8 of 31

Write now Article Tools

How to Find Good, Family Movies

It's hard to find good, family movies: movies that will entertain your children or grandchildren without exposing them to unseemly things and at the same time are not so simple and insipid that parents or grandparents will be bored by the movie. One of the best resources for finding out about movies and for getting the movies to watch in your home is your local public library.

It surprises many people, especially for us Baby Boomers who remember libraries that only offered "good" books and featured "Silence" signs to prevent talking, to discover that many local public libraries have hundreds or thousands of movies to check out for free. The library is a particularly good resource for Baby Boomers with soon-to-be visiting grandchildren who aren't current on what movies are available for children.

To begin looking for a new movie for your family to watch you need to think of the title of a movie you've enjoyed that would be suitable for your family. For example, "Because of Winn-Dixie" is an excellent, feel-good movie for pre-teens that adults will enjoy. If you haven't seen it, you might want to enjoy it with your family or use this title as your starting point when searching for new movies.

Once you've thought of a title of a movie your family has enjoyed. visit your library and enter the title, "Because of Winn-Dixie" into the library catalog (note, many libraries have online catalogs that you can visit from your home computer and leisurely look for movies you want to see with our family). When the catalog displays the information page about "Because of Winn Dixie" take a few minutes to look at what's available.

My local library displays a series of links on the left side of the page that are relevant to the movie. One of these is "Children's Films." When I click on this link I get more than 1,800 titles listed. That's a lot of movies to watch that are readily available. Spend some time browsing through this list and you're sure to find lots of family appropriate and interesting movies. Make some notes. If your library has the feature that allows you to make lists of movies and books, learn to use it. The convenience of a list that is always available and never lost will make your movie searching experience a lot easier.

Now go back to the "Because of Winn Dixie" information page. In the main part of the page you find useful information about the movie. Scattered throughout the information you will find more links that can lead you

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Good family movies?
We want to hear your view. Write now!