Staff Picks: Our Favourite Childhood Movies

What was the first film you watched at the cinema?

Bambi – it was traumatic.

Which film made you want to have special powers?

It’s not a film but I wanted to run as fast as Cheetara. I had the Thundercat sword which lit up when you pressed a button.

Who was your first film star crush?

Again not a film, but it was Dexter Fletcher from Press Gang. I loved him so much I named my teddy after him, and made him waistcoats out of felt.

What film should all children watch growing up?

Robin Hood, Bugsy Malone, Star Wars, The Jungle Book and Mary Poppins.

Which film did you secretly watch when you were little, knowing it was strictly for ‘grown ups’?

I was such a scaredy-cat that when I was at a sleepover and all of my friends watched a copy of Child's Play, I went upstairs and sat in the bedroom by myself because I didn’t want to have nightmares...

What was the first film you watched at the cinema?

The first film I remember watching was For Your Eyes Only with Roger Moore as James Bond. Around the same time I watched a re-issue of Battle of Britain with my granddad – very emotional memory for me.

What was the first film that gave you nightmares?

Don’t Look Now, 1973. Donald Sutherland, Julie Christie, and a scary dwarf.

Which special effects blew you away?

Star Wars. I said to my friend Simon Long at the time that it would never get better than that!

What film should all children watch growing up?

The Railway Children.

Which film did you secretly watch when you were little, knowing it was strictly for ‘grown ups’?

The Warriors. It was an 18 and we snuck into Orpington cinema.

What’s your first movie memory?

Going to the cinema for the first time to see ET, and rejecting my Mum’s offer of a tissue. An early indication that my heart is black, like a raven.

Which special effects blew you away?

Any part of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the skeletons in Jason And The Argonauts.

Did you ever dress up like your favourite film character or actor?

I may have gone to a party as Wonder Woman when I was 5. Not very age-appropriate in hindsight. I blame the mother.

Who was your first film star crush?

Either Michael J Fox in Back to the Future or Matthew Broderick in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. It must have been the leopard print cardi...

What film should all children watch growing up?

Big. A cautionary tale against wishing your life away.

What was the first film you watched at the cinema?

A trip to see the Aristocats for my 5th birthday.

Which special effects blew you away?

Bedknobs And Broomsticks! And Star Wars a bit later on.

Did you ever dress up like your favourite film character or actor?

A black cap-sleeve t-shirt to look like John Travolta in Grease.

What film should all children watch growing up?

All children should watch Aristocats, Bambi, Jungle Book, Superman, Robin Hood (Disney’s version), Sleeping Beauty and Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs... whether they want to or not!

Which film did you secretly watch when you were little, knowing it was strictly for ‘grown ups’?

Sneaking into The Wanderers - an 18! - when I was 13 was a major achievement.

What was the first film you watched at the cinema?

I watched Beauty and the Beast at a lovely old cinema in Wells, Somerset. Sadly, it’s now been turned into a bloody awful nightclub with gold palm trees. Shame.

Which special effects blew you away?

I thought Pete’s Dragon was pretty amazing when I saw that. I love live action and animation combined. Oh, and Flight Of The Navigator‏.

Did you ever dress up like your favourite film character or actor?

My Mum’s a dab hand with a needle and thread and she made me a blue dress like the one in Cinderella. And I had one of those packs where you got a tiara, clip-on earrings and plastic high heels.

Who was your first film star crush?

I’d have to say Ralph Macchio from the Karate Kid movies, but I made the mistake of Googling him recently. And there was obviously the Leo phase after Titanic.

Which film did you secretly watch when you were little, knowing it was strictly for ‘grown ups’?

My brother and I watched Pulp Fiction and Pretty Woman when we weren't supposed to. We were too young to understand what was going on though, so it was pretty enlightening watching them again as an adult - she was a PROSTITUTE!

What was the first film you watched at the cinema?

The Empire Strikes Back – it totally blew my mind. My lifelong love affair with the cinema began right there.

What was the first film that gave you nightmares?

