underrated childhood gems
by malnarwen | created - 11 Nov 2010 | updated - 13 Nov 2010 | PublicEveryone has seen Home Alone, The Mighty Ducks, and The Land Before Time. This list contains some of my lesser-known favorites that may have fallen through the cracks of your collection. In no particular order...
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1. FairyTale: A True Story (1997)
PG | 99 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
In 1917, two children take a photograph, which is soon believed by some to be the first scientific evidence of the existence of fairies.
Director: Charles Sturridge | Stars: Paul McGann, Florence Hoath, Elizabeth Earl, Harvey Keitel
Votes: 6,343 | Gross: $14.04M
2. War of the Buttons (1994)
PG | 94 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
The children of Ballydowse and Carrickdowse engage in battles in which they cut off the buttons, shoelaces, and underwear of their captured opponents, in order to get the boys in trouble ... See full summary »
Director: John Roberts | Stars: Gregg Fitzgerald, Gerard Kearney, Darragh Naughton, Brendan McNamara
Votes: 4,589 | Gross: $0.01M
3. Heavyweights (1995)
PG | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Plump kids are lured into joining a posh fat camp with the promise of quick weight loss and good times, only to find that it is a woodland hellhole run by a psycho ex-fitness instructor.
Director: Steven Brill | Stars: Tom McGowan, Aaron Schwartz, Ben Stiller, David Goldman
Votes: 30,630 | Gross: $17.69M
4. Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)
PG | 109 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
A prepubescent chess prodigy is encouraged to harden himself in order to become a champion like the famous but unlikable Bobby Fischer.
Director: Steven Zaillian | Stars: Joe Mantegna, Ben Kingsley, Max Pomeranc, Joan Allen
Votes: 42,385 | Gross: $7.27M
5. The Challengers (1991 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 97 min | Drama, Family
After her father dies and she moves to a new town, Mackie wants to join a certain gang/band. But they've got this boys-only rule. So Mackie comes up with an audacious plan... only it begins to backfire.
Director: Eric Till | Stars: Gwynyth Walsh, Eric Christmas, Gema Zamprogna, Steven Andrade
Votes: 272
6. Newsies (1992)
PG | 121 min | Drama, Family, History
A musical based on the New York City newsboy strike of 1899. When young newspaper sellers are exploited beyond reason by their bosses they set out to enact change and are met by the ruthlessness of big business.
Director: Kenny Ortega | Stars: Christian Bale, Bill Pullman, Robert Duvall, Ann-Margret
Votes: 22,538 | Gross: $2.82M
7. Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
G | 117 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
An apprentice witch, three kids and a cynical magician conman search for the missing component to a magic spell to be used in the defense of Britain in World War II.
Directors: Robert Stevenson, Ward Kimball | Stars: Angela Lansbury, David Tomlinson, Roddy McDowall, Sam Jaffe
Votes: 40,691 | Gross: $18.53M
8. The Snowman (1982 TV Movie)
G | 26 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
On Christmas Eve, a young boy builds a snowman that comes to life and takes him to the North Pole to meet Father Christmas.
Directors: Jimmy T. Murakami, Dianne Jackson | Stars: David Bowie, Raymond Briggs, Mel Smith
Votes: 16,824
9. The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe (1988)
Unrated | 29 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
Four kids travel to the magical land of Narnia where they must battle an evil queen with the direction of the lion, Aslan.
Stars: Richard Dempsey, Sophie Cook, Jonathan R. Scott, Sophie Wilcox
Votes: 6,496
10. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
Approved | 68 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
An animated adaptation of "The Wind in the Willows" followed by an adaptation of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow".
Directors: James Algar, Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney | Stars: Bing Crosby, Basil Rathbone, Eric Blore, John McLeish
Votes: 17,870
11. A Goofy Movie (1995)
G | 78 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
When Max makes a preposterous promise to a girl he has a crush on, his chances to fulfilling it seem hopeless when he is dragged onto a cross-country trip with his embarrassing father, Goofy.
