We often paint the movies we loved as children in an extremely good light because of how much we used to cherish them. They meant a lot to our childhood selves, and we don’t want to ruin that.
However, sometimes revisiting those films works in our favor, as they prove themself to still be incredible. One Reddit post asked what children’s movies are better than they have any right to be, and these were some of the answers.
*Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey.*
“Live-action talking pet movie shot mostly in the woods with limited human interaction. If you didn’t get emotional when shadow returns home, you have no soul,” declared one user.
“When Chance bounds over the hill, I start crying. By the time Shadow limps over the hill, I’m sobbing. I’m 40. I’ve been crying at this ending for decades.”
*Treasure Planet.*
“[…] Classic literature meets science fiction interpretation that I found delightful and would watch again and again.”
An often overlooked Disney film, one comment went into why it was doomed to fail at launch: “It’s so good and it bombed at first because Disney wanted it to, since making a sequel would be so expensive. I’m just glad that it now has a cult following and is well loved.”
*Coco.*
“I was floored by Coco . Turned it on as a take a nap on couch movie and here I am [totally] invested in the story and tearing up.”
” Coco is even more effective when you’re Mexican,” added one user. “I am a Mexican myself and i cannot help but cry everytime I see it. We all have a special someone who is no longer with us, but the movie being set in Mexico in one of the most important holidays in our country, makes it x10000000 times better for us.”
*The Iron Giant.*
“Unironically my favorite vin diesel performance. With only a few words he was able to convey so much (with the help of expert animation). You are [who] you choose to be/superman sequence is as powerful as anything else I’ve seen in live-action.”
*Holes.*
Holes is an excellent display of how good a book-to-movie adaptation can be when the author is heavily involved. As one user explained, “In 5th grade I read the book, and immediately afterwards re-read it with my parents. We all loved it. The movie is an excellent adaptation, largely thanks to the screenplay having been written by the author.”
*Megamind.*
“I had never heard of this movie when my brother gave me the DVD for Christmas when I was about 25. I just thought, ‘Hey, he forgot to get me something and picked up some random DVD at Best Buy. That’s fine, it’s the thought that counts.’
“No, turns out it’s one of his favorite movies, and I realized why after I watched it. What a gem.”
*Up.*
“I am an adult man and the opening sequence just broke my heart. I sobbed like I haven’t in a very long time.”
“I feel like everyone forgets the scene where Carl looks through the Adventure Book, I feel like that is more emotional than the opening,” another commenter added. “Carl believes that he didn’t get to take Ellie on the adventure she wanted only to realize that their life was the adventure and she wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
*The Prince of Egypt.*
“And it was informed by a surprisingly high (for Hollywood standards) amount of good historical research!” one user happily exclaimed. “For example, ‘Playing with the Big Boys’ represents both the Egyptian religious worldview and the religious warfare narrative (that a lot of people miss) in the Exodus account very well, especially for such a short bit.”
“And the churches who had history in it all approved,” another added. “Leaders from Christianity, Jewish, and Muslim faiths all took part in its authenticity.”
*Lilo and Stitch.*
“I watched this again recently as an adult, and I realized it’s a story about an older sister trying to keep her family together with some aliens thrown in. Had me crying throughout the whole thing. Much different than how I remembered it as a kid!”
*Matilda.*
” Matilda is such a classic. I remember always trying to move random [expletive] with my mind after watching it as a kid. Never worked and still doesn’t but it’s worth a try everytime.”
” Matilda is fantastic. I didn’t watch it for years, then decided to on a whim, and Miss Trunchbull’s insults are hilarious; ‘Demented, drooling, slime-breathed little lilliputian’ had me in stitches.”
*Ratatouille.*
“The ending was absolutely beautiful. I don’t know why but the critic being so moved by Remy’s cooking that he opened his own restaurant with them and him being so happy at the ending just kinda hit me in a way that other films hadn’t.”
*Meet the Robinsons.*
“It’s literally such a perfectly complex story, it all ties together in the end, it’s so fricking sad, it deals with childhood trauma, healing from trauma, growth, omfg it’s so good. No one knows this movie. There are zero faults, none.”
*Tangled.*
“I watched it for the first time with my young daughter recently and it became our favorite of the ‘princess’ movies. I have no problems watching it on repeat. Stunning animation, great songs, strong characters and cute jokes. Five frying pans out of five.”
*George of the Jungle.*
“We watched George of the Jungle within the past few months. I expected it to be utter garbage, but I was genuinely blown away by how much more I love it now than I did as a child.”
RELATED STORIES
*Wreck-it Ralph.*
“Hell yeah. When Ralph wrecks Vanellope’s car…that is the most emotionally complex moment I’ve ever seen in a children’s movie.”
“I flat-out cried in the theater,” said another user in reply. “The feeling of being betrayed by someone you thought was a friend is something that resonates in all of us, no matter how big or small. It absolutely broke my heart. And the scene where he apologizes to her got me, too. Because how many times have we been hurt, but never got that apology?”
*A Goofy Movie.*
“I was an assistant manager at a movie theater when it came out. I could get my family into movies free, but I had to go with them. When that movie came out my little brother begged me to take him. I brought him […] thinking I’d duck out after a few minutes & shoot the [expletive] in the office with whoever was working. I ended up watching every minute & absolutely loving it. […] It 100% holds up over time & I think it’s one of the best father/son movies I’ve ever seen.”
*Hook.*
“I’m an (almost) 40-year-old dad and my kids still can’t figure out why this movie makes me cry. Especially when I became a dad and it gave me even more reasons to cry—not just the nostalgia,” explained one comment, showing how the meanings of these beloved children’s movies can change over time.
*Shrek 2.*
“The Fairy Godmother singing ‘Holding Out for a Hero’ while Shrek, Donkey and Puss in Boots are storming the castle (with help from friends) is one of the greatest cinematic moments of our time. I will fight anyone who says otherwise.”
*How to Train Your Dragon.*
“The learning to fly scene is amazingly well done. Unfairly well done. It gives me chills thinking back to it. It’s the moment when Hiccup gives up on planning and strategy and they both just lock in and fly by synchronous instinct…
“Makes the back of my neck tight just thinking about it.”
*Wall-E.*
“The end when EVE presses the play button on WALL-E’s recorder and it just plays static [expletive] ruins me,” revealed one reply. “There’s more emotion in the 4 words of robot dialogue than in a lot of full feature films today.”