The Categories:
A1- School Documentary (45 titles)
A2- School True (44 titles)
A3- School Fiction (111 titles)
A4- School Fantasies- SciFi Horror Comedy Musical Animation (61 titles)
261
B1- Non-School Kids Documentaries (11 titles)
B2- Non-School Kids True (24 titles)
B3- Non-School Kids Fiction (122 titles)
B4- Non-School Kids Violence War Crime (45 titles)
B5- Non-School Kids Fantasies- SciFi Horror Comedy Musical Animation (128 titles)
You might wonder what I am counting as "school"?
School is a conspiracy to educate a group of non-sibling children (I am not limiting myself to the institutional arrangements usually called "school"). Finding Neverland and Karate Kid do not constitute school movies but Born Into Brothels, White Squall, Whale Rider, and Blindsight do. Given that Karate Kid also portrays the school where the gang of tormenters learned their stuff it could be shifted, but I haven't done it yet.
There is an explanation of the list at the end of the post.
A1-School Documentary
- 1968 High School
- 1990 Phares douest (Western Lights)
- 1993 I Am A Promise
- 1994 High School II
- 1994 Hoop Dreams
- 1995 Small Wonders
- 2001 Chain Camera
- 2001 First Year
- 2001 Teach
- 2002 Etre et avior (To Be And To Have)
- 2002 Misunderstood Minds (TV)
- 2002 OT- Our Town
- 2002 Spellbound
- 2003 Children Full Of Life
- 2003 Girlhood
- 2004 Born Into Brothels- Calcutta's Red Light Kids
- 2004 Free To Learn
- 2004 The Hobart Shakespeareans
- 2004 Paper Clips
- 2004 Touch of Greatness
- 2005 Class Act
- 2005 Going to School in India
- 2005 Heart of the Game
- 2005 Mad Hot Ballroom
- 2005 Rock School
- 2006 Blindsight
- 2006 War Dance
- 2007 Please Vote For Me
- 2007 School
- 2008 American Teen
- 2008 Nursery University
- 2008 Unmistaken Child
- 2009 Cartel, The
- 2009 War on Kids
- 2010 Lottery, The
- 2010 Race to Nowhere
- 2010 Schooling The World
- 2010 Waiting For Superman
- 2010 We Are The People We Have Been Waiting For
- 2011 American Teacher
- 2011 August to June
- 2011 Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting For Superman
- 2014 Address, The
- 2015 Most Likely To Succeed
- 2015 On The Way To School
A2-School True
- 1938 Boys Town
- 1940 Knute Rockne All American
- 1941 Men of Boys Town
- 1946 Anna and the King of Siam
- 1956 The King And I
- 1974 Conrack
- 1981 The Wave
- 1981 The Marva Collins Story
- 1986 Hoosiers
- 1988 Stand and Deliver
- 1991 Separate But Equal
- 1994 To Save The Children
- 1995 Dangerous Minds
- 1996 Sleepers
- 1996 White Squall
- 1997 Prefontaine
- 1998 Ruby Bridges
- 1998 Without Limits
- 1999 Music of the Heart
- 1999 October Sky
- 2000 Remember The Titans
- 2002 Rabbit-Proof Fence
- 2002 Rookie
- 2003 Radio
- 2004 Finding Neverland
- 2004 Friday Night Lights
- 2005 Coach Carter
- 2006 Believe In Me
- 2006 Gridiron Gang
- 2006 Ron Clark Story
- 2006 Take The Lead
- 2006 Water is Wide
- 2006 We Are Marshall
- 2007 Freedom Writers
- 2007 Great Debaters
- 2008 Summerhill
- 2009 Blind Side
- 2009 Education, An
- 2010 First Grader
- 2010 Temple Grandin
- 2011 Beyond the Blackboard
- 2013 From the Rough
- 2015 Kindergarten Teacher
- 2015 McFarland USA
A3-School Fiction
- 1939 Goodbye Mr Chips
- 1945 A Tree Grows In Brooklyn
- 1945 Bells of St Marys
- 1951 Tom Brown's Schooldays
