Family Movies 2013 List

When Walt Disney’s daughters begged him to make a movie of their favorite book, P.L. Travers’ “Mary Poppins,” he made them a promise—one that he didn’t realize would take 20 years to keep. In his quest to obtain the rights, Walt comes up against a curmudgeonly, uncompromising writer who has absolutely no intention of letting her beloved magical nanny get mauled by the Hollywood machine. But, as the books stop selling and money grows short, Travers reluctantly agrees to go to Los Angeles to hear Disney’s plans for the adaptation.

For those two short weeks in 1961, Walt Disney pulls out all the stops. Armed with imaginative storyboards and chirpy songs from the talented Sherman brothers, Walt launches an all-out onslaught on P.L. Travers, but the prickly author doesn’t budge. He soon begins to watch helplessly as Travers becomes increasingly immovable and the rights begin to move further away from his grasp.

It is only when he reaches into his own childhood that Walt discovers the truth about the ghosts that haunt her, and together they set Mary Poppins free to ultimately make one of the most endearing films in cinematic history.

When Walt Disney’s daughters begged him to make a movie of their favorite book, P.L. Travers’ “Mary Poppins,” he made them a promise—one that he didn’t realize would take 20 years to keep. In his quest to obtain the rights, Walt comes up against a curmudgeonly, uncompromising writer who has absolutely no intention of letting her beloved magical nanny get mauled by the Hollywood machine. But, as the books stop selling and money grows short, Travers reluctantly agrees to go to Los Angeles to hear Disney’s plans for the adaptation.

For those two short weeks in 1961, Walt Disney pulls out all the stops. Armed with imaginative storyboards and chirpy songs from the talented Sherman brothers, Walt launches an all-out onslaught on P.L. Travers, but the prickly author doesn’t budge. He soon begins to watch helplessly as Travers becomes increasingly immovable and the rights begin to move further away from his grasp.

It is only when he reaches into his own childhood that Walt discovers the truth about the ghosts that haunt her, and together they set Mary Poppins free to ultimately make one of the most endearing films in cinematic history.

Recent discoveries and a breakthrough in technology will introduce new and unique dinosaurs that are more real than ever before and put moviegoers in the middle of a thrilling prehistoric adventure, where an underdog dinosaur triumphs against all odds to become a hero for the ages.

Following a four-year separation, Ahmad (Ali Mosaffa) returns to Paris from Tehran, upon his estranged French wife Marie (Bérénice Bejo)'s request, in order to finalize their divorce procedure so she can marry her new boyfriend Samir (Tahar Rahim). During his tense, brief stay, Ahmad discovers the conflicting nature of Marie's relationship with her teenage daughter Lucie (Pauline Burlet). Ahmad's efforts to improve this relationship soon unveil a secret from their past.

Story of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose lives have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Midwest house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them. Meryl Streep has been cast as pill-popping matriarch Violet Weston, and Julia Roberts will play her complicated adult daughter Barbara.

Reggie (voiced by Owen Wilson) was an ordinary turkey, until one Thanksgiving he was pardoned by the President. Unaware of the fate he’s escaped, Reggie is living large and enjoying the good life at Camp David. But when Reggie is kidnapped by Jake (voiced by Woody Harrelson), the rebel leader of a turkey uprising, he discovers a horrifying secret: Turkeys aren’t honored holiday guests- they’re tasty holiday meals! Jake and Reggie hijack a top secret time machine and travel back in time to 1621, to the first Thanksgiving to take themselves off the menu.

A father's holiday spirit was crushed by an accident when he was a child. When his son faces a tragedy, a mysterious man instills in him the courage to find the joy he lost.

A prophecy traps a kingdom in eternal winter, so Anna (voice of Kirsten Bell) must team up with Kristoff, a daring mountain man, on the grandest of journeys to find the Snow Queen (voice of Idina Menzel) and put an end to the icy spell. Encountering Everest-like extremes, mystical creatures and magic at every turn, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom from destruction.

