Historical Movies For Kids (ages 6-12)

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Character-Building Family-Friendly Movie Nights

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You can find a lot of these movies at your local library.

I like movies. Ha! Who doesn't? I also like clean and family friendly movies. Here, I give a list of: Plugged In's movie nights, a few of my favorite movie review sites, and a list of MY favorite movie night ideas!

Thanks to my sister Hannah for the awesome popcorn and picture idea!

Plugged In Family Movie Nights

Secondhand Lions - PG, 11+

I love to watch movies. Focus on the Family's Plugged In is known for Christian-based movie reviews. Well, they also have movie nights for both kids and teens; clean movies they recommend. The kids movies nights are generally for kids younger than 10, the G and PG teen movie nights are typically for kids 11+, and the PG-13 teen movie nights are for kids 12+. Their movie nights vary from comedies to dramas to sport films.

Their criteria for movie nights:

• The good MUST outweigh the bad. (It is rare to find a thought-provoking powerful movie without something inappropriate)
• It cannot be rated R.
• It most have an important theme and/or message.
• It should be well made and interesting.

Click here for their movie-night page.

The teen movie nights consist of a two-page paper that has a full synopsis, (I would recommend not reading the ending of the synopsis!) rating, notable cast, themes, cautions, Bible verses applying the to the movie, talking points, follow up activities, and a fun fact about the movie.

The kids movie nights include themes, cautions, story summary, family activities, and topic discussions.  The topic questions are age-appropriate for younger kids. (i.e. for The Jungle Book, "How is Kaa similar to the serpent in the garden of Eden?" The second page normally includes something fun, like a word search, coloring page, or fill in the blank.

What the top of Plugged In's Movie Nights looks like

My favorite teen movie nights are: The Count of Monte Cristo, Fiddler on the Roof, Sergeant York, Life is Beautiful, National Treasure, Secondhand Lions, and Remember the Titans. 

Secondhand Lions is probably the best under-rated movie I have ever seen. It has valuable lessons, it is completely age-appropriate, and it is a fun movie with an un-cheesy fantasy twist.

Life is Beautiful is one of the sweetest films I have ever seen. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, and it will make you smile. The first part is a sweet romantic-comedy and the second part is a bittersweet drama. You can either watch this in English or Italian with English subtitles.

Fiddler on the Roof... well, everybody loves Fiddler on the Roof.

LOOKING FOR A MOVIE BUT NOT SURE WHAT'S IN IT?

Common Sense Media

Although not Christian, Common Sense Media does have a lot of movies Plugged In doesn't. (mostly older movies) They also have A LOT of book reviews.

Each Common Sense Media review contains: a quality meter, similar movies, and an age range meter. Ages in green is "on" ages in yellow is "know your kid", and ages in red are "off". Of course, some movies aren't appropriate for kids at all. These are labeled in grey. 

Positive messages, positive role models, violence, sex, language, drinking/smoking, and consumerism  are rated from 0-5. 0 being none, and 5 being extreme. 

Dove Reviews

Meter for I Am David, PG

Although the Dove Reviews are Christian-based, they are not as "intense" as Plugged In. They include a synopsis, a Dove worldview, and content descriptions. The Dove worldview contains a short paragraph about WHY it received the Dove Family Approval Seal, or why it didn't. They offer two family-approved seals; one for kids of all ages, and one for kids 12+. The content descriptions are pretty basic, not nearly as detailed as Plugged In. But they do contain anything you need to know.

What I like best about Dove Reviews is their "Severity of Content". 0 means nothing, 5 means excessive. The categories are: sex, language, violence, nudity, and other. Anything more than a 2 does not get the Dove Family-Appoval Seal. 

I have seen (and loved!) a bunch of movies that are not Dove Family Approved, but are either true stories or contain good moral lessons. Lincoln, Les Miserables, Argo, and Red Tails are examples.

Although I do like the content guide, comparing a G-rated animated film to the true R-rated movie Argo are hard to gauge.

Christian Answers: Spotlight on Entertainment

Christian Spotlight on Entertainment offers a Christian-based review in an article format. They have moral ratings and movie-making qualities. Content guides are interwoven in reviews. Some articles may contain spoilers! Personally, I like the insightful reviews and the moral ratings best. It makes this site unique, but from a Christian review. 

The reviews I have seen are primarily kids, historical, and true stories (the only movies I watch) and the reviews weigh the positives and negatives. Some reviews contain "Relevant Issues", Q&A type discussion questions and articles. For example, Relevant Issues for the film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas include, "Murder in the Bible" "Why do good people suffer?" and "Origin of bad - Sin in the Bible". Attached is relevant articles.

They also have older films, and a lot of movies Plugged In, Dove, and Common Sense Media don't have.

Unlike Plugged In, I like how Christian Spotlight focuses more on message and moral rather than content. I'm not saying content isn't important, I'm just saying I believe in plugging your ears and closing your eyes, if the overall movie has noteworthy themes. 

Hallmark Movies

Need a good cry? Watch a Hallmark movie. I love Hallmark movies! Firstly they are clean. Second, they have powerful messages in a non-cheesy way. A few of my favorites are:

A true story - watch on YouTube

• The Lost Valentine (A reporter helps a widow find her husband who was declared MIA 60 years ago during WWII. A bit slow at times, but BRING YOUR KLEENEX!!)
• The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler (You can view this entire movie in parts or as a whole on YouTube. Based on a true story, Irena Sendler smuggled 2,500 Jewish children, one at a time, out of the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust. Each of the children, and Irena, survived the war. Best for tweens and up. Seeing desperate mothers give their children to a complete stranger of another religion is heartbreaking. Although dealt with appropriately, you will want to give your kids an extra kiss before bedtime. I strongly encourage you to view this film.)
• Beyond the Blackboard (Based on the true story of Stacey Bess, a young teacher who made a difference in the lives of her classroom children - who are all homeless.)
• Pictures of Hollis Woods (Based on the Newbery Honor novel, is the story of a young girl in foster care who finds a family. Bring your Kleenex.) 

