Raise your kids on the classics: 18 of the best ’80s movies to watch with your kids

Raise your kids on the classics: 18 of the best ’80s movies to watch with your kids

---

There comes a slightly alarming moment in parenthood when you realise the movies you watched as a kid are now considered classics.

Classics.

As though The Goonies should be screened alongside Casablanca while someone thoughtfully strokes their chin.

But once you’ve recovered from that, there is something pretty special about introducing your kids to the films that shaped your own childhood.

Before endless streaming menus and cinematic universes, there were treasure maps. BMX bikes. Gremlins. Goblin kings. Time-travelling DeLoreans. Extraterrestrials hiding in suburban bedrooms.

And children who apparently left the house at breakfast, traversed half the state and returned at dinner without a single parent checking Find My.

Welcome to the’80s.

Of course, rewatching these movies as a parent comes with another revelation:

Wow. They really showed us anything back then.

So this isn’t simply a list of nostalgic favourites. We’ve included the things you might want to remember before pressing play … because the film you happily watched at seven might contain more monsters, swearing, peril or deeply questionable adult behaviour than your memory has retained.

Here are the ’80s classics worth raising another generation on.

A quick note before you introduce your kids to your childhood

---

One of the funniest parts of revisiting family movies from the 1980s is discovering just how unreliable our childhood memories can be.

You remember Falkor. You have completely erased the horse.

You remember singing with David Bowie. You forget that a baby is kidnapped by goblins approximately five minutes into Labyrinth.

You remember E.T. being lovely. You do not remember how emotionally harrowing parts of E.T. actually are.

Australian classifications are useful, but a G or PG rating alone doesn’t necessarily tell you how your child will respond. Children and Media Australia, for example, recommends The NeverEnding Story only from around eight, with parental guidance to 10, because of its frightening and emotional content. It gives similar cautions for Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal.

So consider the ages below a starting point rather than a rule. Your monster-loving seven-year-old and somebody else’s highly sensitive ten-year-old may have completely different movie-night limits.

And that is perfectly fine.

---

1. The Princess Bride (1987)

---

Best for: Older primary kids and tweens
Watch for: Sword fighting, peril, scary creatures and some darker humour

If there’s one movie on this list that deserves to make it into another generation’s family vocabulary, it’s The Princess Bride.

It has adventure. Romance. Revenge. Giants. Sword fights. An inconceivable number of quotable lines.

And unlike some childhood favourites that don’t quite survive an adult rewatch, this one may actually be better when you’re old enough to understand all the jokes.

The story-within-a-story format also makes it great for watching with kids: whenever things get particularly romantic or frightening, we return to a grandfather reading the book to his grandson.

What parents should know

It’s not quite as gentle as your nostalgic brain might suggest. There’s sword fighting, poisoning, torture, peril and some frightening creatures. Children and Media Australia considers it unsuitable for children under nine and recommends parental guidance for ages nine to 12.

Why it still holds up: It never takes itself too seriously, but underneath the silliness is a story about loyalty, bravery, friendship and true love.

---

2. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)

---

Best for: Primary-school kids
Watch for: Insects, peril and one surprisingly emotional ant

A malfunctioning invention shrinks four kids to approximately the size of a crumb, leaving them to cross what has suddenly become the most dangerous environment imaginable:

The backyard.

Sprinklers become tidal waves. Grass becomes a jungle. A biscuit becomes an all-you-can-eat buffet.

For kids used to enormous CGI worlds, there’s something wonderfully simple about the concept — and Rick Moranis remains peak chaotic-inventor dad.

What parents should know

The backyard adventure contains more danger than you might remember, including threatening insects and children repeatedly placed in peril. Children and Media Australia recommends it for children over 10, with parental guidance for ages six to 10.

Also: if you remember the ant scene, you already know.

Why it still holds up: The practical effects are fun, the premise is fantastic and its message about appreciating your family lands differently when you’re watching it as the parent.

3. Flight of the Navigator (1986)

---

Best for: Primary-school kids who love space
Watch for: Parental separation, being lost, medical testing and mild scary scenes

A 12-year-old boy goes into the woods in 1978 and returns home moments later.

Except eight years have passed.

He hasn’t aged at all.

Then there’s the small matter of a spaceship.

Flight of the Navigator has everything a great childhood sci-fi film needs: mystery, adventure, a kid at the centre of the action and the feeling that something extraordinary could be hiding just beyond your suburban street.

What parents should know

The underlying premise is actually quite intense. David is separated from his family, discovers they have aged without him and is held for observation while adults try to understand what happened.

Children and Media Australia recommends it from around six, with parental guidance through to nine, particularly because themes of getting lost and separation from parents can upset younger children.

Why it still holds up: It’s a fantastic gateway into sci-fi without throwing kids straight into something enormous or violent.

