Comingsoon.net is thinking back to elementary school days to determine which movies about kid heroes do the very best job of capturing that childhood wonder. Check out our picks in the gallery below!
There’s nothing like a good adventure movie, especially when you’re a kid. Seeing people your age carrying out some of the most daring and risky plans on-screen is enough to inspire a whole summer’s worth of schemes and hi-jinx. There might not be as many movies about kid heroes these days—luckily, these films from the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s (and even one from the 50s) are timeless enough to still be effective.
From aliens far from home to kids endowed with magic powers, the wonders of childhood imagination are best explored on the big screen. Steven Spielberg knows this better than anyone, but he’s not the only one to get the job done—if Spielberg is the king, then Chris Columbus is the prince. These guys, in conjunction with everyone else on this list, are responsible for the best movies about kid heroes.
kid hero movies
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Attack the Block (2011)
Released the same year as J.J. Abrams’s Super 8, another film in this collection, Joe Cornish’s Attack the Block sees a group of kids trying to save their neighborhood from an alien invasion. Cornish’s latest feature, The Kid Who Would Be King, shows that the filmmaker certainly has a knack for movies about young heroes.
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E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Spielberg gets a lot of praise for his films like Jaws, Jurassic Park, and Raiders of the Lost Ark (and rightfully so), but it’d be hard to argue with someone claiming that E.T. is the director’s true masterpiece. By keeping the camera low, Spielberg perfectly captures the wonder and heroism of childhood.
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Home Alone (1990)
John Hughes had a monopoly on high school movies throughout the 80s, only to move that monopoly to movies about kids in the 90s. To kick off this move, Hughes released Home Alone—probably the funniest film in this collection.
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise has reached unimpeachable levels, with more than twenty years of beloved fans backing the series since its inception in the late 90s. It’s only fair to include this first Harry Potter film here.
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Matilda (1996)
Based on the classic book by Roald Dahl, Danny DeVito’s directorial effort Matilda might be the superior movie about kids with magic powers. Harry Potter might have more fans, but Matilda has more fun.
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Stand by Me (1986)
Based on the Stephen King short story “The Body,” Stand by Me is one of many Rob Reiner hits. The film follows a group of pre-teens in search of a dead body, but it’s honestly about so much more than that.
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Super 8 (2011)
A loving and entertaining tribute to Steven Spielberg and the movies of the 1980s, J.J. Abrams’s Super 8 combines E.T. and The Goonies to great success. The filmmaker is not afraid to wear his influences on his sleeves, and the end result is a great movie about a group of very courageous friends.
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The Goonies (1985)
Richard Donner might be most-known for his Lethal Weapon series, but the man did a fine job with the 80s classic The Goonies just a couple of years before the first film in his buddy cop quadrilogy. There might not be a better group of friends on film.
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The Iron Giant (1999)
Probably the finest child-befriends-gentle giant film ever made, The Iron Giant is captivatingly heartfelt in its depiction of heroic children. Complete with impressive animation, The Iron Giant is hard to top.
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The Night of the Hunter (1955)
What immediately stands out about The Night of the Hunter is its 1955 release date. Don’t be fooled, though—its as timeless as anything else here, and its story of two kids who see right through their mom’s new husband proves to be one of the most personal movies this subgenre has to offer.
