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The best 250 family-friendly movies...according to statistics!

I occasionally do fun personal projects that are just for me. For the past couple of weeks, I have been occupied with a personal project to pull large swaths of content down from the Internet and ingesting them into a multi-gigabyte database for the singular purpose of finding "good" movies that I haven't seen before. It took a while to decide what "good" would be qualified as. I'm not a fan of most PG-13 and R-rated films because they tend to just be gross for a wide variety of reasons but plenty of PG and even G-rated films have issues too. Very few films make it above the garbage heap and manage to be actually good (e.g. acting, CG/VFX, musical score, singing). However, sifting through hundreds of thousands of movies manually to find the good stuff is not how software developers do things. Let's just say that there was some mischief with web scraping involved using the Ultimate Web Scraper Toolkit. I ended up combining three different databases into a single SQLite database and writing some software to generate the results found in this post.

Since me blabbing about details on how to read the list is not what you are actually here for, I'll save that until AFTER the list. Without further ado, here are, according to statistics and math, the top 250 family-friendly* movies of all time (as of February 2020):

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1. Spirited Away (2002; PG; age 9+; tt0245429; 84; 587,685 votes; 0.3.0.0.2; Adventure, Animation, Family)

2. Dangal (2017; age 12+; tt5074352; 84; 135,776 votes; 1.2.0.0.1; Action, Biography, Drama)

3. WALL-E (2008; G; age 5+; tt0910970; 83; 945,023 votes; 1.3.0.3.0; Adventure, Animation, Family)

4. The Lion King (1994) (1994; G; age 6+; tt0110357; 82; 886,397 votes; 1.3.0.3.0; Adventure, Animation, Drama)

5. Toy Story 3 (2010; G; age 6+; tt0435761; 82; 718,145 votes; 1.3.1.4.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

6. Inside Out (2015; PG; age 6+; tt2096673; 82; 567,274 votes; 1.2.1.3.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

7. Klaus (2019; PG; age 6+; tt4729430; 82; 57,372 votes; 1.3.2.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

8. Apollo 11 (2019; G; age 5+; tt8760684; 82; 15,937 votes; 0.0.1.1.2; Documentary, History)

9. Up (2009; PG; age 6+; tt1049413; 81; 882,719 votes; 0.2.0.3.1; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

10. Song of the Sea (2014; PG; age 7+; tt1865505; 81; 46,751 votes; 1.3.0.0.1; Adventure, Animation, Drama)

11. Togo (2019; PG; age 10+; tt5116302; 81; 16,692 votes; 1.3.1.0.1; Adventure, Biography, Drama)

12. Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope (1977; PG; age 7+; tt0076759; 80; 1,172,772 votes; 1.3.2.0.1; Action, Adventure, Fantasy)

13. Toy Story (1995) (1995; G; age 5+; tt0114709; 80; 836,428 votes; 0.2.1.4.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

14. How to Train Your Dragon (2010; PG; age 7+; tt0892769; 80; 633,457 votes; 1.3.1.1.0; Action, Adventure, Animation)

15. Zootopia (2016; PG; age 8+; tt2948356; 80; 404,392 votes; 1.3.2.1.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

16. Howl's Moving Castle (2005; PG; age 8+; tt0347149; 80; 296,936 votes; 1.3.0.0.1; Adventure, Animation, Family)

17. Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2010; G; age 10+; tt1028532; 80; 235,106 votes; 1.2.0.0.1; Drama, Family)

18. Wonder (2017; PG; age 10+; tt2543472; 80; 123,574 votes; 1.2.2.3.2; Drama, Family)

19. Little Women (2019) (2019; PG; age 10+; tt3281548; 80; 61,200 votes; 2.2.1.0.2; Drama, Romance)

20. Children of Heaven (1999; PG; age 10+; tt0118849; 80; 58,021 votes; 0.1.1.0.0; Drama, Family, Sport)

21. Wolf Children (2013; PG; age 12+; tt2140203; 80; 34,528 votes; 1.2.2.0.0; Animation, Drama, Family)

22. Finding Nemo (2003; G; age 5+; tt0266543; 79; 902,070 votes; 0.3.0.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

23. Ratatouille (2007; G; age 6+; tt0382932; 79; 604,874 votes; 1.3.1.0.1; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

24. Toy Story 4 (2019; G; age 5+; tt1979376; 79; 156,899 votes; 1.2.0.4.1; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

25. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2014; PG; age 9+; tt2576852; 79; 31,105 votes; 1.2.0.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Drama)

26. Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2019; PG; age 10+; tt7961060; 79; 19,732 votes; 1.3.2.1.0; Action, Adventure, Animation)

27. Earth (2009; G; age 6+; tt0393597; 79; 13,995 votes; 1.2.0.0.0; Documentary)

28. Star Wars: Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi (1983; PG; age 8+; tt0086190; 78; 902,525 votes; 1.3.0.0.0; Action, Adventure, Fantasy)

29. Monsters, Inc. (2001; G; age 5+; tt0198781; 78; 771,544 votes; 1.2.0.3.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

