Top 10 Kids & Family Movies Based on Beloved Books

Top 10 Kids & Family Movies Based on Beloved Books

By Movieguide® Contributor

It’s so special to connect with our kiddos by watching movies based on beloved books from our childhood. Classics like THE VELVETEEN RABBIT and CHARLOTTE’S WEB are sure to bring you back memories of listening to your parents reading bedtime stories as a child. We’ve included some quality Christian movies like THE PRINCE OF EGYPT and THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE.

THE VELVETEEN RABBIT

Quality:

****

Content:

+3 Some minor questionable elements. (Media-wisdom is suggested to discuss.)

THE VELVETEEN RABBIT is a movie short on Apple TV+ about a stuffed rabbit who helps bring a shy, lonely boy out of his shell. Accompanied by the excellent storytelling of the original book by Margery Williams, THE VELVETEEN RABBIT is sheer artistic genius and shows that sacrificial love is the key that unlocks the door to the magic of self-discovery, purpose and life.

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STUART LITTLE

Quality:

***

Content:

+2 Moderately questionable elements.

In the new family movie, STUART LITTLE, a human family in New York City adopts a little mouse named Stuart, who has trouble fitting in despite his big courageous heart. A nutty fairy tale with excellent special effects, STUART LITTLE contains pro-family and redemptive messages marred by four mild obscenities.

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CHARLOTTE'S WEB

Quality:

****

Content:

+4 Biblical, usually Christian, worldview, with no questionable elements whatsoever.

CHARLOTTES' WEB is a live action movie of the beloved children's novel, about a young farm girl named Fern, a small pig named Wilbur, and a spider named Charlotte. CHARLOTTE'S WEB is a radiant delight for children of all ages, a brilliantly plotted movie filled with positive moral messages and signs of God's grace penetrating ordinary life.

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THE BFG

Quality:

****

Content:

-1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.

THE BFG is a fantasy movie from Director Steven Spielberg about a little orphan girl who befriends a Big Friendly Giant in a magical land. THE BFG is funny, sweet and exceptionally well made with some positive themes of friendship and bravery, but caution for young children is advised for a moment of magical thinking and some scary giants, who are the story’s antagonists.

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THE PRINCE OF EGYPT

Quality:

****

Content:

+4 Biblical, usually Christian, worldview, with no questionable elements whatsoever.

Magnificent entertainment, THE PRINCE OF EGYPT takes animated movies to a new level as it dramatizes the biblical story of Moses and his call from God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. THE PRINCE OF EGYPT combines magnificent art, music, story, and realization to make one of the most entertaining moral masterpieces of all time.

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

Quality:

****

Content:

+1 Moderately questionable elements. (Discernment required for young children.)

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.

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BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA

Quality:

****

Content:

+1 Moderately questionable elements. (Discernment required for young children.)

BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA is a family movie about the friendship between a sad middle school boy and a vivacious girl with a precocious imagination, who find solace by creating an imaginary kingdom with imaginary adventures. BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA is a brilliantly made family movie with a strong Christian worldview, but it is marred by brief foul language and a brief, but important, theological problem that seems to dilute slightly the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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ANNE OF GREEN GABLES (1934)

Quality:

***

Content:

+2 Moderately questionable elements.

This 1934 version of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES features one of the most lovably nutty characters of all time in Anne as well as prayer and positive mention of God. ANNE OF GREEN GABLES is good clean fun for the family but does not compete well with the adorable 1985 television version starring Megan Follows.

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A LITTLE PRINCESS

Quality:

****

Content:

+3 Some minor questionable elements. (Media-wisdom is suggested to discuss.)

Featuring Liesel Matthews, Liam Cunningham and Elanor Bron, A LITTLE PRINCESS is the heartwarming and delightfully funny story of a precious, precocious little girl seemingly orphaned by her father's war-time death. All ends well in this well-crafted adventure movie which could well become a family classic.

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CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

Quality:

****

Content:

+2 Moderately questionable elements.

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY is a wondrously quirky and heartwarming adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book about poor Charlie Bucket’s fantastic, life-changing visit to Willy Wonka’s amazing candy factory. The movie imparts many positive moral messages, not the least of which is the fact that having a loving family is the best reward of all.

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