Look — up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… one of our favorite superhero movies! These men (and women) in tights are sure to save the day and beat the bad guys when it really counts. From The Incredibles to Superman, here are 11 movies that aren’t too scary for superhero-loving kids.
Batkid Begins
Batkid Begins, ages 7 and older
Batkid Begins is an unabashedly emotional, uplifting documentary about the day in 2013 that the city of San Francisco transformed itself into Gotham to help a young boy’s Make-A-Wish dream come true. Packed with excellent messages and role models, the film makes a strong case for the positive power of social media when it’s used for a good cause (Twitter and Facebook helped make the event a global phenomenon) and shows how people really can make a difference. Discussion of young Miles’ illness (leukemia) and treatment could worry some sensitive kids, and there are a few tense scenes staged for Batkid’s big day (a woman tied to cable car tracks, fights with villains, etc.), but overall this is a wonderfully heartwarming story for viewers of all ages, with basically zero iffy content.
Quality rating: 4 out of 5 stars
On DVD/Streaming (2015)
The Incredibles
The Incredibles, ages 7 and older
This animated Pixar film is considered one of their all-time best for portraying mature themes about families in a way that both kids and adults can enjoy. Because of the movie’s focus on a superhero family, there’s much more violence than is usually featured in comparable PG-rated movies. The family adventure includes all sorts of weapons, explosions, deaths, widespread destruction and more. A few characters are shown with drinks in hand, and one character even smokes a long-stemmed cigarette. Despite the intensity of the Bond-level violence, there are plenty of positive themes about family, courage and identity to make this a must-see for families.
Quality rating: 5 out of 5 stars
On DVD/Streaming (2005)
Stan Lee’s Mighty 7: Beginnings
Stan Lee’s Mighty 7: Beginnings, ages 8 and older
Stan Lee’s Mighty 7 is another creation by comic-book legend Stan Lee, who co-created Marvel poster kids such as The Avengers and Spider-Man. The movie’s content is often violent, and enemies wage war against each other with traditional weapons as well as with their own special skills such as super strength and electric shock waves. Death is implied, and the body count is high, but there’s no visible blood or gore. Even so, what’s more striking about the story is the evolution of the team of seven heroes, who begin the movie as enemies but come to a greater understanding of each other by setting aside their preconceived judgments.
As they change, kids can see the value of respect, kindness and judging a person by his or her actions rather than his or her appearance. The story’s clever spin on the inspiration of comic book characters, which puts an animated version of Stan Lee in the movie itself, is another fun aspect that has a lot of grown-up appeal.
Quality rating: 4 out of 5 stars
On DVD/Streaming (2014)
Superman: The Movie
Superman: The Movie, ages 8 and older
Many characters are in peril before Superman saves the day, including a school bus full of kids teetering off the Golden Gate Bridge, two coasts threatened by a missile launch and Lois, who is buried alive after an earthquake. Superman can’t save his adopted dad from a heart attack, however, and is shown mourning his death. There is some smoking in the Daily Planet newsroom typical of the ’70s and a few swear words. Superman fights for “truth, justice and the American way” — your basic superhero role model.
Quality rating: 4 out of 5 stars
On DVD/Streaming (2003)
Legends of the Knight
Legends of the Knight, ages 10 and older
Legends of the Knight is a documentary about some of the men, women and kids whose lives have been positively affected by both the concept and the persona of Batman. A powerful source of change, in the comics, movies, books and media at large, Batman is shown to inspire and motivate a wide assortment of people with challenges of their own.
The film, filled with heartening messages and living examples of those messages, includes a variety of ethnicities and economic classes. The common bond is each individual’s unique ability to see Batman as more than a comic book hero, identify with his unique outlook and goals and ultimately insert Batman’s essence into the smaller stage of their own lives. The only caution for kids is that some of the stories are about people with physical challenges and illnesses.
