Illustration: Yuewei Nino Li/The Guardian View image in fullscreen Illustration: Yuewei Nino Li/The Guardian Film From The Wizard of Oz to Trainspotting: 25 films to watch before you turn 25 As AI slop takes over our screens, what better antidote for enquiring minds than a magical film? We ask directors, producers and critics to pick one must-see movie for each year from infancy to early adulthood
Screentime has a bad rep these days: it’s allegedly at the root of everything from the collapse of media literacy to the rise of the far right. For parents, and indeed anyone who cares about the future of the planet, the relationship children have to their screens is a particular hot potato.
Orson Welles’ advice to young people to be selective about your viewing – “Don’t be marinated, don’t soak yourself in films” – has never been more relevant in the era of AI slop and doom-scrolling. So we asked film-makers, critics and industry names for the joyful, imaginative and thought-provoking films that every child and young adult should see. Here is their curated list of just 25 screen experiences worth having. Catherine Bray
View image in fullscreen Photograph: Disney/Cinetext/Allstar My first child is due in autumn and it’s made me think about what I’d like to share with them in their journey into the magical world of movies (I know they will be asleep or crying, but allow a man to dream). Disney’s Fantasia holds some of my own earliest film memories: the music; the dancing ostriches; Mickey Mouse just trying to have a rest. If cinema is the fusion of sound and image into something greater than the sum of its parts, then Fantasia is truly visceral and joyous cinema. I hope my wee one will feel the same. Tom Nicoll, director
View image in fullscreen Photograph: Channel 4/Allstar With its winsome, crayon textures, The Snowman is a dream. Young James delights in showing his miraculous visitor around his domestic domain, but it’s the Snowman who expands the kid’s horizons, as they soar above the Sussex countryside. In the morning, the snow has melted, but the magic remains. Michael Leader, author of The Animation Atlas
View image in fullscreen Photograph: Studio Ghibli/Tokuma-Shoten/Nibariki/Kobal/Shutterstock Hayao Miyazaki’s animation is a beautiful, meditative film about illness, grief and the power of nature. My daughter was three when she first watched it and was totally mesmerised. It is a real shift in tone from the usual American fare and offers something different for kids to connect with. Imran Perretta, director
View image in fullscreen Photograph: Tri Star/Kobal/Rex/Shutterstock Coming at the tail end of “peak Muppets”, and directed by Frank Oz (also at his creative apex, having just done The Dark Crystal), this film sees Kermit and friends take their ensemble play to the Big Apple with the dream of opening on Broadway. Things are not as easy as they seem and they encounter hardships and learn life lessons. The film is full of laughs and inspired cameos (including Joan Rivers inflicting her version of an extravagant makeover on a permed Miss Piggy). It’s a deserving entry in the canon of great 1980s New York City films. Michelle Carey, founder of Red Balloon alliance
View image in fullscreen Photograph: Cinetext/Dreamworks Skg/Allstar A masterclass in stop-motion, I’d choose this for every five-year-old, mainly having seen the effect it had on mine. Drawing heavily from classic second world war adventure films, this tale of plucky c…