It's hard to believe, but summer is winding down -- at least for children and teens with school starting in roughly a month.
How to spend the last of this dwindling family time, safe from the sultry summer? With a good film.
While the summer movie season for families is still going strong at the theater, with Ice Age: Collision Course opening July 22, this time of year also is for planning family movie nights -- indoors, in a dim room, with the whole family and a few bowls of popcorn.
Thousands of options for family movies are available via cable, streaming, DVDs, on demand or rental. How to narrow such an immense list? By focusing on -- and hopefully revisiting -- some of the top blockbusters of summers past for family members of all ages.
Here are 14 family films -- for audiences young to teen -- that were big winners at the summer box office (based on domestic grosses from Box Office Mojo for the film's initial run):
Inside Out (PG)
(released June 19, 2015; $356.5 million)
The artists behind Pixar will pop up a lot on a summer-blockbusters-for-families list -- sometimes because they deserve it; sometimes because most of their films are released during the summer; other times for movies such as Cars 2.
Set in the mind of a young girl, with five emotions
-- anger, disgust, fear, joy and sadness -- guiding her through her changing life, Inside Out is a near-perfect film, from its story and its animation to its execution. The voices include Amy Poehler as Joy, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, Lewis Black as Anger, Bill Hader as Fear and Mindy Kaling as Disgust.
Toy Story 3 (G)
(released June 18, 2010; $415 million)
OK, we promise this won't be a list of Pixar movies, but no family friendly film list is complete without this classic, one of only three animated movies to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture (along with Beauty and the Beast and Up).
The third installment in the series was the first to be released in the summer (the first two received November releases), and the gang -- Sheriff Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie and others -- returned for another heartfelt comedy-drama. This time Andy's toys find themselves squaring off against Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear, a stuffed animal with a heart of evil.
Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith (PG-13)
(released May 19, 2005; $380.3 million)
George Lucas' prequel trilogy to the original Star Wars films -- 1999's The Phantom Menace, 2002's Attack of the Clones and this movie -- made millions and were generally well-received by critics, but the movies have not held up over the years. And rightfully so, as The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones are mediocre movies at best.
Revenge of the Sith, on the other hand, is a great movie. Yes, great. Oh, the dialogue is stilted at times -- "If you're not with me, then you're my enemy," Anakin Skywalker tells Obi-Wan Kenobi -- but that's Lucas for you.
The plots here -- the ongoing Clone Wars, Anakin torn between Palpatine and the Jedis -- all converge into an epic lightsaber battle between Skywalker and Kenobi, and Star Wars fans get to see the birth of Darth Vader. (Vader's "Noooooo!" yelp was a little over the top, though.)
Men in Black (PG-13)
(released July 2, 1997; $250.7 million)
As a cinematographer, Barry Sonnenfeld learned from two of the best in brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, and his first few movies as a director reflect the Coens' artful talents for combining several disjointed genres into a cinematic whole.
With this release, Sonnenfeld twisted the science fiction genre with some buddy cop bantering and a manic spark of action and suspense as Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) and Jay (Will Smith) fight against an alien invasion.
The Lion King (G)
(released June 15, 1994; $312.9 million)
Walt Disney Pictures had created several animated classics up until the summer of 1994, starting with 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. And the company had recently begun a renaissance with the release of 1989's The Little Mermaid, 1991's Beauty and the Beast and 1992's Aladdin.
As great as those films are, the response to this animated musical telling the story of young lion Simba was astounding, with the film becoming the second highest-grossing film of all time for a bit.
Even 22 years later, this animated classic is still perfect.
Batman (PG-13)
(released June 23, 1989; $251.2 million)
1989 was a great year for summer blockbusters that are family friendly. Besides Batman, that summer also included Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (released May 24 and earning $197.2 million) and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (released June 23 and earning $130.7 million).
