National Lampoon's Vacation

This is possibly the best road trip movie ever. The movie is so quotable that even the name of Wal-Mart has forever been altered for some to "Wally World." If places like Disney World and the Grand Canyon or things like the world's biggest ball of twine make you want to design a family road trip...then you have something in common with the dad of this movie, Clark Griswold. Only...his plan doesn't go the way he expected.  For every bump in the road, though, he tries that much harder to make his family happy. Sounds like summer family vacations to me!

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*Older kids and up.

Sandlot

Sandlot is up there with Goonies for being one of the best movies about kids...ever. New kid in town connects with a rag tag group of kids as they play baseball and have what probably amounts to the best summer of their lives, making friendships that last forever.

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Haven't seen it? "You're killing me, Smalls!"

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*All Ages

Stand By Me

If you watch this, you may wonder "how on earth was this written by Stephen King?!?"  Don't forget, though, that King has a few movies that aren't horror.  He wrote Green Mile and Shawshank Redemption too!  Well, this one came first. It is both powerfully emotional and hilarious.  Four kids set out on a mission, in the 1950's, to find a dead body of a missing person so they can get on the news as heroes.  Along the way, they make memories, bond, and grow up...all while walking down railroad tracks.

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*Older kids and up

Diary of a Wimpy Kid 3: Dog Days

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series really gets me laughing. As pure family movies, they remind me of the old "Wonderful World of Disney" movie nights from years ago. Pure family and pure fun. Ok, sure, some complain that there is some crude humor included about boogers and poop and the like...but have you met young kids? That stuff is comedy gold to them. That's often forgotten when talking about movies for all ages...there are lines and jokes for all ages! Some movies include jokes that only the adults get. Well, the "crude humor" in these movies is the reverse of that. The kids get it, even if you don't. The hilariously true-to-life brother relationship between Greg and Roderick continues to entertain as they bicker and scam their way through their summer vacation in this installment.

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*All Ages

Jaws

Scariest water movie of all time.  Any shark movie that has come since, even ones with newer and better special effects, is trying to be Jaws.  Scary + fun ... equals scary fun?  I think so.  Just watch it after you're OUT of the water...because you're not going to want to get IN water afterwards.  When I was little...I got nervous even swimming in a pool after watching it...because you never know!

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*Older kids and up.

Finding Nemo

Finding Nemo and Finding Dory are both so brightly colored that they're just beautiful to watch.  On top of that, both movies are very, very funny and amazingly heartfelt, showing the relationship between an overprotective father and his son...and showing how hard and scary it can be to let your kids grow up and start doing things on their own.

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*All ages

Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown

The Peanuts gang has every holiday locked down, why not summer too?  This is a fun trip to summer camp with Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and all the others as they camp, compete in games, and race rafts down a river.  With the boys in one raft, the girls in another, the bullies in a third, and Snoopy and Woodstock in a fourth, it's every team for themselves.  You won't know who is going to win until they cross the finish line!

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*All Ages

Cars

Lightning McQueen is a young hot shot racer that's a little too obnoxious for his own good.  That all starts to change when he's forced to spend time in a small, forgotten town off Route 66.  People...I mean Cars that he wouldn't have given the time of day teach him about what really matters, about friendship, and about humility.  Since it's Pixar and Disney, this movie about personal growth also happens to be funny.

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*All Ages

Ernest Goes to Camp

Let's be honest. If you remember watching the Ernest movies when you were a kid and enjoying them...they're not going to be as good as you remember. There are two things you should consider, though. First, the Ernest movies are pretty genius about putting themselves into scenarios where kids are going to see them. There's a family friendly Halloween movie and a Christmas movie.  Once your kids are hooked...why not a summer camp movie too? Second, remember how much you enjoyed them as a kid? THAT's how much your kids are going to enjoy the goofy antics of Jim Varney as Ernest.

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*All Ages

Little Mermaid

Disney's original "Under the Sea" movie, unless you count the Incredible Mr. Limpet, took us to the ocean depths before Nemo and Dory and is still just as wonderful to this day. As the mermaid, Ariel, tries to become "part of our world" on land, it's non-stop lighthearted fun watching her mistake forks for combs and so on. Lighthearted fun...that is...until the evil Ursula uses her magic to turn Ariel human in a deal that could ruin Ariel's chance for true love and ruin the entire underwater kingdom of mermaids!