Director: Kevin Lima | Stars: Bill Farmer, Jason Marsden, Jim Cummings, Kellie Martin
Votes: 62,594 | Gross: $35.35M
12. Now and Then (1995)
PG-13 | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Four 12-year-old girls grow up together during an eventful small-town summer in 1970.
Director: Lesli Linka Glatter | Stars: Christina Ricci, Demi Moore, Rosie O'Donnell, Thora Birch
Votes: 32,396 | Gross: $27.40M
13. 3 Ninjas (1992)
PG | 84 min | Action, Comedy, Family
Each year, three brothers visit their grandfather for the summer. He is highly skilled in ninjutsu, and for years he has trained the boys in his techniques.
Director: Jon Turteltaub | Stars: Victor Wong, Michael Treanor, Max Elliott Slade, Chad Power
Votes: 23,279 | Gross: $29.00M
14. Little Giants (1994)
PG | 107 min | Comedy, Family, Sport
Misfits form their own opposing team to an elite peewee football team, coached by the elite team coach's brother.
Director: Duwayne Dunham | Stars: Rick Moranis, Ed O'Neill, Shawna Waldron, Devon Sawa
Votes: 30,821 | Gross: $19.29M
15. The Secret of Roan Inish (1994)
PG | 103 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
Young Fiona lives with her grandparents in a small fishing village where she takes an active role to unravel the mysterious secrets.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: Jeni Courtney, Eileen Colgan, Mick Lally, Pat Slowey
Votes: 9,861 | Gross: $6.10M
16. Wallace & Gromit: A Grand Day Out (1989)
Not Rated | 23 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
To replenish their depleted supply of cheese, inventor Wallace and his dog Gromit travel to the moon in a homemade rocket-ship.
Director: Nick Park | Stars: Peter Sallis, Peter Hawkins
Votes: 36,531
17. Hook (1991)
PG | 142 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
When Captain James Hook kidnaps his children, an adult Peter Pan must return to Neverland and reclaim his youthful spirit in order to challenge his old enemy.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins
Votes: 273,054 | Gross: $119.65M
18. White Fang (I) (1991)
PG | 107 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
Jack London's classic adventure story about the friendship developed between a Yukon gold hunter and the mixed dog-wolf he rescues from the hands of a man who mistreats him.
Director: Randal Kleiser | Stars: Ethan Hawke, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Jed, Seymour Cassel
Votes: 22,430 | Gross: $34.79M
19. Heidi (1968 TV Movie)
G | 105 min | Drama, Family
Swiss orphan Heidi's Aunt Dete leaves her in her grumpy grandfather's care up in the Alps, where she also meets young goatherd Peter.
Director: Delbert Mann | Stars: Jennifer Edwards, Michael Redgrave, Maximilian Schell, Jean Simmons
Votes: 684
20. Robin of Locksley (1996 TV Movie)
PG | 97 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
A teenage Robin Hood steals for a needy cause in this updated tale of doing the wrong thing for the right reason.
Director: Michael Kennedy | Stars: Devon Sawa, Sarah Chalke, Billy O'Sullivan, Tyler Labine
Votes: 844
21. Harriet the Spy (1996)
PG | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Harriet M. Welsch is a spy. But when her friends find her secret notebook, the tables are turned on her. Can she win them back and still keep on going with the spy business?
Director: Bronwen Hughes | Stars: Michelle Trachtenberg, Rosie O'Donnell, Gregory Smith, Vanessa Chester
Votes: 11,056 | Gross: $26.54M
22. FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992)
G | 76 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
The magical inhabitants of a rainforest fight to save their home, which is threatened by logging and a polluting force of destruction called Hexxus.
Director: Bill Kroyer | Stars: Samantha Mathis, Christian Slater, Robin Williams, Tim Curry
Votes: 33,880 | Gross: $24.65M
23. The Brave Little Toaster (1987)
G | 90 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
A group of dated appliances embark on a journey to the city to find their master after being abandoned in a cabin in the woods.
Director: Jerry Rees | Stars: Jon Lovitz, Timothy Stack, Timothy E. Day, Thurl Ravenscroft
Votes: 27,705
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