Screentime often gets blamed for a host of modern ills, yet a carefully chosen set of films can still open minds and spark imagination. In that spirit, we asked filmmakers, critics and industry figures to nominate the most joyful, inventive and thought-provoking screen experiences for young viewers and young adults.
Here are 25 essential films to watch before 25.
At the age of …
1
Fantasia
(1940)
Ahead of welcoming a first child, one director reflected on sharing early cinematic wonders. Disney’s Fantasia looms large in those memories, from its orchestral sweep to dancing ostriches and a weary Mickey Mouse.
As a fusion of music and image, it is exuberant, tactile cinema, and a perfect first encounter with film’s possibilities.
2
The Snowman
(1982)
Rendered in soft crayon textures, this winter tale feels like a dream. A boy proudly introduces his snowman to home comforts before the pair lift off over the Sussex landscape.
Come morning the snow is gone, yet the sense of wonder lingers, a quiet lesson in fleeting magic.
3
My Neighbour Totoro
(1988)
Hayao Miyazaki’s gentle story about illness, loss and nature’s solace transfixes even very young viewers. It offers a markedly different rhythm from typical American animation, inviting children to connect with stillness, curiosity and the living world.
4
Muppets Take Manhattan
(1984)
At the close of peak Muppets, and directed by Frank Oz, Kermit and company take their show to New York City with Broadway dreams. Setbacks and lessons follow, buoyed by sharp gags and memorable cameos, including a scene-stealing makeover for Miss Piggy.
It earns a place among the great 1980s New York films.
5
Chicken Run
(2000)
A stop-motion showcase inspired by second world war escape adventures, this caper tracks spirited hens plotting life beyond a fenced farm. Slapstick and action land for all ages, while a clear message about freedom anchors the laughter.
Think The Great Escape, only poultry.
6
The Wizard of Oz
(1939)
For one filmmaker, this Technicolor odyssey transformed childhood at six. It broadens imaginations with its musical verve and storybook vision.
Every six-year-old should take the trip down the yellow brick road.
7
Scooby-Doo
(2002)
First adored in youth and affirmed on rewatch, this pop confection delivers character, mystery and laughs. Seen anew, it also nods to big themes, from post-9/11 cultural anxiety to friendship under late capitalism, all while remaining a brisk, kid-friendly romp.
8
Labyrinth
(1986)
Jim Henson’s fantasy sends Sarah, played by Jennifer Connelly, into a treacherous maze to rescue her baby brother. David Bowie, as the beguiling Goblin King, teases and tests her in a story that balances charm and peril.
9
The Amazing Mr Blunden
(1972; remade in 2021)
Directed by Lionel Jeffries, this ghost story introduces a thrilling kind of dread. Two children in 1918 encounter the spirits of youngsters who perished a century earlier, then travel back to 1818 to set things right.
A recent remake offers an entry point, but the original leaves a lasting mark.
10
The Princess Bride
(1987)
A childhood crowd-pleaser layered with jokes that bloom in adulthood, this Rob Reiner classic doubles as comfort viewing later in life. Its blend of romance, adventure and wit never fades.
11
Mulan
(1998)
Adapted from the legend of Hua Mulan, Disney’s tale pairs rousing songs and sweeping romance with a lively turn from Eddie Murphy as Mushu. A girl disguises herself to do what others forbid, and sparks fly when the truth comes out.
12
The Witches
(1990)
Preteens are ready for this gleefully dark Roald Dahl adaptation. Anjelica Huston shifts from glamorous to terrifying as the Grand High Witch, bent on eliminating children with a potion.
Viewers will cheer on Luke, transformed into a mouse, and his steadfast grandmother as they outsmart their foes.
13
Princess Mononoke
(1997)
This earlier Miyazaki landmark instills a profound respect for nature. Beautiful and fearsome, it wrestles with the tension between the natural world and technology.
In these stories, children often see with greater clarity than the rule-bound adults around them.
14
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
(1986)
Even skeptics have been won over by John Hughes’s irreverent day-in-the-life comedy. Its breezy defiance and comic set pieces endure, flaws and all.
15
Run Lola Run
(1998)
A kinetic jolt that has launched directing ambitions, this thriller explores how fate and chance collide across repeated 20-minute sprints. Driven by a propulsive techno score, it is brisk, thoughtful and unforgettable.
16
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
(1964)
A teen weaned on action and profanity might resist an all-sung, pastel-tinted romance. Yet this Michel Legrand-scored marvel reveals, with aching beauty, how life can disappoint.
It is among cinema’s loveliest lessons, best learned early.
17
Get Out
(2017)
Jordan Peele’s thriller about a photographer meeting his girlfriend’s family works as a smart, accessible primer in film language. It is so entertaining that its craft and critique sneak up on first-time cinephiles.
18
Gaza: Doctors Under Attack (2025); Louis Theroux: The Settlers
(2025)
These documentaries depict the war in Gaza and the displacement in the West Bank, with images that are difficult to forget, including injured children and medics working under threat. One film captures a settler’s confident assertion of power.
The case is made that such testimonies are urgently needed and that images seen young can last a lifetime, underscored by a well-known Martin Luther King Jr quote on the cost of silence.
19
Trainspotting
(1996)
Three decades on, Danny Boyle’s adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s novel carries a cultural afterlife all its own. Its portraits of youth and rebellion remain potent.
The BBFC rates it 18, and for those of age, it still rewards, including on the festival circuit this year.
20
Blue
(1993)
Derek Jarman’s final work arrived as a challenge and an invitation, suggesting art could alter perception. Described as making the infinite tangible, this spare, moving farewell continues to redefine what cinema can be.
21
Cléo from 5 to 7
(1962)
Turning 21 invites New Wave energy. Agnès Varda’s playful, stylish film follows a pop singer who, after a tarot reading, examines her life in near-real time.
Its spirit of optimism, change and connection suits early adulthood.
22
Do the Right Thing
(1989)
Spike Lee’s vibrant, scorching portrait of a neighborhood on a sweltering day urges young audiences to question history, power, justice and personal responsibility. Its relevance has only sharpened.
23
The Girl Chewing Gum
(1976)
Shot largely as an unplanned documentary on a London street corner, John Smith’s short adds a later voiceover that purports to direct the scene, gradually revealing its own unreliability. Witty and probing, it shows how cinema constructs meaning and is now considered an avant garde touchstone.
24
Morvern Callar
(2002)
Lynne Ramsay captures the sensation of being unmoored yet unburdened, poised for a bold, maybe reckless leap before adulthood hardens. For many, it becomes a rite of passage that invites a return decades later to measure what has changed in oneself.
25
The Graduate
(1967)
At 25, the quarter-life reckoning arrives. Mike Nichols’s dark comedy about a drifting college grad and an affair with an older woman uses sly humor and melancholy to probe the weight of irreversible choices.
Dustin Hoffman’s Benjamin and Anne Bancroft’s Mrs Robinson remain indelible, their moral ambiguity as funny as it is unsettling.
For another portrait of how images and memory shape a life, see a photographer traces her family’s reverse migration, which follows one artist’s journey through the American South.