20 years ago, Johnny Trey (James Denton) charted the Billboard top five single, "Misunderstood". Then, the hits stopped coming and he crash landed hard, a one hit wonder. Johnny found Christ and a new life for his family, far from the Hollywood Hills. He now serves as the praise music director of Homewood Community Church just south of Birmingham, AL. Serving alongside Johnny is his, now 18 year-old daughter, Grace (AJ Michalka).

Beautiful, extraordinarily talented and restless, Grace is so far undiscovered outside church. No longer satisfied with being dad's sidekick, she dreams of the day when she can carve her own path toward music immortality.

One day without warning, Grace leaves for Los Angeles. With the help of Johnny’s ruthless former manager, Frank “Mossy” Mostin (Kevin Pollak), she lands a record deal. Mossy sees in Grace a potential superstar and massive pay check. Grace seems prepared to walk away from her Christian faith and music to achieve her long-suppressed fantasy of pop stardom. Will she reject her faith, or rediscover it?

Vincent Lindon plays a captain on a container-ship called back to Paris by his desperate sister, portrayed by Chiara Mastroianni, to exact revenge on a powerful businessman who she blames for her husband’s suicide and the failure of the family business.

Released in 1939, The Wizard of Oz is considered to be one of the most iconic films of all time. The film was adapted from L. Frank Baum’s timeless children’s tale about a Kansas girl’s journey over the rainbow.

Follows the lives of eight of the best 7-year-old golfers in the world as they train for and compete in the World Championships of Junior Golf. The annual tournament held at golfing mecca Pinehurst, North Carolina, brings in 1500 young golfers from 54 different countries and determines who will be crowned golf’s next phenom. In its course, the eight stories entwine to form a fascinating and often funny portrait of a group of very young athletes and their families, in which the narrow-focused, peculiar and highly competitive junior golf subculture becomes both a window into contemporary global society and an inspiring reflection of the human condition.

Cloudy 2 picks up where the first movie left off, with Flint Lockwood discovering that his evil machine which turns water into food "is still operating and now creating mutant food beasts. With the fate of humanity in his hands, Flint and his friends must embark on a dangerously delicious mission, battling hungry tacodiles, shrimpanzees, apple pie-thons, double bacon cheespiders and other food creatures to save the world… again.

The new mayor wants to automate the police force, including Officer Dibble's job, whose job it is to keep an eye on Top Cat and his Gang. Top Cat quickly realizes that a capable new police force will spoil his chances of continuing to get away with his shenanigans, so he decides to foil the mayor's plans and save the city from the new robot force of police officers.

The story centers on Dusty’s dream of competing as a high-flying air race. But Dusty’s not exactly built for racing, so he turns to a seasoned naval aviator who helps Dusty qualify to take on the defending champ of the race circuit. Dusty’s courage is put to the ultimate test as he aims to reach heights he never dreamed possible, giving a spellbound world the inspiration to soar.

The story of a snail who dreams of being the greatest racer in the world, just like his hero, 5-time Indianapolis 500 champ, Guy Gagné. Turbo’s obsession with speed and all things fast has made him an outsider in the slow snail community, and a constant embarrassment to his cautious older brother, Chet.

Turbo desperately wishes he could escape the slow-paced life he’s living. He gets that chance after a freak accident when he suddenly finds himself vested with the power of incredible speed. Turbo embarks on an extraordinary journey to achieve the impossible: racing against the best that IndyCar has to offer. Turbo is the ultimate underdog who achieves the impossible by refusing to let his limitations limit his dreams.

Like most inquisitive boys, 12-year-old Sam wants to know about UFOs, horror movies, ghosts, and girls. Sam also has leukemia, and although the adults in his life don’t want him to dwell on it, Sam wants to know everything about his disease and death, a possibility he might face. Together with his best friend, Felix, he embarks on a "scientific investigation" with questions, observations, evidence, reflections, and lists of all the things he wants to do someday—like breaking a world record, flying in a blimp, kissing a girl for the first time, and experiencing what it’s like to be a teenager. In this poignant yet ultimately uplifting tale, Sam and his family face the immensity of an uncertain future with love, humor, and a touch of the unexpected.

