Best Family Movies – Part 3
Posted on 4 Dec 00:00
A good movie watched with your family is a great source of entertainment. There’s hardly any better way to spend an evening than watching a movie. However, you cannot watch every movie with your family. It does not mean that there are no movies to watch with the family. All these movies are hand-picked and will give you quality time with your family.
This film is adapted from the 1956 Lerner and Loewe stage musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 stage play 'Pygmalion'. The movie's plot focuses on Elizabeth Doolittle ((Audrey Hepburn), the destitute Cockney flower-seller who overhears an arrogant phonetic Professor Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison) say something that captures her attention. The professor makes a casual wager that he can teach Elizabeth to speak "proper" English, which would make her presentable in the high society of Edwardian London.
The setting is London, and Professor Henry Higgins, a phonetics scholar, speaks to Colonel Hugh Pickering (Wilfrid Hyde-White) from India, boasting that he can even teach Elizabeth , the cockney flower-seller proper English. According to Higgins, Elizabeth could win the duchess position at Embassy hall using the proper English that he could teach her. Elizabeth wants to take advantage of this privilege. The following morning, she appears at Higgin's home to take lessons, and Hugh (a phonetics expert) agrees to pay all attendant expenses upon Higgins' success.
Director: George Cukor.
Main Cast: Audrey Hepburn (Eliza Doolittle) and Rex Harrison (Henry Higgins).
Awards and Nominations: My Fair Lady was both a commercial and critical success and ranked second in the list of the highest-grossing films. In the same year, it won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director. 1998 also saw the American Film Institute (AFI) ranking the movie ninety-first in the American Movies of All Time. Additionally, the US Library of Congress preserved the film in the National Film Registry for being historically and aesthetically significant.
2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
This film is based on the 1999 J.K. Rowling's 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban' novel. The film is a sequel to 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' (2002) and is the third movie in the Harry Potter film series franchise.
The film is about Harry Potter, now in his third year at Hogwarts School. In this movie, Harry is informed that Sirius Black, a prisoner from Azkaban, has escaped from jail and pots to kill Harry.
Director: Alfonso Cuarón.
Main Cast: Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, Emma Watson as Hermione and Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid.
Awards and Nominations: The movie received many award nominations, including two Academy Award nominations (Best Visual Effects and Best Original Score), BAFTA Awards (Best British Film, Best Production Design, Best Makeup & Hair, and Best Visual Effects), and nine Saturn Award nominations, including Best Director and Best Writing, among other multiple nominations. It won the 2004 Golden Trailer Award for Best Animation/Family and the BMI Film Music Award, among other awards.
The 1964 'Mary Poppins' is one of the best family movies ever made. It is a mix of of live-action and animation, which features Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews). She visits a dysfunctional family in London and assists in improving the the families' dynamic conditions.
The Banks family advertise for a nanny so they can have someone to take care of their two kids. Mary Poppins descends from the sky in an umbrella, promising Mr. Banks that she'll be the stern nanny he needs. Alongside an old friend called Bert (Dick Van Dyke), Mary succeeds in her nanny role. The movie ends with Mary flying back into the sky after having completed her mission and Bert telling her not to stay away for too long.
Director: Robert Stevenson.
Main Cast: Julie Andrew (Mary Poppins), Dick Van Dyke (Bert), David Tomlinson (George Banks) and Glynis Johns as Winifred Banks.
Awards and Nominations: the movie garnered many accolades in the form of awards and nominations. For example, it received nominations from Academy Awards (including Best Cinematography- Color and Best Film Editing), Grammy Awards (including Best Recording for Children and Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Show), and Golden Globe Awards (including Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Original Score- Motion Picture). The film won all the Grammy Awards it was nominated for. It also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and the Best Actress Academy Award, among other numerous awards.
3. Hachi: A Dog’s Tale (2009)
This film is adapted from 'Hachikō Monogatari', a 1987 Japanese film, and features an Akito dog named Hachikō, and who lives in Japan. The movie is slightly different from the original version that featured the dog in the 1920s. In this film, the dog lives in Japan in the modern day.
Ronnie, a schoolboy is telling the story of his grandfather, Parker Wilson (Richard Gere), and Hachiko, his dog. Hachiko is freighted from the Japanese monastery to the USA, and the basket carrying Hachiko hloses its tag. Parker takes Hachiko home and takes care of him. Hachi learns Parker's routine. He escorts Parker to the station, goes back home, and waits for Parker at 5 pm when he is supposed to arrive. During Andy's (Sarah Roemer) wedding to Michael, Hachi is in the family photo. Parker suffers a fatal stroke, Cate (Parker's wife, Andy's mother) moves away, and Andy and Michael begin living with Hachi. Ten years later, Hachi is still loyal to his best friend, Parker (unaware that he's dead), and continues their routine. The community signifies its love for Hachi by bringing him gifts.
