Best Family Movies of the 1980s

1. 1
   My Neighbor Totoro 1988

   Directed by Hayao Miyazaki · Streaming on HBO Max
   8.1

   8.1 · 9.2K votes
2. 2
   Castle in the Sky 1986

   Directed by Hayao Miyazaki · Streaming on HBO Max
   7.9

   8.0 · 4.9K votes
3. 3
   Kiki's Delivery Service 1989

   Directed by Hayao Miyazaki · Streaming on HBO Max
   7.8

   7.8 · 4.8K votes
4. 4
   Anne of Green Gables 1985

   Directed by Kevin Sullivan
   7.6

   8.1 · 262 votes
5. 5
   Mickey's Christmas Carol 1983

   Directed by Burny Mattinson · Streaming on Disney Plus
   7.5

   7.7 · 1K votes
6. 6
   E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982

   Directed by Steven Spielberg · Streaming on Philo, Starz
   7.5

   7.5 · 12K votes
7. 7
   The Goonies 1985

   Directed by Richard Donner · Streaming on Tubi TV
   7.5

   7.5 · 6.5K votes
8. 8
   The King and the Mockingbird 1980

   Directed by Paul Grimault
   7.5

   7.8 · 429 votes
9. 9
   Scooby-Doo's A Nutcracker Scoob 1984

   Directed by Charles August Nichols
   7.4

   9.0 · 68 votes
10. 10
    Once Upon a Time, There Lived a Dog 1982

    Directed by Eduard Nazarov
    7.4

    8.0 · 169 votes
11. 11
    The Little Mermaid 1989

    Directed by Ron Clements · Streaming on Disney Plus
    7.3

    7.4 · 8.6K votes
12. 12
    The Secret of NIMH 1982

    Directed by Don Bluth · Streaming on The Roku Channel, Xumo Play, Tubi TV
    7.3

    7.4 · 994 votes
13. 13
    Hachiko 1987

    Directed by Seijiro Koyama
    7.3

    7.8 · 205 votes
14. 14
    The Snowman 1982

    Directed by Dianne Jackson · Streaming on Fandango at Home Free, Amebatv
    7.3

    7.6 · 373 votes
15. 15
    Labyrinth 1986

    Directed by Jim Henson · Streaming on Hulu, fuboTV, Peacock Premium
    7.3

    7.3 · 2.9K votes
16. 16
    A Christmas Carol 1984

    Directed by Clive Donner · Streaming on The Roku Channel, MGM Plus, Plex
    7.2

    7.5 · 441 votes
17. 17
    The NeverEnding Story 1984

    Directed by Wolfgang Petersen · Streaming on Philo, The Roku Channel, YouTube Free
    7.2

    7.2 · 4.5K votes
18. 18
    The Karate Kid 1984

    Directed by John G. Avildsen · Streaming on Netflix, YouTube TV
    7.2

    7.2 · 4.9K votes
19. 19
    The Fox and the Hound 1981

    Directed by Ted Berman · Streaming on Disney Plus
    7.2

    7.2 · 3.6K votes
20. 20
    A Christmas Story 1983

    Directed by Bob Clark · Streaming on Xumo Play
    7.2

    7.2 · 1.5K votes
21. 21
    The Land Before Time 1988

    Directed by Don Bluth · Streaming on Wonder Project
    7.2

    7.2 · 2.9K votes
22. 22
    Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel 1987

    Directed by Kevin Sullivan
    7.2

    7.9 · 127 votes
23. 23
    Hanna-Barbera's 50th 1989

    Directed by Marshall Flaum
    7.2

    9.1 · 48 votes
24. 24
    The Last Unicorn 1982

    Directed by Jules Bass · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Kanopy, Fandango at Home Free
    7.2

    7.3 · 628 votes
25. 25
    Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School 1988

    Directed by Charles August Nichols
    7.1

    7.4 · 344 votes
26. 26
    Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf 1988

    Directed by Ray Patterson
    7.1

    7.4 · 352 votes
27. 27
    The Dark Crystal 1982

    Directed by Jim Henson · Streaming on fuboTV, Peacock Premium, Philo
    7.1

    7.2 · 1.3K votes
28. 28
    Scooby-Doo! Meets the Boo Brothers 1987

    Directed by Paul Sommer
    7.1

    7.4 · 277 votes
29. 29
    Mickey's Safety Club: Street Safe, Street Smart 1989

    Directed by Gino Ricotta
    7.1

    9.2 · 39 votes
30. 30
    Little Lord Fauntleroy 1980

    Directed by Jack Gold
    7.0

    7.3 · 326 votes
31. 31
    The Transformers: The Movie 1986

    Directed by Nelson Shin
    7.0

    7.2 · 654 votes
32. 32
    The Great Mouse Detective 1986

    Directed by Ron Clements · Streaming on Disney Plus
    7.0

    7.0 · 1.9K votes
33. 33
    The Bear 1988

    Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Kanopy
    7.0

    7.1 · 544 votes
34. 34
    Hoosiers 1986

    Directed by David Anspaugh · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, The Roku Channel, YouTube Free
    6.9

