The 10 best forgotten childhood movies
They say the past is a foreign country. If that’s the case, then childhood is some distant planet in which food is weirdly big, and dogs are always at face level. It sometimes feels like our childhoods belong to someone else, as though our former selves are still inside us, locked away like Russian dolls. There are, of course, some things that we can rely upon to bring memories of childhood flooding back. Along with the smell of food, film is one of the most potent.
It might be that our brains are especially spongy as children, but the films we watch as youngsters tend to stay with us. Even as adults, we find ourselves replaying clips from the movies we rewatched countless times as children in our heads, colouring those memories even deeper shades of rose.
It’s always a strange moment when we realise that a film we loved as a child has passed so many others by. It seems impossible to us that something so formative could be missing from so many people’s lives, and yet that is frequently the case.
The below list was put together with help from the whole Far Out team, with writers suggesting films they loved as children but which, when mentioned, leave everyone looking puzzled. So, without further ado, these are the ten greatest forgotten kid’s films.
The 10 best forgotten childhood movies
3 Ninjas (Jon Turteltaub, 1993)
Suggested by Far Out’s Jack Whatley, this film was unknown to everyone else on the team. It is the crowning jewel of forgotten kid’s films – a 1992 martial arts movie about three young brothers trained in Ninjutsu by their Japanese grandfather.
For most of their lives, these lessons have been a bit of harmless fun. But when the brothers get tangled up with a ruthless criminal, they decide to kick some serious butt. Imagine Home Alone but with more nunchucks and backward baseball caps.
The Amazing Panda Adventure (Christopher Cain, 1995)
Described by Far Out’s own Calum Russell as “the original baby Yoda”, the panda in The Amazing Panda Adventure is adorable but perhaps not so memorable. Released in 1995 at a time when stories about American boys falling in love with wild animals were ten-a-penny, this globe-trotting adventure film tells the story of Ryan Tyler, a loveable child who visits his estranged biologist father in China, where, joined by young Ling, they must rescue an equally adorable baby panda from a gang of evil poachers.
In the end, everything works out for the best. On seeing Ryan return the cub to his mother, the Chinese officials, who originally wanted to close the panda reserve where the cub was born, decide to keep it open It’s a touching moment, and I defy anyone not to shed a tear. Honestly, it’s like Born Free but with twice the amount of fur. Kids love that, right?
An American Tail (Don Bluth, 1986)
Had you told five-year-old me that Don Bluth’s An American Tail was actually about the hardships endured by Russian Jewish migrants, I probably would have burped and asked you if you could fetch me another cup of frozen peas from the freezer (don’t ask). Made in 1986, it tells the story of the Mouskowitzs, a family of Russian mice forced to relocate to America after the human home they’re residing in is burnt down by the Czar’s mounted soldiers.
An American Tail goes to great lengths to conceal the fact that the human Muoskowitzs family were driven from their homeland because of anti-semitism, which Bluth must have thought would be too much for young viewers to digest. Instead, the Muoskowitzs sing songs like ‘There Are No Cats In America’ before being separated when a storm hits their ship bound for America.
Dragonheart (Rob Cohen, 1996)
Oh boy, oh boy. This one really hit the sweet spot when I was a kid. Released in 1996, Dragonheart was the perfect film for children who, like me, were obsessed with all things Lord of The Rings. It featured all the hallmarks of Tolkien’s fantasy but had none of those long-winded monologues or sweeping panoramas, which I tended to fast-forward through anyway. Look, I never said I was erudite.
Starring a bewigged Dennis Quaid as a disillusioned knight, Draghonheart tells the story of the unlikely friendship between Bowen and Draco, an enormous Scottish dragon played by none other than Sean Connery. But Draco is not just any dragon; he is the last dragon. Together he and Bowen roam the kingdom, scamming villagers as the knight repeatedly pretends to slay Draco for money. But when cruel King Einon (Bowen’s former student) sets out to obtain Draco’s heart and secure eternal life, their friendship becomes about far more than mere tips.
Help! I’m a Fish (Stefan Fjeldmark, Michael Hegner, Greg Manwaring, 2000)
If you ever watched Help! I’m Fish, I imagine you’ve still got the film’s title song – performed by Danish girl band Little Trees – circling in a neverending loop inside your head. I must have watched it once in my entire life, and I can still recite the lyrics word for word. Talk about an earworm.