- 1951 Browning Version
- 1954 Ninjushi no hitomi (24 Eyes)
- 1955 Blackboard Jungle
- 1958 High School Confidential
- 1961 Children's Hour
- 1961 Parent Trap
- 1967 To Sir With Love
- 1967 Up The Down Staircase
- 1968 Rachel, Rachel
- 1969 Kes
- 1969 Room 222 (TV)
- 1969 Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
- 1973 El espíritu de la colmena (The Spirit of the Beehive)
- 1973 Paper Chase
- 1975 Picnic at Hanging Rock
- 1975 Anne of Avonlea (TV)
- 1976 Argent De Poche (Small Change)
- 1978 Du Er Ikke Alene (You Are Not Alone)
- 1978 The Corn is Green
- 1980 My Bodyguard
- 1981 Taps
- 1983 Educating Rita
- 1985 Anne of Green Gables (TV)
- 1985 Breakfast Club
- 1985 La historia oficial (The Official Story)
- 1986 Children Of A Lesser God
- 1986 Pretty in Pink
- 1987 Anne of Avonlea (TV)
- 1987 Au Revoir Les Enfants (Good-bye Children)
- 1987 The Principal
- 1989 Dead Poet's Society
- 1989 Lean On Me
- 1990 Pump Up The Volume
- 1991 Little Man Tate
- 1991 Obecna Skola (Elementary School)
- 1992 Ciao, Professore!
- 1992 Lover
- 1992 School Ties
- 1992 Tito i ja (Tito and Me)
- 1993 Farewell My Concubine
- 1993 Feng huang qin (Country Teachers)
- 1994 Scent of a Woman
- 1994 With Honors
- 1994 Wild Reeds
- 1995 Lust Och Fagring Stor (All Things Fair)
- 1995 Mr. Holland's Opus
- 1996 Ponette
- 1997 One Eight Seven
- 1997 Student Prince
- 1997 Good Will Hunting
- 1998 Madeline
- 1998 Parent Trap
- 1998 One True Thing
- 1998 Simon Birch
- 1998 Harmonium in My Memory
- 1998 Rushmore
- 1999 Cider House Rules
- 1999 Lengua De Las Mariposas (Butterfly's Tongue)
- 1999 Phörpa (The Cup)
- 1999 Yi ge dou bu neng shao (Not One Less)
- 2000 Anne of Green Gables- The Continuing Story
- 2000 Billy Elliot
- 2000 Finding Forrester
- 2000 Pay It Forward
- 2000 Wonder Boys
- 2001 Her Majesty
- 2001 Lost and Delerious
- 2002 Drumline
- 2002 Emperors Club
- 2002 Whale Rider
- 2002 White Oleander
- 2003 Caterina va in Citta (Caterina In The Big City)
- 2003 Goodbye Mr Chips
- 2003 Mona Lisa Smile
- 2004 La Mala Educacion (Bad Education)
- 2004 Les Choristes (The Chorus)
- 2004 Saint Ralph
- 2005 Machuca
- 2005 Tom Brown's Schooldays
- 2006 Akeelah And The Bee
- 2006 Half Nelson
- 2006 History Boys
- 2006 Notes on a Scandal
- 2007 Bridge To Terabithia
- 2007 Son of Rambow
- 2007 Taare Zameen Par (Like Stars on Earth)
- 2007 Vitus
- 2008 Doubt
- 2008 Entre Les Murs (The Class)
- 2008 Phoebe in Wonderland
- 2008 Venkovský ucitel (Country Teacher)
- 2009 -3 Idiots
- 2010 Easy A
- 2010 Flipped
- 2010 Hævnen (In A Better World)
- 2010 Master Harold... and the Boys
- 2011 Detachment
- 2011 Monsieur Lazhar
- 2011 That's What I Am
- 2013 Teacher, A
- 2012 Wadjda
- 2012 Won't Back Down
- 2013 Spectacular Now
- 2014 Whiplash
- 2015 The DUFF
- 2016 Moonlight
- 2017 Wonder
A4-School Fantasies- SciFi Horror Comedy Musical Animation
- 1956 La Ballon Rouge (The Red Ballon)
- 1961 The Absent Minded Professor
- 1978 Grease
- 1980 Fame
- 1982 Class of 1984
- 1982 Fast Times At Ridgemont High
- 1982 Pink Floyd's The Wall
- 1983 Christmas Story
- 1984 Sixteen Candles
- 1984 Teachers
- 1986 Ferris Bueller's Day Off
- 1987 Three O'Clock High
- 1988 Heathers
- 1990 Kindergarten Cop
- 1990 Pump Up The Volume
- 1992 Hangin' With Mr Cooper (TV)
- 1994 Renaissance Man
