When he is presumed dead, the headmistress, knowing she will not receive any more money, forces the girl to become a servant.
- DirectorUli EdelStarsNatja BrunckhorstEberhard AurigaPeggy BussieckA teen girl in 1970s Berlin becomes addicted to heroin. Everything in her life slowly begins to distort and disappear as she befriends a small crew of junkies and falls in love with a drug-abusing male prostitute.