30. The Incredibles (2004; PG; age 7+; tt0317705; 78; 626,380 votes; 2.3.1.1.2; Action, Adventure, Animation)

31. Life of Pi (2012; PG; age 12+; tt0454876; 78; 554,200 votes; 1.3.1.0.0; Adventure, Drama, Fantasy)

32. Big Hero 6 (2014; PG; age 7+; tt2245084; 78; 388,426 votes; 0.3.0.3.1; Action, Adventure, Animation)

33. How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014; PG; age 7+; tt1646971; 78; 290,538 votes; 2.3.1.1.0; Action, Adventure, Animation)

34. My Neighbor Totoro (1988; G; age 5+; tt0096283; 78; 255,635 votes; 0.1.0.0.0; Animation, Family, Fantasy)

35. Hidden Figures (2016; PG; age 10+; tt4846340; 78; 182,414 votes; 1.0.2.0.2; Biography, Drama, History)

36. Paddington 2 (2018; PG; age 6+; tt4468740; 78; 53,631 votes; 1.3.0.1.0; Adventure, Comedy, Family)

37. Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2012; PG; age 11+; tt1772925; 78; 31,779 votes; 0.0.0.0.1; Documentary)

38. Ernest & Celestine (2014; PG; age 6+; tt1816518; 78; 16,761 votes; 0.2.1.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

39. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004; PG; age 10+; tt0304141; 77; 512,203 votes; 0.3.1.0.2; Adventure, Family, Fantasy)

40. The Princess Bride (1987; PG; age 8+; tt0093779; 77; 372,938 votes; 2.3.2.0.2; Adventure, Family, Fantasy)

41. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009; PG; age 7+; tt0432283; 77; 184,432 votes; 1.3.2.0.2; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

42. The Iron Giant (1999; PG; age 6+; tt0129167; 77; 163,176 votes; 0.3.2.1.1; Action, Adventure, Animation)

43. The Little Prince (2016; PG; age 10+; tt1754656; 77; 52,607 votes; 0.3.1.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Drama)

44. Whisper of the Heart (2006; G; age 10+; tt0113824; 77; 43,010 votes; 1.0.1.0.2; Animation, Drama, Family)

45. When Marnie Was There (2015; PG; age 9+; tt3398268; 77; 26,464 votes; 0.2.2.0.2; Animation, Drama, Family)

46. Dersu Uzala (1975; G; tt0071411; 77; 21,969 votes; ?.?.?.?.?; Adventure, Biography, Drama)

47. Millennium Actress (2002; PG; age 12+; tt0291350; 77; 21,064 votes; 0.3.1.0.1; Animation, Drama, Fantasy)

48. Kedi (2017; age 8+; tt4420704; 77; 11,818 votes; 0.2.0.0.0; Documentary)

49. Winged Migration (2003; G; age 7+; tt0301727; 77; 11,293 votes; 0.3.0.0.0; Documentary)

50. Fed Up (2014; PG; age 10+; tt2381335; 77; 11,133 votes; 0.0.1.2.0; Documentary)

51. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968; G; age 12+; tt0062622; 76; 567,069 votes; 0.3.1.2.0; Adventure, Sci-Fi)

52. Toy Story 2 (1999; G; age 5+; tt0120363; 76; 498,898 votes; 0.2.1.4.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

53. Beauty and the Beast (1991; G; age 6+; tt0101414; 76; 402,244 votes; 2.3.0.1.1; Animation, Family, Fantasy)

54. Tangled (2010; PG; age 5+; tt0398286; 76; 382,768 votes; 1.3.1.2.1; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

55. Wreck-It Ralph (2012; PG; age 7+; tt1772341; 76; 360,689 votes; 1.3.2.2.2; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

56. Aladdin (1992; G; age 6+; tt0103639; 76; 346,867 votes; 2.3.1.3.1; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

57. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993; PG; age 7+; tt0107688; 76; 278,812 votes; 0.3.0.2.0; Animation, Family, Fantasy)

58. Moana (2016; PG; age 6+; tt3521164; 76; 243,535 votes; 0.3.2.1.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

59. Pride & Prejudice (2005; PG; age 11+; tt0414387; 76; 238,608 votes; 1.0.1.0.1; Drama, Romance)

60. Incredibles 2 (2018; PG; age 8+; tt3606756; 76; 225,661 votes; 1.3.2.1.2; Action, Adventure, Animation)

61. The Greatest Showman (2017; PG; age 10+; tt1485796; 76; 214,342 votes; 2.2.2.0.2; Biography, Drama, Musical)

62. Coraline (2009; PG; age 9+; tt0327597; 76; 184,582 votes; 2.3.2.0.0; Animation, Drama, Family)

63. Ponyo (2009; G; age 5+; tt0876563; 76; 112,001 votes; 1.2.1.0.1; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

64. Flipped (2010; PG; age 11+; tt0817177; 76; 77,274 votes; 0.0.2.0.0; Comedy, Drama, Romance)

65. Veer-Zaara (2004; age 11+; tt0420332; 76; 46,401 votes; 2.3.2.0.1; Drama, Family, Musical)

66. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019; age 12+; tt7533152; 76; 16,942 votes; 0.2.2.0.0; Drama)

