Watching two versions of The Addams Family this week gave me a huge hit of nostalgia this week. Addams Family Values was one of the first films that I remember watching again and again. It was definitely a childhood favourite. There’s a lot to be said about nostalgia and how it changes your perspective on things. I know that many of the films I loved as a kid aren’t actually that great but that doesn’t spoil them. I can still watch all of those films as a grown woman and love them as much as I did then. So, having spent ages sitting here wondering what to write about this week, I’ve decided to discuss some of my favourite childhood films that still bring me joy. This is only a small list because I could go on and on forever with this. I’m leaving some for the next time I lose inspiration and make a part 2.

Lion King

So, this is a pretty obvious one but my sisters and I bloody loved this film. I remember one year at Christmas entertaining our family by using lines from this film. My older sister and I still quote bits to each other now. My friend had a Lion King PC game when we were younger and my twin and I would force her to play it pretty much every time we went over. Being a computer game in the 90s, it wasn’t a multiplayer game so the three of us were stuffed in her back room all looking around one computer screen. This film meant everything to us as kids and it still does now.

Aladdin

Another super obvious choice but, again, my family loved this film. In fact, we had the whole trilogy on VHS. I know the second one is really shit but I actually quite like it. Even now. And the third one? Hugely underrated. But it was the first one that we really loved. And we had the Aladdin game at home. Frustratingly difficult as a kid. We loved it. It never quite had the same appeal as The Lion King but it was definitely something we watched again and again. I feel sorry for my poor parents.

Space Jam

Space Jam is the first film that I remember seeing multiple times at the cinema. I must have seen it with a friend the first time and then got my mum to take us to see it again. I was 8 years old and everything about it was fantastic. It was so silly. There’s a joke in there that reference Pulp Fiction. Something that I definitely didn’t get at the time but I still remember pissing my self laughing at it. Watching this now, it’s hard to pretend it’s as good as I always thought it was but that doesn’t mean I don’t still love it.

Richie Rich/Little Giants/Dennis the Menace

We had a VHS boxset containing these films. I’m not entirely sure where my parents got it from but my twin and I loved it. We would watch these films again and again. There were so many stupid moments that we would rewind cause we found them so funny. Things like the faces people made or the way someone said something. We would just crack up every time. I still say the phrase “we did a pretty good job” in my head as a reference to the Dennis the Menace film. These 3 have just never left me. My sister probably doesn’t remember them at all but they just make me think of those times. Giggling away about something stupid. But I am the sentimental one of the two of us.

The Pagemaster

I’ve been thinking about this film a lot recently. I’ve been trying to track down a copy and it’s really difficult. This is such an obscure film but I loved it. It probably had something to do with my love of books. But this part animated, part live-action film is an absolute rollercoaster. It featured the voices of Patrick Stewart and Whoopi Goldberg and Macaulay Culkin played the kid. It was such a funny film and it was so different to anything else. I really want to see it again. Although it’s probably a good job that I can’t. It had terrible reviews and didn’t do very well at the Box Office. Maybe not even nostalgia could save this.

Homeward Bound

This is an absolute family favourite. So much so that my mother still quotes from it. Seriously, if there’s ever Turkey around we’re saying it the way Michael J. Fox says it in this film. We’re very much a dog family so this really appealed to us all. Yes, there are some quite sad moment towards the end but we loved this for Chance. It’s such a fun film and the voice actors are incredible. This is one of those films that will sometimes come on TV on a lazy Sunday and it’s always worth a watch.