Watch This!

Top fifty films for children up to the age of 14

In alphabetical order:

• A Day at the Races (Sam Wood, 1937, USA)
• The Adventures of Robin Hood (Michael Curtiz/William Keighley, 1938, USA)
• Au revoir les enfants (Louis Malle, 1987, France/W.Germany)
• Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis, 1985, USA)
• Beauty and the Beast (Gary Trousdale/Kirk Wise, 1991, USA)
• Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, 1948, Italy)
• Billy Elliot (Stephen Daldry, 2000, UK/France)
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982, USA)
• Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton, 1990, USA)
• Etre et Avoir (Nicolas Philibert, 2002, France)
• Finding Nemo (Andrew Stanton/Lee Unkrich, 2003, USA)
• It's a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946, USA)
• Jason and the Argonauts (Don Chaffey, 1963, UK/USA)
• Kes (Ken Loach, 1969, UK)
• The Kid (Charles Chaplin, 1921, USA)
• King Kong (Merian C.Cooper/Ernest B.Schoedsack, 1933, USA)
• Kirikou et la sorcière (Michel Ocelot, 1998, France/Belgium/Luxembourg)
• La Belle et la bête (Jean Cocteau, 1946, France / Luxembourg)
• Le Voyage dans la lune (Georges Melies, 1902, France)
• Les Quatre cents coups (Francois Truffaut, 1959, France)
• Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (Jacques Tati, 1953, France)
• My Life as a Dog (Lasse Halstrom, 1985, Sweden)
• My Neighbour Totoro (Hayao Miyazaki, 1988, Japan/USA)
• The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955, USA)
• Oliver Twist (David Lean, 1948, UK)
• The Outsiders (Francis Ford Coppola, 1983, USA)
• Pather Panchali (Satyajit Ray, 1955, India)
• Playtime (Jacques Tati, 1967, France/Italy)
• The Princess Bride (Rob Reiner, 1987, USA)
• Rabbit-Proof Fence (Phillip Noyce, 2002, Australia)
• Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981, USA)
• The Railway Children (Lionel Jeffries, 1970, UK)
• The Red Balloon (Albert Lamorisse, 1956, France)
• Romeo + Juliet (Baz Luhrman, 1996, USA)
• The Secret Garden (Agnieszka Holland, 1993, UK/USA)
• Show Me Love (Lukas Moodysson, 1998, Sweden/Denmark)
• Singin' in the Rain (Stanley Donen/Gene Kelly, 1952, USA)
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney, 1937, USA)
• Some Like it Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959, USA)
• The Spirit of the Beehive (Victor Erice, 1973, Spain)
• Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001, Japan)
• Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977, USA)
• To Kill a Mockingbird (Robert Mulligan, 1962, USA)
• Toy Story (John Lasseter, 1995, USA)
• Walkabout (Nicholas Roeg, 1971, UK)
• Whale Rider (Niki Caro, 2002, New Zealand)
• Where is the Friend's House? (Abbas Kiarostami, 1987, Iran)
• Whistle Down the Wind (Bryan Forbes, 1961, UK)
• The White Balloon (Jafar Panahi, 1995, Iran)
• The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939, USA)

This list is based on nominations and votes from those attending the Watch This! debate at the Barbican Cinema on 13 July 2005, from a wide range of individuals, including filmmakers and teachers, and from a number of children's film organisations across Europe.