4. The Karate Kid (1984)

---

Best for: Older primary kids and tweens
Watch for: Bullying and martial-arts violence

Wax on.

Wax off.

There are certain cultural references your kids simply need to understand eventually.

Daniel LaRusso is the new kid, struggling with bullies and trying to find his place when he befriends Mr Miyagi, who begins teaching him karate in a way that involves a suspicious amount of household maintenance.

It’s an underdog sports movie, a friendship story and a coming-of-age classic rolled into one.

Why it still holds up: Mr Miyagi’s lessons about patience, discipline and restraint remain the real heart of the movie. It also opens up good conversations about bullying, confidence and the difference between learning to fight and looking for one.

5. The Little Mermaid (1989)

---

Best for: Younger primary kids and Disney fans
Watch for: Ursula, peril and some very intense sea-witch energy

Yes, The Little Mermaid only just sneaks into the decade, arriving in 1989.

But it counts.

Long before the live-action remake, Ariel was flipping her enormous red fringe underwater, collecting forks and making objectively questionable contractual arrangements with Ursula.

The animation still looks beautiful. The songs remain ridiculously good. Sebastian remains exhausted by everybody around him.

A deeply relatable character, frankly.

Why it still holds up: This is one of the easier entry points if you want to begin the ’80s classics with younger kids before progressing to murderous puppets and existential swamps.

6. The Land Before Time (1988)

---

Best for: Dinosaur-loving primary kids
Watch for: Parental death, separation and scary dinosaurs

Before there were approximately 47 sequels, there was the original The Land Before Time.

And it is beautiful.

It is also devastating.

Littlefoot sets out to find the Great Valley after being separated from his family, joining Cera, Ducky, Petrie and Spike along the way.

There’s friendship, courage and the sort of hand-drawn animation that instantly transports you back to childhood.

What parents should know

This one deals directly with grief and the death of a parent, alongside threatening dinosaurs and separation.

So perhaps don’t casually put it on because your preschooler “likes dinos” while you go and fold washing.

Why it still holds up: It’s a genuinely moving story about friendship, loss and finding your way forward after something difficult.

7. The Goonies (1985)

---

Best for: Older primary kids and tweens
Watch for: Language, peril, skeletons, criminals and peak ’80s chaos

Is any list of 80s childhood movies legally allowed to exist without The Goonies?

A group of kids discover an old treasure map and embark on a mission to find the fortune of One-Eyed Willy, hoping it might save their homes from being demolished.

What follows involves underground tunnels, booby traps, criminals, skeletons, pirate ships and a level of childhood independence modern parenting has simply never witnessed.

It is messy, loud and enormously fun.

What parents should know

There’s quite a bit of coarse language, bullying, danger and imagery that may frighten younger or sensitive children.

And you’ll almost certainly encounter at least one moment where you think, I cannot believe Mum let me watch this.

Why it still holds up: Kids are the heroes. Friendship matters. Grown-ups largely have no idea what’s going on. It is basically childhood wish fulfilment.

8. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

---

Best for: Older primary kids
Watch for: Separation, illness, frightening government scenes and intense emotions

You remember the bicycle flying across the moon.

You remember “E.T. phone home.”

You may have forgotten that this movie emotionally destroys you before putting you back together.

Elliott discovers a stranded alien and develops a deep friendship with him while trying to keep E.T. hidden and eventually get him home.

It is funny, strange, magical and incredibly tender.

What parents should know

Younger children can find the government intervention, E.T.’s illness and apparent death extremely distressing. Children and Media Australia considers it unsuitable for children under eight and recommends parental guidance through to 12.

Why it still holds up: Beneath all the sci-fi, it is really a story about empathy, friendship and loving someone enough to let them go.

Bring tissues (for yourself).

9. The NeverEnding Story (1984)

---

Best for: Older primary kids who like fantasy
Watch for: Grief, monsters, existential dread and THAT scene

There are two groups of parents.

Those who remember the Swamp of Sadness.

And those who have spent several decades successfully suppressing it.

Bastian discovers a mysterious book and becomes drawn into the magical world of Fantasia, which is slowly being consumed by a force called The Nothing.

There’s Falkor the luckdragon. The Childlike Empress. Atreyu.

And enough melancholy to make you wonder whether anyone involved had actually met a child.

What parents should know

This one genuinely can be frightening and upsetting. Children and Media Australia doesn’t recommend it for children under eight and suggests parental guidance until 10 because of death, monsters, dangerous situations and emotional scenes.

Why it still holds up: Imagination itself is the hero. It’s strange, earnest and unlike almost anything being made for children now.

10. Back to the Future (1985)

---

Best for: Tweens
Watch for: Language, violence, drinking, sexual references and some seriously awkward mother-son plot material

A teenager accidentally travels from 1985 back to 1955 in a DeLorean, where he meets his teenage parents and disrupts the moment they were supposed to fall in love.

