28 Tubular '80s Movies You Need To Watch With Your Kids, Tweens, And Teens

The '80s were all about young men discovering otherworldly entities.

🚨 Important Note: Ratings were way different 30+ years ago, so we recommend checking out the Parents Guide link in each description for more information. 🚨

1. Back to the Future

Universal Pictures / Via amazon.com

What it's about: In this classic family adventure, a teenager travels back in time to his parent's high school days.

Why you should watch: It literally has everything: comedy, time travel, life lessons, and Michael J. Fox.

Rating: PG (IMDB Parents Guide here)

2. Ghostbusters

Columbia Pictures / Via legionofleia.com

What it's about: It's all in the title.

Why you should watch: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Harold Ramis.

Rating: PG (IMDB Parents Guide here)

3. E.T. the Extra Terrestrial

Universal Pictures / Via themarysue.com

What it's about: A young boy befriends an alien trying to get back to his home planet.

Why you should watch: It's an emotional journey of friendship.

Rating: PG (IMDB Parents Guide here)

4. The Lost Boys

Warner Bros. / Via http:///io9.gizmodo.com

What it's about: A horror-comedy that follows two brothers as they uncover the truth about a local gang (hint: they're vampires).

Why you should watch: It was back when vampires were still hella cool.

Rating: R (IMDB Parents Guide here)

5. The Goonies

Warner Bros. / Via playhousewhitleybay.co.uk

What it's about: A group of adventure-seeking kids go on a hunt for treasure with the hope of saving their homes from getting demolished.

Why you should watch: Your kids will surely find some or all of the kids incredibley fun and relatable.

Rating: PG (IMDB Parents Guide here)

6. Gremlins

Warner Bros. / Via geektyrant.com

What it's about: A young man's new pet proves to be more than it seems when three broken rules lead to chaos.

Why you should watch: It's weird and slightly creepy in all the right ways.

Rating: PG (IMDB Parents Guide here)

7. Die Hard

20th Century Fox / Via nerdist.com

What it's about: On Christmas Eve, one man must fight off a group of terrorists that have taken over an entire building.

Why you should watch: 30 years later, it remains the greatest action film of all time.

Rating: R (IMDB Parents Guide here)

8. Raiders of the Lost Ark

Paramount Pictures / Via infokult.al

What it's about: Adventurer, Indiana Jones, goes on a quest to uncover an ancient artifact.

Why you should watch: Harrison Ford is dreamy for the whole family!

Rating: PG (IMDB Parents Guide here)

9. Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution / Via slashfilm.com

What it's about: A hardened private detective must team up with a famous cartoon rabbit to solve a murder mystery.

Why you should watch: Live action/animation combos are incredibly different with today's CGI advancements. There is absolutely nothing new that resembles this movie.

Rating: PG (IMDB Parents Guide here)

10. Heathers

New World Pictures / Via huffingtonpost.com

What it's about: This dark comedy follows a teen and her new beau as their plot to mess with the cool kids goes awry.

Why you should watch: It was the original Mean Girls.

Rating: R (IMDB Parents Guide here)

11. The Princess Bride

20th Century Fox / Via phactual.com

What it's about: A fairy tale with a comedic spin that follows an unhappy soon-to-bride, her bumbling kidnappers, and one true love.

Why you should watch: Every single character is iconic.

Rating: PG (IMDB Parents Guide here)

12. Footloose

Paramount Pictures / Via amazon.com

What it's about: A small town that has done the unthinkable: ban dancing.

Why you should watch: The music! And Kevin Bacon! And it's Peter Quill's favorite movie!

Rating: PG (IMDB Parents Guide here)

13. Beetlejuice

Warner Bros. / Via time.com

What it's about: When a new family moves into their home, two ghosts go to extreme measures to get them out.

Why you should watch: It's easily Tim Burton's best film. Don't @ me.

Rating: PG (IMDB Parents Guide here)

14. Coming to America

Paramount Pictures / Via variety.com

What it's about: A hilarious comedy about a fancy African prince who travels to New York with the hopes of finding a wife.

Why you should watch: EDDIE MURPHY.

