This list of movies is appropriate for a child aged 6. Movies on this list are usually rated above average (6 or more stars from IMDb and at least a fresh rating from users at Rotten Tomatoes), unless otherwise noted. This list is ordered (roughly) based on rating. For different ages, please check out my other lists. 

Most of the age ratings were found at Common Sense Media, but parental discretion is still advised.

Matthew Broderick and James Earl Jones in The Lion King (1994)

A List of highly rated films appropriate for a seven year old. Please see my other lists for different ages.

I should mention that there are many more movies which I think someone should have seen by the age of 7 (Like 'Toy Story' or 'The Lion King'), but which are not on here because they are rated for a different age bracket. So take this list with a grain of salt.

The age rating was found at Common Sense Media, but parental discretion is still advised.

Anthony Daniels, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, and Kenny Baker in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

This list attempts to compile animated superhero movies (most of which are direct-to-video). I have grouped the movies based on the hero / team. 

Since the definition of a 'superhero movie' is a bit ambiguous (Does 'The Powerpuff Girls' movie qualify? - let me suggest 'no'), I'm sure I'll end up leaving someone's favorites out. Feel free to drop a comment one way or the other.

Sometimes there are a few movies that are supposed to be coming out (if nothing derails them in the pre-production process), but which IMDb does not have available for me to list out, so I'll write the titles up here. I know nothing about them beyond the titles. From DC Comics:  
* None at this time
From Marvel:  -  None at this time - may not have anything new for a long while (rumor has it that this division has been discontinued)

Samuel L. Jackson, Holly Hunter, Jason Lee, Craig T. Nelson, Brad Bird, Sarah Vowell, and Spencer Fox in The Incredibles (2004)

A List of highly rated films appropriate for an eight year old. Please see my other lists for different ages.

I should mention that there are many more movies which I think someone should have seen by the age of 8 (Like 'Toy Story' or 'The Lion King'), but which are not on here because they are rated for a lower age bracket. So take this list with a grain of salt.

The age rating was determined with help from Common Sense Media, but parental discretion is still advised.

Harrison Ford, Anthony Daniels, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Kenny Baker, and Peter Mayhew in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

There are so many good, classic, culturally relevant films out there and I wanted to make sure that my kids leave home having seen most of them, so this is my (ridiculously anal-retentive) effort at organizing towards that goal. 

The movies are ordered based on how we will view them as a family, starting when our kid is at age 5 (or thereabouts), so the first movies are pre-school friendly and they go up in age/maturity until they are watching things like 'Saving Private Ryan'. Although the movie order may seem a bit random, I specifically tried to do it that way in order to mix up the genre/tone/style so that each movie could be seen on it's own merit rather than compared to something very similar. So, for example, I don't simply go through and list all the Disney animated movies in a block, but rather break them up with animated movies from other studios or even some live-action films in between. Or I made sure something like 'Babe' was not next to 'Charlotte's Web', since they have a fairly similar feel. So while I do apologize that this massive list may seem disorganized, please be aware that this is why it is the way it is. 

Please note that I am approaching this as an educational opportunity (teaching about our popular culture, movie making history, and appreciation of film mediums) as much as an entertainment opportunity, so my choices reflect that. I do not have every (or even most) Oscar winning films - this is a list of movies that either 'everyone has seen', movies that greatly impacted our culture in some way, or are great examples of a genre/style/etc. This means that I have examples of genres that I'm not a huge fan of (like Westerns, stupid comedies, and Horror) simply to provide a well-rounded selection. This is not an exhaustive list, but it should provide a fairly good overview.  I viewed many 'top ten' lists to try to get a sampling of almost everything. And, besides the movies actually listed, I mention quite a few more in the comments (especially sequels) for those interested. Almost everything here is highly rated (over 6 stars), but there are exceptions. I also include upcoming movies that may or may not stay on this list (depending on whether they turn out to be well done or not).

I frequently add discussion ideas for you to bring up with your kids (or project ideas for some of the younger ages) as I am also posting this list with the idea that it would be read by a parent planning to watch these movies with their child. 

Many of the age ratings came from CommonSenseMedia. I stuck fairly close to their recommendations for the first several years, but then don't bother for the later ones (I didn't always agree with those age-ratings and feel more relaxed about what an older child sees anyway). If you are interested in films for supplementing history studies, see my other lists! 

