14 Best 90s Live-Action Kids Movies
The nineties were a great decade for fun, family-friendly movies. So many were made, and here are our favourites.
Hocus Pocus
Witches terrorizing Salem? And one of them rides a vacuum because she can’t find a broom? And one of them is Bette Midler? The divine miss M even gets a song.
Now and Then
Four women look back on the summer of 1970, when they were twelve years old and their main concerns in life were figuring out how to get a tree house, not to mention an escalating prank war with a couple of local boys. It’s kind of Stand By Me with four girls, but criminally underrated.
The Mighty Ducks
How many movies end up inspiring an actual NHL franchise? Also, some small part of us wishes that a flying V formation could be a valid hockey play.
Beethoven
Dad doesn’t want a dog, the kids do, and Dad ends up loving the dog most of all? Yeah, that’s a pretty relatable story we’ve seen play out in real life plenty of times, and it’s fun to see on the big screen.
Matilda
A secretly magical child genius, criminally evil (and criminally inept) adults, and that one teacher trying to make it all better—those are ingredients for a really special movie.
Homeward Bound
There aren’t many good talking pet movies, but Homeward Bound is certainly one of them. Domesticated pets in the Sierra Nevada is a unique kind of fish-out-of-water story, and the ending . . . well, let’s say that it gave so many kids their first emotional rollercoaster.
3 Ninjas
It’s pretty unlikely that we were ever going to grow up to be ninjas, but this film made us believe.
Jumanji
The sequels are fun, but the original about a board game coming to life has so many spectacular moments that blend fantasy and real life.
Mrs. Doubtfire
Robin Williams is a gem in this film that balances a kind of heavy story about divorce and parental love with the wacky hijinks involved in pretending to be an old lady.
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids!
Rick Moranis is always a fun actor and this film brings a very old sci-fi adventure to life for kids, making a mundane suburban home something cool and exciting.
The Addams Family
Kind of scary and kind of silly, The Addams Family hit a kid-friendly sweet spot between gothic horror and jokes. Who doesn’t cheer when Wednesday wrecks havoc upon her all-too-cheerful summer camp? Also, Gomez and Morticia have a super healthy relationship.
Hook
One of the best takes on Peter Pan, Hook has an amazing cast who really sell this story about reclaiming the joyous parts of childhood but still trying to grow and be a better person. Plus the imaginary food fight is fun. And it seems like all they eat is colourful icing.
The Sandlot
You’re killing me, Smalls. Either you use that expression now and again and get a chuckle out of your fellow nineties kids, or it’s before your time.
Heavyweights
Spirited overweight kids take on their sadistic, pro-fitness camp director in this fun movie that gave the world a taste of the type of comedy that would eventually come to dominate in the 2000s. Also, Ben Stiller’s character is basically the same one he’d play in DodgeBall.
