Madeline (1998)
Anyone else watch Madeline as a child and wish they also got appendicitis? Just me? I guess getting to live at a boarding school in Paris with a friendly nun and an adorable dog is pretty cool too.
Balto (1995)
If you didn’t know it when you watched this in the ’90s, Balto is actually based on a real-life heroic sled dog. In the animated version, Balto’s a half-wolf-half-dog living on the outskirts of an Alaskan town. When the children in the town fall sick, he has to set out on a treacherous mission to save them.
Mouse Hunt (1997)
Picture this: two adult brothers vs. one very smart mouse. You end up laughing at all the over-the-top traps that backfire…mostly on the humans. Honestly, the mouse deserves its own sequel.
First Kid (1996)
Remember Sinbad? He had such a moment in ’90s movies. In this one, he’s a Secret Service agent assigned to the president’s 13-year-old son. He’s reluctant at first, but the two start to form a pretty cute friendship.
It Takes Two (1995)
A prince-and-the-pauper-style switch-a-roo starring the Olsen Twins? It’s perfectly ridiculous and I will never not want to watch this movie.
House Arrest (1996)
How do you stop your parents from divorcing? Lock them in the basement together until they sort things out, duh! It’s kinda like The Parent Trap but on steroids.
The Big Green (1995)
Sure, a teacher exchange program between Surrey, England, and small-town Texas sounds a bit random, but you’ve just gotta go with it. The teacher comes to the school and brings together a group of disheartened students by…teaching them soccer? Again, just go with it.
Jumanji (1995)
If you didn’t get kinda terrified watching Jumanji as a child in the ’90s, you weren’t living. Sure, the new remakes are great, but the ’90s version starring Robin Williams is, and always will be, a classic.
The Prince of Egypt (1998)
An animated musical retelling of a biblical story? Sounds just crazy enough to work—and it does.
We’re Back! (1993)
Talking dinosaurs travel through time to modern-day New York City thanks to some help from an alien they met. Sounds super weird, and yet, you loved every second of it.
3 Ninjas (1994)
Three brothers spend their summer learning ninja skills from their grandfather, but little do they know they’re soon going to have to put those skills to the test when they find themselves in the middle of an action-packed adventure.
Babe (1995)
If there’s a ’90s movie that taught you you can be anything you want to be, it’s Babe. Like, what do you mean this adorable talking pig is going after his dream of being a sheep herder? If he can do it, so can you.
Mighty Joe Young (1998)
What do you mean, you don’t remember that time Charlize Theron took a 15-foot mountain gorilla across the globe to live in an animal sanctuary in California and protected him from poachers, making you sob uncontrollably?
Man of the House (1995)
You can’t talk about ’90s movies without talking about JTT, aka the one and only Jonathan Taylor Thomas. In Man of the House, he played Ben, a kid who is forced to bond with his mother’s new boyfriend, Jack (Chevy Chase). Warning: their bonding does involve a Native American-inspired father-son club. Let’s just say this movie wouldn’t be made today.
I’ll Be Home for Christmas (1998)
JTT was fully in his heartthrob era in I’ll Be Home for Christmas, a movie about a college student who gets stranded in the desert on his way home for Christmas. Oh, and did I mention that he’s wearing a full Santa suit most of the time? If you’ve ever met a ‘90s baby and wondered why they had the hots for Santa, this is why.
Paulie (1998)
There was a time in the ‘90s when you couldn’t turn on your TV without seeing a movie about talking live-action animals or Hallie Eisenberg’s Pepsi commercials. Paulie combined both as a movie about talking parrot who has traveled far and wide, bonding with many strangers and new owners along the way, starting with a girl played by Eisenberg.
Smart House (1999)
In the Disney Channel Original Movie pantheon, Smart House will go down in history as one of the most iconic for a few reasons: 1) It totally predicted siri and other AI being used in the home; 2) It launched the DCOM career of Ryan Merriman, and 3) There’s a moment when three middle school boys perform a choreographed dance to Five’s “Slam Dunk (Da Funk).”
Wish Upon a Star (1996)
As a little sister, I fully identified with Hayley (Danielle Harris), a nerdy younger sister who wishes on a shooting star to switch places with her popular older sister, Alexia (Katherine Heigl), in Wish Upon a Star. I used to make that same wish all the time. The only difference is that mine never came true!
Brink! (1998)
Yet another DCOM, Brink explores the extremely ‘90s sport of rollerblading through the eyes of a rag-tag group of teens, led by Brink (Erik von Detten). Brink is a “Soul-Skater” who skates for fun, but when money gets tight, he starts being seduced by the rival sponsored skaters, led by his nemesis, Val (Sam Horrigan).
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