Best Family Movies of the 1980s
The 1980s reshaped family cinema, and this is what survived the decade's own hype cycle — 20 films ranked purely by audience score, from 1980 to 1989. My Neighbor Totoro leads at 8.1. If you only work through the top ten, you will have covered the decade properly.
20 titles · average score 7.5 ·
The top 5 picks
- 1
My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
★ 8.1 · 8,984 ratingsTwo sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs…
- 2
Castle in the Sky (1986)
★ 8.0 · 4,755 ratingsA young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.
- 3
Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
★ 7.8 · 4,674 ratingsA young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.
- 4
The King and the Mockingbird (1980)
★ 7.8 · 420 ratingsA young shepherdess and a chimneysweep plan to get married and escape the clutches of a tyrannical king in love with her, assisted by the guile of a cheeky mockingbird, the king's archenemy.
- 5
The Princess Bride (1987)
★ 7.7 · 5,225 ratingsIn this enchantingly cracked fairy tale, the beautiful Princess Buttercup and the dashing Westley must overcome staggering odds to find happiness amid six-fingered swordsmen, murderous princes, Sicilians and rodents of…
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How this list is ranked
Nothing on this page is hand-picked to hit a word count. We pull films matching this list's criteria from TMDB, require a real audience behind each score, and rank by that score — 20 titles averaging 7.5. The page rebuilds daily, so new releases appear here as soon as enough people have rated them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best family movie of the 1980s?
My Neighbor Totoro (1988) leads the decade with 8.1. The full list covers 1980–1989 and averages 7.5.
How many family movies from the 1980s are on this list?
20, each with at least 300 audience ratings behind its score. Anything with a thin vote count is excluded so the ranking reflects a real consensus.
Is this list updated?
Yes — it rebuilds every day from TMDB, so newly released movies appear as soon as enough people have rated them. You do not need an account to browse it, and there is no paywall on anything at MovieAI.