Family Movie Night

By: Vanessa Greaves

Pop the corn and dim the lights--we're staying in for Family Movie Night.

Family Movie Suggestions and MPAA Ratings

When we asked the staff at Allrecipes.com which movies they like to watch with their own families, some titles emerged as clear favorites:

Animated

Beauty and the Beast (G)
Cars (G)
Finding Nemo (G)
Happy Feet (PG)
Horton Hears a Who (G)
Ice Age 1 & 2 (PG)
The Incredibles (PG)
The Iron Giant (PG)
Kung Fu Panda (PG)
The Lion King (G)
Monsters, Inc. (G)
My Neighbor Totoro (G)
Ratatouille (G)
Shrek and Shrek 2 (PG)
Speed Racer (PG)
Surf's Up (PG)
Toy Story and Toy Story 2 (G)
Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (G)
WALL-E (G)

Musical

Ella Enchanted (PG)
Grease (PG)
Mary Poppins (G)
The Sound of Music (G)
The Wizard of Oz (G)
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (G)

Fantasy/Sci-Fi

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (PG)
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (PG)
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (PG)
Harry Potter (3 films rated PG; Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix rated PG-13)
The Lord of the Rings (3 films rated PG-13)
The Princess Bride (PG)
Star Wars (5 films rated PG; Revenge of the Sith rated PG-13)
The Secret of Roan Inish (PG)
Transformers (PG-13)

Classic Capers

The Goonies (PG)
The Italian Job (1969 version, rated G)
The Pink Panther (1963 version, unrated)

A Brief History of Popcorn

How did this grain go from early Aztec staple to cinematic snack?

Ears of popcorn were discovered in a cave in New Mexico in 1948. More ancient than anything you've ever found in the back of your pantry, these specimens were over 4,000 years old.
Popcorn was an essential food for Aztec and Peruvian civilizations; European explorers from the 16th century described Aztec rituals involving popcorn.
During the Great Depression, popcorn was an affordable snack.
When sugar was scarce during WWII, popcorn surged in popularity in the United States.
TV viewing at home sent movie popcorn sales into a slump until families started popping their own.
The average American consumes about 68 quarts of popcorn every year.

It's Friday night--do you know where your kids are? You'll have the answer if you set aside one evening every week for watching movies together. It doesn't have to be on Friday, but that's a good time to unwind and reconnect before the weekend pulls you in different directions again. To get you started on your own private film festival, we've compiled a list of favorite family flicks and choice movie munchies.

Make a Movie Date

Schedule Family Movie Night every week and stick to it. Who knows? Maybe your eye-rolling teenagers will even start looking forward to it.

So many movies--so little time. If you have trouble deciding what to watch, write your choices on slips of paper and put them in a jar. Pull out one or two titles, and give yourself plenty of time to rent movies if necessary.
Are you doing dinner and a movie? Have a little fun and pull together a menu around the theme of the film. Keep things simple so you won't have to face a big cleanup when the lights come on.
Double features are a good way to see a kid-friendly movie with the children, and a grownup movie when the little ones go to bed. Plan an intermission between films so you can get up and stretch your legs.
Get everyone in their jammies before the movie starts. If you're short on seating, it's your prerogative to call dibs on the couch and let the kids nestle into pillows and blankets on the floor. (After all, you're the adult. You paid for the movie.)
Darken the room, send phone calls to voice mail and roll the film!

Movie Snacks

It's fun to graze your way through a movie, especially since family seems more forgiving of all the rustling, crunching and slurping. Besides, making movie night food can be part of the family fun.

First stop: popcorn!