My daughter, in middle school, watched “Ever After” over and over. My son loved watching Veggie Tales, even into high school. We’ve all watched movies like Princess Bride, and the Goonies, and the Iron Giant – until they’ve formed part of our family vocabulary.
I grew up in the pre-video age, but watched Cinderella (Ever after anyone?) with Leslie Anne Warren ever time it was on. I can still sing a mean “In my Own Little Corner”.

I do mean EVERY time it was on –

Hi, Nell.
As a kid, I watched “The Wizard of Oz” over and over. I always had a major case of “repetition compulsion” so I read “The Chronicles of Narnia” and “The Lord of the Rings” a lot. In high school and thereafter, I watched “Casablanca” until I practically memorized the movie, and I did the same thing in my 20′s with “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
“Star Wars,” and “The Empire Strikes Back,” of course, like everyone in my generation. For some reason, I can watch “Titanic” and “The Fugitive” over and over. Not that they are great movies, but they are really fun and strike a chord.
As I’ve matured (maybe) I have less repetition compulsion mostly because, I think, there are so many good movies, books, etc., and not enough time to keep viewing or reading the same ones. And it is important to make mental space for new ideas and new experiences.
Happy weekend!

Great choices, Pam and Alicia! There are still some movies I can watch every time they’re on. They’re not necessarily the best or even my favorites. They are just…watchable. And there are some movies that are yardsticks for me. I feel differently about the ending of “A Thousand Clowns” every time I see it, depending on where I am in my life. And there are some so well made I notice something new every time I watch. (And Pam, I may have you beat — I had the sheet music and played “In My Own Little Corner” on the piano when I was a kid.)

My daughter is 7 1/2 and attends a bi-lingual school. We’ve been emphasizing reading more lately, and recently watched Akeela and the Bee (story about an 11 year old girl winning a national spelling bee, against all odds, but also after she learned to accept help from others). She’s watched it at least 3 more times over the recent holiday weekend and would watch it again if it were not for school. I am excited she loved this inspirational and educational story!

My 3-year-old son watches Thomas the Tank Engine DVDs over and over again, especially Thomas and the Magic Railroad. Other movies seem to go in stages. For a while he watched Cars, then Garfield, and now he’s hooked on Stuart Little.
I’m not wild about him watching Stuart Little because of some of the language. Why do they put lines like, “That water is damn cold,” and, “What the hell’s going on here?” in a kid’s movie about a talking mouse? Maybe I can get him interested in another Pixar movie.

I always thought it was to enjoy getting to the happy ending…like in alot of movies my children and grandchildren watched over and over again..From Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman right through to Alvin and The Chipmunks…