Nostalgia is everything. Remember how excited you felt when you heard they were bringing back Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake or Alvin and the Chipmunks? You got that warm, fuzzy feeling that took you back to your childhood, right?
The 80s and 90s were pretty cool. OK, maybe I don’t want to relive everything — I’m grateful we survived stirrup pants, shoulder pads and Aqua Net hairspray — but there was so much fun stuff, too! I get giddy just thinking about it because it brings back memories from when I was a kid.
My love for sharing my nostalgic memories with my girls started with the return of the Care Bears. I bought every single one; I think I even resorted to bidding on Ebay to get “the one” you couldn’t find anywhere else. Then I moved on to Jem. I’m not ashamed to admit it — I own “Jem and the Holograms: The Truly Outrageous Complete Series” on DVD. I was flipping though a magazine years ago when I saw the ad for it and immediately had to buy it. You know what? My daughters wore those DVDs out, and the best part was that it was fun for us to watch them together.
Through the years, I’ve shared a lot with them. This now brings me to “Family Movie Night.” I don’t know about you, but I feel like once you’ve gone through all the most popular movies and new releases on Netflix, the options seem to dry up.
We wanted family movie night to be something we all could enjoy, so I began to think, “I’m gonna ‘rewind’ our family movie nights and bust out some classics.” At first my girls looked at me like I was crazy. I got a few, “What is this, mom?” and “Ugh, this is a classic?” comments, complete with eye rolls, but I stuck to my guns and told them that they’d love it.
I think your kids will love them, too, so here are my top 5 picks for you to rewind family night. (All of these can be found on Netflix, Amazon or at your local library.)
1. “The NeverEnding Story” — You know the song…The NeverEnding Stoooorrryy. You just sang the song in your head, didn’t you? Yep, can’t help it. Talk about bringing back the 80s — the graphics are old, but the story is still great. My girls loved this one, especially my youngest.
2. “Pollyanna” — This, in my opinion, is the most underrated, awesome family movie of all time. It’s one of my top Disney films. I recently watched it again with my family and we all loved it. In the movie, a young girl comes to an embittered town and confronts its attitude with her positive determination to see the best in life. I was brought to tears.
3. “Swiss Family Robinson” — Remember Disney Sunday night movies? I loved those growing up; it’s where I saw this movie for the first time. It’s a great family film, plus if you go to Disney World, you’ll find the Swiss Family Treehouse in the Magic Kingdom — it’s so cool to see the movie and know the story behind the tree when you visit.
4. “Home Alone” — “Ahhh, a lovely cheese pizza just for me?” “Keep the change, ya filthy animal.” Quote after quote from this one will have you laughing. Actually, we enjoyed this one so much, my daughter now even loves “Home Alone 2.”
5. “Homeward Bound” — These animals are just adorable. It’s such a feel-good family flick. I remember watching the movie in the theater as a kid and hearing the best movie line ever, “I’m too pooped to poop.” I know it’s like fifth-grade humor, but it still makes me chuckle.
I could go on and on. I love “old” movies, but I thought these were pretty awesome, somewhat underrated and are not talked about as much. Give them a try and let me know what you think!
My family is always looking for new movies to share, too! What’s your favorite childhood movie to show your kids? Let me know on Twitter or Facebook.
