Dear Hollywood, More Smart Kids Movies Please

This weekend, the animated movie Gnomeo and Juliet almost tied with the new film I Am Number Four at the box office. I Am Number Four, a teen sci-fi flick, brought in $19.5 million. Gnomeo and Juliet brought in $19.4 million, according to to Box Office Mojo estimates on Monday. (The Liam Neeson thriller Unknown topped the box office with $21.8 million.)

That’s a pretty impressive showing for Gnomeo, a retelling of the Romeo and Juliet story starring garden gnomes and set the music of Elton John. In its second weekend out, the film dropped only 23%. Compare that to Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never which dropped 54% and Adam Sandler’s Just Go With It which dropped 40%. Gnomeo and Juliet has already brought in $55 million at the box office.

Animated films that are not from DreamWorks or Pixar tend to get dismissed pretty quickly. Last year Despicable Me (from Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures) took everyone by surprise when it earned $527 million at the global box office.

But as a parent of young children I can tell you, I long for children’s movies. I scan the release schedules looking for tiny lifeboats of appealing kids flicks. It’s not that I’m so desperate to get into a theater where I don’t have to talk to my kids. It’s just that I love going to the movies and I love being able to do it with my entire family.

Like most parents, I won’t go see just anything. Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, looked way to dumb to merit me spending any money on it.

But if a film looks halfway decent, I’m there, happily shelling out the money for 3 (non 3-D) tickets, popcorn, candy and drinks.

Gnomeo and Juliet was no Toy Story 3. But it was cute enough. It featured the voices of some of my favorite English actors (including Stephen Merchant and Maggie Smith) and played cleverly with the classic tragic Shakespeare tale. Plus the music was great. So when it was raining out on Saturday and my kids begged to go see it again, I was happy to oblige (at a steep matinee discount). Yup, I saw it twice.

I’m sure I’m not alone. So Hollywood, please, more kids movies with even a tiny bit of smarts. There’s a market out there. We will go. I promise. Every animated movie doesn’t have to be a major event. Just like there are people who will see smart adult films and people who will see female-centric films, don’t underestimate those of us who aren’t teenage boys. We love movies too.

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10 Best 80's Kids Movies

It’s time for a family-friendly marathon with these 10 best 80’s kids’ movies. The 80’s had many kid hits and many of them are still popular today. Many of the characters in these movies are known by kids today even though they weren’t alive during the movie's release.

10. “The Dark Crystal” (1982). This kids’ movie was from the puppet mastermind Jim Henson. This was the tale of good and evil told from the eyes of the fantasy creatures, the Gelflings, who fight to save their world from the Skeksis by replacing a shard from the Dark Crystal.

9. “The Goonies” (1985). This is a great underdog story that kids will instantly like. It’s the story of a group of friends who follow a treasure map in the hopes of saving their homes from a housing project. This was another great film from the mind of Steven Spielberg.

8. “The Little Mermaid” (1989). Disney took on Hans Christian Andersen’s mermaid tale with this story. It is one of the Disney classics that is still popular today. It is the tale of a young mermaid who falls in love with a human.

7. “The Land Before Time” (1988). This is the story of a little dinosaur who loses his mother and must travel to safety with a group of friends. Now twenty years later, the characters are still popular with multiple other movies having been released and a TV series.

6. “The Princess Bride” (1987). This movie is set up like the story is being told by a grandfather to his grandson. It is a wonderful fairy tale that took 80s pop-culture by storm. It is the story of the Princess Buttercup and her true love, Westley.

5. “Short Circuit” (1986). This science fiction movie is great for kids and the whole family. It’s the hear-warming tale of a robot who comes to life and is able to think outside of his programming. The government agency that designed the robot doesn’t like their weapon’s new found humanity and tries to have it destroyed. The movie was so successful that a sequel was later made.

4. “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1984). This was Disney’s adaptation of the popular fairy tale. Snow White is put in a magic sleep by her wicked stepmother and is awakened by the kiss of a prince. It became an instant classic and is still a widely popular movie.

3. “A Christmas Story” (1983). This movie was very under appreciated during its release. The movie was set in the 1940s and told the story of a young boy who wanted a BB-gun for Christmas. The movie developed a cult following when TNT began airing it during 24 hour holiday marathons in 1997.

2. “The Last Unicorn” (1982). The movie was based on the book by Peter S. Beagle. This animated movie told the adventures of the last unicorn and her quest to discover what happened to the rest of her kind.

1. "E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982). Not only is this one of the best kids’ movies of the 80s, but it is also one of the most successful movies of all time. This movie helped rocket director Steven Spielberg to stardom. It was the story of a crash-landed alien and a young boy trying to help him get home.

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