Movies - 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Week 12

Week 12: Movies. Did (or do you still) see many movies? Describe your favorites. Where did you see these films? Is the theater still there, or is there something else in its place?

I love movies and I have lots of favourites! I have decided to go back into my memory (and do a bit of research on IMDB and Wikipedia) and try to create a chronological list of movies I remember seeing at the cinemas during my primary school years. This should be fun!


Movies I saw at the cinemas during Primary School

Disney Movies  

When I was young we often went to see a movie or two at the cinemas in our two closest regional 'cities' during the school holidays. Both cinemas still exist, though one has moved location. Both have expanded during my lifetime and now included several more cinema screens.I think probably the first movie I remember seeing at the cinemas was Disney's The Little Mermaid, which was released in Australia in 1990. I still love that movie!  The following are others movies I remember seeing (but not necessarily liking) at the cinemas during my primary school years. I have highlighted my favourites.

• The Never Ending Story II (1990, this one was fairly weak if I remember or at least I know other family members said it was!)
• Home Alone (1990)
• White Fang (1991, I remember being at bit scared by that one!)
• The Rescuers Down Under (1991,  I don't remember liking that one much)
• Beauty and the Beast (1992)
• The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
• Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
• Aladdin (1993)
• The Secret Garden (1993)
• Free Willy (1993) 
• Homeward Bound:The Incredible Journey (1993)
• The Silver Brumby (1993, I remember the air conditioning in the cinemas was turned up too high - but it suited a film with snow!) 
• The Lion King (1994)
• Little Women (1994)
• Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (1994)
• The Flintstones (1994)
• We're back! A Dinosaur's Story (1994, remember finding this one very weak too!)
• Toy Story (1995)
• A Little Princess (1995)
• Free Willy 2 (1995)
• The Never Ending Story III (1995)
• Apollo 13 (1995)
• Casper (1995)
• Babe (1995)
• Pocahontas (1995)
• Sense and Sensibility (1995) I think I saw this at the cinemas, I'm not sure
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
• Homeward Bound 2: Lost in San Francisco (1996)
• Muppet Treasure Island (1996)
• Twister (1996)
• James and the Giant Peach (1996, I know I saw this one but it must have been forgettable as I don't remember anything about it)
• Matilda (1996)
• 101 Dalmations (1996)
• Emma (1996) 
• The Adventures of Pinocchio (1996)

And I am sure I have possibly missed some!

Movies I remember watching on Video and TV

The six Star Wars movies.
I prefer the older ones, episodes IV, V and VI.

We did not have a VHS player in our house until as late as 1997. Until then, the only movies I saw were either on TV or on someone else's VHS player. I remember watching the first three installments of Star Wars (A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi) on TV many times. Since then I have seen the 3 prequels, but still prefer the older movies.

Other movies I saw often on TV and enjoyed were The Sound of Music and The Wizard of Oz. 

There was a VHS player at my Grandmother's house. I remember watching and enjoying the following movies on video while visiting her house: Darby O'Gill and the Little People, The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima, The Land Before Time and Anne of Green Gables.

Movies I like to watch now

I like Disney/Pixar computer animations

I don't go to the cinemas as often as I did when I was younger. I feel that there just isn't anything showing at the cinemas that is really worth watching nowadays. I still enjoy many of the childhood favourites I have already mentioned above. I also enjoy many of the newer computer animated movies by Disney/Pixar. 

While not technically a movie, one of my all-time favourites is the BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, which screened on television in Australia while I was still in primary school. I have the DVDs now and watch them often. I also like some other Jane Austen movie/TV adaptations too.

Some older movies I like include: Lilies of the Field, It's a Wonderful Life, The Court Jester and Fiddler on the Roof. 

I enjoy the movie adaptations of some of my favourite fantasy novels: The Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia. I also like many of the other movies created by Walden Media (who created the Narnia films).

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History by Amy Coffin is a series of weekly blogging prompts that invite genealogists and others to record memories and insights about their own lives for future descendants

Copyright © 2011 Australian Genealogy Journeys. Photographs of movie covers  were taken by me. Copyright for these movie covers belongs to their respective production companies and they are used here only for the purpose of review.