- 1995 Billy Madison
- 1995 Higher Learning
- 1995 Major Payne
- 1995 Mimi wo sumaseba (Whisper of the Heart)
- 1996 Harriet The Spy
- 1996 High School High
- 1996 Matilda
- 1996 Scream
- 1996 Substitute
- 1998 Rushmore
- 1999 Election
- 2001 El espinazo del diablo (The Devil's Backbone)
- 2001 Harry Potter and the Socerer's Stone
- 2001 Substitute
- 2002 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- 2002 Xiaohai bu ben (I Not Stupid)
- 2003 School of Rock
- 2004 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- 2004 Napoleon Dynamite
- 2005 Chicken Little
- 2005 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- 2006 Accepted
- 2006 Chalk
- 2006 High School Musical
- 2006 Toki o kakeru shôjo (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time)
- 2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- 2007 Juno
- 2008 The Forbidden Kingdom
- 2009 Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
- 2010 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
- 2010 Harriet the Spy Blog Wars
- 2011 Bad Teacher
- 2011 From Up On Poppy Hill
- 2011 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
- 2012 Moonrise Kingdom
- 2012 Pitch Perfect
- 2012 Wolf Children
- 2013 Ender's Game
- 2013 Monsters University
- 2013 Percy Jackson Sea of Monsters
- 2014 How To Train Your Dragon 2
- 2014 Wish I Was Here
- 2016 Middle School- The Worst Years of My Life
- 2016 Miss Peregrines Home For Peculiar Children
B1-Non-School Kids Documentary
- 2000 Sound and Fury
- 2001 Children Underground
- 2001 Merchants of Cool (TV)
- 2003 Girlhood
- 2005 The Devil's Miner
- 2007 Business of Being Born
- 2007 Where Do The Children Play
- 2008 Unmistaken Child
- 2010 Bebes (Babies)
- 2013 Girl Rising
- 2016 Eagle Huntress
B2-Non-School Kids True
- 1947 Life With Father
- 1952 Hans Christian Andersen
- 1962 Miracle Worker
- 1969 L'Enfant Sauvage (Wild Child)
- 1974 Seven Alone
- 1979 Miracle Worker
- 1985 Mitt Liv Som Hund (My Life As A Dog)
- 1989 My Left Foot
- 1993 King of the Hill
- 1993 Searching For Bobby Fisher
- 2000 Miracle Worker
- 2000 My Dog Skip
- 2001 Anne Frank- The Whole Story
- 2003 The Lost Prince
- 2004 Finding Neverland
- 2005 An Unfinished Life
- 2005 Dreamer
- 2006 Miss Potter
- 2009 Diary of Anne Frank
- 2009 Perfect Game
- 2011 Machine Gun Preacher
- 2011 We Bought A Zoo
- 2013 Lauf Junge Lauf (Run Boy Run)
- 2013 Wind Rises
B3-Non-School Kids Fiction
- 1931 City Lights
- 1939 The Little Princess
- 1941 How Green Was My Valley
- 1944 National Velvet
- 1945 A Tree Grows In Brooklyn.mkv
- 1953 Crin Blanche- Le Cheval Sauvage (White Mane)
- 1958 Auntie Mame
- 1960 Pollyanna
- 1962 To Kill a Mockingbird
- 1968 Robby
- 1971 Friends
- 1971 Le souffle au coeur (Murmur of the Heart)
- 1972 Sounder
- 1973 Paper Moon
- 1973 American Graffiti
- 1978 Days of Heaven
- 1979 Black Stallion
- 1979 Kramer vs Kramer
- 1979 Manhattan
- 1982 Shoot the Moon
- 1983 Tender Mercies
- 1983 War Games
- 1984 Paris, Texas
- 1985 Journey of Natty Gann
- 1985 Murphy's Romance
- 1986 Mosquito Coast
- 1986 Stand By Me
- 1987 Baby Boom
- 1987 More Children of Noisy Village
- 1987 Pelle Erobreren (Pelle, the Conqueror)
- 1987 Secret Garden
- 1988 Cinema Paradiso
- 1988 Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick
- 1988 Salaam Bombay!