    7.0 · 621 votes
35. 35
    The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie 1981

    Directed by Friz Freleng
    6.9

    7.3 · 166 votes
36. 36
    Flight of the Navigator 1986

    Directed by Randal Kleiser · Streaming on Disney Plus
    6.9

    7.0 · 994 votes
37. 37
    Knick Knack 1989

    Directed by John Lasseter · Streaming on Disney Plus
    6.9

    7.0 · 637 votes
38. 38
    The Secret of the Third Planet 1981

    Directed by Roman Kachanov · Streaming on Eternal Family
    6.9

    7.4 · 130 votes
39. 39
    Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales 1982

    Directed by Chuck Jones
    6.9

    7.2 · 201 votes
40. 40
    Guest from the Future 1984

    Directed by Pavel Arsenov
    6.8

    7.6 · 87 votes
41. 41
    The Brave Little Toaster 1987

    Directed by Jerry Rees · Streaming on Disney Plus
    6.8

    6.9 · 500 votes
42. 42
    Wow! A Talking Fish! 1983

    Directed by Robert Sahakyants · Streaming on Eternal Family
    6.8

    8.0 · 51 votes
43. 43
    A Garfield Christmas 1987

    Directed by Phil Roman · Streaming on Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+
    6.8

    7.4 · 107 votes
44. 44
    Creature Comforts 1989

    Directed by Nick Park
    6.8

    7.3 · 135 votes
45. 45
    The Little Fox 1981

    Directed by Attila Dargay · Streaming on Eternal Family
    6.8

    7.6 · 76 votes
46. 46
    All Dogs Go to Heaven 1989

    Directed by Don Bluth · Streaming on Kanopy, Hoopla, Xumo Play
    6.8

    6.8 · 1.2K votes
47. 47
    Uncle Buck 1989

    Directed by John Hughes · Streaming on Netflix, YouTube TV
    6.8

    6.8 · 1.4K votes
48. 48
    Last Year's Snow Was Falling 1983

    Directed by Aleksandr Tatarskiy
    6.8

    7.4 · 98 votes
49. 49
    The Great Muppet Caper 1981

    Directed by Jim Henson · Streaming on Disney Plus
    6.8

    6.9 · 362 votes
50. 50
    Frankenweenie 1984

    Directed by Tim Burton · Streaming on Disney Plus
    6.8

    6.9 · 461 votes

Smart score = (votes × rating + 82 × 6.03) ÷ (votes + 82): the TMDB rating, pulled toward the catalog average as if every film had 82 extra average votes.

1. 1
   Katy Caterpillar 1984

   Directed by José Luis Moro
   6.5

   8.0 · 25 votes
2. 2
   ¡El que no corre... vuela! 1982

   Directed by Gilberto Martínez Solares
   6.5

   8.1 · 21 votes
3. 3
   ThunderCats Ho! – The Movie 1987

   Directed by Katsuhito Akiyama
   6.5

   7.8 · 27 votes
4. 4
   Polly 1989

   Directed by Debbie Allen
   6.4

   8.2 · 16 votes
5. 5
   Treasure Island: Part II - Captain Flint's Treasure 1987

   Directed by Davyd Cherkaskyi · Streaming on Pluto TV, Plex, Plex Channel
   6.5

   7.7 · 29 votes
6. 6
   Treasure Island: Part I – Captain Flint's Map 1987

   Directed by Davyd Cherkaskyi · Streaming on Pluto TV, Plex, Plex Channel
   6.4

   7.8 · 24 votes
7. 7
   Chiquidracula 1985

   Directed by Julio Aldama · Streaming on Fawesome
   6.4

   8.0 · 18 votes
8. 8
   The Treasure of Swamp Castle 1985

   Directed by Attila Dargay · Streaming on Eternal Family
   6.4

   7.7 · 25 votes
9. 9
   Ico, the Brave Horse 1983

   Directed by Manuel García Ferré
   6.4

   7.8 · 20 votes
10. 10
    The Dull-Ice Flower 1989

    Directed by Yang Li-kuo
    6.3

    8.3 · 10 votes