Top Three Children's Family Movies You've Never Seen

The holy grail of family movie night is something that the whole family can enjoy. An entire movie about talking animals leaves parents trying to sneak a peek at their email, and that old classic movie leaves children wandering off to do something more interesting. There are certainly some wonderful family movies that have been made, but there is a limit to the number of times an adult can watch Finding Nemo or even Monsters Inc.

Here are the best three children's and family movies you've never seen. All are rated PG.

Cats and Dogs

No, not the one with Janeane Garofalo. That's "The Truth About Cats and Dogs".

This talking-animal action comedy came out in 1998 from Lawrence Guterman, the co-director of Antz. Unknown to humans, a secret war has been raging between cats and dogs for eons, who lead secret lives that would make James Bond jealous. Jeff Goldblum plays his role perfectly as the father and absent-minded professor, Professor Brody, attempting to create a vaccine for dog allergies. Of course, the cats of this world cannot stand idly by. Cats attempt to steal his formula using spy tricks, and of course sending secret ninja cats. Computer animation is used to make cats do ninja moves and fly across the room. If this concept strikes you as funny, you will enjoy this film. My kids were howling with laughter (groan) during the opening scenes of the movie, and I was laughing out loud at parts also. Cats and Dogs co-stars Elizabeth Perkins and Alexander Pollock, as well as the vocal talents of Susan Sarandon, Alec Baldwin, Jon Lovitz, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Joe Pantoliano.

The Iron Giant

This movie is an animated movie about a boy and a giant robot, who is mis-understood and has to be hidden from the boy's single parent mother and the rest of the town. The plot line resembles "Short Circuit". A government agent is on their track, and a local salvage yard operator helps the boy. I thought during the movie it might be a little dark, but it had a wonderful ending, without being too contrived. The message for the mis-understood robot was "you are who you choose to be". Voices are provided by some high-profiles actors and actresses: Jennifer Aniston, Vin Diesel, and Christopher McDonald, among others. Some of the scenes were a little intense for my five-year old, although she insisted at the time and the next day that she loved the movie. As the closing credits were rolling, both kids were already asking if there was a sequel. There is no sequel, but the movie is loosely based on the book The Iron Man by late British poet Ted Hughes, so we may check out that book. The movie was rated PG, but there was more cursing in this movie than I have ever heard in a PG movie.

George of the Jungle

Many of today's parents might remember Jay Ward's cartoon series about a klutzy king of the jungle, named George. Walt Disney turned this into a full-length movie (not animated) with George played by played by Brendan Fraser. It's silly and campy without being stupid, and completely enjoyable. We watched it three times before we returned it to Blockbuster Online. There is some innuendo as George becomes interested in Ursula Stanhope (played by Leslie Mann) but it is completely appropriate for children. This subplot is tastefully humorous and not just tacked onto the story, especially as Ape gives George mating ritual tips.