- 1991 Boyz N The Hood
- 1991 Man in The Moon
- 1991 My Girl
- 1991 Wild Hearts Cant Be Broken
- 1992 Into The West
- 1992 La discesa di Aclà a Floristell (Acla)
- 1993 Adventures of Huck Finn
- 1993 Man Without a Face
- 1993 Sleepless in Seattle
- 1993 What's Eating Gilbert Grape
- 1994 Nell
- 1995 Tom And Huck
- 1995 Kids
- 1995 Now and Then
- 1996 Kolja (Kolya)
- 1997 Bacheha-Ye aseman (Children of Heaven)
- 1997 Bian Lian (The King of Masks)
- 1997 Ma Vie En Rose (My Life in Pink)
- 1997 Rang-e Khoda (Color of Paradise)
- 1997 Sweet Hereafter
- 1998 F***ing Åmål (Show Me Love)
- 1999 Petits frères (Little Brothers)
- 1999 Rang-e Khoda (Color of Paradise)
- 2000 Legend of Bagger Vance
- 2000 Railway Children
- 2000 Yi Yi
- 2001 Her Majesty
- 2001 Malunde
- 2002 About A Boy
- 2002 Anita and Me
- 2002 Jibeuro (Way Home)
- 2002 Les enfants de l'amour (Children of Love)
- 2002 Mostly Martha
- 2002 Real Women Have Curves
- 2003 I Am David
- 2003 Love Actually
- 2003 Noi Albinoi (Noi the Albino)
- 2003 Papillon (Butterfly)
- 2003 Secondhand Lions
- 2003 Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...And Spring
- 2003 Story of the Weeping Camel
- 2004 Dear Frankie
- 2004 Ikke Naken (Not Naked, The Color of Milk)
- 2005 12 and Holding
- 2005 Unfinished Life
- 2005 Because of Winn Dixie
- 2005 Bee Season
- 2005 Cave of the Yellow Dog
- 2005 Duma
- 2005 Italian
- 2005 L'Enfant (The Child)
- 2005 Live & Become
- 2005 Qian Li Zou Dan Qi (Riding Alone For Thousands Of Miles)
- 2005 Water
- 2006 Little Miss Sunshine
- 2006 Fall
- 2007 August Rush
- 2007 Cú và chim se se (Owl and the Sparrow)
- 2007 Dan In Real Life
- 2007 Martian Child
- 2007 Misma Luna (Under the Same Moon)
- 2007 Renard et L'enfant (The Fox And The Child)
- 2007 Italian
- 2007 Owl and the Sparrow
- 2008 Secret Life Of Bees
- 2008 Treeless Mountain
- 2008 Yonkers Joe
- 2009 Amreeka
- 2009 Away We Go
- 2009 Children of Invention
- 2009 Whip It
- 2009 Youth in Revolt
- 2010 It's Kind Of A Funny Story
- 2010 Master Harold... and the Boys
- 2010 Summer Eleven
- 2011 Great Expectations
- 2011 Hugo
- 2011 Le gamin au vélo (The Kid With A Bike)
- 2013 Kings of Summer
- 2013 The Way Way Back
- 2014 Boyhood
- 2014 Chef
- 2015 Fathers & Daughters
- 2015 Like Sunday, Like Rain
- 2015 Little Boy
- 2015 Umimachi Diary (Our Little Sister)
- 2016 Captain Fantastic
- 2016 Hunt for the Wilderpeople
B4-Non-School Kids Violence War Crime
- 1954 Jeux Interdits (Forbidden Games)
- 1962, 1997 Lolita
- 1963 Sammy Going South
- 1963, 1990 Lord of the Flies
- 1971 Walkabout
- 1984 Karate Kid
- 1985 Color Purple
- 1985 Idi i smotri (Come and See)
- 1985 Color Purple
- 1986 Karate Kid II
- 1987 Empire Of The Sun
- 1987 Hope And Glory
- 1991 Boyz N The Hood.mkv
- 1991 Not Without My Daughter
- 1992 Juice
- 1992 Toys
- 1993 Far Off Place
- 1993 In the Name of the Father
- 1994 Léon- The Professional
- 1995 Now and Then
