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Top 10 Movies for Families from 1998

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.

A BUG'S LIFE

Quality:
****
Content:
+3 Some minor questionable elements. (Media-wisdom is suggested to discuss.)
Like the movie ANTZ, Walt Disney’s A BUG’S LIFE tells the story of a persistent ant who saves his colony from a menacing villain. This time, the villain is a grasshopper who leads a band of other grasshoppers to extort food. It extols the values of courage, teamwork, hope, perseverance, community, and individual effort, leading to a rousing, heartwarming, funny finish.

THE PARENT TRAP

Quality:
****
Content:
+1 Moderately questionable elements. (Discernment required for young children.)
In the remake of THE PARENT TRAP, Little Hallie Parker and Annie James (both played by newcomer, Lindsay Lohan) meet at camp and slowly discover that they are identical twins, separated at birth. Their job is to trick their parents into getting back together. Despite some pranks and a few exclamations, this movie is very moral, with a strong Christian worldview that extols family values.

EVER AFTER: A CINDERELLA STORY

Quality:
****
Content:
+1 Moderately questionable elements. (Discernment required for young children.)

EVER AFTER turns the classic Cinderella story into an imaginative, entertaining masterpiece without magic or fairy godmothers. Drew Barrymore and her prince charming get a little lesson on love from Leonardo da Vinci in this update of a classic. Containing a Christian worldview, it has many moral lessons and recommendable attributes.

ANTZ

Quality:
****
Content:
+2 Moderately questionable elements.
In ANTZ, a neurotic New York worker ant named Z is tired of conformity and longs for individuality when he meets a beautiful female ant who turns out to be the spoiled daughter of the queen ant. Together, they must save the ant colony from the evil plans of a power-mad soldier ant in this delightful PG animated feature that contains some mild foul language, violence, scary moments, and a moral worldview with Christian implications.

WIDE AWAKE

Quality:
****
Content:
+3 Some minor questionable elements. (Media-wisdom is suggested to discuss.)
In WIDE AWAKE, a new PG-rated family movie from Miramax, newcomer Joseph Cross plays Joshua A. Beal, a young fifth grader in a Roman Catholic school who searches for God to make sure that his late beloved grandfather is okay. This is a modest but entertaining, energetic and amusing movie with some remarkable scenes of Christian forgiveness, compassion, faith, and worship.

THE BORROWERS

Quality:
****
Content:
+2 Moderately questionable elements.
In THE BORROWERS, a family of miniature people, who exist on borrowed knickknacks and live under the floorboards of the first floor of a boy’s house, come to the family’s rescue when an evil banker unjustly evicts them from their home. Funny, imaginative, wholesome and delightful, THE BORROWERS will bring joy and mirth to the whole family.

MIGHTY JOE YOUNG

Quality:
****
Content:
+1 Moderately questionable elements. (Discernment required for young children.)
MIGHTY JOE YOUNG is not a monster movie; rather, it is a fantasy thrill ride about a big gorilla with a big heart. Taken to California for protection, Joe faces a final showdown with an evil poacher. Parents need to point out some of the philosophical flaws in this entertaining movie to their children, after enjoying a very entertaining movie. Appropriate for seven and up, it does contain some violence, a few mild obscenities and scary scenes.

THE MASK OF ZORRO

Quality:
***
Content:
-1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.
THE MASK OF ZORRO includes lots of swashbuckling and a very tight plot. This handsome production features the fight for control of Mexico and California. Antonia Banderas and Anthony Hopkins put moral humanity on this old-world hero in an adaptation which features extensive swordplay and action violence as well as one grotesque scene of a man's head in a jar, but no sex, no nudity and only a few mild obscenities.

MADELINE

Quality:
***
Content:
+3 Some minor questionable elements. (Media-wisdom is suggested to discuss.)
Based on the children's book series, the movie MADELINE brings to life the story of a precocious girl Madeline, her school mates, their benevolent nun teacher Miss Clavel, and the owner of their school, the sourpuss Lord Covington. Weaving four of the books together for the movie, the ultimate story is whether or not Lord Covington will sell the school. Very moral with prayers and thanks to God, this movie will appeal to girls.