Back to the Past

So, yesterday I talked about the worst time for Hollywood in terms of making movies parents can let their kids watch, the early 1970s. Alright, I admit I forgot one of the kid-friendly movies from that time: Charlotte's Web. So, there's two. The rest of the half-decade...not so much.

Now, on to the flip side of the equation: The best decade Hollywood ever had. Obviously, it's the 1980s. I mean, there are so many great movies from that decade that it's hard to narrow it down even to a top twenty-five. But I'll give it a try.

1980: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

          Superman II

1981: Raiders of the Lost Ark

          The Great Muppet Caper

1982: E.T.

          Tron

          Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

          Annie

1983: A Christmas Story

          Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

1984: The Last Starfighter

          Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

          Ghostbusters

          The Karate Kid

1985: Back to the Future

          The Goonies

1986: Ferris Bueller's Day Off

          Spacecamp

          An American Tail

1987: The Princess Bride

1988: Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

          Big

1989: Batman

          The Little Mermaid

          Honey, I Shrunk the Kids

There you go: twenty-five great movies that you can let your kids watch without squirming. And there are others, as well. The 1980s just simply rocked. Sure, I was a teenager during the majority of the decade, so there's some nostalgia involved, but I didn't go to a lot of movies back then. I mean, I did see Batman in the theatres about a dozen times, but who didn't back then?

Now, there are language issues in some of these movies, absolutely. But these movies aren't rated 'R'. And there's not much in the way of violence, and virtually no sex. No pornos making big at the box office, either. That alone makes the 1980s vastly superior to the 1970s.

I'm not saying that other decades had no good family movies; most movies prior to 1960 were family-friendly, period. But the 1980s produced some of the most innovative, clever, creative movies of all time, where the special effects enhanced the movie but rarely, if ever, dominated it. Even Star Wars, Star Trek and Superman focused on story more than special effects, which is why they were superior to their modern iterations. We'll never get another decade like this in movies, I'm afraid. But we've still got these ones, so enjoy them with your kids. And when they grow up, they'll share them with their kids, too. Pass it on, pay it forward, whatever your cliché of choice may be.