67. Encounters at the End of the World (2008; G; age 7+; tt1093824; 76; 16,555 votes; 0.0.0.0.0; Documentary)

68. Microcosmos (1996; G; age 6+; tt0117040; 76; 10,429 votes; 0.1.0.0.0; Documentary)

69. Despicable Me (2010; PG; age 6+; tt1323594; 75; 479,446 votes; 0.3.1.2.0; Animation, Comedy, Family)

70. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009; PG; age 12+; tt0417741; 75; 439,311 votes; 2.3.1.0.2; Action, Adventure, Family)

71. Rear Window (1954; PG; age 12+; tt0047396; 75; 416,553 votes; 1.2.0.1.2; Mystery, Thriller)

72. It's a Wonderful Life (1946; age 9+; tt0038650; 75; 376,239 votes; 1.3.0.0.0; Drama, Family, Fantasy)

73. Finding Neverland (2004; PG; age 11+; tt0308644; 75; 193,644 votes; 1.2.2.0.1; Biography, Drama, Family)

74. Remember the Titans (2000; PG; age 10+; tt0210945; 75; 189,249 votes; 1.2.2.0.0; Biography, Drama, Sport)

75. Castle in the Sky (1986; age 9+; tt0092067; 75; 135,793 votes; 0.3.0.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Drama)

76. Kiki's Delivery Service (1998; G; age 5+; tt0097814; 75; 106,629 votes; 0.1.1.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Drama)

77. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019; PG; age 7+; tt2386490; 75; 87,179 votes; 1.3.1.1.0; Action, Adventure, Animation)

78. The Secret World of Arrietty (2012; G; age 7+; tt1568921; 75; 71,303 votes; 0.2.0.1.0; Adventure, Animation, Family)

79. The Secret of Kells (2010; age 9+; tt0485601; 75; 29,388 votes; 0.3.0.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Family)

80. The Red Turtle (2017; PG; age 8+; tt3666024; 75; 27,629 votes; 2.2.0.0.0; Animation, Family, Fantasy)

81. The Art of Racing in the Rain (2019; PG; age 10+; tt1478839; 75; 14,519 votes; 1.3.1.3.1; Comedy, Drama, Romance)

82. The Road Home (1999; G; tt0235060; 75; 11,927 votes; ?.?.?.?.?; Drama, History, Romance)

83. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001; PG; age 7+; tt0241527; 74; 594,989 votes; 0.3.0.0.0; Adventure, Family, Fantasy)

84. Frozen (2013; PG; age 5+; tt2294629; 74; 544,706 votes; 1.2.1.1.1; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

85. Kung Fu Panda (2008; PG; age 6+; tt0441773; 74; 397,202 votes; 0.3.0.0.0; Action, Adventure, Animation)

86. Hugo (2011; PG; age 8+; tt0970179; 74; 292,470 votes; 1.2.1.0.2; Drama, Family, Fantasy)

87. The Remains of the Day (1993; PG; age 10+; tt0107943; 74; 60,813 votes; 1.1.2.0.2; Drama, Romance)

88. McFarland, USA (2015; PG; age 10+; tt2097298; 74; 33,267 votes; 1.2.1.3.1; Biography, Drama, Sport)

89. A Little Princess (1995; G; age 7+; tt0113670; 74; 30,487 votes; 0.3.0.0.1; Drama, Family, Fantasy)

90. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018; age 12+; tt1289403; 74; 27,042 votes; 0.2.1.0.2; Drama, History, Romance)

91. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019; PG; age 10+; tt3224458; 74; 25,707 votes; 1.2.2.1.2; Biography, Drama)

92. Wadjda (2013; PG; age 9+; tt2258858; 74; 16,958 votes; 1.1.1.1.2; Comedy, Drama)

93. Queen of Katwe (2016; PG; age 10+; tt4341582; 74; 14,004 votes; 2.3.1.0.1; Biography, Drama, Sport)

94. Waiting for "Superman" (2010; PG; age 12+; tt1566648; 74; 10,401 votes; 0.1.1.0.1; Documentary)

95. Ice Age (2002; PG; age 6+; tt0268380; 73; 419,122 votes; 0.3.0.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

96. Mulan (1998; G; age 5+; tt0120762; 73; 234,756 votes; 1.3.0.3.1; Adventure, Animation, Family)

97. Finding Dory (2016; PG; age 6+; tt2277860; 73; 224,640 votes; 0.3.0.2.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

98. Singin' in the Rain (1952; age 6+; tt0045152; 73; 205,671 votes; 1.0.0.0.2; Comedy, Musical, Romance)

99. Modern Times (1936; age 6+; tt0027977; 73; 201,763 votes; 0.1.1.0.2; Comedy, Drama, Family)

100. Planet of the Apes (1968) (1968; G; age 12+; tt0063442; 73; 159,495 votes; 2.3.2.0.1; Adventure, Sci-Fi)

101. The Bicycle Thief (1948; age 12+; tt0040522; 73; 134,667 votes; 0.1.1.0.1; Drama)

102. Sense and Sensibility (1995; PG; age 11+; tt0114388; 73; 96,033 votes; 1.0.1.0.2; Drama, Romance)

103. The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014; PG; age 12+; tt2980648; 73; 72,492 votes; 1.2.2.1.2; Comedy, Drama)

