Your Guide to Watching Nostalgic Childhood Movies on DISH

Iconic Children’s Movies of the Last 60 Years

Below, we’ve listed some of the highest IMDb-rated childhood movies from 1960 to today. Movies on our list had to have a rating of at least 6 out of 10 and be classified as adventure, animation, family, and fantasy. That said, dozens of nostalgic movies didn’t make this list but still had a huge cultural impact.

For example, The Care Bears Movie (1985) scored just 5.7 but led to a smattering of TV shows as late as 2019. And tons of major series that bleed into the action genre hold childhood nostalgia for people across generations: for example, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Transformers, Spy Kids, and Marvel Universe movies starting with Iron Man in 2008.

1960s

• The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962)—6.4
• The Sword in the Stone (1963)—7.2
• Pinocchio in Outer Space (1965)—6.1
• The Daydreamer (1966)—6.2
• The Jungle Book (1967)—7.6

1970s

• The Phantom Tollbooth (1970)—6.9
• The Point (1971)—7.8
• Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)—7.1
• Jack and the Beanstalk (1974)—7.2
• The Little Mermaid (1975)—7.5
• The Rescuers (1977)—6.9
• Pete’s Dragon (1977)—6.4
• The Water Babies (1978)—6.1

1980s

• The Secret of NIMH (1982)—7.6
• The Last Unicorn (1982)—7.4
• He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword (1985)—7.3
• Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer (1985)—7.0
• The Black Cauldron (1985)—6.4
• The Elmchanted Forest (1986)—8.1
• An American Tale (1986)—6.9
• Castle in the Sky (1986)—8.0
• The Brave Little Toaster (1987)—7.3
• The Land Before Time (1988)—7.4
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)—7.7
• Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)—7.9
• Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1989)—7.1

1990s

• The Rescuers Down Under (1990)—6.9
• FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992)—6.5
• Aladdin (1992)—8.0
• The Pagemaster (1994)—6.1
• Toy Story (1995)—8.3
• Pocahontas (1995)—6.7
• James and the Giant Peach (1996)—6.7
• Hercules (1997)—7.3
• Anastasia (1997)—7.2
• Mulan (1998)—7.6
• A Bug’s Life (1998)—7.2
• The Prince of Egypt (1998)—7.1
• Quest for Camelot (1998)—6.3

2000s

• The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)—7.4
• Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)—6.9
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)—7.6
• Shrek (2001)—7.9
• Monsters, Inc. (2001)—8.1
• Spirited Away (2001)—8.6
• Lilo & Stitch (2002)—7.3
• Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)—8.2
• Cars (2006)—7.1
• Meet the Robinsons (2007)—6.8
• Ratatouille (2007)—8.0
• Enchanted (2007)—7.0
• Ponyo (2008)—7.7
• Kung Fu Panda (2008)—7.6
• Horton Hears a Who! (2008)—6.8
• The Princess and the Frog (2009)—7.1
• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)—6.9

2010s

• How to Train Your Dragon (2010)—8.1
• Tangled (2010)—7.7
• Brave (2012)—7.1
• Wreck-It Ralph (2012)—7.7
• Frozen (2013)—7.4
• Paddington (2014)—7.3
• The Book of Life (2014)—7.3
• The Lego Movie (2014)—7.7
• Inside Out (2015)—8.1
• Moana (2016)—7.6
• Coco (2017)—8.4
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)—8.4

Nostalgic Movies Celebrating Anniversaries

10 years

• November 18—The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 1
• November 23—Arthur Christmas

20 years

• November 16—Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
• December 19—The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

25 years

• November 22—Star Trek: First Contact

30 years

• November 22—The Addams Family
• November 22—Beauty and the Beast
• December 6—Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
• December 11—Hook

50 years

• November 3—Fiddler on the Roof