As always, parental discretion is advised!

Huge (600+) List of Movies Everyone Should See

Bill Melendez and Peter Robbins in A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

A List of Highly Rated Films appropriate for a nine year old. Please see my other lists for other ages.

I should mention that there are many more movies which I think someone should have seen by the age of 9 (Like 'Star Wars' or 'The Lion King'), but which are not on here because they are rated for a different age bracket. (This is a list for AT age 9, not BY age 9). So take this list with a grain of salt.

The ages rating were found at Common Sense Media, but parental discretion is still advised.

James Stewart and Donna Reed in It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

This list attempts to compile all superhero TV shows (animated and live-action). Since the definition of 'superhero' is a bit vague, it's possible that I've missed some series. In fact, it's down right likely that I've missed some. Oh well. 

I've organized this list to group the shows based on hero.

List of Highly rated films appropriate for an 11-year old. See my other lists for movies rated for different ages.

I should mention that there are many more movies which I think someone should have seen by the age of 11 (Like 'Star Wars' or 'The Lion King'), but which are not on here because they are rated for a different age bracket. This list is AT age 11, not BY age 11. So take this list with a grain of salt.

The ages rating were found by referring to Common Sense Media, but parental discretion is still advised.

Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, and Dave Bautista in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

List of Highly Rated films appropriate for a 10-year old. See my other lists for other ages.

I should mention that there are many more movies which I think someone should have seen by the age of 10 (Like 'Star Wars' or 'The Lion King'), but which are not on here because they are rated for a lower age bracket. So take this list with a grain of salt.

The ages rating were determined with the help of Common Sense Media, but parental discretion is still advised.

Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Wolf Kahler, Ronald Lacey, and Terry Richards in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

This list is designed to supplement a study of the ancient world (From Creation to the Fall of the Roman Empire / Attila the Hun). 

To help find what you might be interested in here is a table of contents with topic and where that topic begins on this list (note that there is sometimes overlap): Creation - 1 Biblical Patriarchs - 7 Ancient Egypt - 20 Ancient Americas - 33 Greek Mythology - 41 Greek/Roman History (B.C.) - 55 Life of Christ - 69 Early Church - 81 Declining Roman Empire- 92 Russian/Slavic Folklore - 104 Far East Folklore/History - 110 African Folklore/History - 130

I tried to find as many documentaries/dramas/docu-dramas as I could find of the ancient world for both history and culture (myths and legends), but some areas are simply very sparsely covered (like Africa).

My criteria for a movie/show to be included were that:  1) It had to fall within the historical time-frame given,  2) It had to receive at least a star rating of 6.0 from IMDb (with a couple of exceptions),  3) It had to be at least be theoretically possible to FIND the movie somewhere, such as on Netflix or Amazon.

Although not every movie (or even most) here will be from a Christian perspective, that will be a major theme. I tried to find multiple age ratings for each category, but wasn't always successful. I have not watched most of the movies listed here, so cannot guarantee their quality or appropriateness. 

*Parental Discretion Advised when selecting from this list* 

I would welcome any suggestions, including additional movies, comments on the movies I have here already, and any other feedback. Please see my other lists for other Historical periods or for simply a list of 'movies everyone should see'.

List of movies concerning the History and Literature of the ancient world

This list attempts to collect and organize the best movies showing the history and literature of the Middle Ages through the Elizabethan period (500-1600AD). I created this with the idea that it would supplement a study of that time period, so will include documentaries, dramas and docu-dramas. 

To make it easier to find what you may be interested in, I have created a table of contents (the # refers to the position of the 1st movie of the category) . Please be aware that some categories overlap. 1 - Byzantine Empire  9 - Medieval Legends 18- Persian Myths  24- Norse/Viking  37- Crusaders (1000-1300) 55- Early Renaissance (1300-1550)  78- Explorers  83- South America  94- Reformation  101- Henry VIII  109- Shakespeare  136- Elizabethan period  150- Far East (500-1600)  162- Feudal Japan 

My criteria for this list is as follows: 1) The movie had to fall within the time frame 2) The movie had to have at least a rating of 6.0 from IMDb 3) It had to be at least theoretically possible to FIND the movie (on someplace like Netflix or Amazon).

