Best 1980s Children’s Film

The 1980s were an amazing decade to be a kid, and a big part of that were the fantastical, iconic, and often — in hindsight — deeply traumatizing children’s films released during the decade. Today’s kids will never know the thrill of waiting months to finally see a film on VHS, only to be emotionally and spiritually wrecked when some horror befalls the hero or heroine within the first 20 minutes. That was the 80s! But we can talk about how those foundational film moments turned us into the completely normal and well-adjusted adults we are now! Right? Right?! So join us as The Great Pop Culture Debate tries to determine the best 1980s children’s film of all time!

Join host Eric Rezsnyak and panelists Bob Erlenback, Brendan Hay, Jim Czadzeck, and Kate Racculia as they go back to their childhoods and relive the wonder, and the trauma, of the greatest kids films of the 1980s.

To listen to Round 1, showing how we got to the Sweet 16 down from the Top 32, become a Patreon supporter of the podcast today to access the exclusive Part 1 episode.

The Round 2 match-ups are:

Match-Up 1: Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1) vs. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (4)

Match-Up 2: Raiders of the Lost Ark (3) vs. Flight of the Navigator (7)

Match-Up 3: The Great Mouse Detective (8) vs. The Muppets Take Manhattan (4)

Match-Up 4: Labyrinth (3) vs. The Goonies (2)

Match-Up 5: Ghostbusters (1) vs. Return of the Jedi (5)

Match-Up 6: The Little Mermaid (3) vs. Gremlins (2)

Match-Up 7: The Neverending Story (1) vs. The Great Muppet Caper (4)

Match-Up 8: The Land Before Time (6) vs. The Secret of NIMH (7)

Want to play along at home?

Download the listener bracket here and see if your picks match up with ours!

Looking for more related content?

Check out these other episodes from Great Pop Culture Debate:

Best Muppet

Best Star Wars Character

Best Pixar Film

Best Disney Animated Feature

And if you want more content, check out our visual puzzle of 80s children’s movie covers in other countries.

Have a say in future episodes!

Finally, if you want to have a say in what episodes we tackle next, vote in our Topic Polls! And we would love to have you pick your faves in the polls currently open for your votes!