- 1997 The Sweet Hereafter
- 1997 Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful)
- 2000 El Bola (Pellet)
- 2000 Malèna
- 2004 Man On Fire
- 2004 Millions
- 2005 Tsotsi
- 2005 Turtles Can Fly
- 2006 Gwoemul (The Host)
- 2006 Pan's Labyrinth
- 2006 This Is England
- 2007 Atonement
- 2007 Kite Runner
- 2008 Slumdog Millionaire
- 2008 Boy in the Striped Pajamas
- 2008 Reader
- 2009 Road
- 2010 Karate Kid
- 2012 Hunger Games
- 2012 Mud
- 2013 Book Thief
- 2013 Hunger Games: Catching Fire
- 2015 Mr. Holmes
- 2015 Room
- 2015 Theeb
B5-Non-School Kids Fantasies- SciFi Horror Comedy Musical Animation
- 1939 The Wizard of Oz
- 1940 Pinocchio
- 1942 Jungle Book
- 1942 Bambi
- 1947 Miracle on 34th Street
- 1951 Alice in Wonderland
- 1953 Peter Pan
- 1961 West Side Story
- 1962 The Music Man
- 1963 The Sword in the Stone
- 1964 Mary Poppins
- 1964 My Fair Lady
- 1971 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
- 1972 Sounder
- 1977 Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- 1979 Castle of Cagliostro
- 1980 Popeye.mkv
- 1982 Annie
- 1982 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
- 1983 Risky Business
- 1984 Die Unendliche Gesichte (The Neverending Story)
- 1984 Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
- 1985 Explorers
- 1985 Goonies
- 1985 Ladyhawke
- 1986 Castle in the Sky
- 1988 Beetlejuice
- 1988 Big
- 1988 Hotaru no haka (Grave of the Fireflies)
- 1988 My Neighbor Totoro
- 1989 Kiki's Delivery Service
- 1991 Hook
- 1992 Aladdin
- 1993 Mrs. Doubtfire
- 1993 Jurassic Park
- 1994 The Lion King
- 1994 The Secret of Roan Inish
- 1995 Indian in the Cupboard
- 1995 Jumanji
- 1995 Pocahontas
- 1995 Toy Story
- 1996 James and the Giant Peach
- 1997 Lost World-Jurassic Park
- 1997 Princess Mononoke
- 1998 What Dreams May Come
- 1999 Sixth Sense
- 1999 Iron Giant
- 1999 Toy Story 2
- 2000 Chocolat
- 2001 Donnie Darko
- 2001 Jurassic Park 3
- 2001 AI Artificial Intelligence
- 2001 Spirited Away
- 2002 Cat Returns
- 2002 Monsters, Inc
- 2002 Lilo and Stitch
- 2002 Return to Never Land
- 2002 Signs
- 2002 Tuck Everlasting
- 2003 Finding Nemo
- 2003 Holes
- 2004 Howl's Moving Castle
- 2004 Incredibles
- 2004 Lemony Snickets A Series of Unfortunate Events
- 2004 Millions
- 2004 The Polar Express
- 2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- 2005 Chicken Little
- 2005 Chronicles of Narnia- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
- 2005 Little Manhattan
- 2005 Nanny McPhee
- 2005 Zathura - A Space Adventure
- 2006 Monster House
- 2006 Pan's Labyrinth
- 2006 Tales from Earthsea
- 2007 Battle For Terra
- 2007 Bridge to Terabithia
- 2007 Golden Compass
- 2007 Joulutarina (Christmas Story)
- 2007 Last Mimzy
- 2007 Meet the Robinsons
- 2007 Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium
- 2007 Persepolis
- 2007 Ping Pong Playa
- 2007 Surf's Up
- 2008 Chasseurs de dragons (Dragon Hunters)