My List of Family Movie Nights for Tweens and Up

I won't include content guides or synopsis. Most are dramas, historicals, biopics, or true stories. All of the following movies have valuable lessons, and you can easily make your own movie nights. "See how that man helped that woman? What does the Bible say about helping others?"

* means Plugged In movie night, and you can find this on Plugged In's Movie Night page. For some non-PIMN, I added a "best review", either Common Sense Media, Christian Spotlight, or Dove. Links above.

Kids 

• Cars* - G
• All of the American Girl historical movies (Felicity, Kit, Samantha, Molly)
• The Princess Diaries - G
• Stuart Little - G
• Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story - G (for horse lovers)

Tweens (10+)

• Secondhand Lions* - PG (A MUST WATCH)
• Newsies - PG
• Fly Away Home* - G
• National Treasure* - PG
• Valiant - G (this is an animated Disney movie about WWII homing pigeons. Best review on Christian Spotlight)
• Eight Below - PG (a true story, there is one scene although not at all violent, will definitely make you scream in shock!)
• Soul Surfer - PG (a true story about a Christian surfer)
• Akeelah and the Bee - PG
• Cheaper by the Dozen - PG
• Hachi: A Dog's Tale - G (nothing bad, but VERY sad)
• I Am David - PG (Best review on Christian Spotlight)
• Miracle - PG (a true story)
• Sergeant York* - G (A true story of a Christian soldier)

Tweens (12+)

• Life is Beautiful* - PG-13
• Left Behind - PG (based on the Rapture)
• It's A Wonderful Life* - G
• Radio - PG (true story)
• One Night With the King - PG (the story of Esther)
• The Blind Side - PG-13 (a true story about a football player)
• The Bible - TV-14 (Mini-series)

Teens

• Les Miserables (2012) - PG-13 (Best review on Common Sense Media)
• The Impossible - PG-13
• The Help - PG-13
• War Horse - PG-13
• Red Tails - PG-13

What are your favorite films? Let me know!

Saving on Entertainment

I am always listening to music, normally while reading a book, and who doesn't like to end the day with a good movie? Well, books, movies, and music aren't cheap. Although I am a bookworm, I own very few books compared to most. I have only downloaded a few songs from iTunes. And I watch new movies all the time.

BOOKS

As you may have guessed, I am addicted to my local library. My library has a wide selection of books, as well as free Inter Library Loans, which means I can pretty much get access to any book I want. If they don't have it, they can request it from another library. Or if it is new, my library will purchase it. (OK so there is a few books my library can't get (When there is no library in the US that has it) such as some Danish historical fiction and a few Scholastic Canadian historical fictions. Well, in those rare cases, I cry, and then get over it, because normally if there is no library in the US that has it, then you probably can't buy it in the US either.) Anyways, I use World Cat to find the nearest library that has the book I'm looking for.
Some libraries also loan eBooks, although I haven't quite figured out how to do that yet!

Garage sales, Goodwill, and any resale shop are good places if you want to buy cheap books. I have taken pictures of interesting books I see at Goodwill, and then looking them up on my library's website before. On half-off day, you can normally get a book for a little more than a quarter at Goodwill. Amazon is then my next resource...
iBooks (and most other eBook stores) has nearly all classics for free. Hannah recently read Les Misérables on iBooks, and I am currently reading Great Expectations. Not only is this free, but classical literature is often much more challenging and have valuable lessons compared to today's books. Examples of free classics include: Pride and Prejudice, The Count of Monte Cristo, Les Misérables, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, Phantom of the Opera, Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Ivanhoe, Romeo and Juliet.

MOVIES

Firstly, we rarely go to the theatre. I mean, we can a wait a little bit if it means saving $60. I can count with my hands the times we've been to a theatre. (Eight Below, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Prince Caspian, and Courageous are the times that stick out. There haven't been much more than that.)

Did you know you can get movies from your local library - free? Most have all the popular ones, but it WILL be hard to get them because the new movies fly off the shelves. However, this is the only way you'll get new movies for free.

Then there is YouTube. You will not find new Oscar-winners on there, but if it's older, rare, a Disney Channel original movie, low-budget, or made-for-TV, you may be in luck. The History Channel and National Geographic often have outstanding documentaries, and for the older ones (before 2010) you can often find on YouTube. The Hallmark biopic The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler is on there, as well as Fiddler on the Roof. For historical dramas (WWII, specifically) that were not SUPER big, you will often find them on YouTube, because, especially for WWII films, remembering what happened is the main purpose of the film. For example, the 2008 Holocaust film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas has been uploaded quite a few times on YouTube. In 15 minute parts, in 10 minute parts, as a whole, in Portuguese, German and Arabic.

Hulu, Netflix, and of course, your TV, are also great resources.

Note: Never download movies from the internet for free. This is illegal.

MUSIC

I love music!! However I'm the type of person who likes a song, and listens to it a thousand times until I get sick of it and want to throw up the next time I hear it. The only time we really buy music is if we have an iTunes gift card, or if we really like the artist we will buy the CD. YouTube, radio, and Pandora are my two main sources for music. Internet radios are another free and legal source. Some good Christian Internet radios are K-Love and Air 1.

ALTERNATIVES

Of course, you don't have to always have to watch TV, listen to music, or even read. Swap some board games with a friend. Have a backyard picnic. Do a Pinterest craft with a friend. Visit a museum. 

100 Things To Do For Free