Netflix’s school holiday saviours
From Goosebumps to Soul Surfer, these are the flicks that might help keep parents sane during the school holidays. By James Croot.
The school holidays. A time of parental dread, potentially exacerbated by the weather refusing to play ball. If out-of-the-home entertainment is potentially too far way or too expensive, then you need to find a way to keep the brood amused within your four walls.
But what happens when you have Marie Kondo’d your DVD collection and the kids have already burned through all the Harry Potter, Pixar and Star Wars movies? Well, Stuff is here to help with our guide to best primary school-age movies (grouped by age) to watch on Netflix right now.
Six-year-olds
Paddington 1 & 2: These two tales are sensitive, sweet and supremely silly movies that will delight audiences of all ages. Director Paul King and his team have done a terrific job of bringing Michael Bond’s beloved Peruvian bear to life.
Inventive and intelligent, they seamlessly combine modern technology with old-school storytelling, making clever use of sound effects and beautifully executed slapstick set pieces. Ben Whishaw beautifully voices the marmalade-loving ursine, while the starry cast includes Hugh Bonneville, Nicole Kidman, Julie Walters, Brendan Gleeson and Hugh Grant.
Space Jam: The best live-action animation hybrid this side of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, this hilarious 1996 Warner Bros’ adventure sees Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and company team up with Bill Murray and NBA star Michael Jordan to take on the owner of an amusement park planet who has kidnapped all the Looney Tunes characters.
As well as a high gag quotient and plenty of slapstick action, it also features a toe-tapping soundtrack with everyone from C+C Music Factory and Spin Doctors to Seal and Salt-N-Pepa.
Seven-year-olds
Annie: Writer-director Will Gluck pays lip service to the original Depression-era setting of the hit 1977 musical, but, for the most part, his 2014 edition of Annie boasts a very modern makeover.
For a start, Quvenzhane Wallis’ character is no ‘‘little orphan’’ any more, but instead a bright cookie of a 10-year-old foster kid, shunted from home to home since being left at upmarket New York Italian restaurant Domani as a baby. Despite stripping out much of the tension and danger of the musical’s plot, Gluck still manages to conjure up an effective toe-tapper with a strong feel-good factor. Also featuring Cameron Diaz and Jamie Fox, this is sassy, smart, if not exactly subtle. Mirror Mirror: Lily Collins, Julia Roberts, Armie Hammer, Nathan Lane and Sean Bean star in this charming 2012 reimagining of the Brothers Grimm’s Snow White tale.
Nominated for an Academy Award for best costume design, it boasts a number of stylish touches, including a crazy end credits Bollywood dance scene.
The music is by Beauty and the Beast’s brilliant Alan Menken.
Eight-year-olds
Paper Planes: A throwback to Aussie kidult classics like Storm Boy and BMX Bandits, this 2015 tale of unlikely sporting glory and fractured fatherson relationships is as inspirational as it is unsubtle.
Borrowing ideas from everything from Kes to The Rocket, Paper Planes walks a fine line between pure crowd-pleaser and cheesy schmaltz.
Writer-director Robert Connolly has made a career out of engaging dramas about underdogs or those in sticky situations and this first foray into something lighter still boasts a dramatic edge, while unfolding an engaging tale of love, loss and life’s other – more than little – creases.
The Princess Bride: A movie beloved by at least one generation, Rob Reiner’s 1987 adaptation of William Goldman’s 1973 novel is a whimsically charming, endlessly quotable cinematic confection.
At its heart, it’s the story of a farmhand named Westley who must rescue his true love, Princess Buttercup, from the odious Prince Humperdinck. While Robin Wright and Carey Elwes are the leads, it’s the supporting characters, played by Billy
Crystal, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Wallace Shawn and Andre the Giant, who steal the show.
Nine-year-olds
The Witches: Anjelica Huston stars in this surprisingly scary 1990 adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1983 book about a young boy who stumbles across a witches’ convention.
Features some impressive work by Jim Henson Productions, while you should also keep a look out for Downton Abbey’s Jim Carter, Oscar-winner Brenda Blethyn and English comedian Rowan Atkinson among the cast.
Goosebumps: First mooted almost 20 years earlier, this 2015 spinoff of the popular 1990s kidult ‘‘horror’’ book series was well worth the wait.
Director Rob Letterman makes good use of practical effects and CGI to bring to life all manner of boogeymen and beasties, from werewolves to a giant praying mantis and vindictive ventriloquist’s dummy. Features Jack Black, likeable young leads, well-executed set pieces and witty one-liners.
Ten-year-olds
Zathura: Before taking on Iron Man and The Jungle Book, director Jon Favreau tested out his action muscles with this 2005 family movie about two brothers who discover a board game that transports them to outer space. Think sci-fi Jumanji (both were originally books written by Chris Van Allsberg).
Like that movie, a predominance of scary scenes, plus Zathura’s many dark settings, will test the nerve of smaller children, but those of an appropriate age will lap up the constant stream of action sequences and jaw-dropping visions.
The Goonies: Part of that rich vein of kids’ movies that predominated in the mid-1980s, this Steven Spielberg-produced action-adventure is a rollicking tale about a group of disparate children who band together in a search of the pirate treasure that could help them stay in their beloved seaside town.
The cast includes a cadre of young actors who would become future stars, including The Lord of the Rings’ Sean Astin, Everest’s Josh Brolin and Raising Hope’s Martha Plimpton, as well as Jonathan Ke Quan, fresh off Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Eleven-year-olds
Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging: Like director Gurinder Chadha’s earlier smash-hit Bend It Like Beckham, this 2008 tale is a charismatic crowd-pleaser that will appeal to a far wider audience than just tweens.
Chadha says she was inspired by John Hughes films like Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink – and the 80s-influenced soundtrack reflects this – but Angus probably has most in common with Amy Heckerling’s 1995 Jane Austen adaptation Clueless. Expect to hear talk of nervy bs, bazoomas and people being from vulgaria around the house afterwards.
Soul Surfer: Inspired by Bethany Hamilton’s life story, director Sean McNamara’s 2011 uplifting tale is very much a sports flick with a side order of faith. Using underwater shots, slow motion, low camera angles and even time-lapse photography, he turns wave-shredding into an artform.
The central incident is well handled, with clever cutting and camerawork capturing the ensuing chaos as word spreads of the accident and the rush to get Bethany to safety becomes imperative. AnnaSophia Robb, Helen Hunt and Dennis Quaid star.