10 Fairytale Films For An Enchanting Family Movie Night

CINDERELLA is Disney’s live-action version of the classic fairy tale where a girl has two loving parents who instill in her the message that if you are kind and good then you will be happy, but when her parents pass away, she’s put in a position where kindness and goodness are not always easy. CINDERELLA has a very strong Christian, moral worldview of loving and serving others before yourself, but it does have some magical thinking set in a fairytale world.

In ENCHANTED, an animated heroine is pushed down a well into the cruel, uncaring real world of New York City, where she finds her real love. ENCHANTED turns the archetypal fairy tale story inside out in a delightful, positive, morally worthwhile way.

Mike Myers plays the title role in SHREK, a fractured fairy tale about a smelly ogre who finds that it takes a princess with a punch to finally soften his heart. SHREK is a delightful computer animated comedy with only a few minor elements to take the bloom off its family-friendly rose.

Despite some confusion over witches, this classic Hollywood take on L. Frank Baum’s beloved book features a tremendous performance by Judy Garland as Dorothy, who desperately wants to get back to her Christian guardian, Aunt Em, in Kansas.

THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, based on C. S. Lewis’s popular Christian fable, tells the story of four English children, who enter the land of Narnia, where they meet Aslan, the son of the Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea, who rescues the land from the evil White Witch. Despite some minor changes from the book, THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE retains most of its Christian focus and is tremendously exciting, thrilling and redemptive.

In the animated movie PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH, Puss in Boots realizes he’s on his last life, so he needs to find the Last Wish star and ask for more lives. Funny and exciting, PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH is well made and has a strong Christian, moral worldview that includes Christian references and promotes being less selfish and reckless, thinking of others before yourself, and loving your family, but there are some scary characters and moments.

TANGLED is Disney’s comical animated version of the Rapunzel fairy tale, wherein a thief gives Rapunzel a chance to escape the old hag who stole her from her parents, the king and queen. Despite an unresolved moral conflict, comical action violence and some Romanticism, TANGLED is beautiful, funny, exciting, delightful, and touching – with a redemptive, sacramental quality that lifts the movie, and its magical themes, into a more sublime entertainment.

In a story told by a grandfather (Peter Falk) to his grandson (Fred Savage), a young girl, Buttercup (Robin Wright), falls in love with a farm boy, Westley (Cary Elwes), and they pledge their undying love for each other; yet, when Wesley goes missing for a number of years, the princess bride is pressured to marry another. From Reiner’s masterful direction and Goldman’s sagacious screenplay to the cast’s pitch-perfect, inspired acting, the excellent sets and cinematography, and the howlingly hilarious tone throughout, the whole is brought off with the practiced cinematic storytelling hand of one who knows just what to say and portray and how to best do so. The film remains a very powerful, engaging, and watchable one for teens and adults; Movieguide® advises caution for younger children due to some action violence, two instances of foul language, and some suggestive elements.

THUMBELINA is the Hans Christian Andersen animated tale about a diminutive-sized girl who yearns for a husband--just her size. Most children will love this timeless moral fairy tale about hope and fidelity.