Although I did my best to select movies that would be appropriate for at least a high school student (and I tried to get younger ages too), I have not watched the majority of the films on this list so make no guarantees about the quality or appropriateness of any film here.  *Parental Discretion Advised*

Please see my other lists for other time periods.

List of movies concerning history and literature of the Middle ages through Elizabethian times (500-1600AD)

This list attempt to compile the best movies that might supplement a study of 17th and 18th centuries. This is not a comprehensive list, but hopefully gives a well-rounded sampling.

To assist you in finding what you may be interested in (there will be some overlap), here is a table of contents: The New World Colonial Period - 1 Literature of the 1600s - 11 Imperial Age (Europe 1600-1700) - 20 The arts - 44 Scientific Revolution - 54 Europe of 1700s - 59 Literature of the 1700s - 74 Pirates - 80 Americas Pre-Revolutionary War - 87 The US Revolutionary War - 101 The French Revolution - 117 US post-Revolution - 127 Far East -132 *Note that I have very, very little of non-European/American history in this list. See my previous list (Middle Ages through Elizabethan era) or the next list (The 19th Century) for a more extensive section with that focus.

My criteria for a movie/show to be included were that: 1) It had to fall within the historical time-frame given, 2) It had to receive at least a star rating of 6.0 from IMDb, 3) It had to be at least be theoretically possible to FIND the movie somewhere, such as on Netflix or Amazon. 

As I am not an expert on history nor have I actually watched most of the movies listed here, I make no promises about the relevance or appropriateness of any movie listed.  *Parental Discretion Advised*

I would welcome any comments or suggestions.

List of Movies Concerning the History and Literature of the Colonial and Revolutionary Period (1600-1800AD)

Colin Farrell and Q'orianka Kilcher in The New World (2005)

This list is designed to supplement the study of the 19th Century (1800-1900AD). It is by no means a comprehensive list, but I did try to find the 'best of' in every category.

To help find what you might be interested in here is a table of contents with topic (note that there is sometimes overlap):  Napoleon & Regency Era (1800-1830) - 1 Europe in the Victorian Era (1830-1900) - 20 "Wild West" Folk-tales - 38 Early US History - 49 US Civil War - 70 1800s Literature -107 Far East (China/India/Japan) - 133 Australia - 144 Africa - 147

I tried to find as many documentaries/dramas/docu-dramas as I could find of this time period for both history and Literature, but some areas are simply very sparsely covered (like non-US/European history). I would very much welcome additions, if you can find something that fits. 

My criteria for a movie/show to be included were that:  1) It had to fall within the historical time-frame given,  2) It had to receive at least a star rating of 6.0 from IMDb, 3) It had to be at least be theoretically possible to FIND the movie somewhere, such as on Netflix or Amazon. 

I tried to find multiple age ratings for each category, but wasn't always successful. I have NOT watched most of the movies listed here, so cannot guarantee their quality or appropriateness. 

*Parental Discretion Advised when selecting from this list* 

Please see my other lists for other Historical periods or for simply a list of 'movies everyone should see'.

List of Movies Concerning the History and Literature of the 19th Century

This is a list of cartoons and live-action shows that I believe everyone should have some familiarity with. It is by no means an exhaustive list and is my own personal opinions. They are in order of 'youngest to oldest'. 

I should note that I can't stand shows like 'Ren and Stimpy' with their gross humor or 'Friends' which, while extremely popular, just made me gag. So you won't find either things that are crude or much in the way of modern sitcoms or reality TV on here.

I also have a list of Movies Every Kid Should See, if you are interested in that.

John Hasler, Joseph May, Keith Wickham, Ben Small, Martin T. Sherman, and Rachael Louise Miller in Thomas & Friends (1984)

Many movies are inspired by books, so this is a (non-comprehensive) list of those movies where, after seeing the movie, you should read the book! I'm focusing mostly on children's movies/books, so nothing too dark will be found here.

Please note that I am not putting movies on here because they are bad (I happen to love the film versions of 'The Wizard of Oz' and 'The Hobbit'), but because the books are worth reading.

I'm sure I missed many books out there. There were also some, like "Swiss Family Robinson" which may have been based on a book, but it wasn't one I felt strongly needed to be read, so it didn't make the list. Feel free to offer suggestions if you loved a book that wasn't on this list.

List of Children's Movies where you NEED to go read the books

Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, and Frank Morgan in The Wizard of Oz (1939)

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