Tim Burton's Batman -- in contrast to Christopher Nolan's dark trilogy -- is a shot of sheer joy. It's a little dark (OK, really dark at times, such as when a young Bruce Wayne watches his parents get murdered), but watching Jack Nicholson as The Joker and Michael Keaton as Batman duke it out for Gotham City is a grand two-hour distraction for any family.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (PG)
(released June 24, 1988; $156.5 million)
It's worth remembering that this film's use of live action with animation was considered groundbreaking in 1988.
But it's more than an artistic statement. Director Robert Zemeckis (he also guided Back to the Future, which is next on this list, along with its sequels and Forrest Gump) finds the heart in the craftsmanship -- with the help of actors Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd and lively cartoon characters -- and delivers a touching, hilarious romp.
Back to the Future (PG)
(released July 3, 1985; $210.6 million)
Robert Zemeckis is a gifted director who perhaps is overlooked when it comes to talk of great directors. (He's stumbled some, but his latest, 2015's The Walk, is fine filmmaking.)
Back to the Future is one of his best, and not just because this 1985 summer blockbuster features Huey Lewis and the News' "The Power of Love." Or an awesome Toyota 4X4 truck. Or Michael J. Fox at his smug best.
No, those are all reasons why this movie is so much fun, but there are too many other reasons to list here. OK, Christopher Lloyd as Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown is another reason this film works so well.
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (PG)
(released June 11, 1982; $359.2 million)
Do we really need to explain the appeal of this one? There are OK movies. There are good movies. There are great movies. Then there are films such as E.T., a summer blockbuster that belongs in the pantheon of greatest movies ever made.
Plus, this delightful story of a boy and his alien is directed by Steven Spielberg, the man who could claim the title of the King of Summer Moviemaking if he wanted to.
Raiders of the Lost Ark (PG)
(released June 12, 1981; $212.2 million)
Steven Spielberg returns to this list with another great cinematic work that rivals the greats of all time.
As great as Harrison Ford was as Han Solo in the Star Wars films, his best role is Indiana Jones and this is the best of the Indiana Jones movies. Action, adventure, fantasy, romance, drama, comedy, history, horror, thriller, war -- Raiders of the Lost Ark hits all the marks but never feels overstuffed.
And that dialogue! "It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage." "I don't know, I'm making this up as I go!" "Please, sit down before you fall down."
Grease (PG)
(released June 16, 1978; $160 million)
Here's the "high concept" for this musical: Two lovers from different cliques at a 1950s high school fall in love, fall out of love and fall back in love. And all this romance and heartbreak revolves around their friends -- who have their own problems and triumphs -- and is set to music, including "Summer Nights" and "You're the One That I Want."
Toss in John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.
It's easy seeing why this movie was a hit.
Star Wars (PG)
(released May 25, 1977; $307.3 million)
Later retitled Star Wars: Episode IV -- A New Hope, the first installment of George Lucas' space opera is -- along with Jaws -- credited with giving rise to the idea of the summer movie blockbuster.
But works of art such as Star Wars -- yes, a work of art -- shows there are grades of summer blockbuster moviemaking. Some can be really transcendent; some can be made by Michael Bay.
Oh, the dialogue might be awkward -- Lucas! -- but Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia battling against the Empire is the perfect movie for the entire family.
Mary Poppins (G)
(released Aug. 27, 1964; $31 million)
Sure, we're dropping back to a time before the phrase "summer blockbuster," but what's a list like this without some old-school choices?
This loose adaptation of P.L. Travers' book series is a classic -- with 13 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture (it won five, including Julie Andrews as best actress) -- and thought to be Walt Disney's highest achievement.
Lady and the Tramp (G)
(released June 22, 1955; $36.4 million)
From Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to this year's Zootopia, Walt Disney Animation Studios has long ruled the family movie landscape no matter the season. (And this isn't even mentioning Pixar being a subsidiary of Disney since 2006 or the two studios' long relationship beforehand.)
Lady and the Tramp is one of the reasons for that kingdom.
The late, great Roger Ebert once called the first 10 or 15 minutes of this animated film "one of the greatest animated sequences that Disney ever did."
The following hour of this classic tale upholds that high praise.
Family on 07/13/2016