Quality rating: 4 out of 5 stars
On DVD/Streaming (2014)
Captain America: The First Avenger
Captain America: The First Avenger, ages 11 and older
While this 1940s-set comic book-based superhero adventure is full of explosive action violence — expect tons of gun battles, fireballs and fistfights (all of which are even more in-your-face in the 3-D version of the movie), as well as a scary-looking villain — in most other respects, it’s pretty tame as these kinds of movies go.
Captain America is wholesome, compassionate and brave; he doesn’t have the dark side that many other superheroes do, and he’s not a ladies’ man or a party animal. There are a couple of tame kisses and a little bit of drinking, as well as a few uses of words like “hell” and “ass,” but what lingers after the last bomb has exploded and the last fight is over are the movie’s messages about standing up against bullies and doing the right thing. (That and a very strong sense of “U.S.A! U.S.A!” patriotism.)
Quality rating: 3 out of 5
On DVD/Streaming (2011)
Spider-Man
Spider-Man, ages 11 and older
Spider-Man’s PG-13 rating comes from a couple of swear words, a clingy wet T-shirt, and — particularly — a great deal of comic book-style violence. It can get very intense and includes not just fires and explosions, but people getting vaporized, shot (off-camera) and impaled. Characters lose people close to them; a group of schoolchildren is in peril; and parents emotionally abuse their children. But the movie’s core messages about empathy and responsibility are strong, and Peter Parker is one of the comic book world’s more thoughtful heroes.
Quality rating: 4 out of 5
On DVD/Streaming (2002)
Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2, ages 11 and older
Spider-Man 2, the second in the Tobey Maguire-era Spider-Man trilogy, has lots of comic book-style violence. Cars (taxis, most often) are thrown into buildings, heroes and villains throw each other from high buildings and, perhaps most disturbingly, the wife of a character is killed when glass in a building shatters and the shards fly straight for her face. There is some drinking; a character is shown drinking whiskey at a bar and at home. Beyond this, the film raises important metaphorical questions about the importance of using your talents and gifts to their peak potential instead of casting them aside in order to be “normal.”
Quality rating: 5 out of 5 stars
On DVD/Streaming (2004)
X-Men
X-Men, ages 11 and older
X-Men involves a great deal of comic-book violence executed with near-bloodless restraint but, at the same time, visceral efficiency. One character is a Holocaust survivor; there’s much discussion about tolerance and hatred and prejudice, all in the film’s fictional context of “mutants” with special abilities appearing in the human population — and yet, this might provide a great conversation starter for families.
Quality rating: 4 out of 5 stars
On DVD/Streaming (2006)
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man, ages 12 and older
The Amazing Spider-Man sticks pretty closely to the standard superhero template. There’s an average guy (Andrew Garfield) who mysteriously receives amazing powers and is suddenly thrust into the unfamiliar role of savior, some tame romance (kissing, flirting), mild swearing (“damn,” “hell”), and lots of comic book-style action: cars getting thrown off bridges, villains throwing heroes through walls, and assorted other mayhem, some with weapons and a bit of blood. Popular actress Emma Stone co-stars as Spidey’s love interest, and Martin Sheen adds gravitas in the tragic role of Peter Parker’s kind Uncle Ben.
Quality rating: 4 out of 5 stars
On DVD/Streaming (2012)
X-Men: First Class
X-Men: First Class, ages 12 and older
This exciting X-Men prequel/origin story has plenty of action as the heroes and villains battle it out using their wide variety of special abilities, many of which can be deadly. Though overall the film has a bit of a retro feel due to the 1960s setting, there are big explosions/attacks, as well as hand-to-hand battles and a few intense death scenes — including one in which a boy’s mother is killed in front of him and another in which a coin becomes a lethal weapon. The threat of nuclear war hangs over most of the movie. Expect moderate drinking and smoking; female characters sometimes appear in their underwear, skimpy costumes or less, though there’s no actual nudity. Language is infrequent but does include one use of “f***.” The movie includes weighty discussions about morality, self-acceptance and fear of the unknown and — staying true to the original comic books — makes comparisons between the Holocaust and how people react to the presence of mutants.
Quality rating: 3 out of 5 stars
On DVD/Streaming (2011)
Superhero Movies For Kids
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