Either Jaws, the bit where the severed head looms out of the hull of the boat, or John Carpenter’s The Fog, which I watched when my parents were out and I was far too young.

Which film made you want to have special powers?

A TV movie pilot called The Amazing Spider-Man. And weirdly, Nicholas Hammond looks a lot like Andrew Garfield. http://www.lovefilm.com/film/Spider-Man-Strikes-Back/159348/

Which special effects blew you away?

Empire again. I think the fact that they had to build most of it – even in miniature – and not rely on CGI, made it so much more compelling. The AT-AT assault on the Rebel’s ice base on Hoth is a gob-smacking piece of work.

Which film did you secretly watch when you were little, knowing it was strictly for ‘grown ups’?

A friend once showed me a VHS of 10, with Bo Derek. Blimey!

What’s your first movie memory?

My first movie memory was watching Oliver & Company on TV with my mum; I must have been about three years old!

What was the first film you watched at the cinema?

I went to see The Rescuers Down Under at the teeny tiny cinema in Pontefract. I’ve never been to Australia but when I do I will expect to see eagles and mice flying harmoniously together through the Outback.

What was the first film that gave you nightmares?

Jaws. It terrified me to the point that I cried when my parents went swimming in the sea in France, because I thought they would get eaten by a shark.

Who was your first film star crush?

David Boreanaz as Angel in Buffy. I didn’t fancy any film stars.

What film should all children watch growing up?

Back to the Future and any Disney/Pixar movies.

What was the first film you watched at the cinema?

Disney’s Robin Hood. I actually watched it in Nottingham shortly after visiting Sherwood Forest and seeing the “real tree” that the Merry Men lived in. I nearly wet myself with excitement.

What was the first film that gave you nightmares?

A Nightmare on Elm Street. I watched a dodgy betamax copy of it when I was far too young.

Did you ever dress up like your favourite film character or actor?

Almost every day. I wouldn’t leave the house without my bow and arrow and green, felt, triangular hat.

Who was your first film star crush?

“Andy” from the Goonies (let’s clarify, Andy was actually a girl).

What film should all children watch growing up?

Has to be ET. Even today, I still have to leave the room before the end for fear of crying.

Which film made you want to have special powers?

Don’t think I ever wanted special powers as a child, but I did want my own Unicorn friends thanks to Legend. Still do, actually.

Which special effects blew you away?

Jurassic Park was probably the first film when I was aware of how amazing special effects could be (which is odd, as I’d seen Star Wars, Star Trek and a lot of effect films before that).

Did you ever dress up like your favourite film character or actor?

Okay, slightly embarrassing, but I did have a major obsession with Labyrinth, and wanted a shirt and waistcoat just like Jennifer Connelly. And, in fact, did dress like that for about a year.

Who was your first film star crush?

Kiefer Sutherland, after I watched Young Guns 2 at about ten-years-old. He’s a bit more grizzled now and he doesn’t have the lovely floppy hair, but he’ll always have a special place in my heart.

What film should all children watch growing up?

Spirited Away, Dark Crystal, Star Wars (original), Indiana Jones (first three only), and all the Toy Story films. That’s a good basis for weird dreams and lessons about being yourself. And how to take down an evil empire or rob a tomb; all vital things for children to know.

What was the first film you watched at the cinema?

It was The Fox And The Hound. I have no memories of that event at all, but do remember vividly my second visit to the cinema when I saw ET. I cried.

Which film made you want to have special powers?

Superman. I was desperate to be able to fly and, like all boys in the early 80s, I used to run around the playground with my Parka trailing behind me like a cape.

Did you ever dress up like your favourite film character or actor?

I never dressed up, but I did demand a skateboard for Christmas in 1985 when I was obsessed with Back to the Future and skitched behind a milk float. Living the dream!

Who was your first film star crush?

I definitely had a thing for Elizabeth Shue from Karate Kid for a while.

Which film did you secretly watch when you were little, knowing it was strictly for ‘grown ups’?

My friend videoed Porky’s, which we thought was the greatest thing we’d ever seen! Very, erm, educational.