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*All Ages

Kings of Summer

Rated R alert. So, this one is for the teens!  Also, there's an awkward conversation between Nick Offerman's character and his son at the beginning...but, beyond that this is a really cool coming of age movie in which a couple of teenagers decide to get away from the rules of their parents by running away into the woods and building a house deep in the forest where no one can find them. That works just fine...until a girl shows up. Then, the boys' summer utopia gets broken up pretty fast. Even though the teens run away, this story tells a pretty touching tale of the relationship between parents and their teens AND between friends.

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*Teens

My Girl

My Girl is not quite a love story about widower Dan Aykroyd finding new love with Jamie Lee Curtis. Instead, it's about Dan's 11-year old daughter's response to that new love story. It's a very sweet story, set in the 70's, that realistically follows the girl's paradigm change.  Along with her for that ride is her friend played by Macaulay Culkin, who was still riding his wave of fame that started with Home Alone.  Hint: Bring your tissues.

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*Older Kids and up

Way Way Back

Away on a beach vacation with his mom (Toni Collette) and her new boyfriend (Steve Carell), a 14-year-old boy doesn't quite mesh with that new father figure.  So, he spends his time at a water park instead, making friends with the park's staff (including Sam Rockwell and Maya Rudolph) along the way.

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*Older Kids and Up

Moana

Moana, like Finding Nemo, is so colorful that it really is just beautiful.  Following the story of an island princess that struggles against the constraints of the rules her dad has enforced upon her, we get to watch as her attempts to stop a curse from affecting her island sets her off on an adventure.  She comes face to face with the demigod responsible for that curse, Maui.  Maui is voiced, hilariously, by Dwayne Johnson.  You'll be singing some of his songs for weeks after!

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*All Ages

Moonrise Kingdom

If you're familiar with Wes Anderson, you'll know to expect a certain level of surrealism, aka weirdness. Yes, that's here, but there's also a level of sweetness and sincerity about two young teens having a burgeoning romance.  A boy scout runs away from summer camp and goes on the run with the girl he has a crush on.  The girl's parents (Bill Murray and Frances McDormand) begin searching for their daughter. The boys scouts (led by Edward Norton) begin their search. Local police (led by Bruce Willis) begin their search. There is a scene concerning that burgeoning love that would be difficult to watch with younger children.

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*Teens

Secondhand Lions

A young boy's mother doesn't seem to be able to take care of him, so she sends him to live with his eccentric uncles for the summer. She has an agenda to get their money, because not only are they weird, they're wealthy.  The uncles are played perfectly by Robert Duvall and Michael Caine. Caine plays a grumpy curmudgeon. Duvall makes Caine seem nice! Put the kid (played by Haley Joel Osment) in that situation, and the comedy just comes naturally.  Why "Secondhand Lions"? These two guys buy an old lion so they can hunt him and relive their wild glory days. Some of those glory days come vividly to life as Caine tells the boy about many of the adventures the two have been through. Hint...the name of the movie is a metaphor for the two uncles!

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*All Ages

Judy Moody and the Not So Bummer Summer

Judy Moody is based on a book series for children with that same character in each. This installment, the spunky third grader determines she's going to have the best summer ever, no matter what!

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*All Ages

One Crazy Summer

This is an oddball comedy where a guy goes with his best friend to stay at the friend's aunt's house on the island of Nantucket. The island is filled with zany characters and an evil rich guy trying to take new friend Demi Moore's family house and land.  Of course, the guys want to help the damsel in distress...which leads to a boat race!

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*Older Kids and Up

Dolphin Tale

While this movie centers on the story of a boy who helps save a dolphin that loses its tail and their subsequent friendship, it also shows the need for perseverance through difficulties and the fact that people, or animals, that have disabilities are every bit as awesome and special as those who don't.  Going into this movie, I expected the sweet story of the dolphin learning to use its new tail, but I didn't know to expect the dolphin becoming a symbol for people with disabilities. When the kids showed up to see the dolphin they'd heard about, it hit me. Tissues were needed.  All based on a true story!

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*All Ages

The Parent Trap

Hayley Mills stars twice as identical twins who each live with separate parents. They connive to trick their parents back together by swapping places!

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*All Ages