Best Family movies of 1980s

Short Circuit(1986)

Combined Rating:
46
Combined Critics Rating: 25

Number 5 of a group of experimental robots in a lab is electrocuted, suddenly becomes intelligent, and escapes.



Clash of the Titans(1981)

Combined Rating:
45
Combined Critics Rating: 25

Perseus must battle both Medusa and the Kraken to save the Princess Andromeda.



The Dark Crystal(1982)

Combined Rating:
45
Combined Critics Rating: 25

On another planet in the distant past, a Gelfling embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal, and so restore order to his world.



The Karate Kid Part III(1989)

Combined Rating:
42
Combined Critics Rating: 20

Ostracised villain John Kreese attempts to gain revenge on Daniel and Miyagi, with the help of a Vietnam War comrade, the wealthy owner of a toxic waste disposal business.



The Witches(1990)

Combined Rating:
42
Combined Critics Rating: 23

A young boy stumbles onto a witch convention and must stop them, even after he has been turned into a mouse.



Le roi et l'oiseau(1980)

Combined Rating:
41
Combined Critics Rating: 44

A chimney sweep and a shepherdess seek to escape from the clutches of a tyrannical king.



Flight of the Navigator(1986)

Combined Rating:
41
Combined Critics Rating: 19

In 1978, a boy travels 8 years into the future and has an adventure with an intelligent, wisecracking alien ship.



Return to Oz(1985)

Combined Rating:
39
Combined Critics Rating: 21

Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, is somehow called back to Oz when a vain witch and the Nome King destroy everything that makes the magical land beautiful.



The Great Mouse Detective(1986)

Combined Rating:
39
Combined Critics Rating: 16

Basil, the rodent Sherlock Holmes, investigates the kidnapping of a toy-maker and uncovers its link to his arch-enemy, Professor Ratigan.



Explorers(1985)

Combined Rating:
36
Combined Critics Rating: 18

A boy obsessed with 50s sci-fi movies about aliens has a recurring dream about a blueprint of some kind, which he draws for his inventor friend. With the help of a third kid, they follow it and build themselves a spaceship. Now what?



Look Who's Talking Too(1990)

Combined Rating:
36
Combined Critics Rating: 12

This time, a new baby is on the way, and it's a girl. Wrapped together with the standard conflict between mother and father, Mikey engages in a bit of sibling rivalry with his new sister.



*batteries not included(1987)

Combined Rating:
35
Combined Critics Rating: 13

Apartment block tenants seek the aid of alien mechanical life-forms to save their building from demolition.



Problem Child(1990)

Combined Rating:
35
Combined Critics Rating: 14

A young boy is just short of a monster. He is adopted by a loving man and his wacky wife. The laughs keep coming as the boy pushes them to the limits.



Tenkû no shiro Rapyuta(1986)

Combined Rating:
32
Combined Critics Rating: 0

A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.



Tonari no Totoro(1988)

Combined Rating:
32
Combined Critics Rating: 0

When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.



Short Circuit 2(1988)

Combined Rating:
31
Combined Critics Rating: 10

Robot Johnny Five comes to the city and gets manipulated by criminals who want him for their own purposes.



The Karate Kid Part II(1986)

Combined Rating:
30
Combined Critics Rating: 0

Daniel accompanies his mentor, Mr. Miyagi, to Miyagi's childhood home in Okinawa. Miyagi visits his dying father and confronts his old rival, while Daniel falls in love and inadvertently makes a new rival of his own.



Mac and Me(1988)

Combined Rating:
30
Combined Critics Rating: 18

An alien trying to escape from NASA is befriended by a wheelchair-bound boy.



Ghost Dad(1990)

Combined Rating:
30
Combined Critics Rating: 20

Elliot Hopper is a widower with three children, he is currently working on a deal. It seems like his wife illness was very costly and this deal could put them out of the red. However he ...



Santa Claus: The Movie(1985)

Combined Rating:
29
Combined Critics Rating: 14

A peasant woodcutter becomes Santa Claus and later foils an evil toy manufacturer's scheme to take over Christmas.




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