104. The Book of Life (2014; PG; age 7+; tt2262227; 73; 61,601 votes; 2.3.1.3.1; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

105. Christopher Robin (2018; PG; age 8+; tt4575576; 73; 61,412 votes; 1.2.1.1.0; Adventure, Comedy, Drama)

106. March of the Penguins (2005; G; age 6+; tt0428803; 73; 54,395 votes; 0.2.0.0.0; Documentary, Family)

107. Secondhand Lions (2003; PG; age 10+; tt0327137; 73; 49,876 votes; 0.3.2.0.2; Comedy, Drama, Family)

108. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992; G; age 5+; tt0104940; 73; 45,592 votes; 0.0.0.0.0; Comedy, Drama, Family)

109. Miracle (2004; PG; age 8+; tt0349825; 73; 44,902 votes; 1.3.2.0.1; Biography, Drama, History)

110. Fiddler on the Roof (1971; G; age 10+; tt0067093; 73; 36,709 votes; 0.3.0.0.2; Drama, Family, Musical)

111. Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015; PG; age 5+; tt2872750; 73; 34,816 votes; 1.2.1.2.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

112. From up on Poppy Hill (2013; PG; age 9+; tt1798188; 73; 28,172 votes; 2.1.1.0.2; Animation, Drama, Family)

113. Little Manhattan (2005; PG; age 10+; tt0412922; 73; 21,614 votes; 0.3.0.3.0; Comedy, Family, Romance)

114. Only Yesterday (1991; PG; age 11+; tt0102587; 73; 21,469 votes; 2.1.1.0.2; Animation, Drama, Romance)

115. The Bear (1989; PG; age 10+; tt0095800; 73; 15,748 votes; 1.3.0.0.2; Adventure, Drama, Family)

116. The Miracle Worker (1962; age 10+; tt0056241; 73; 15,042 votes; 0.0.0.0.0; Biography, Drama)

117. Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2011; G; age 9+; tt1664894; 73; 14,423 votes; 0.1.0.0.0; Documentary, History)

118. I Can Only Imagine (2018; PG; age 10+; tt6450186; 73; 12,705 votes; 1.2.0.0.0; Biography, Drama, Family)

119. Spellbound (2003; G; age 8+; tt0334405; 73; 11,685 votes; 0.1.1.0.1; Comedy, Documentary, Thriller)

120. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002; PG; age 8+; tt0295297; 72; 515,297 votes; 0.3.0.0.0; Adventure, Family, Fantasy)

121. Despicable Me 2 (2013; PG; age 6+; tt1690953; 72; 355,050 votes; 1.2.1.2.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

122. Monsters University (2013; G; age 5+; tt1453405; 72; 304,444 votes; 1.2.0.3.1; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

123. The Little Mermaid (1989; G; age 5+; tt0097757; 72; 223,962 votes; 2.3.0.4.0; Animation, Family, Fantasy)

124. The Sound of Music (1965; age 6+; tt0059742; 72; 192,412 votes; 1.1.0.0.1; Biography, Drama, Family)

125. City Lights (1931; G; tt0021749; 72; 155,448 votes; ?.?.?.?.?; Comedy, Drama, Romance)

126. Rise of the Guardians (2012; PG; age 7+; tt1446192; 72; 150,200 votes; 0.2.1.2.0; Action, Adventure, Animation)

127. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005; G; age 7+; tt0312004; 72; 119,871 votes; 0.3.0.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

128. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982; PG; age 10+; tt0084726; 72; 108,097 votes; 1.3.2.2.2; Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi)

129. The Young Victoria (2009; PG; age 12+; tt0962736; 72; 55,379 votes; 1.1.1.0.1; Biography, Drama, History)

130. Belle (2014; PG; age 11+; tt2404181; 72; 26,754 votes; 1.2.1.0.1; Biography, Drama, Romance)

131. Stan & Ollie (2018; PG; age 10+; tt3385524; 72; 26,706 votes; 1.2.1.0.1; Biography, Comedy, Drama)

132. Inherit the Wind (1960; age 12+; tt0053946; 72; 25,648 votes; 0.1.1.0.0; Biography, Drama, History)

133. To Be or Not to Be (1942; age 11+; tt0035446; 72; 24,445 votes; 2.2.0.0.1; Comedy, War)

134. Pele: Birth of a Legend (2016; PG; age 10+; tt0995868; 72; 14,866 votes; 0.1.1.0.1; Biography, Drama, Sport)

135. Beauty and the Beast (2017; PG; age 8+; tt2771200; 71; 253,763 votes; 2.3.1.1.1; Family, Fantasy, Musical)

136. Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011; PG; age 6+; tt1302011; 71; 238,974 votes; 0.3.0.3.0; Action, Adventure, Animation)

137. Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (2005; PG; age 10+; tt0121164; 71; 230,853 votes; 0.3.0.0.0; Animation, Drama, Family)

