Recommend family/coming-of-age films

[PJ]

Hi,

I'm looking for some nice movies the entire family can watch;
...such as Neverending Story, Studio Ghibli films, Flight of the Navigator, and Scent of a Woman.

I prefer titles that are not too famous.
I'm not looking for anything overly dramatic.

Thanks.

[HuangYushi]

Bend It Like Beckham (2002)

I thoroughly enjoyed it; so did my family after some scepticism.

Links:
1. On IMDB.
2. On Wikipedia.
3. Official website.

HYS

[pannonian]

I've only read the book, but the film is supposed to be quite good as well.

Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)

About a chess prodigy who finds the demands of playing chess seriously are taking a toll on his childhood. Does he press on to try and fulfill his potential as the next Bobby Fischer, or does he relax and treat chess as a game to be enjoyed once more?

Incidentally, the subject of the film, Joshua Waitzkin, later took up Taiji and became a top level Push hands competitor in the US.

[odbayarb2000]

Enchanted

May find it childish , but I enjoyed it.

[Canuck21]

I've only read the book, but the film is supposed to be quite good as well.

Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)

About a chess prodigy who finds the demands of playing chess seriously are taking a toll on his childhood. Does he press on to try and fulfill his potential as the next Bobby Fischer, or does he relax and treat chess as a game to be enjoyed once more?

Incidentally, the subject of the film, Joshua Waitzkin, later took up Taiji and became a top level Push hands competitor in the US.

That's an amazing movie, one of my favourites.

For coming of age movie though, there's no better than "Stand by Me".

[pannonian]

That's an amazing movie, one of my favourites.

What I found quite interesting was the fact that he eventually gave up playing chess, even though he was an expert (International Master, Elo around 2400), but applied his chess theories to Taiji instead, and became a champion in that. Waitzkin's bio sounds a bit like a Jin Yong story, but in real life.

[Canuck21]

What I found quite interesting was the fact that he eventually gave up playing chess, even though he was an expert (International Master, Elo around 2400), but applied his chess theories to Taiji instead, and became a champion in that. Waitzkin's bio sounds a bit like a Jin Yong story, but in real life.

I didn't know he became a Taichi champion. Is there a biography of him?

[pannonian]

I didn't know he became a Taichi champion. Is there a biography of him?

Here's the bio from his website.

In addition to his intense chess life, Josh is also a gifted athlete deeply involved in the study of the martial arts Tai Chi Chuan and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Josh began studying Tai Chi Chuan with Grandmaster William CC Chen in the fall of 1998. He was drawn into the art by his love for eastern philosophy and by the desire to begin a learning process anew, as a total beginner, away from the spotlight that constantly followed his chess career. In William CC Chen, Josh found the teacher that he had always searched for, "A great master with the humility and generosity that true ‘Quality’ is all about."

Initially Josh had no intention of competing in the martial arts, but there was no stopping the inevitable. For five years straight Josh was the Tai Chi Chuan Push Hands Middleweight National Champion in both the Restricted Step and Moving Step divisions. In December of 2002, Josh won the Bronze Medal in the Push Hands World Championship in Taiwan. In early November of 2003, Josh won the Gold Medal in the Push Hands division of the World Kuoshu Championships in San Paolo, Brazil. In July of 2004, Josh competed in multiple weight divisions at the National Championships in Orlando, Florida. He won an unprecedented total of 5 National Championship titles in the Middleweight, Light Heavyweight, and Heavyweight divisions. Josh’s competitive Tai Chi life came to a dramatic climax at the 7th Chung Hwa Cup International Tai Chi Chuan Championships in Taiwan December 4-5 of 2004, where Josh worked through a brutal field and won the Middleweight World Championship title in Fixed Step Push Hands and became the Middleweight World Co-Champion in Moving Step Push Hands.

Addition: It may not be a coming of age film, and the film's subjects may seem a little risque at times, but may I point out The Full Monty? IMHO it's safe for family viewing, and treads areas rarely seen in comedy.

[Duke_Darcy]

Coming of age? How old are you exactly because there's different "comings of age" stages. I watch a lot of war/history movies, a mix of all the rated movies...does plays and musicals count? Well, I watch those too. I see a few opera/orchestra shows...it sounds like what an older person would do huh? But I guess that's why I tend to like older women-I can't help it