What G-rated movies have spaceships in them?

September 1, 2009 12:19 PM

What G-rated movies have spaceships in them?

I'm trying to find some movies that my almost-3-year-old will enjoy. He's relatively adventurous, loves Buzz Lightyear, superheroes, and Darth Vader (though still a bit too young to watch Star Wars).

I've got Muppets from Space, The Cat from Outer Space and both Toy Story movies. He was not terribly interested in Wall-E.

Other than those, what are your favorite G-rated movies with spaceships?

I would strongly prefer movies that are also appropriate for adults.

posted by Caviar to media & arts (44 answers total)

Flight of the Navigator?
posted by GuyZero at 12:23 PM on September 1, 2009 [2 favorites]

It's not a movie, but might he like some of the Pigs in Space bits from The Muppet Show?
posted by cider at 12:24 PM on September 1, 2009

2001: A Space Odyssey is rated G. It might make nice eye candy for a three year old, though good luck trying to explain what's going on.
posted by bondcliff at 12:25 PM on September 1, 2009 [3 favorites]

Muppets from Space?
posted by Nanukthedog at 12:25 PM on September 1, 2009

Wall-E has a spaceship, and was really good.
posted by Netzapper at 12:28 PM on September 1, 2009

Wall-E has a spaceship, and was really good.

He already mentioned that one...... ;P

Chicken Little is rated G, has a spaceship, although I wouldn't say it's predominantly featured....are you after films that take place mainly on the spaceship? You might also try checking out really old movies like the Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers films from the 30s and 40s.
posted by iconomy at 12:29 PM on September 1, 2009

The Black Hole
posted by dortmunder at 12:30 PM on September 1, 2009

Warning: The Black Hole will cause lifelong nightmares.
posted by odinsdream at 12:31 PM on September 1, 2009 [2 favorites]

The OP already mentioned Wall-E and Muppets from Space, y'all.

What about old space-based TV shows? Man, I loved reruns of Lost In Space when I was a kid. (Don't even bother with the movie version.)
posted by katillathehun at 12:31 PM on September 1, 2009

Warning: The Black Hole will cause lifelong nightmares.

I feel the same way about Flight of The Navigator.
posted by dortmunder at 12:33 PM on September 1, 2009

I was going to say NOT THE BLACK HOLE. Maybe when he's 11. Or 31, depending how nightmare-prone he is.
posted by GuyZero at 12:33 PM on September 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

And I think the original Star Trek movie was PG, but I don't remember anything objectionable or potentially traumatizing in it.
posted by dortmunder at 12:35 PM on September 1, 2009

I did not know that TV had anything else on except Star Trek until I was 4 years old. That was all I watched, and I didn't turn out terribly bad.
posted by Jon_Evil at 12:36 PM on September 1, 2009

Star Trek: The Motion Picture was rated G on its initial release, but was re-rated PG "for sci-fi action and mild language" in 2000 for The Director's Edition.
posted by Gridlock Joe at 12:37 PM on September 1, 2009

Explorers!
posted by PercussivePaul at 12:38 PM on September 1, 2009

oh wait, that's PG, not G...
posted by PercussivePaul at 12:38 PM on September 1, 2009

Wallace and Grommit: A Grand Day Out - what better than a some cheese, some crackers, and a very skilled dog to accompany a 3 year old and his immagination?
posted by Nanukthedog at 12:43 PM on September 1, 2009 [10 favorites]

Star Trek: The Motion Picture was rated G on its initial release, but was re-rated PG "for sci-fi action and mild language" in 2000 for The Director's Edition.

It's also pretty terribly boring.

These are all TV series, but maybe they'll fit the bill: there was a kid's series called Space Cases back when I was a tween that might be entertaining to a kid that young. Episodes are a bit cheesy, but short, and you should be able to piece a couple of them together online to see if he digs them. Ancient episodes of Flash Gordon, Rockey Jones, Space Ranger, and Captain Video are also all pretty fun and wholesome, and you can often find DVDs of them at dollar stores.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 12:44 PM on September 1, 2009

For the record, The Black Hole was rated PG.

And yeah, some heavy shit goes down in that black hole.
posted by dirtdirt at 12:45 PM on September 1, 2009

Space Chimps
posted by bluefly at 12:53 PM on September 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

If your kid likes good techno, there's Interstella 5555. You can get it on DVD from Netflix you want good quality.
posted by Cogito at 1:01 PM on September 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

As for TV shows, what about anime? He might like Battle of the Planets or Thunderbirds 2086.
posted by jquinby at 1:04 PM on September 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

