The best sleepover movies for kids

One of our favorite feel-good films of all time, the action-packed tale of Princess Buttercup and Farm Boy/Dread Pirate Roberts/Westley (as read to young Fred Savage by his grandfather) steals our hearts with great one-liners, suspense and even some romance. Also...who could forget the fire swamp and Rodents of Unusual Size? Ages 8 and up.

This nine-hour Saturday detention is not like the others. Five high school students (who, for the most part, run in different circles) must spend the day together and write a 1,000-word essay about who they think they are. What happens by the end of their time together surprises them all. Ages 12 and up.

Ferris Bueller is one cool dude. He’s also kind of a jerk. But, hey, some of our greatest artists could be described the same way. Determined to play hooky, Ferris cooks up an elaborate plan to fool both his mother and his principal and spend a highly productive weekday running around Chicago with his girlfriend and best bud. It might give your kid and their little jerk friends some bright ideas, but don’t worry: they’re almost certainly not cool enough to pull it off. Ages 12 and up.

Oh no! Marty McFly is accidentally transported back to the '50s thanks to his quirky scientist friend's time-travel machine. There, he encounters his parents and has to make sure they end up falling in love (after all, he won't exist otherwise). He also has to rush back to the—er—future to make sure Doc Brown is okay too. Good luck, Marty! Ages 10 and up.

College freshman (and wannebe deejay) Beca (Anna Kendrick) gets pushed into joining a club at school by her teacher father. After reluctantly joining the Barden Bellas, an all-female acapella group on campus, she helps the group refresh their routines and take on their rivals in competition. Ages 13 and up.

Every kid dreams of finding buried treasure, but to Mikey, it means staying in his neighborhood and saving his family home. A team of young friends go in search of treasure using an ancient map—and the booby traps, suspense and quirky characters they encounter along the way will keep kids totally captivated. Ages 11 and up.

Wait, there’s a Jurassic Park movie without Chris Pratt? Indeed! See exactly how the dinosaurs came back to life in the very first instalment of the franchise and ponder how mankind keeps making the exact same mistakes vis-à-vis the massive beasts, 30 years and about 47 films later. Also, marvel at how much better the effects look in the original despite being made back when most people didn’t even know what email was. Ages 12 and up.

Beloved neighborhood record store Empire Records—haven for young music junkies—is in danger of being bought out by mega-store Music City. The store's current manager is saving to buy the place, but his well-meaning friend accidentally loses everything by trying to double the savings at a casino. We're rooting for young Renee Zellweger, Liv Tyler, Robin Tunney and the rest of the gang as they try to save the day. Ages 15 and up.

Calling all muggles, big and small! Watch Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to follow our favorite Gryffindor as he enters the magical world of Hogwarts, makes new friends and faces enemies head-on (including his terrifying Potions teacher and ruthless class bully, Draco Malfoy). Ages 8 and up.

In 1971, a white high school in Alexandria, Virgina is mandated to integrate African American students, and an African American coach (Denzel Washington) is hired above the current white coach for the school's star football team. The boys and coaches must learn to work together to become a symbol of unity for the town. Ages 10 and up.

Based on the original Disney theme park ride of the same name, Pirates of the Caribbean, this film offers plenty of heroism and action for young viewers. A blacksmith (Orlando Bloom) teams up with a thieving, crusty pirate (Johnny Depp) to save his true love (Keira Knightley) from a pirate kidnapping, and we're all about it. Ages 12 and up.

Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles come together for a modern retelling of The Taming of the Shrew, where a popular young girl is told she can't date until her guarded, feminist sister goes out too. A young boy wants to date Bianca and plots to have a handsome troublemaker Patrick (Heath) at school paid to get Kat (Julia) out of the house. Things get weird when the two actually start to get along. Ages 13 and up.

Who's to fly a plane when everyone falls ill? Ted follows his true love onto a flight where she works as cabin crew, even though she has no interest in being together anymore, and has the unusual chance to be a hero. Ages 13 and up.

A new kid in town makes friends with other neighborhood kids that play baseball at the sandlot, and together they get into plenty of mischief (including run-ins with local junkyard dog, The Beast). Ages 8 and up.

Danielle (Drew Barrymore, the sweet, pure daughter of a wealthy widower) gets a raw deal, since her father remarried the most wicked of women (played by Anjelica Huston) shortly before his death. Oh, and there are two wicked stepsisters in the mix (sound familiar?) that also treat her like a servant. What will it take to change her standing? A prince will do. Ages 9 and up.