Published on FathersofMultiples.com.
We all know that sickness can hit at any minute. Schools are basically just germ factories waiting to infect your children, with some reading, writing and arithmetic thrown in for good measure. When your child does get sick (and they will, it's just a matter of when) there's no other option than to plant them on the couch to recuperate.
How do you keep them happy?
They’re unable to run, jump, or play. They may not even be up for video games. (That's how you KNOW they're really sick!) Movies are your best bet. But, what movies do you pick? You need something that’ll provide the adventure and escapism that will help your child not think about being sick. Even better, there are some really great movies where the main character is stuck in their house for various reasons, and the adventure of the movie frees them to get out and do something exciting. If you’re sick on the couch, these movies should be very relateable.
If your children are sick and in need of distraction so you can get things done, these movies fit the bill. If you are camped out on the couch beside them, possibly even sick yourself, there are some nostalgic hits thrown in the mix to get your attention as well!
Here's our list of the top 10 movies, for kids to help get them, and you, through those days on the couch.
Bolt
Disney’s movie about a dog who thought he had super powers, when he really didn’t. It follows the title character on a cross-country adventure to reunite him with the girl who loves him. This is really a heartwarming tale. Bolt braves danger and makes friends along the way. It also has a soundtrack reminiscent of the feel-good Disney movies from the ‘70s.
Wreck-it Ralph
What Toy Story does for toys, Disney’s Wreck-it Ralph does for video game characters. When no one is looking, they come to life and have their own world, feelings, and dreams. Ralph’s journey of self-discovery, while making an adorable friend in the character Vanellope, is truly uplifting as he comes to terms with being a video-game villain, but a “good guy” in his real life. The scene at the end where Ralph is quoting “I’m bad, and that’s good” will bring a tear to the eye. Especially if you’re sick and emotional already anyway.
The Back to the Future series
Maybe you need a whole day on the couch. If so, this is the ticket. These movies are great and hold up very well today. My eight-year-old twins love the whole series and can’t decide if their favorite time machine is a DeLorean or a phone booth (Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure). For those not already in the know on these extremely fun classics, Marty McFly unexpectedly ends up in a time-travel adventure. He goes back to the 1950’s where he runs into his parents. This potentially sets events into motion that could prevent him from ever being born! The fun thing about watching these movies back-to-back-to-back is all of the recurring jokes. These could easily go unnoticed unless you watch them all close together.
Tangled
Disney’s Tangled did extremely well in the box office. I think that’s eclipsed sometimes and forgotten because of how well Frozen did. Tangled shouldn’t be forgotten because it was every bit as good as Frozen. Rapunzel has been trapped in her tower for years, interacting with no one other than her lizard (and occasionally her “mother”). When she gets out to see the world, she is hilariously awkward and socially inept. The impetus for the movie’s adventure starts when a thief comes to her tower to hide out. The two strike up a bargain where she frees him as long as he shows her where the floating lights come from that she see every year on her birthday. From that point, the movie is non-stop fun!
Frozen
Another great Disney movie to make this list! Frozen is also another story of a girl trapped in her home for years, filled with boredom and infected by cabin fever. The social awkwardness is very similar to that of Tangled’s Rapunzel and just as funny. The great thing about this movie is that it doesn’t follow the same old love story paths of so many of the other fairy tales turned into movies. It instead, very sweetly explores the love between siblings (something twin parents know all about!). Just be prepared to have “Let it go” stuck in your head for days/years to come.
Goonies
A quintessential kids’ classic, Goonies is basically Raiders of the Lost Ark, but for 12 year-olds! It’s a hilarious, action-packed adventure from the opening credits to the very end. Lost treasure. Pirates. Bank Robbers. Guns. Booty Traps…I mean Booby Traps! You follow four kids on what would’ve been an ordinary day as they try to save their neighborhood from getting bought out by rich jerks. This simple goal leads them into the adventure of a lifetime. This one is going to make your sick kids get out and do something!
Marvel Movies
There’s never been such a widespread collection of fantastical action as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It really is unprecedented, and we are all the better for it. Nordic Gods turning superhero. Tech geniuses creating suits of armor. People able to grow to hulking sizes filled with strength, or to tiny ant size, filled with ingenuity. Possibly the best of the bunch, and one that would resonate most closely with someone sick on the couch? How about a sickly kid turned awesome superhero? Captain America is just that. All 3 Cap movies are truly great, with the first one being mostly a WWII movie that happens to have a superhero in it, the second basically being a Jason Bourne movie with that same hero, and the third being an all-out action brawl between all your favorite Marvel characters.
Ferris Beuller’s Day Off
Ferris Beuller is possibly the coolest person ever to be put on celluloid beyond James Bond. Unlike your child watching the movie, Ferris isn’t sick. Although he’s snowed his family, his school, and pretty much his entire town, he only pretends to be sick so he can have a day off from high school. He then takes his best friend and girlfriend out for a day on the town in Chicago. What ensues, as his sister and principal constantly try to thwart him, is a fun-filled day to rival all others.
Princess Bride
This movie is ideal for sick day viewing. Heck, that’s what the movie is about. Grandpa is reading a fantasy adventure to his sick grandson to help stave off the boredom. We, the viewers, get to see the fantasy, a swashbuckling adventure of a pirate finding true love, unfold on the screen!
NeverEnding Story
This is one of the most fantastical stories ever told. The main character in the movie escapes his world of bullies and school through a giant book. He’s transported to the vivid world of Fantasia, tasked with stopping the “nothing” before it takes over the Southern Oracle. With characters like Falkor the Luck Dragon, the Rock Eater, and the Childlike Empress, it's a story that will capture imaginations from the first scene to the last.
Honorable Mentions:
Star Wars - A New Hope follows the adventures of a young man who has felt trapped on his planet and “out of the action” as he jumps into an intergalactic adventure of good versus evil. (Like you didn’t know what that one was about!)
Chronicles of Narnia - Four young kids are transported away from their boredom into new a world by simply entering an old wardrobe.
Movies hold a lot of power. If one of those is the power of healing, this list should get you through your kids' illness in record time!