19 Top Underrated Family Movies

Underneath its sooty trappings, this musical version of Dickensian London is buoyant and full of life. Kids will automatically connect with the amiable little orphan, and the undeniably jubilant show tunes make the grimness more than palatable.

If You're Okay with kids who drink, smoke, and steal and a heroine who gets murdered

In the Spirit of Pinocchio

Hayao Miyazaki, the Walt Disney of Japan, is the man behind this tale of Kiki (voiced by Kirsten Dunst), a 13-year-old witch in training, who puts her broom-riding ability to good use by founding a speedy-delivery company. The real challenge for Kiki, though, is making friends and finding a place for herself in a nonmystical world.

If You're Okay with the Hindenburg-like crash of an airship involving a boy (who is saved)

In the Spirit of The Harry Potter films

Swashbuckling swordfights, a giant spider, a powerful genie: This lavishly produced Arabian Nights tale is pure golden-age-of-filmmaking adventure.

If You're Okay with villains being felled by swords and arrows; the creative spelling of a major Middle Eastern city

In the Spirit of Aladdin

It may be a romantic comedy about adults, but both of this film's "grown-ups" (Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn) are so childlike in their behavior that kids will easily relate. Be warned, though: Your kid may ask for a pet leopard.

If You're Okay with cigarette smoking and a rather innocent joke about "going gay"

In the Spirit of Enchanted

The unlikely protagonists of this modern fable are household items (a vacuum, a radio, a lamp, etc.) who decide to leave the abandoned house where they were gathering dust and search for the family they once belonged to.

If You're Okay with appliance torture

In the Spirit of Toy Story

Professor Harold Hill (Robert Preston) is a con artist aiming to bilk a town full of sweet, naive people out of their money, yet you root for him all the way. You can't help yourself; Hill is just so darn likable—along with everything else from this movie, from the vibrant sets and costumes to the unorthodox songs that play with words and melodies.

If You're Okay with a morally ambiguous hero

In the Spirit of The Sound of Music

Two kids journey through wild China to rescue a panda cub from poachers. Sliding down waterfalls, hanging from rope bridges—it's all thrilling without ever being too scary.

If You're Okay with an 11-year-old boy and girl trying to hide their naked bodies from each other (with no visible nudity)

In the Spirit of Nim's Island

It's a true story about a single father (Jeff Daniels) and daughter (Anna Paquin) who build one-person airplanes to guide a flock of lost geese south for their winter migration.

If You're Okay with a muttered "Holy shit!" at the 1 hour, 25 minute mark

In the Spirit of E. T.

This silent Buster Keaton masterpiece is a classic underdog story—a foppish son can't win praise from his tough-as-nails riverboat-captain dad until he saves the day during a storm.

If You're Okay with a hurricane being used as a source of humor

In the Spirit of A Bug's Life