Over 100 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of Great '80s Movies Modern Kids Will Love
Voting Rules
Vote up the classic films appropriate for kids and teens that will teach them to love and respect '80s movies.
It can be difficult to get your children to watch a movie that was released before they were born. It's natural to want to show your children the movies you remember fondly, but kids might bulk at the idea of watching something Mom or Dad think is cool. If you want your kids to love '80s movies, you have to pick out some kid-friendly masterpieces of the era that will wipe away preconceived notions. Choosing the best of the best during a decade which provided hits like The Empire Strikes Back, Beetlejuice, and Ghostbusters can be difficult, but this list is here to help!
Remember, you want to pick classic '80s movies appropriate for kids. This means nothing too raunchy or violent, but also be aware anything too kid friendly or corny may elicit an eye roll from teens or tweens. The films listed here are perfect to get kids into '80s movies. They have a certain timelessness that extends across generations. There may be some confusion. Kids may wonder, for example, why none of the kids in The Gooniesare carrying cellphones. But once they got lost in the surreal tale of scouring the sewers, they'll forget all about the absence of iPhones and tablets. While Back to the Futuremay give off a campy vibe that seems odd outside of the '80s, kids will still love the story.
Read this list of '80s movies for beginners below. Then, vote up your favorites.
In this 1980s sci-fi classic, small-town California teen Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is thrown back into the '50s when an experiment by his eccentric scientist friend Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) goes awry. Traveling through time in a modified DeLorean car, Marty encounters young versions of his parents (Crispin Glover, Lea Thompson), and must make sure that they fall in love or he'll cease to exist. Even more dauntingly, Marty has to return to his own time and save the life of Doc Brown.
When two brothers find out they might lose their house they are desperate to find a way to keep their home. They find a treasure map and bring some friends along to find it. They are all out looking for the "X" and trying to get away from a group of bad guys who also want the treasure.
When kids sneak into inventor Wayne Szalinski's (Rick Moranis) upstairs lab to retrieve an errant baseball, his experimental shrink ray miniaturizes them. When Szalinski returns home, he destroys the device -- which he thinks is a failure -- and dumps it in the trash, throwing out the kids along with it. The four children, now 1/4-inch tall, must survive the journey back to the house through a yard where sprinklers bring treacherous storms and garden-variety ants stampede like elephants.
After learning that a stranger has been accidentally killed near their rural homes, four Oregon boys decide to go see the body. On the way, Gordie Lachance (Wil Wheaton), Vern Tessio (Jerry O'Connell), Chris Chambers (River Phoenix) and Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman) encounter a mean junk man and a marsh full of leeches, as they also learn more about one another and their very different home lives. Just a lark at first, the boys' adventure evolves into a defining event in their lives.
A fairy tale adventure about a beautiful young woman and her one true love. He must find her after a long separation and save her. They must battle the evils of the mythical kingdom of Florin to be reunited with each other. Based on the William Goldman novel "The Princess Bride" which earned its own loyal audience.
Daniel (Ralph Macchio) moves to Southern California with his mother, Lucille (Randee Heller), but quickly finds himself the target of a group of bullies who study karate at the Cobra Kai dojo. Fortunately, Daniel befriends Mr. Miyagi (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita), an unassuming repairman who just happens to be a martial arts master himself. Miyagi takes Daniel under his wing, training him in a more compassionate form of karate and preparing him to compete against the brutal Cobra Kai.
167 VOTESIn this 1980s sci-fi classic, small-town California teen Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is thrown back into the '50s when an experiment by his eccentric scientist friend Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) goes awry. Traveling through time in a modified DeLorean car, Marty encounters young versions of his parents (Crispin Glover, Lea Thompson), and must make sure that they fall in love or he'll cease to exist. Even more dauntingly, Marty has to return to his own time and save the life of Doc Brown.
268 VOTESWhen two brothers find out they might lose their house they are desperate to find a way to keep their home. They find a treasure map and bring some friends along to find it. They are all out looking for the "X" and trying to get away from a group of bad guys who also want the treasure.
346 VOTESWhen kids sneak into inventor Wayne Szalinski's (Rick Moranis) upstairs lab to retrieve an errant baseball, his experimental shrink ray miniaturizes them. When Szalinski returns home, he destroys the device -- which he thinks is a failure -- and dumps it in the trash, throwing out the kids along with it. The four children, now 1/4-inch tall, must survive the journey back to the house through a yard where sprinklers bring treacherous storms and garden-variety ants stampede like elephants.