You can see the issue.

Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd are brilliant, the story moves at an incredible pace and the DeLorean remains one of cinema’s greatest time machines.

But rewatching it as an adult also prompts several moments of:

Oh.

I forgot about that.

What parents should know

Children and Media Australia recommends Back to the Future from around 10, with parental guidance until 12, noting violence, coarse language, alcohol and mature themes.

There are also scenes involving unwanted sexual behaviour that are worth discussing with older children rather than simply letting sail past unnoticed.

Why it still holds up: It’s clever, genuinely funny and endlessly entertaining — but this is one where watching with your kids is better than simply putting it on for them.

11. Short Circuit (1986)

---

Best for: Older primary kids
Watch for: Dated jokes and language

An experimental military robot is struck by lightning, gains consciousness and develops an extremely enthusiastic personality.

Number 5 is alive.

The premise is wonderfully ’80s: take potentially terrifying military technology, give it an adorable personality and turn it into a family comedy.

There are plenty of slapstick moments and robot antics, but the bigger story is about what makes something, or someoneM  alive.

What parents should know

Some language, stereotypes and humour have aged significantly less well than the robot.

That doesn’t necessarily mean skipping it. It does mean being ready for a conversation about why something considered a joke in an old movie may not feel funny now.

Why it still holds up: Number 5 remains immensely charming, and kids who love robots will probably be sold within minutes.

12. SpaceCamp (1986)

---

Best for: Older primary kids and tweens
Watch for: Children in danger and some intense space sequences

Imagine sending your child to space camp and discovering they have accidentally been launched into actual space.

Quite the permission slip.

A group of young people attending a NASA camp suddenly find themselves aboard a shuttle orbiting Earth, forcing them to work together to get home.

Why it still holds up: For space-loving kids, the fantasy is irresistible. It’s also refreshingly earnest about science, teamwork and young people being capable of solving enormous problems.

13. Big (1988)

---

Best for: Tweens and older kids
Watch for: Sex, adult relationships, alcohol and surprisingly grown-up themes

A 12-year-old wishes to be “big” and wakes up in the body of Tom Hanks.

At first, adulthood looks incredible.

He can rent an apartment. Buy ridiculous toys. Get a job testing products.

Then adulthood starts doing what adulthood does.

What parents should know

This one is much more adult than its premise might make you remember.

Josh develops a romantic and sexual relationship while still mentally being a child, and there are themes around work, drinking and adult relationships that make Big better suited to older kids.

Watching it now also raises some very different questions than it did when we were children.

Why it still holds up: Tom Hanks is ridiculously likeable, the giant piano scene remains iconic and the movie understands something important: being a kid can feel frustrating until you’re suddenly asked to give it up.

14. Labyrinth (1986)

---

Best for: Older primary kids and tweens
Watch for: Kidnapped babies, creepy creatures, manipulation and David Bowie being David Bowie

There are movies.

And then there is David Bowie appearing in a castle wearing a spectacular wig, commanding an army of goblins and singing songs while Jennifer Connelly attempts to rescue a stolen baby.

Cinema peaked.

Sarah wishes her crying baby brother away and immediately regrets it when the Goblin King takes her request rather literally. To get him back, she must solve a labyrinth filled with strange creatures and tricks.

What parents should know

It is dark.

Children and Media Australia considers Labyrinth unsuitable for children under eight and recommends parental guidance until 11 because of frightening imagery, mild violence and adult themes.

Some aspects of Jareth’s relationship with teenage Sarah also look considerably more uncomfortable through adult eyes.

Why it still holds up: The puppetry and practical effects give it a texture modern CGI rarely replicates. It is odd, imaginative and completely committed to its own weirdness.

15. The Dark Crystal (1982)

---

Best for: Older kids who genuinely like dark fantasy
Watch for: Everything, frankly

“It’s Jim Henson. The kids will love it!”

Famous last words.

The Dark Crystal is an extraordinary fantasy made almost entirely with puppets and animatronics.

It is also populated by the Skeksis: nightmare bird-lizard creatures apparently designed to ensure an entire generation never slept again.

Jen, a young Gelfling, must restore a missing shard to a powerful crystal and heal his world.

What parents should know

Despite its Australian G classification, Children and Media Australia considers the movie unsuitable for children under eight and recommends parental guidance through to 11 because of frightening creatures, death, violence and dark themes.

Which is an excellent demonstration of why a classification isn’t the whole story when choosing a film for a sensitive child.

Why it still holds up: The world-building is phenomenal. Just don’t mistake puppets for preschool entertainment.

16. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

---

Best for: Tweens and older kids
Watch for: Violence, threatening villains, sexualised characters and one scene you have almost certainly blocked from memory

On paper, this sounds extremely kid-friendly.

Cartoon rabbit.

Detective story.

Animation mixed with live action.

Fun!

And then Judge Doom enters the chat.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit remains a technical marvel, blending animated and real characters in ways that still look impressive decades later.

But this is very much a film made to entertain adults and children, not simply a children’s movie.

What parents should know

There’s violence, drinking, innuendo and some genuinely disturbing material — particularly involving Judge Doom and the poor cartoon shoe.

Jessica Rabbit will probably also lead to some questions.

Why it still holds up: There is simply nothing else quite like it. Save it for the right age and it makes a brilliant family watch.

17. Gremlins (1984)

---

Best for: Older tweens who enjoy being scared
Watch for: Actual horror, violence and one wildly dark Christmas story

Another useful lesson from the 1980s:

Cute creature on the poster does not equal children’s movie.

Billy receives Gizmo, an adorable Mogwai, with three extremely clear rules.

Naturally, nobody follows them properly.

The result is an invasion of destructive gremlins and a Christmas movie so chaotic it has somehow become a family classic.

What parents should know

This isn’t “a little spooky”.

It contains violent and frightening scenes, characters in serious danger and some dark humour that can be genuinely upsetting.

It is much better treated as an introductory horror-comedy for older children than a cute creature feature.

Why it still holds up: Gizmo. Mostly Gizmo.

18. Willow (1988)

---

Best for: Older primary kids and tweens who love fantasy
Watch for: Fantasy violence, frightening creatures and darker scenes

Before sprawling fantasy franchises were everywhere, there was Willow.

A farmer and aspiring sorcerer discovers a baby destined to play an important role in defeating an evil queen, sending him on an enormous quest involving warriors, magic and some classic fantasy villains.

Val Kilmer’s Madmartigan brings much of the fun.

What parents should know

There are battles, creepy creatures, threats to a baby and darker magical imagery, so this isn’t necessarily your entry-level fantasy film.

But for kids who are ready to graduate from gentler adventures and want something epic, it can be a great bridge.

Why it still holds up: It has all the ingredients of a great fantasy adventure without requiring anyone to commit to nine films and three television spin-offs.

The easiest ’80s classics to start with

---

If you’ve decided your family movie nights are entering their retro era, you don’t necessarily need to begin with The Dark Crystal and see who survives.

For younger or less experienced movie-watchers, we’d start with:

• The Little Mermaid
• Flight of the Navigator
• Honey, I Shrunk the Kids

For older primary-school kids:

• The Princess Bride
• The Karate Kid
• The Goonies
• E.T.

For tweens:

• Back to the Future
• Big
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit
• Labyrinth

And for kids who actively enjoy creepy, dark or intense stories:

• The NeverEnding Story
• The Dark Crystal
• Gremlins

The best thing about showing kids the movies you grew up with

---

Will they love every movie you loved?

Absolutely not.

There will almost certainly be a moment when you excitedly introduce what you consider one of the defining cultural artefacts of your childhood and your child looks at you 11 minutes in and says:

“Is anything going to happen?”

Deep breaths.

But sharing old favourites isn’t really about convincing your kids that everything from your childhood was better.

It’s letting them see a tiny piece of who you were before you were their parent.

You get to tell them which bit terrified you. Which character you wanted to be. Which VHS you watched until the tape started wearing out.

And sometimes, somewhere between your nostalgia and their first experience of it, an old favourite becomes their favourite too.

That’s the good stuff.

Even if they still think the special effects look weird.

FAQs

---

What are the best ’80s movies to watch with kids?

Some of the most enduring family and childhood movies of the 1980s include The Princess Bride, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, The Goonies, Back to the Future, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, The Karate Kid, Flight of the Navigator and The NeverEnding Story. The best choice will depend on your child’s age and sensitivity to scary or emotional material.

What are good ’80s movies for younger kids?

The Little Mermaid is one of the more accessible options for younger children. Flight of the Navigator and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids can work well for primary-school children, although both contain scenes that may frighten sensitive kids. Children and Media Australia recommends parental guidance for younger viewers of the latter two films.

Are old G and PG movies suitable for young children?

Not necessarily. A classification tells you the general impact of content but can’t predict what an individual child might find frightening or upsetting. For example, The Dark Crystal has an Australian G classification, but Children and Media Australia recommends it only for children eight and over, with parental guidance through to 11 because of its violence, frightening imagery and themes.

Why do ’80s kids’ movies seem scarier than modern family movies?

Many popular family films from the decade contain relatively intense themes, frightening creatures, peril, death or coarse language alongside their child-friendly adventure. That doesn’t necessarily make them inappropriate, but it does make checking the content — rather than relying purely on nostalgia — worthwhile.