How to Choose a Half-Term Film for Three Generations
Half-term is a good excuse for a film everyone from seven to seventy can sit through. It is also a good way to end up with a cartoon the adults resent, or a "classic" the children abandon for their tablets after twenty minutes.
For many schools in England and Wales, half-term falls in the week of 26 October. Scotland and Northern Ireland differ, so check your own calendar. Either way, here is how to choose for a room with a wide spread of ages, and four films that manage it in different ways.
Choose for the youngest and the oldest first
The middle of the age range will usually cope with anything. The people who decide whether the evening works are the youngest viewer and the least patient adult.
- Check the certificate, then check the detail. A PG tells you little on its own. The BBFC's consumer advice for each film says what the mild threat actually is, which matters if one viewer is easily frightened.
- Mind the runtime and the bedtime. A film under about 100 minutes leaves room for a short interval and a sensible finish. Our group watches under 90 minutes are a good place to start.
- Look for two layers. The best films for mixed ages give children something to follow and adults something to enjoy, such as jokes that land on different levels.
- Ask about limits quietly beforehand. If a grandparent dislikes peril or a child is sensitive to loss, say so before the vote. Our guide to agreeing content boundaries has a few easy questions.
Four films for a wide age range
Runtimes and advice below come from the BBFC and other listings, and are approximate. Check the version you will play.
For pure warmth: Paddington 2 (2017)
A PG at about 99 minutes. It is kind, funny and beautifully made, and the adults get plenty of dry humour to enjoy while younger viewers follow the bear. The tradeoff: the BBFC notes mild threat, and the prison setting and a few chases may unsettle a very young child, though the outcomes are always reassuring.
For a very short and very silly night: Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
A U at around 85 minutes, so it is the shortest here. A village is plagued by a monster in the vegetable patch, and the pleasure is in the detailed jokes and visual gags, which reward adults and children alike. The tradeoff: the monster is comic but still a monster, so it is worth knowing how your smallest viewer feels about a creature in the dark.
For a story told across generations: The Princess Bride (1987)
A PG at about 98 minutes. A grandfather reads an adventure to a sick grandson, which suits a room with more than one generation, and its mix of romance, swordfights and wordplay works for different ages. The tradeoff: it has fantasy violence played for laughs, and a younger child may follow the adventure without catching the wordplay.
For a gentler conversation about family: Coco (2017)
A PG at about 100 minutes, and the most emotional pick. It follows a boy who dreams of music, set around Mexico's Day of the Dead, and is full of colour and tunes. It is a good choice if the group likes a film that prompts questions afterwards. The tradeoff: the BBFC lists the death of loved ones as a theme and notes a scene among skeletons in a graveyard, so think about who in the room may be grieving.
Settle it as a group
For a mixed-age room, give the vote to everyone, not just the adults. Put two or three films on the list, and let the youngest viewers see the posters. Start a poll with MyMoviePoll, add your shortlist and share the link so each person can vote from their own phone, whether they are in the room or at a grandparent's house down the road.