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, 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

Adventure, Classic, Drama, PG

The Bridge on the River Kwai

In 1943, a group of British prisoners of war led by the principled Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness) arrive at a Japanese prison camp where they are ordered to build a… Read More

Classic, Drama, G, Religious, True Story

The Song of Bernadette

With All Saints’ Day approaching, this week’s film looks at the life of Saint Bernadette (1844-1879). In 1858, fourteen-year-old Bernadette lives in poverty with her family in France. One day… Read More

Classic, Drama, PG, Romance, Sports, True Story

The Pride of the Yankees

This week’s film is a classic from the 40s that celebrates the life of baseball legend Lou Gehrig. Lou grows up in New York City as the son of hardworking… Read More

Classic, Comedy, Drama, G, Romance

Modern Times

During the Great Depression, Charlie Chaplin’s iconic Tramp character finds himself working on a factory assembly line, where the relentless pace of the machinery drives him to a nervous breakdown.… Read More

Adventure, Classic, Family, G

My Side of the Mountain

Upset after his parents cancel a summer camping trip, and inspired by the writings of Henry David Thoreau, thirteen-year-old Sam decides to test his self-reliance by running away from home… Read More

Classic, Drama, Family, G, Musical, Romance

The Sound of Music

This week’s film is an iconic classic celebrating its 60th anniversary this month. In pre-World War II Austria, a free-spirited young woman named Maria (Julie Andrews) leaves her abbey as… Read More

Classic, Drama, Family, G

Sounder

In rural Louisiana during the Great Depression, David Lee Morgan is the oldest son of a family of poor sharecroppers. His father, desperate to feed his hungry children, steals food… 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

Classic, Comedy, Drama, Family, G

The Kid

This week’s film is the opposite of a recent release. Charlie Chaplin’s first feature-length film is over a century old, and although it’s a silent film, it remains a charming… Read More

Adventure, Classic, Family, G, Musical

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Why not start the summer with a classic family musical? In early 20th century England, eccentric but unlucky inventor Caractacus Potts (Dick Van Dyke) and his two children rescue an… Read More

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