138. Rango (2011; PG; age 9+; tt1192628; 71; 223,758 votes; 1.3.2.1.2; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

139. Megamind (2010; PG; age 6+; tt1001526; 71; 215,792 votes; 2.2.1.1.0; Action, Animation, Comedy)

140. The Croods (2013; PG; age 8+; tt0481499; 71; 182,386 votes; 1.3.1.2.0; Action, Adventure, Animation)

141. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971; G; age 8+; tt0067992; 71; 168,128 votes; 0.3.0.0.1; Family, Fantasy, Musical)

142. Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016; PG; age 6+; tt2267968; 71; 123,874 votes; 1.3.1.3.0; Action, Adventure, Animation)

143. Sing (2016; PG; age 7+; tt3470600; 71; 123,775 votes; 2.3.2.1.2; Animation, Comedy, Family)

144. Frozen 2 (2019; PG; age 6+; tt4520988; 71; 72,279 votes; 1.3.0.1.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

145. The Christmas Chronicles (2018; age 10+; tt2990140; 71; 41,841 votes; 1.3.2.2.0; Adventure, Comedy, Family)

146. The Cat Returns (2005; G; age 10+; tt0347618; 71; 41,073 votes; 1.3.0.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

147. The Peanuts Movie (2015; G; age 4+; tt2452042; 71; 40,383 votes; 1.2.1.3.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

148. Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009; PG; age 10+; tt1477715; 71; 37,447 votes; 2.2.0.0.0; Documentary, Drama, Music)

149. The Secret of NIMH (1982; G; age 8+; tt0084649; 71; 34,456 votes; 0.3.1.0.1; Adventure, Animation, Drama)

150. Chasing Mavericks (2012; PG; age 10+; tt1629757; 71; 29,682 votes; 1.3.1.1.2; Biography, Drama, Sport)

151. Secretariat (2010; PG; age 8+; tt1028576; 71; 25,266 votes; 0.0.2.0.1; Biography, Drama, Family)

152. Winnie the Pooh (2011; G; age 3+; tt1449283; 71; 20,440 votes; 0.1.0.2.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

153. A Christmas Carol (1951) (1951; age 8+; tt0044008; 71; 19,041 votes; 0.2.0.0.0; Drama, Fantasy)

154. Miracles from Heaven (2016; PG; age 10+; tt4257926; 71; 18,888 votes; 0.2.1.1.0; Biography, Drama, Family)

155. Akeelah and the Bee (2006; PG; age 8+; tt0437800; 71; 17,646 votes; 1.2.1.1.1; Drama, Family)

156. My Life as a Dog (1987; PG; age 11+; tt0089606; 71; 17,541 votes; 2.2.0.0.0; Comedy, Drama)

157. Limelight (1952; G; tt0044837; 71; 16,794 votes; ?.?.?.?.?; Drama, Music, Romance)

158. Shrek 2 (2004; PG; age 6+; tt0298148; 70; 398,323 votes; 0.0.0.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

159. Brave (2012; PG; age 8+; tt1217209; 70; 353,313 votes; 2.3.0.3.1; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

160. Maleficent (2014; PG; age 8+; tt1587310; 70; 326,438 votes; 1.3.1.3.0; Action, Adventure, Family)

161. Hotel Transylvania (2012; PG; age 7+; tt0837562; 70; 212,047 votes; 1.2.1.2.0; Animation, Comedy, Family)

162. Tarzan (1999; G; age 6+; tt0120855; 70; 191,351 votes; 1.3.0.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Family)

163. Aladdin (2019; PG; age 8+; tt6139732; 70; 186,335 votes; 2.3.1.1.1; Adventure, Family, Fantasy)

164. The Emperor's New Groove (2000; G; age 6+; tt0120917; 70; 168,601 votes; 1.2.1.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

165. Lilo and Stitch (2002; PG; age 5+; tt0275847; 70; 157,533 votes; 0.3.1.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

166. Mary Poppins (1964; G; age 6+; tt0058331; 70; 149,599 votes; 1.0.0.0.2; Comedy, Family, Fantasy)

167. Galaxy Quest (1999; PG; age 8+; tt0177789; 70; 141,831 votes; 1.3.1.0.2; Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi)

168. Bridge to Terabithia (2007; PG; age 9+; tt0398808; 70; 136,254 votes; 1.2.2.1.0; Drama, Family, Fantasy)

169. The Princess and the Frog (2009; G; age 6+; tt0780521; 70; 115,269 votes; 1.2.0.3.1; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

170. Treasure Planet (2002; PG; age 9+; tt0133240; 70; 95,115 votes; 0.3.1.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Family)

171. The Muppets (2011; PG; age 5+; tt1204342; 70; 84,478 votes; 1.2.1.3.0; Adventure, Comedy, Family)

172. My Fair Lady (1964; G; age 6+; tt0058385; 70; 82,416 votes; 0.1.2.0.2; Drama, Family, Musical)

173. The Land Before Time (1988; G; age 6+; tt0095489; 70; 75,897 votes; 0.3.0.1.0; Adventure, Animation, Drama)

174. Arthur Christmas (2011; PG; age 5+; tt1430607; 70; 48,111 votes; 0.2.1.1.2; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