At the risk of technically not actually answering your question: have you considered the LEGO Star Wars computer game/s? It's available on pretty much every format (PC/Mac/Xbox/PS2 and PS3). He'd probably be too young to play it, but would love watching you play it. You get to roam around and explore space ships, how cool is that? And any violence is Lego violence, you don't die you fall to pieces. Also, if you are familiar with Star Wars, you'll enjoy the clever cut scenes - they're very cartoony so he'd probably like them too. I know it's not a movie, but might be the sort of thing you are looking for. It's out a while now so you could probably pick up cheap second hand. I'm 35 and loved it, so did my 4 year old nephew.
posted by Elmore at 1:07 PM on September 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

I was going to suggest Forbidden Planet for its eye candy. Cool spaceship, too -- the UFO-like C57D -- and an ever cooler robot; but scary monster alert.
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 1:09 PM on September 1, 2009

Ah, another live action show: Jason of Star Command.
posted by jquinby at 1:16 PM on September 1, 2009

The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars.
posted by MonkeyToes at 1:16 PM on September 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius (the movie).

Appropriate for adults? Well I enjoyed it.....
posted by 543DoublePlay at 1:20 PM on September 1, 2009

...and, I almost hate to mention it: The Ewok Adventure.

ok, I'm done.
posted by jquinby at 1:20 PM on September 1, 2009

Lilo & Stitch, though it's not mostly about specheships.
posted by tamaraster at 1:29 PM on September 1, 2009

It does have a surprising amount of spaceship action though. My almost 3-year old is a big fan of it.
posted by Artw at 1:36 PM on September 1, 2009

There is plenty of NASA related footage, not only from NASA (say through Amazon), then there are a couple from IMAX...any of these on DVD has lots of rockets. Less so of a story like Buzz Lightyear but does have serious rockets.

As a note: a couple may need to be viewed ahead of time since Challenger/Columbia may appear in some.

There some great stuff out there.
posted by fluffycreature at 1:36 PM on September 1, 2009

She also loves The Wiggles: Space Dance.

As a parent your mileage may vary with that one...
posted by Artw at 1:39 PM on September 1, 2009

Treasure Planet
posted by yeti at 1:53 PM on September 1, 2009

Wasn't there just something about flies going to the moon? I'm guessing that had to be rated G. Violence and self-mutilation on the part of viewers is hardly the fault of the filmmakers.
posted by Naberius at 1:57 PM on September 1, 2009

Wasn't there just something about flies going to the moon? I'm guessing that had to be rated G. Violence and self-mutilation on the part of viewers is hardly the fault of the filmmakers.

Fly Me To The Moon - we just saw it in 3D at the Space & Rocket Center down in Huntsville. It was pretty cute, actually.
posted by jquinby at 2:03 PM on September 1, 2009

Silent Running? Granted, it's getting a bit old now, but it's still a great film. With spaceships.
posted by hnnrs at 3:16 PM on September 1, 2009

Il Etait Une Fois... L'espace

One of the reasons I want kids is to be able to watch that show again. Pretty sure there are English subs
posted by uandt at 3:21 PM on September 1, 2009

The Iron Giant?
posted by pxe2000 at 5:15 PM on September 1, 2009

2nding Wallace and Grommit. Every kid I've ever shared that with just loves it, and it's not a full length feature, which can be handy.
posted by moojoose at 5:57 PM on September 1, 2009

The Last Starfighter is rated PG, but there isn't anything objectionable in it that I can think of.
posted by rfs at 8:03 PM on September 1, 2009

EEK! on the Black Hole!

My kids like the Star Trek Movie with the dolphins. Can't remember which that one is or what it is rated.
posted by Bueller at 9:12 PM on September 1, 2009

Some good answers here - I will have to check some of those out.

Yes, I've seen the Black Hole. No, it's not appropriate for small children.

Lilo and Stitch has a surprising amount of violence in it. We tried that one about six months ago, and he really wasn't following most of it and just wanted to know why that guy kept dropping his ice cream.
posted by Caviar at 8:46 PM on September 2, 2009

My kids like the Star Trek Movie with the dolphins. Can't remember which that one is or what it is rated.

It's Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. But it's not dolphins, it's humpback whales.

And while it's really excellent (for a Trek movie), it's rated PG. And if Lilo and Stich has a "surprising amount of violence", I don't think ST IV is probably a good choice. Furthermore, it's about the only Trek movie that isn't set in space; and while there is a space ship, it spends most of the film on the ground, invisible, in Golden Gate Park.
posted by Netzapper at 9:02 PM on September 2, 2009

In case you hadn't noticed, Lilo and Stitch is actually rated PG, not G. People always seem surprised when I mention the violence. I don't think I'm overly sensitive, but it really stood out for me when I watched it again with my son, and I'd had almost no memory of any of it from the first time I watched it. There's a lot of pushing, punching, biting, aggressive growling, and shooting, with very little context or anything that would give him any explanation of what's going on. I recommend that you watch it again with a more critical eye if you think it's appropriate for toddlers based on a previous viewing.
posted by Caviar at 11:39 AM on September 3, 2009