10 Family-Friendly Movies That Stress Victory Over Fear

10 Family-Friendly Movies That Stress Victory Over Fear

By Movieguide® Editorial Staff

In light of the recent chatter about viral illness, economic unrest and general fear, the editorial staff at Movieguide® would like to encourage readers that we are more than conquerors through faith in Jesus Christ.

Remember that faith, hope and love trump fear, and worship is greater than worry. . .

“Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” – Matthew 6:34 (NIV)

1. BEN-HUR (1959)

Year: 1959

Acceptability: +3

Quality: ****

Victory over revenge

BEN HUR ranks among the most honored of films, taking 11 of 12 Academy awards. This beautifully crafted film begins with the birth of Christ and demonstrates a journey of faith of one man, Judah Ben-Hur, who goes from prince to prisoner to champion charioteer to Christian. This is a movie that every family should see for proclaiming the Gospel and for Christian values.

2. BREAKTHROUGH

Year: 2019

Acceptability: +1

Quality: ****

Victory over death

BREAKTHROUGH opens with a St. Louis boy drowning under the ice. Flash back to the time before the accident. John, a young boy, rejects his adoptive parents, neglects his schoolwork and only appreciates basketball. One day, John and two friends play tag on an icy pond. The ice breaks, and John sinks, while the other two try to survive. The police rescue John’s friends while two firemen search for John’s body. Just when everyone is giving up, one fireman thinks he hears his boss tell him to return to a specific place under the ice. He miraculously recovers John’s frozen body, but it will take another miracle to bring John back to life.

3. THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, WITCH AND THE WARDROBE

Year: 2005

Acceptability: +1

Quality: ****

Victory over evil

THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE starts slightly before the Christian book by C. S. Lewis, with an air raid in London during World War II. Four children, Lucy, Peter, Edmund, and Susan, are taken to the English countryside for safety. There, in Prof. Kirke’s house, they slip through an old wardrobe to enter the land of Narnia, a world with talking animals and mythical creatures. The evil White Witch has taken control of the land, turning it into a state of forever winter but never Christmas. Three of the children must find Aslan, the son of the Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea, to rescue their brother Edmund, who has been seduced by the power of the White Witch.

4. QUO VADIS

Year: 1951

Acceptability: +4

Quality: ****

Victory over injustice

QUO VADIS is an AVATAR budgeted movie with a COURAGEOUS style Christian story. MGM’s 1951 epic contrasts the gross pagan excesses of Nero’s Rome with Christian love and compassion. Set in 64 AD, it’s the story of General Marcus Viniculus. Marcus returns to Rome in triumph but falls in love with Lygia, a Christian girl. This brings him into conflict with the increasingly unstable ruler. On a whim, Nero burns Rome, blames it on Christians, and calls for their execution as a sporting event. He sentences Marcus and Lygia to death in the Coliseum. Only a miracle can save them.

5. WAR ROOM

Year: 2015

Acceptability: +4

Quality: ****

Victory through prayer

WAR ROOM is a very compelling Christian movie about spiritual warfare. Tony and Elizabeth Jordan have reached the end of their ability to tolerate one another as a married couple. Their daughter, Danielle, is depressed by their constant warfare. Elizabeth is a real estate salesman, and Tony is a highly successful pharmaceutical salesman. Tony is tempted by other women, however, and Elizabeth has grown to hate him. Everything changes when Elizabeth meets Miss Clara, an older woman full of wit and wisdom, who’s selling her home and has some important advice to share with her.

6. YOUNG MESSIAH

Year: 2016

Acceptability: +4

Quality: **** 

Victory in Christ

THE YOUNG MESSIAH is a movie about the young Jesus living in Egypt with Mary and Joseph and then returning to Israel. In Egypt, Joseph learns that Herod the Great has died, so he decides to return with Jesus, Mary and their close relatives back to Israel. Along the way, Jesus asks his cousin to reveal more about his birth and his parents’ perspective toward who he is. These revelations are accompanied by miraculous demonstrations of Jesus’ divinity. Meanwhile, Herod’s successor has heard rumors the young messiah survived his father’s murderous attack in Bethlehem. He orders Severus, a Roman centurion, to hunt the young messiah down and kill him, but God has another plan. 

7. IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Year: 1946

Acceptability: +3

Quality: ****

Victory over fear

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE is the Christmas movie classic, starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. It’s about the struggling owner of a small-town savings and loan company. After years of struggling to make ends meet, George Bailey contemplates suicide when his forgetful uncle accidentally misplaces $8,000 of their savings and loan clients’ money. George’s family and friends are praying to God for him, however. As a result, God sends a bumbling but lovable angel who happens upon the one thing that will remind George he’s really led a wonderful life. George discovers, with the help of Clarence, that he’s the richest man in the world

8. OVERCOMER

Year: 2019

Acceptability: +4

Quality: ****

Victory over yourself

OVERCOMER is the heartwarming, often funny, poignant story of a teenage girl named Hannah who runs to Christ. Hannah lives with her grandmother in Franklin, Georgia. Hannah decides to try out for the high school cross-country team. Her coach, John Harrison, struggles with losing some athletes from his basketball team and must accept the fact that God has made him the cross-country track coach for a reason. On a visit to the hospital, John meets Thomas, a gentlemen battling diabetes; soon unexpected events occur.

9. QUEEN OF KATWE (2016)

Year: 2016

Acceptability: +1

Quality: **** 

Victory over insurmountable odds

QUEEN OF KATWE is a powerful drama about Phiona, a pre-adolescent girl living in the slums of Uganda. Phiona’s widowed mother, sister and brother live in poverty, with their only means of money selling corn maze on the street. One day, Phiona sees her brother running away from selling the maze to a building where children are playing chess. At first, when the coach invites her to participate, the other children tease her. However, once Phiona learns to play chess, her life is transformed. She becomes a brilliant chess player, and, despite multiple obstacles, uses her skill to help sustain her family.

10. HIDDEN FIGURES

Year: 2016

Acceptability: -1

Quality: ****

Victory over bigotry

HIDDEN FIGURES is an engaging, uplifting salute to three African-American women who contribute to the NASA program during the 1960s Space Race with Russia. The story centers on Katherine Johnson. A brilliant mathematician, Katherine proves herself a critical addition to the Space Task Group helping send Astronaut John Glenn into space to orbit the earth and return safely. Katherine must work in the face of opposition due to her being a woman and an African-American, but she persists with strength and class.