Five Films from My Childhood – And Why They’re Still Good

* Spoilers Ahead (but honestly you should’ve watched these films long ago so it’s on you)

1. Stardust (2007) dir. Matthew Vaughn

Where to begin with this masterpiece? Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer and Mark Strong all feature in this swashbuckling adventure which goes down as one of my favourite films of all time. Tristan and Yvaine bicker from their very first meeting and together face cannibalistic witches, a murderous prince and sky pirates that give Tristan probably the most iconic glow-up of 2007 in the magical kingdom of Stormhold. A special shout-out goes to Tristan’s mother Una – the only princess of Stormhold. This is the woman who saw Ben Barnes once and decided to climb that man like a tree, hijacked a carriage and drove it through a crowded marketplace and decided to let her brother die because he was the aforementioned murderous prince. Truly an iconic woman. This film remains timeless since it’s just a straightforward, enjoyable plot. Man goes to find fallen star, fallen star turns out to be a human woman, they bicker like an old married couple, defeat the evil witches, become royalty, get married and live happily ever after. The ending was a sweet one; Tristan and Yvaine rule as benevolent leaders and after their grandchildren are all grown, they light a Babylon candle (a kind of mode of transportation) and live together forever as stars, which is probably the cutest shit I’ve ever heard. The screenwriting deserves the highest praise I can give it because it’s witty (nearing Princess Bride standards) and iconic in the best of ways. The line “oh, you stupid cow” may not have won any awards but Jesus was it funny to hear Charlie Cox yell it whilst on a cloud in a rainstorm before being captured by sky pirates. It’s also narrated by Ian McKellan. Yeah, in case it wasn’t clear enough, this is my favourite movie.

2. The Parent Trap (1998) dir. Nancy Meyers

The film that made me believe for YEARS that Lindsay Lohan had a twin and gave me a deep-set desire to go to a summer camp (which I never did). The film isn’t groundbreaking but it gives off “warm hug on a rainy day under a blanket” energy. Twins, separated at birth, meet at a summer camp and decide to switch lives and reconnect their parents. This film is awesome because when it ends, you will feel 100 times better than you did going in. It’s just one of those totally predictable, totally cheesy, totally wonderful films. It has a would-be evil stepmother, shenanigans, a romantic chase around the world, a golden retriever! It even has a boat. If you’re into boats – I don’t know any of you, there could be boat people out there. It also happens to be directed by Rosa Diaz’s favourite director, Nancy Meyers – so criticise at your own risk!

3. The Mummy (1999) dir. Stephen Sommers

The totally inaccurate adventure film that instilled in all of us a deep interest in Ancient Egypt and archaeology that never really went away. Nothing about that film was accurate! Absolutely nothing! But a 1920s adventure featuring Rachel Weiss as the cleverest person in the room? My interest was piqued at a very young age. It may actually have been the starting point of my interest in history. Not to mention, this may have been Brendan Fraser’s finest hour. It was always being shown on ITV2 so I rewatched that film so many times that I could probably quote it from front to back. This film is still iconic because, even though I am older and wiser when it comes to the accuracy of that film, it’s still fun. The love story between Anuk-su-namun and Imhotep completely went over my head when I was younger, but it does add some substance to the film. The side characters like Ardeth Bay and Jonathan are iconic and almost too self-aware (shown by the line “well, everyone else we’ve bumped into has died – why not you?). It’s a cute Lara Croft-esque adventure, so why not?

4. Scooby Doo and the Cyber Chase (2001) dir. Jim Stenstrum –

A straight-to-VHS Scooby Doo film that was honestly spectacular. If you didn’t have at least one Scooby Doo film in your collection, you weren’t doing your childhood right. This particular one had the gang get sucked into a video game that is based on their previous adventures and they come into contact with their younger video game counterparts. There’s nothing particular about it, it’s not even the most popular of the Scooby-Doo films. However, it’s important to me because it was the one Scooby-Doo film I had. Sometimes, that’s all a film needs to be, to be special. A film that stays with you, solely because you watched it so many times. It didn’t hurt that I genuinely love Scooby-Doo. I think I was born with this love because I cannot remember a time that I didn’t love Scooby-Doo. I even had a little Mystery Machine that had Shaggy and Scooby in (I have photographic proof) and I miss it even now. To this day, I still have fantasies of being a detective and having spooky adventures with my dumb friends.

Image: Amandeep Paul being a Scooby-Doo stan from day 1.

5. The Addams Family (1991) dir. Barry Sonnenfeld –

God, don’t we all wish we could be a part of the Addams family? I, for one, would fit in like a glove – I look fantastic in black, am super dumb, get attached to people way too easily and am not at all good with money. This classic is so delightfully charming in its own unique way, I don’t think there is a person on this earth who can say they don’t like the Addams Family. The extra lighting on Angelica Houston’s face to invoke that 70s gleam in her eye. Wednesday’s monotone voice even when talking about things she’s excited about (like electrocuting her brother). Pugsley and Gomez having a healthy father/son relationship. All iconic. They were odd and, in some cases, homicidal, but they radiated love for each other. Gomez, to this day, remains my favourite character. He just loved everyone in his family so much and especially the interactions with the men in his family stood out to me. He immediately accepted and took in Fester, apologising for his wrongdoings and striving to make amends. Gomez Addams said fuck your toxic masculinity.

The one thing these films all have in common is that they’re enjoyable. You don’t need to have a Galaxy Brain to understand everything that’s going on, but they don’t dumb things down unnecessarily. I guess what I’m trying to say here is, good films don’t always mean “covered in so many layers of themes, it requires your brain to be on 10 to understand it”. As a film student, I’ve watched so many “classic” films that were just so fucking dull! Yes, I know they were groundbreaking and “important” for cinema, but I am bored! And honestly? They are nothing compared to the comfort these films above bring me. I’m not saying don’t watch Frances Ha, Midsommar or The Favourite. I’m just saying the best films aren’t always the clever films, they’re the films that are important to you.

By Amandeep Paul.

(she/her)

IG: xx.amandeep

Amandeep is a TV. Film & Entertainment writer @ PARDON! read more about her on our TEAM! page.