Rating: R (IMDB Parents Guide here)

15. Spaceballs

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Via mentalfloss.com

What it's about: This Mel Brooks sci-fi spoofs everything from Alien to Star Wars.

Why you should watch: It's the best of the best when it comes to parody.

Rating: PG (IMDB Parents Guide here)

16. Big

20th Century Fox / Via flickr.com

What it's about: A dramedy about a young boy who wishes to become an adult.

Why you should watch: America's Dad, Tom Hanks, is so young and charming.

Rating: PG (IMDB Parents Guide here)

17. Adventures in Babysitting

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution / Via abcnews.go.com

What it's about: A babysitter is in for a rough night when she gets stranded in Chicago with the kids.

Why you should watch: A little girl is obsessed with Thor because nothing ever really changes.

Rating: PG-13 (IMDB Parents Guide here)

18. The Color Purple

Warner Bros. / Via enzian.org

What it's about: This classic drama follows the life and struggles of a southern woman in the early 1900s.

Why you should watch: Younger generations need to join in on the outrage over its 11 Oscar nominations with zero wins.

Rating: PG-13 (IMDB Parents Guide here)

19. Labyrinth

TriStar Pictures / Via digitaltrends.com

What it's about: This fantasy follows a young teen as she navigates her way through a troubling labyrinth in order to find her kidnapped baby brother.

Why you should watch: It was directed by Jim Henson and features lots of singing and dancing by David Bowie.

Rating: PG (IMDB Parents Guide here)

20. Dead Poet's Society

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution / Via denofgeek.com

What it's about: An impressionable group of young men in a Vermont boarding school are inspired by their poetry teacher.

Why you should watch: Robin Williams is brilliant and beautiful.

Rating: PG (IMDB Parents Guide here)

21. Annie

Columbia Pictures / Via lecinemadreams.blogspot.com

What it's about: A musical about an adventurous orphan girl who is adopted by an extremely wealthy and stern man.

Why you should watch: There is nothing in existence that matches the experience of watching Carol Burnett, Tim Curry, and Bernadette Peters sing and dance together.

Rating: PG (IMDB Parents Guide here)

22. Field of Dreams

Universal Pictures / Via twincities.com

What it's about: This fantasy drama follows a man who is compelled to build a baseball diamond, which leads to a visit from deceased players.

Why you should watch: Emotional release.

Rating: PG (IMDB Parents Guide here)

23. Akira

Toho / Via nytimes.com

What it's about: An animated Japanese film that follows a biker gang member who wrecks havoc on Neo-Tokyo when the military turns him into a psychic killing machine.

Why you should watch: It's incredibly unique and exciting.

Rating: R (IMDB Parents Guide here)

24. Tootsie

Columbia Pictures / Via indiewire.com

What it's about: In this classic comedy, a struggling actor poses as a woman in order to further his career.

Why you should watch: It features some of the greatest performances of all time.

Rating: PG (IMDB Parents Guide here)

25. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids

Buena Vista Pictures / Via orangevessel.com

What it's about: An inventor discovers his children have been shrunken down to insect-size thanks to his latest device.

Why you should watch: It's original, silly, and full of imagination.

Rating: PG (IMDB Parents Guide here)

26. The Breakfast Club

Universal Pictures / Via theatlantic.com

What it's about: This teen dramedy follows an unlikely group of high school students as they bond during Saturday detention.

Why you should watch: It's the pinnacle teen movie. Sure, some of it doesn't age well, but so much of it is still relevant.

Rating: R (IMDB Parents Guide here)

27. Batman

Warner Bros. Pictures / Via technobuffalo.com

What it's about: Batman. Obviously.

Why you should watch: It's another top-tier Tim Burton film and a much lighter, sillier, fun version of the Dark Knight.

Rating: PG-13 (IMDB Parents Guide here)

28. The Neverending Story

Warner Bros. / Via nerdist.com

What it's about: A young boy discovers a fantasy book that pulls him into a world of adventures.

Why you should watch: It is peak fantasy. Warning: You may want to warn your kids about a certain death so they aren't scarred for life.

Rating: PG (IMDB Parents Guide here)

Do you have an '80s movie recommendation? Tell us in the comments!

Universal Pictures / Via moviegifss.tumblr.com