In this sequel to The Smurfs, the evil wizard Gargamel creates a couple of mischievous Smurf-like creatures called the Naughties that he hopes will let him harness the all-powerful, magical Smurf-essence. But when he discovers that only a real Smurf can give him what he wants - and only a secret spell that Smurfette knows can turn the Naughties into real Smurfs - Gargamel kidnaps Smurfette and brings her to Paris, where he has been winning the adoration of millions as the world's greatest sorcerer. It's up to Papa, Clumsy, Grouchy, and Vanity to return to our world, reunite with their human friends Patrick and Grace Winslow, and rescue her! Will Smurfette, who has always felt different from the other Smurfs, find a new connection with the Naughties Vexy and Hackus - or will the Smurfs convince her that their love for her is True Blue?

Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan are an inseparable pair, but that wasn't always the case. From the moment these two mismatched monsters met at University of Fear they couldn't stand each other. Monsters University unlocks the door to how Mike and Sulley overcame their differences and became the best of friends.

Tells the story of an ongoing battle deep in the forest between the forces of good and the forces of evil. When a teenage girl (named Mary Katherine) finds herself magically transported into this secret universe, she must band together with a rag-tag team of fun and whimsical characters (the 'Leaf Men') in order to save their world (and ours) from the evil spider Queen Tara.

In this film, nature is ready for its close-up - a very close-up, as exacting macro photography takes us to the realm of flowers and their pollinators. Acclaimed filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg introduces us to a bat, a hummingbird, a butterfly and a bumblebee, demonstrating their intricate interdependence and how life on earth depends on the success of these determined, diminutive creatures.

Story centers on a young man, played by Zac Efron, who wants to pursue his dream of becoming a pro race car driver, while his ambitious father (David Quaid) has alienated the whole family and set his sights on his son's succession. When a high-stakes investigation into their business is exposed, father and son are pushed into an unexpected situation that threatens the family's livelihood.

When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot—fame and fortune are his for the taking—that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity—and even a bit of wizardry—Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful wizard but into a better man as well.

Set in Yokohama in 1963, this lovingly hand-drawn film centers on Umi (voiced by Sarah Bolger) and Shun (voiced by Anton Yelchin) and the budding romance that develops as they join forces to save their high school’s ramshackle clubhouse from demolition.

A prehistoric comedy that centers on the caveman Crug, who cautiously leads his family beyond his comfort zone after an earthquake destroys their home. While attempting to navigate the dangerous and unfamiliar world, Crug butts heads with a nomad, who charms Crug’s clan — especially his eldest daughter — with his (relatively) modern-minded ways.

Set at the planet Baab where admired astronaut Scorch Supernova (voiced by Brendan Fraser) is a national hero to the blue alien population. A master of daring rescues, Scorch pulls off astonishing feats with the quiet aid of his nerdy, by-the-rules brother, Gary (voiced by Rob Corddry), head of mission control at BASA. When BASA’s no-nonsense chief Lena (voiced by Jessica Alba) informs the brothers of an SOS from a notoriously dangerous planet, Scorch rejects Gary’s warnings and bounds off for yet another exciting mission. But when Scorch finds himself caught in a fiendish trap set by the evil Shanker (voiced by James Gandolfini), it’s up to scrawny, risk-adverse Gary to do the real rescuing. As the interplanetary stakes rise to new heights, Gary is left to save his brother, his planet, his beloved wife Kira (voiced by Sarah Jessica Parker) and their adventure hungry son Kip!

Lauduree (Haney-Jardine) is a 13-year-old loner passionate about nature and worried about global warming. Greta (Amy Madigan), her grandmother, is a fiery nurse jaded by alcohol and disappointment. When Lauduree is abruptly abandoned by her dreamer single mom (Marin Ireland), she decides to take survival into her own hands, forcing her and Greta to rethink their futures.

When Henry fails yet again to hand in his homework, he inadvertently sets off an unexpected and curious chain of events. He forms an unlikely alliance with Moody Margaret, the infuriating girl next door, outwits corrupt School Inspectors, topples an evil Headmaster, wins a talent contest, and stands up to his ultimate nemesis. With each antic crazier than the last, Henry finds himself inexplicably trying to save the very school which he has always professed to hate.