As a continuation of last week’s post, today we are going to get into more of my favorite childhood films. Some of these movies are older than others, but I have watched all of them many, many times. Each of these films makes me laugh and smile; some are cartoons, some are scary, and some are just plain cute. Let’s get started!
6. Johnny Tsunami (1999)
If you are a 90’s kid and grew up on Disney Channel, you probably remember this film. If not, you will probably have no idea who Johnny Tsunami is. I was reminded of this classic while I was watching Disney Plus recently. I love the ocean and I love the outdoors, so this film and its sequel gave me a sense of adventure that I deeply wanted as a kid. Johnny surfs, snowboards, skateboards, so needless to say, he is a pretty cool dude.
If you are a fan of other childhood Disney films, stay tuned because I am working on a post of my favorite Disney movies. But, that post is taking a little longer to write than usual, because it is so hard to choose my favorites! There are so many great films by Disney that were a huge part of my childhood.
7. Cinderella 2 (2002)
I watched this film over and over again as my family drove from New Jersey to Florida. It was my favorite movie as a small child and watching it today brings me immense joy. All of a sudden, memories come jolting back into my mind and I want to be a kid again with a huge imagination and no worries in sight.
The movie includes talking animals, conflicting characters and humorous scenarios. I think I was most attracted to this film because it centers around a kind girl and her many animal friends. I also like the color blue and that is the color of Cinderella’s dress. It’s a cute film that can easily bring a smile to your face.
8. Even Stevens Movie (2003)
Let me warn you that this movie is not for everyone. If you did not watch this movie as a child, you may not want to watch it now. The movie is very childish, predictable, weird and “cheesy.” There is not much special about it, besides the fact that it still reminds me of my childhood and staying up late on school nights to watch Disney movies.
This film is fun for a child, but watching it as an adult, you might be disappointed. But, this film stars Shia LaBeouf, so you may just want to check it out so you can see him act when he was younger and on Disney Channel. Overall, as a kid, I thought this was a good film, but watching it now, it is definitely crazy and weird, but it has fond memories attached to it, so I still watch it.
9. Harry Potter (2001-2011)
I think most people have seen, or at least heard of the Harry Potter films. I grew up reading the books and then watching the movies in the theatre as soon as they came out. As I grew up, I began to see the depth of each character and started to love the story even more.
When I was younger, some of the movies scared me, but they intrigued me and kept me watching. I always found the dementors to be very creepy and cold. But, that didn’t stop me from having Harry Potter themed birthday parties and my very own wand. I even visited the Hogwarts castle in Florida and bought as many souvenirs as possible. I also tasted Butterbeer! (It was full of sugar and delicious.)
Clearly, I am a Harry Potter fan. I love the progression of all of the characters throughout the films. Recently been watching some deleted scenes. Specifically, I found a scene from the last film of the series that shows Malfoy completing his character arc, but unfortunately, it did not make it to the final cut of the film.
If you love these movies as much as I do, I recommend looking up some deleted scenes. But, if you have not watched the films yet, don’t watch the deleted scenes because they usually reveal important information that could spoil the story for you. Also, if you want background information, you can read the books to learn even more about the story. (But I am sure you have already heard of the books because they are bestsellers!)
10. Captain America: The Winter Solider (2014)
Marvel films are a phenomenon and the premieres of each of the films are highly anticipated. Although, I enjoy many of the Marvel films now, and admire the many converging story lines, I was not always a Marvel fan.
This Captain America movie is the first Marvel film that I watched and I HATED it when I first watched it. I watched this film while I was in high school, which seems like so long ago. When I watched it, I did not fully understand what was going on in the plot and I thought that there was too much action and not enough story. I also did not see what was so special about this movie. However, I did not have any context for the characters. I did not know who Bucky was in relation to Cap and all of the characters were new to me. However, after watching more Marvel films and learning the context and back stories of each of the characters, I have more appreciation for this film.
I wanted to mention this movie in this post to emphasize how our opinions on movies can change as we grow and learn. A movie that you love now, you may not like in the future. Also, maybe you cannot relate closely to a movie today, but as you get older, you may begin to love the movie.
Thank you for reading! Let me know on Instagram what your favorite throwback movie is: What movie did you watch over and over as a kid? What movie defined your childhood years? I want to know so I can watch it, too.
Did you watch Cartoon Network more than Disney Channel? Who remembers the show called Total Drama Island? That was one of my favorites. People always talked about it in school and we even made up our own game based off of the T.V. show. I will be writing another post about my favorite childhood T.V. shows, so stay tuned!
Arianna
P.S. I hope you are healthy and doing ok during this unpredictable time. And I hope you are wearing a mask whenever you can. 🙂
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Aloha Arianna 