175. Little Women (1994; PG; age 11+; tt0110367; 70; 47,725 votes; 1.2.0.0.1; Drama, Family, Romance)

176. The Natural (1984; PG; age 11+; tt0087781; 70; 41,320 votes; 2.3.2.1.2; Drama, Sport)

177. Mr. Holland's Opus (1997; PG; age 10+; tt0113862; 70; 34,262 votes; 2.0.2.0.1; Drama, Music)

178. Watership Down (1978) (1978; PG; age 11+; tt0078480; 70; 32,060 votes; 1.3.1.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Drama)

179. The Muppet Movie (1979; G; age 6+; tt0079588; 70; 30,711 votes; 1.3.0.1.2; Adventure, Comedy, Family)

180. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977; G; age 3+; tt0076363; 70; 30,656 votes; 0.1.0.1.0; Animation, Comedy, Family)

181. The Odd Couple (1968; G; age 12+; tt0063374; 70; 30,015 votes; 1.1.1.1.2; Comedy)

182. Searching for Bobby Fischer (2002; PG; age 8+; tt0108065; 70; 27,944 votes; 0.0.1.0.2; Biography, Drama)

183. The Last Unicorn (1982; G; age 9+; tt0084237; 70; 23,230 votes; 2.3.2.0.1; Adventure, Animation, Drama)

184. Pom Poko (1994; PG; age 10+; tt0110008; 70; 20,490 votes; 1.3.1.0.1; Animation, Comedy, Drama)

185. What's Up, Doc? (1972; PG; age 6+; tt0069495; 70; 18,091 votes; 1.0.0.0.0; Comedy)

186. Abominable (2019; PG; age 8+; tt6324278; 70; 17,673 votes; 1.3.0.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

187. A Night to Remember (1958; age 10+; tt0051994; 70; 12,727 votes; 1.2.1.0.2; Biography, Drama, History)

188. The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017; PG; age 8+; tt6225520; 70; 11,103 votes; 0.1.1.0.2; Biography, Comedy, Drama)

189. The Court Jester (1956; age 6+; tt0049096; 70; 10,843 votes; 0.2.0.0.0; Adventure, Comedy, Family)

190. Tinker Bell and the Secret of the Wings (2012; G; age 4+; tt1217213; 70; 10,019 votes; 1.1.0.4.0; Animation, Family, Fantasy)

191. Cars (2006; G; age 5+; tt0317219; 69; 345,425 votes; 0.1.1.3.0; Animation, Comedy, Family)

192. A Bug's Life (1998; G; age 5+; tt0120623; 69; 254,775 votes; 0.2.2.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

193. The Lion King (2019; PG; age 8+; tt6105098; 69; 166,688 votes; 1.3.1.1.0; Adventure, Animation, Drama)

194. The Jungle Book (Animated) (1967; G; age 4+; tt0061852; 69; 157,255 votes; 0.2.0.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Family)

195. Cinderella (2015) (2015; PG; age 6+; tt1661199; 69; 150,411 votes; 1.2.1.3.1; Drama, Family, Fantasy)

196. The Maltese Falcon (1941; age 12+; tt0033870; 69; 143,802 votes; 1.3.0.0.2; Film-Noir, Mystery)

197. The NeverEnding Story (1984; PG; age 8+; tt0088323; 69; 124,941 votes; 0.3.0.0.0; Adventure, Drama, Family)

198. Labyrinth (1986; PG; age 8+; tt0091369; 69; 117,719 votes; 0.2.2.0.0; Adventure, Family, Fantasy)

199. Robin Hood (1973; G; age 5+; tt0070608; 69; 108,647 votes; 0.0.0.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

200. The Kid (1921) (1921; age 8+; tt0012349; 69; 103,760 votes; 1.2.1.0.1; Comedy, Drama, Family)

201. Willow (1988; PG; age 8+; tt0096446; 69; 96,332 votes; 2.3.2.0.2; Action, Adventure, Drama)

202. It Happened One Night (1934; age 10+; tt0025316; 69; 87,962 votes; 1.1.1.0.2; Comedy, Romance)

203. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944; age 11+; tt0036613; 69; 62,979 votes; 0.2.0.0.2; Comedy, Crime, Thriller)

204. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002; G; age 7+; tt0166813; 69; 60,675 votes; 0.3.0.0.1; Adventure, Animation, Drama)

205. Mr. Holmes (2015; PG; age 11+; tt3168230; 69; 59,541 votes; 0.2.1.0.1; Drama, Mystery)

206. Soul Surfer (2011; PG; age 10+; tt1596346; 69; 43,096 votes; 1.3.1.1.0; Biography, Drama, Family)

207. The Secret Garden (1993; G; age 8+; tt0108071; 69; 34,478 votes; 0.2.0.0.0; Drama, Family, Fantasy)

208. Fantasia 2000 (2000; G; age 6+; tt0120910; 69; 33,281 votes; 0.2.0.0.0; Animation, Comedy, Family)

209. The Brave Little Toaster (1987; age 5+; tt0092695; 69; 22,810 votes; 0.3.0.3.0; Adventure, Animation, Family)

210. The Music Man (1962; age 6+; tt0056262; 69; 15,227 votes; 1.0.1.0.0; Comedy, Family, Musical)

211. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947; age 9+; tt0039420; 69; 14,701 votes; 0.0.0.0.0; Comedy, Drama, Fantasy)

