New York's Film Forum Jr: What Makes a Family Friendly Film?

Sunday morning classics are promised for kids and their families. The lineup is enticing, even if you don't live in New York. Which films are now streaming? And why does it matter?

Coming Soon: In September, Film Forum Jr. will begin screening a series of films that aim to "nurture, inspire and entertain the next generation of cinephiles."

Presented by Film Forum, a longstanding institution that has championed independent and classic films in New York City since 1970, Film Forum Jr. is now in its 11th year. I have fond, distinct memories of watching movies in the late 80s at Film Forum in its two-screen theater on Watts Street. One was a Saturday afternoon repertory screening of Henri-Georges Clouzot' masterpiece The Wages of Fear (1953), which was mesmirizing in that fairly-small movie theater and left a deep impression on me. 

Film Forum is now located on Houston Street and features four screens. Produced and programmed by Bruce Goldstein, Film Forum Jr. kicks off on Sunday, September 8, with West Side Story (1961), a marvelous musical that Steven Spielberg remade, to generally lesser effect, in 2021. The original is now streaming on Max. 

Funny enough, I never thought of West Side Story as a "family film," but I first saw it as a child, and from the opening aerial sequence, shot high above New York, before divebombing to the story's location, utterly transfixed me, and several other sequences stuck firmly in my brain. 

That film, along with others in the series (listed below, with streaming availability noted), made me think again about the definition of a family film. In my own About page, I describe my remit to 

"search for new films and television shows that are targeted at the so-called ‘family-friendly’ audience and then, when I see something noteworthy, write about it from my perspective as a film critic for the past 20 years." 

In Hollywood nowadays, films are commonly divided into four major quadrants: male, female, over 25 years of age, under 25 years of age. Some films aim at all four quadrants; most do not. 

In my experience, there is a sharper divide in the under-25 quadrant, driven by the increasing number of movies that now debut on streaming services, which generally follow guidelines developed by the television industry, distinguishing between material that is deemed appropriate for all children, only for those older than 7, only for those older than 14, and only for those in their late teens. 

What that means in practical terms is that some creators dumb their material down, as it were, trying to make it more appealing for children. The result is that some movies and TV shows are marketed as material that is entirely unappealing to adults. 

That's where the Everything But Horror newsletter and site comes in. The less appealing the show looks, the more interested I am in sampling it, because you never know when something that looks unappealing and really not for you may, in fact, be something you'll want to check out for yourself. 

Early this year, I started a concerted effort to

"watch and research family-friendly noir films (?!) from the 40s and 50s (Concrete Falls) and family-friendly movies released in my favorite film decade (70s Rewind)." 

Sadly, those efforts have fallen by the wayside in recent months, due to health issues and other pressing concerns. My health is better now, thank you very much, but my viewing hours will be increasingly consumed by other responsibilities for the remainder of this calendar year. 

Next year, who knows? For now, however, consider watching the family films programmed by Film Forum Jr. for your own personal viewing pleasure, all of which I can also recommend: 

• John Ford's How Green Was My Valley (1941), not currently streaming. *

• Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty (1959), now streaming on Disney Plus. . 

• Rob Reiner's Stand By Me (1986), now streaming on Fubu. 

• Franklin J. Schaffner's Planet of the Apes (1968), now streaming on Starz. 

• George Stevens' Shane (1953), now streaming on Fubu, MGM+, Paramount Plus. 

• 4 Hal Roach comedy shorts directed by George Stevens, not currently streaming. * 

• Ivan Reitman's Ghostbusters (1984), now streaming on AMC Plus. 

• Charles Chaplin's The Great Dictator (1940), now streaming on Criterion Channel and Max. 

• Brian Helgeland's 42 (2013), now streaming on Max

• Mel Stuart's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971), not currently streaming. *

• Buster Keaton's The General (1926), now streaming on Fubu and MGM+, 

• Jim Henson's Labyrinth (1985), now streaming on Peacock and Prime Video, 

• Jacques Demy's Donkey Skin (1970), now streaming on Criterion Channel. 

Films that are not currently streaming (*) can be rented or purchased via a various of VOD platforms.