- 2008 Chronicles of Narnia- Prince Caspian
- 2008 Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- 2008 Gake no Ue No Ponyo (Ponyo On the Cliff)
- 2008 Kung Fu Panda
- 2008 Lat Den Ratte Komma In (Let The Right One In)
- 2008 Role Models
- 2009 Coraline
- 2009 Secret of Kells
- 2009 Up
- 2009 Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
- 2010 Alice in Wonderland
- 2010 Chronicles of Narnia- Voyage of the Dawn Treader
- 2010 Despicable Me
- 2010 How to Train Your Dragon
- 2010 Kick Ass
- 2010 Let Me In
- 2010 Nanny McPhee Returns
- 2010 Percy Jackson & the Olympians - The Lightning Thief
- 2010 Secret World of Arrietty
- 2010 Tangled
- 2010 Toy Story 3
- 2011 Real Steel
- 2012 Beasts of the Southern Wild
- 2012 Brave
- 2013 Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2
- 2013 Kick Ass 2
- 2013 Monsters University
- 2013 Stoker
- 2013 Tale of the Princess Kaguya
- 2013 Percy Jackson Sea of Monsters
- 2013 We're The Millers
- 2014 Boxtrolls
- 2014 How to Train Your Dragon 2
- 2014 When Marnie Was There
- 2015 Brand New Testament
- 2015 Ich Seh Ich Seh (I See, I See, Goodnight Mommy)
- 2015 Inside Out
- 2015 Tomorrowland
- 2016 Boy And The Beast
- 2016 Jungle Book
- 2016 Kubo and the Two Strings
- 2017 Coco
This list covers films that feature children and/or schools which meet my personal minimum standard of cinematic competence or cultural significance. Most are feature length. They are organized into two broad categories, school vs non-school and nine sub-categories according to the level of reality that is presumed to be presented. From most to least real (with the understanding that film is inherently unrealistic):
- Documentaries
- Based on a True Story
- Fiction
- Fantasies
Between Fiction and Fantasies I also have a category for topics of violence, war, and crime. Since I tend to avoid horror and High School and College age those may be underrepresented. My categorizations are occasionally hard to make. I welcome your input if you think I've miscategorized a few films.
I started this list years ago (~2012) with the thought of analyzing how education and schools are portrayed as part of my personal work on understanding why our school system is the way it is and communicating how it could be changed for the better. Also, I've seen all but a few and most of them are available via Netflix.
I welcome your help to fill in the gaps if I've missed some truly great movie(s), especially recent ones. If you believe I should add something I would appreciate your input as long as you make a case for the film(s) you think I have neglected.
2 comments:
Are the kids in SLAM too old?
I'm not familiar with SLAM and when I searched for it on IMdB I got several options. If you can be more specific about which film you mean and why it should be on my list I'll gladly check it out.
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