212. Two Brothers (2004; PG; age 8+; tt0338512; 69; 13,920 votes; 0.3.0.0.0; Adventure, Drama, Family)

213. Nicholas Nickleby (2002; PG; age 11+; tt0309912; 69; 11,111 votes; 1.2.0.0.2; Adventure, Drama, Romance)

214. Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods (2016; G; age 8+; tt3759416; 69; 10,857 votes; 0.3.1.1.1; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

215. That's What I Am (2011; PG; age 10+; tt1606180; 69; 10,101 votes; 2.2.2.1.1; Comedy, Drama, Romance)

216. Watch Out, We're Mad (1974; G; tt0069697; 69; 10,060 votes; ?.?.?.?.?; Action, Comedy)

217. The Wizard of Oz (1939; age 6+; tt0032138; 68; 360,305 votes; 0.3.0.0.0; Adventure, Family, Fantasy)

218. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009; PG; age 6+; tt1080016; 68; 212,432 votes; 1.3.1.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

219. Rio (2011; G; age 6+; tt1436562; 68; 197,504 votes; 2.2.1.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

220. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009; PG; age 6+; tt0844471; 68; 193,771 votes; 1.2.1.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

221. The Prince of Egypt (1998; PG; age 8+; tt0120794; 68; 112,090 votes; 1.3.0.0.1; Adventure, Animation, Drama)

222. Anastasia (1997; G; age 6+; tt0118617; 68; 106,289 votes; 0.3.0.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Drama)

223. The Gold Rush (1925; age 8+; tt0015864; 68; 93,364 votes; 0.2.0.0.2; Adventure, Comedy, Drama)

224. Frankenweenie (2012; PG; age 9+; tt1142977; 68; 92,754 votes; 1.3.1.0.0; Animation, Comedy, Family)

225. The Grapes of Wrath (1940; age 12+; tt0032551; 68; 82,983 votes; 0.2.1.0.1; Drama, History)

226. The Fox and the Hound (1981; G; age 6+; tt0082406; 68; 80,182 votes; 1.3.1.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Drama)

227. The Big Sleep (1946; age 12+; tt0038355; 68; 75,662 votes; 2.3.0.0.2; Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery)

228. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010; PG; age 8+; tt1219342; 68; 75,423 votes; 1.3.1.0.0; Action, Adventure, Animation)

229. Clue (2000; PG; age 12+; tt0088930; 68; 73,824 votes; 2.3.2.3.2; Comedy, Crime, Mystery)

230. Holes (2003; PG; age 10+; tt0311289; 68; 72,875 votes; 1.3.1.1.2; Adventure, Comedy, Drama)

231. Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014; PG; age 6+; tt0864835; 68; 59,246 votes; 1.2.1.3.1; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

232. Sabrina (1954) (1954; age 11+; tt0047437; 68; 55,538 votes; 0.0.0.0.2; Comedy, Drama, Romance)

233. Storks (2016; PG; age 6+; tt4624424; 68; 52,696 votes; 1.3.1.1.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

234. The Boxtrolls (2014; PG; age 9+; tt0787474; 68; 52,322 votes; 1.3.2.3.1; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

235. The Age of Innocence (1993; PG; age 11+; tt0106226; 68; 46,768 votes; 2.0.0.2.2; Drama, Romance)

236. Balto (1995; G; age 6+; tt0112453; 68; 37,882 votes; 1.3.0.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Drama)

237. Sherlock Jr. (1924; age 8+; tt0015324; 68; 36,302 votes; 1.2.0.0.2; Action, Comedy, Romance)

238. Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970; G; tt0066473; 68; 30,327 votes; ?.?.?.?.?; Action, Drama, History)

239. Bright Star (2009; PG; age 12+; tt0810784; 68; 24,510 votes; 2.1.1.0.1; Biography, Drama, Romance)

240. The Caine Mutiny (1954; age 12+; tt0046816; 68; 23,384 votes; 0.1.0.0.1; Drama, War)

241. Dolphin Tale (2011; PG; age 7+; tt1564349; 68; 21,422 votes; 0.1.0.1.0; Drama, Family)

242. They Call Me Trinity (1970; G; tt0067355; 68; 18,196 votes; ?.?.?.?.?; Comedy, Western)

243. Leap! (2017; PG; age 6+; tt2261287; 68; 18,008 votes; 1.2.1.0.1; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

244. Bad Day at Black Rock (1955; age 10+; tt0047849; 68; 17,996 votes; 1.3.0.0.2; Crime, Drama, Mystery)

245. Mary and the Witch's Flower (2018; PG; age 8+; tt6336356; 68; 10,209 votes; 0.3.0.0.0; Adventure, Animation, Family)

246. A Cat in Paris (2012; PG; age 9+; tt1673702; 68; 10,133 votes; 1.3.1.0.1; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

247. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005; PG; age 9+; tt0363771; 67; 350,383 votes; 0.3.1.0.1; Adventure, Family, Fantasy)

248. Madagascar (2005; PG; age 7+; tt0351283; 67; 346,785 votes; 0.3.1.3.0; Adventure, Animation, Comedy)

249. TRON: Legacy (2010; PG; age 10+; tt1104001; 67; 303,415 votes; 2.3.2.2.1; Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi)

250. Elf (2003; PG; age 7+; tt0319343; 67; 207,101 votes; 1.1.1.3.2; Comedy, Family, Fantasy)

The structure of each entry in the list is as follows:

[ ] Rank. Title of film (Release year; MPAA/CARA rating; [recommended age]; IMDB ID; year-adjusted score (older movies lose some strength over decades); number of votes; various family-friendly ratings (see below); genres)

* "Family-friendly" is defined as meeting all of the following criteria:

  • G or PG rating. No PG-13/R/NC-17/X rated films in the list. Sorry Batman (DC) and MCU fans, but your movies don't qualify as family-friendly!
  • A maximum recommended age rating of 12+.
  • A maximum rating of 2 out of 5 for sex/nudity.
  • A maximum rating of 3 out of 5 for violence/gore.
  • A maximum rating of 2 out of 5 for foul language.
  • A maximum rating of 4 out of 5 (G rating only) or 3 out of 5 (other ratings) for consumerism.
  • A maximum rating of 2 out of 5 for drugs, alcohol, and/or smoking.
  • No movies in the "Horror" genre.

These values are obviously subjective and not every movie in the list has all of the above information available. However, the rules appeared to produce the best, most consistent results of what I might expect to see as a strong critic and connoisseur of films. The real oddball in the list is the consumerism bit. Without that rule the way it is, animated films like Toy Story and The Little Mermaid are excluded from the list and would cause rabid fans to become, well, rabid fans. I'm personally not a fan of Toy Story or its sequels (or The Little Mermaid), but that's not what this list is about. Lots of people like those movies and I noticed that the only reason for exclusion was the consumerism ranking and the reason for the particular rating seemed silly, "Because there is merchandise for the film that you can buy!" Consumerism is arbitrary and not anywhere near the same class as the other classifications/ratings so I bumped the limit a tiny bit so certain films would not be excluded for silly reasons.

The last item in the list might appear odd but there are PG movies that are in the Horror genre. We can unanimously agree that the Horror genre is not family-friendly, should never receive a PG rating, and move on. I have no idea what anyone was thinking. I also thought about removing Documentary films from the list too because they all have low numbers of votes but ultimately decided against it.

Speaking of votes, one less-subjective requirement was also added: In order for a film to be considered for the list, the minimum number of votes in the IMDB database was set to 10,000 votes. IMDB has a problem with bots voting on movies. The 10,000 threshold seemed to remove most of the dross while the other rules dealt with the rest.

Some people are going to point out that movies like Shrek 2 and Galaxy Quest are in the list and are arguably NOT family-friendly (especially Galaxy Quest). Yup. They're in there. The list was generated by a computer based on multiple rating systems. You still have to use your God-given brain and read a few reviews and/or watch it yourself before letting the kids watch it. And maybe write letters to various organizations about their bad rating decisions. This list is the end result of a series of good and bad decisions made by lots other people. And since humans are involved, we know they are fallible and the resulting list isn't going to be perfect...but it is better than nothing! The computer, on the other hand, is a cold, unfeeling, calculating machine that does precisely what it is told to do and doesn't deviate. There is some very minor filtering where it could be done without other issues cropping up (e.g. excluding the Horror genre) but there isn't an easy way to automatically remove certain movies using a broad rule without negatively impacting the entire list.

Most of the first 25 films in the list are not any particular surprises to me. However, I was surprised to see Spirited Away top the list. But it also turns out that IMDB ranks it #28 on its Top 250 list that's filled with many PG-13 and R-rated films that aren't actually particularly wholesome. Spirited Away is a pretty good film but kind of spooky/scary for kids and has plenty of Eastern mysticism/witchcraft to warrant an older audience. I gave it a 4 out of 5 on Netflix (i.e. "would watch again, possibly own the DVD/BluRay"). I didn't think of it as particularly special to warrant the #1 spot but, hey, the computer proved me wrong. I'm an exceptionally harsh critic of films because I want quality over quantity. CinemaSins and Honest Trailers (despite the fact they both cuss a lot) frequently make very valid points. Filmmakers would do well to learn how to make wholesome movies that everyone can enjoy and would really like filmmakers to always go back and correct obvious mistakes found by the critics as standard policy.

I found a few movies I've never heard of and therefore consider this project to be a resounding success. The checkboxes next to each item make it easy to print the list and then check off the movies. I do not have plans to do the same thing for TV shows, video games, or other forms of entertainment.

Comments

  1. Do you have this in exceel format? Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No I don't. Sorry. You can grab the HTML/text and copy/paste it into a text file and then write a quick script in your favorite scripting language to transform it into a CSV file for import into Excel.

      Delete

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