8 Family Movies Grown-Ups Actually Enjoy

Family movies that don't treat grown-ups like hostages. Every pick here works on the parents first. The kids are just the excuse to press play.

Number one beat E.T. and The Wizard of Oz, and I'd do it again.

1. 8
   Elf (2003)7.1

   Thin script. Will Ferrell turned it into a holiday law.

   97 minutes, 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, $179.8 million domestic on a $33 million budget. The story is a greeting card. Will Ferrell commits like his rent depends on it.
2. 7
   Hugo (2011)8.0

   The kids got bored. The grown-ups were the target all along.

   Audiences rank it above just 69% of notable movies, critics 90%. Translation: kids squirmed while parents quietly teared up at Martin Scorsese's film history class.
3. 6
   Life of Pi (2012)8.3

   Stunning to look at, and the ending starts a family argument.

   $609 million worldwide on a $120 million budget. The framing interview drags. The lifeboat part is so gorgeous even teenagers put their phones down.
4. 5
   Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011)9.2

   The only finale where grown-ups cried louder than the kids.

   $1.34 billion worldwide, 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, and 130 minutes with zero tent camping. It's the payoff for every parent who read the books aloud at bedtime.
5. 4
   It's a Wonderful Life (1946)9.6

   A family movie about money stress. Parents feel every minute.

   8.6 on IMDb from 561,652 votes, the highest rating on this list. It's about a guy who never escapes his hometown, and that hits way harder once you have a mortgage.
6. 3
   The Wizard of Oz (1939)9.5

   Dorothy is the least interesting person in her own movie.

   Critics and audiences both rank it above 98% of notable movies. A scarecrow, a tin man and a scaredy lion steal all 102 minutes from her, and nobody minds.
7. 2
   E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)9.2

   Secretly a divorce movie. That's why parents cry harder.

   $797.3 million worldwide on a $10.5 million budget. Kids see a cute alien. Parents see a family quietly falling apart after Dad left, and that's what gets you.
8. 1
   Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)8.9

   The best Harry Potter outranks E.T. on this list. Yes, really.

   Guru's Take gives it a 9.0, and critics rank it above 87% of notable movies. Alfonso Cuarón put the kids in hoodies and let them act like actual teenagers.

$27.82 says you quote Buddy the Elf at someone before December even starts.

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Current mood: ready to fight about it