Summer Movie Nights

I don’t know about you, but I love me a good old fashioned family movie night.

 (Original source- Pottery Barn)

Everyone has a giant projector in their backyard right?

Summer movie nights are. the. best.  I love curling up on the couch with a bucket of popcorn, junior mints, and a coke zero – kiddos cuddled up – staying up late because there’s no school in the morning.  Yes, summer movie nights make me ridiculously happy.  Being a movie lover, I’ve seen millions (probably), and I’m always surprised that some of my favorite family movies many have never seen before.  So today I’m sharing the movie love.  Maybe you’ve already seen these or maybe you haven’t.  Either way they’re worth watching, in my opinion anyway.

First up, the kid friendly ones:

Meet the Robinsons isn’t the most popular Disney movie, but it’s one of my personal favorites.   It has such a great message.

I am always completely shocked when friends of mine with children say that they’ve never seen this movie!  I, myself, love Surf’s Up so much that I can literally quote half the movie – for realz.  Maybe it’s because I’m from Southern California but for my money this is the quintessential family summer movie.  The soundtrack is pretty kickin’ too – just sayin’.

In my house, with a young boy (7) and girl (5), it’s not always easy to find movies that they’ll both want to watch.  Arthur and The Invisibles fits the bill and it’s pretty entertaining for parents too.

They tried to do a sequel to this movie and it failed miserably.  It wasn’t good, but the first movie is AWESOME!  I’ve always loved a well known story being told from a different point of view so maybe I’m a little biased.  This is one kids movie that I don’t get tired of watching and the soundtrack is super fun too!

It makes me sad that so many people have forgotten about Ferngully.  I guess that’s why Disney does that whole vault thing.  I remember watching this movie as a kid over and over again back when it was on VHS tape, and I was a cool kid with a rewinder.  😉   I love watching this movie with my kids and the message is still so very relevant today.

Okay so once the kids are off to bed, here are few grown-up movies that you may have overlooked.

I know what you’re thinking, but I promise this is a good one.  If you like to laugh you will like this movie. It totally flopped at the box office but it really is hilarious.  Mike Myers is in it for crying out loud.  There may or may not be a few lines from this movie that I say all the time.  All I’m saying is give it a shot, but make sure the kiddos are in bed because it’s not a kids movie by any means.

Ladies if you bust out this recommendation on movie-date-night-in, your man will LOVE you.  The cast is amazing.  It’s a little twist-y and turn-y and such a guys movie; but you girls will like it too.  Win- win!

Last but not least, it’s not summer without a little romance right?

I love watching old movies.  Be quiet mom – I do.  I know I used to hate it when you made me watch them as a kid, but it worked because I love them now!  This is one of my favorite love stories.  It hits close to home for me as it’s a love story between an American serviceman and a Japanese woman.  In fact, I first saw this movie as a teenager at my Japanese grandmother’s house.  I remember when the movie ended feeling so proud of my grandparents for being so brave and loving each other in the face of such ignorant opposition.  If you like a little history mixed in with your love story and you love old movies, you will love Sayonara.  It’s Marlon Brando people!

So there you- that’s my go-to summer movie list.  What’s on your list?  Has anyone else seen View From The Top?  ………….crickets…………