Now & Then: 5 Favorite 90s Movies

Remember way back when? Were you old enough?

This quiz by Buzzfeed prompted today's post of my favorite 90s childrens movies, a perfect post idea for throwback Thursday!

1. Hook

What if Peter Pan grew up? What if Robin Williams played him in a movie? Created in 1991 starring Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, and Julia Roberts, I'm not sure even Disney could have created such a fun future-telling response to the original Disney classic.

In the middle of the night, Hook comes and kidnaps Peter Pan's children taking them off to the marvelous world of Never-Neverland. Wendy Darling, Tinkerbell, and all of the lost boys must help Peter Pan to remember what his life used to be. Only then does he have a chance at bringing his children home.

2. Free Willy

There is something special about the 1993 movie about a whale and a boy that touched the hearts of millions. Or maybe it was Michael Jackson's "Will You Be There" that really touched lives. Either way, the release of the movie caused an uproar over Keiko, the killer whale that played Willy. Audiences wanted Willy's ending and freedom to also be Keiko's ending. I'm not sure it worked out too well for Keiko since he wasn't used to living in the wild.

In case you aren't aware, Free Willy is the story of a 12-year-old Jesse and his search for a place to call home. His mom abandoned him as a child and none of his foster homes seem to be working. Through the help of a social worker, Jesse is placed in a home with kind foster parents who don't necessarily understand him or what he needs. Working at the aquarium and connecting with a whale that is also dealing with issues helps bring Jesse to a place of contentment and gives him something to work toward. That is … until the aquarium decides Willy isn't bringing in enough money for the amusement park and decides to kill him. I'm sure you can imagine what happens next. Still, it is a heart-warming story about a boy and his whale. :)

Of course, while we are talking about animals and their humans, a few of my other favorite 90s movies of that nature were André and Lassie.

I think in the 90s we were a bit obsessed with children and their connections with animals. :)

3. Kindergarten Cop

This was one of my favorite movies when I was quite literally a kindergartner. According to my grandparents, I would watch this movie over and over and over again. Now the movie just makes me laugh. After all "I'm not a policeman! I'm a princess!" :) Adorableness. There is nothing quite like seeing a tall man trying to deal with children.

The synopsis is that the LA PD is trailing a drug dealer as the dealer makes his way to Astoria, Oregon in search of his ex-wife and son. Phoebe O'Hara is scheduled to work as an undercover cop/kindergarten teacher in the school when she becomes sick and is unable to attend on her first day. Her partner John Kimble must take her place. Throughout the movie, Kimble must learn how to handle 20 five year olds and build credit among other teachers in the school. Unbeknownst to him he falls in love with one particular boy and his single mother discovering that they are the ones he has been looking for just moments before the drug dealer enters the scene to bring chaos to everyone's world. It's another story where you know the ending ahead of time, but it is worth seeing Schwarzenegger interacting with the kids. I would be surprised if you don't get a laugh out of this movie. :)

4. Drop Dead Fred

I love comedies, but I'm not entirely sure my parents would have allowed me to see this if not for my best friend bringing it into my life. This movie definitely has some adult themes despite the childlike title.

As a young kid Lizzie had an imaginary friend, a real imaginary friend. He encourages her to get into all kinds of trouble. So much so that when Lizzie is still a child, her mom, unknowingly of course, taped Drop Dead Fred (the imaginary friend) into a jack-in-the-box not to be seen again until Lizzie is much older and going through a divorce. From the minute Lizzie returns to her childhood home and opens the jack-in-the-box for the first time in years, she is in for a surprise. No one believes that the chaos being caused is her imaginary friend who seems to appear everywhere and anywhere Lizzie doesn't want him to appear. Will she be able to cure her seemingly psychotic behavior by visiting a psychologist? How will she ever free herself from Fred?

5. Now and Then

Made in 1993 starring big names such as Christina Ricci, Rosie O'Donnell, Thora Birch, Melanie Griffith, Demi Moore, and Rita Wilson, Now and Then tells the story of four girls as they grow through puberty in a small town in the 1970s. While the majority of the movie is set back-when, the story converges when the girls as adults get together to talk about what life was like for them then as compared to now. It's a great story about the friendship of girls and what it is like to stick together through thick and thin. (Much better than The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants!)

And a few runners up:

Little Women