Made in the year 2000, help! I’m a Fish stars a young Aaron Paul (of Breaking Bad fame) as Chuck, an overweight genetics enthusiast who manages to accidentally turn the children he’s supposed to be babysitting into various forms of sea life. To return home, the transformed children must navigate shark-infested waters, sea mines and an evil fish called Joe to find the precious antidote. Expect a pervasive Eurotrash soundtrack, witty dialogue and one surprisingly morbid death scene.
The Land Before Time (Don Bluth, 1989)
Is there anything more heartwarming than watching a trio of kid dinosaurs navigating the apocalyptic climate of the Jurassic period? We know what you’re thinking: The Land Before Time was never really forgotten. I bet you forgot how bloody brilliant it was, though.
You may also have forgotten that it was directed by Don Bluth, the same guy who made An American Tail and co-produced by George Lucas and Jurassic Park director Steven Spielberg, which certainly explains the dinosaurs. This tale of three anthropomorphised herbivores making their way to “The Great Valley” was an instant success and spawned a multi-million dollar franchise. Of course, the original film is still the best.
Madeline (Daisy von Scherler Mayer, 1998)
“You see, this chicken was a friend of mine – I met him earlier in the car.” So goes one of the greatest lines of dialogue of all time. Released in 1998, Madeline will, for many of you, bring to mind rainy days spent in front of the TV. If none of this is ringing a bell, that’s probably because you were unfortunate enough to miss out on this heartwarming adaptation of Ludwig Bemelman’s children’s books. For that, I am truly sorry.
Encompassing the plot of four Bemelman books, Madeline takes us to ’50s Paris, where 12 young girls attend a Catholic boarding school under the watchful eye of the strict but benevolent nun Miss Clavel. After falling into a river and getting rescued by a rather fetching dog, Madeline, an orphan from a poor family, is kidnapped at the circus along with a young French boy called Pepito, paving the way for a brilliant adventure featuring malevolent clowns and motorcycle chases.
Rookie of The Year (Daniel Stern, 1994)
Featuring the likes of Gary Busey, Neil Flynn, Thomas Ian Nicholas and even John Candy (in an uncredited role), Rookie of The Year is the sports film to end all sports films. Honestly, if British people weren’t so stubborn and obsessed with cricket, this doozy might just convince them to ditch the wicket altogether.
The story centres on Henry Rowengartner, an incapable Little Leaguer who harbours ambitions of making it to the big leagues. After he breaks his arm catching a fly ball, it’s discovered that his tendons have healed “a little too tight”, allowing him to throw balls with superhuman force and accuracy.
Thumbelina (Don Bluth, 1994)
Blimey, Don Bluth was unstoppable in the 1990s. For this adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson’s classic fairytale Thumbelina, the director teamed up with Gary Oldman to craft one of the decade’s most moving and shamefully underrated animated films.
Featuring voice work by Jodi Benson, Carol Channing, and John Hurt, this technicolour syrup-fest may not have the universal appeal of Disney’s The Lion King – also released in 1994 – but it has its charm. For those of you who didn’t catch this one as kids, Thumbelina tells the story of a flower-born girl who grows only a couple of inches tall. Convinced she’ll never meet someone her own size, she catches the roving eye of Prince Cornelius only to be kidnapped by a malevolent toad voiced by Spanish-American actress Charo. You’re right; that does sound bizarre. I suppose you need to be under the age of six to fully appreciate it.
Warriors of Virtue (Ronny Yu, 1997)
Mad, bad and terrifying to look at, 1997’s Warriors of Virtue is the work of Hong Kong filmmaker Ronny Yu. The director’s English language debut, this martial arts fantasy film, is based on a series of characters developed by four brothers with no prior filmmaking experience. The results are quite bizarre.
The story focuses on a differently-abled child called Ryan who discovers a musical realm based on Laozi’s Tao Te Ching. Here he meets a group of anthropomorphised kangaroos called the Warriors of Virtue, who use the power of the Tao to fend off their eternal enemy, an evil warlord. Throw in a title song by Irish folk band Clannad, and you’ve got yourself one of the most potent martial arts movies ever.