Director: Lasse Hallström.
Main Cast: Richard Gere (Professor Parker Wilson), Joan Allen (Cate Wilson), and Jason Alexander (Carl Boilins).
Awards and Nominations: the only recorded award nomination for Hachi: A Dog’s Tale is the Best Foreign Drama Movie Award nomination, which it lost to another film.
Another film on the Best Family Movies List is the 1993 Mrs. Doubtfire American comedy-drama film based on Anne's 1987 Alias Madame Doubtfire novel. The movie is about a recently divorced actor who impersonates a female housekeeper to enable interaction with his kids. At the center of the movie are the divorce and separation themes and their effects on the family unit.
A San Franciscan freelance-voice actor Daniel Hillard (Robin Williams) throws a birthday for their son Chris, despite his wife's, Miranda (Sally Field) wish which leads to Miranda filing a divorce. Miranda is granted sole custody of the kids. Shared custody is only to be given to Daniel if he finds a decent job in three months. Daniel poses as a housekeeper (Mrs. Doubtfire), and Miranda employs 'her.' Over time, Miranda realizes that the housekeeper is Daniel. At their second court hearing, Daniel explains his actions, which are classified by the judge as unorthodox, leading to Miranda being granted the kids' sole custody. However, without Daniel/Mrs. Doubtfire, Miranda and the kids don't do well. Miranda arranges for shared custody, allowing Daniel to take the children home from school.
Director: Chris Columbus.
Main Cast: Robin Williams (Daniel Hillard / Mrs. Doubtfire) stars with Sally Field (Miranda Hillard), Pierce Brosnan (Stu), Harvey Fierstein (Frank), and Robert Prosky (Gloria).
Awards and Nominations: Mrs. Doubtfire was a tremendous success upon release. Its won awards include the Academy Award for Best Makeup and two Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. The latter was won by Robin Williams. The film also experienced financial success; it grossed $441.3 million against a $25 million budget.
This film is loosely based upon Frances Hodgson Burnett’s 1905 'A Little Princess' novel, and takes lots of liberties with the original story. The liberties are partly influenced by the 1939 cinematic version of the movie. At the center of the film is a young girl whose father dies in a World War I combat, leading to the headmistress's decision to relegate her life to miserable existence at a New York City boarding school.
Sara’s mother and baby sister die, and her father, Captain Crewe (Liam Cunningham) takes her to boarding school when he sacrifices to go fighting in World War I. All is well until Captain Crewe is mistakenly pronounced dead. The headmistress confiscates all of Sara's belonging and subjects her to a series of mistreatments. While running away from the police, Sara comes across her father who has amnesia and is struggling. Eventually, he remembers her. The banks and school settle accounts with Captain Crewe, the headmistress is demoted, and the school is a haven of peace once again.
Director: Alfonso Cuarón.
Main Cast: Liesel Matthews (Sara Crewe),Eleanor Bron (Miss Maria Minchin), Liam Cunningham (Captain Richard Crewe and Prince Rama dual roles).
Awards and Nominations: among the Young Artist Award, Academy Award, and Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award nominations, A Little Prince won the Best Music, Best Production Design, and New Generation Awards, a by Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award.
'The Jungle Book' movie is one of a kind. It is a remake of Walt Disney's 1967 'The Jungle Book' animated film that features the story of Mowgli (Neel Sethi), an orphaned human boy who is guided by his animal guardians to set out on a journey of self-discovery while avoiding the threatening Shere Khan, a vicious tiger.
Mowgoli is a man-cub in the Indian jungle where his mother (a wolf) teaches him the pack's tricks instead of human tricks such as tool building. His jungle existence involves hard times presened by the Shere Kan, Kaa python, Bandar-log monkey’s group leader called King Louie. However, with the help of wolves Baloo and Bagheera, Mowgoli survives.
Director: Jon Favreau.
Main Cast: Neel Sethi (Mowgli) and his father Ritesh Rajan star as the cast, who, alongside a voice cast of over ten actors, develop the movie’s storyline.
Awards and Nominations: The Jungle Book was a tremendous critical success and garnered many awards and nominations. It won the Best Visual Effects Academy Award, Outstanding Performance Back Reels Awards, and Best Fantasy Film Saturn Award, among other multiple awards.
Conclusion
Movies are a great way of having fun with your family. This was an account of some of the best movies you can enjoy watching with your family. All of these movies are just perfect and are worth every second of your time. You can watch the one that appeals to you the most with your family or maybe you can plan to watch all of them on weekends.
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