Family Movie Nights

To help families spend time together and share common experiences, the Institute provides recommendations for Family Movie Night. Each week, a new movie recommendation and explanation is available for your consideration. Enjoy the show!

If you are looking to see where a particular movie is streaming or is available online, please visit https://www.justwatch.com

Christmas, Drama, Family, G

One Magic Christmas

Here’s one last holiday film for Christmastide. Ginny Grainger is struggling to find any joy in Christmas this year. Her husband is unemployed, she works long hours under an unforgiving… Read More

Christmas, Classic, Drama, Family, G, Musical

Scrooge

While Dickens’s tale of redemption needs little introduction, this classic 1970 musical adaptation wonderfully balances both the darkness and the joy of the story. Albert Finney stars as the miserly… Read More

Christmas, Drama, PG, True Story

Thomas Kinkade’s Christmas Cottage

When college art student Thomas Kinkade comes home for Christmas in 1977, he’s looking forward to a joyful holiday with his mother and brother. Instead, he discovers that his mother… Read More

Christmas, Drama, Family, G

Prancer

Eight-year-old Jessica still believes in Santa Claus, reasoning that if there’s no Santa, then maybe there’s no God, and if that’s the case, how could her late mother be in… Read More

Christmas, Classic, Comedy, Drama, Family, G, Musical, Romance

Meet Me in St. Louis

In 1903, the Smith family lives in St. Louis, where they eagerly await the 1904 World’s Fair planned for their hometown. Sisters Rose and Esther (Judy Garland) also dream about… Read More

Christmas, Classic, Comedy, Family, G, Musical, Romance

Babes in Toyland

Here’s a lesser-known Disney classic as Christmastide continues, based on the 1903 operetta of the same name. In a whimsical village called Mother Goose Land, nursery rhyme characters live together… Read More

Adventure, Animated, Christmas, Comedy, Drama, Family, PG

A Christmas Carol

Here’s a classic Christmas tale to bring Advent to a close. Charles Dickens’ beloved holiday story comes to life in Robert Zemeckis’s 2009 animated adaptation, with Jim Carrey taking on… Read More

Adventure, Christmas, Comedy, Family, PG

The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two

Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn return as Santa and Mrs. Claus in this sequel to The Christmas Chronicles. Two years after her first magical Christmas adventure, 13-year-old Kate Pierce is… Read More

Adventure, Christmas, Comedy, Family, PG

Jingle All the Way

Here’s a Christmas film admittedly known for dividing audiences. While its somewhat bizarre tone and over-the-top slapstick humor earned many bad reviews, it proved a box office success and remains… Read More

Adventure, Christmas, Drama, Family, PG

A Boy Called Christmas

In a snowy forest village, young Nikolas lives with his woodcutter father, cherishing memories of his late mother. When the King offers a grand reward to anyone who can bring… Read More

Christmas, Classic, Comedy, Drama, PG, Romance

Remember the Night

Here’s one last Christmas classic as Christmastide comes to an end. Prosecutor Jack Sargent (Fred MacMurray) knows he’ll get a guilty verdict for a woman on trial for shoplifting, but,… Read More

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