Anyone who grew up as a kid in the ‘90s remembers sitting around the TV while their parents popped a VHS tape into the VCR (remember those?) or turned the cable/satellite TV to the proper channel or pay-per-view to check out a movie. When the kids were present, it usually meant a family-friendly movie that had appropriate content for all ages and themes meant to delight.
With that said, the ‘90s were a different time, and “appropriate” meant a different thing. Thus, while admittedly remaining popular classics to this day, some of the classic ‘90s family movies have content that hasn’t exactly aged well. Whether it’s the entire premise of the movie that would never fly in today’s landscape or a single moment or two within the story, they would raise eyebrows and probably be rewritten in some way for today’s more sensitive climate.
10
‘The Sandlot’ (1993)
Directed by David Mickey Evans
The Sandlot is one of the defining coming-of-age sports comedy movies of the 1990s. The plot centers around a group of misfit kids who concoct elaborate plans to get their baseball back from the neighbors’ yard when it ends up over the fence. There are stories about the owner, Mr. Mertle (James Earl Jones), being a mean, villainous character, his ferocious dog imagined more like a growling monster. For the most part, the movie is sweet, funny, and totally appropriate for kids, but there’s one scene that might have fans wincing.
After drooling over the beautiful lifeguard Wendy (Marley Shelton), the nerdy Michael “Squints” Palledorous (Chauncey Leopardi) does the unthinkable and jumps into the water, pretending he can’t swim so she’ll save him. She does, and while he has long regained consciousness, he winks and smiles at his friends when she isn’t looking, so she’ll continue doing CPR on him. It’s a terrible lesson about consent and doing something dangerous to get a girl. In another scene that might be considered questionable, the boys make comments about “throwing like a girl” with no one there to defend the stereotypical “boys” culture. It was a realistic portrayal of pre-teen and teen boys at the time, but the movie would probably have some tweaks for today’s audience.
9
‘Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace’ (1999)
Directed by George Lucas
It’s strange to include a movie from the Star Wars universe as one that aged poorly, but Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace easily qualifies, given that the film is effectively a parade of racist caricatures. The story is set 32 years prior to the original, looking at Qui-Gon Jinn’s (Liam Neeson) time with his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor).
Despite the tremendous box office success and the mostly positive reception, the movie has been criticized for some of the alien characters reflecting racial stereotypes. The most infamous example, the slow-witted Jar Jar Binks (Ahmed Best), has ears that look like dreadlocks and speaks with a patois-like accent. The Neimoidians, who some liken to stereotypes of East Asians, are also wildly questionable. While George Lucas has vehemently denied any conscious stereotypes, the movie would be picked apart today even more than it was back then. It remains one of the least thrilling Star Wars movies.
8
‘Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead’ (1991)
Directed by Stephen Herek
There’s so much wrong with just the premise of this movie overall, never mind specific moments within it. In Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead, Sue’s (Christina Applegate) mom (Concetta Tomei) leaves for a vacation with her boyfriend. Unconfident in trusting the 17-year-old to care for her siblings, she hires a live-in babysitter for the time she’s away. But soon after, the lovely, elderly Mrs. Sturak (Eda Reiss Merin) dies. Rather than call her mother to tell her the news, Sue decides to hide the death and try her best to get a job and care for the kids on her own.
Never mind how dangerous the situation was, but hiding the death of a woman from authorities, not to mention her family, is atrocious. That lesson in itself is an awful one to teach impressionable young kids. The moral is supposed to be about Sue learning maturity and stepping up to the plate. Yet, the decisions she makes are completely irresponsible, suggesting the exact opposite. Parents would cringe at this movie today.
7
‘Pocahontas’ (1995)
Directed by Mike Gabriel, Eric Goldberg
Pocahontas earned two Academy Award nominations, and it was groundbreaking in that it featured a strong and resilient female protagonist who is loosely based on a real-life character. But the film received criticism for its historical inaccuracies, particularly in implying that Pocahontas (Irene Bedard) and John Smith (Mel Gibson) had a romantic relationship.
Considering Pocahontas was only about 10 years old at the time, while Smith would have been in his late 20s, it’s all types of inappropriate. Combined with the racial stereotypes, Pocahontas misses the mark in a big way, as fans today might suggest. It’s one of several flawed Disney movies that should be remade with a new script. The songs are great, but the content is simply too uncomfortable to accept today.
6
‘The Waterboy’ (1998)
Directed by Frank Coraci
Adam Sandler has gotten away with some pretty ridiculous storylines in his movies, and for the most part, fans are happy to let certain things go and just enjoy the silly entertainment value. But some might say that he went too far with The Waterboy. Sandler stars in the film as Bobby Boucher, a socially awkward man in his 30s who works as a water boy for a university football team. He’s often the butt of jokes until he shows that he actually has a knack for the game and is put on the team.
At its heart, The Waterboy is a story of redemption and acceptance. But beneath the surface, it’s also implied that Bobby is atypical or neurodivergent in some way, and his differences are portrayed as being a nuisance or weakness. It perpetuates the idea that had he not been great at football, Bobby would have continued to be treated poorly by others.
5
‘Big Daddy’ (1999)
Directed by Dennis Dugan
Another Adam Sandler classic, Big Daddy was a massive box office success. It’s a story about a man coming into his own and maturing thanks to the presence of a five-year-old boy who turns up in his life. But many of the scenes are questionable, including Sonny’s (Sandler) treatment of young Julian (Dylan and Cole Sprouse). It’s mostly to reinforce the point that he was unfit to be a father, yet was trying his best.
Still, the fact that an organization would leave this young boy in the care of a strange man without verifying his identity as the father is problematic. There’s also the constant jokes against Leslie Mann’s character Corinne and her former job working at Hooters, and Rob Schneider’s potentially racist portrayal of a foreign food delivery man. The one shining light for Big Daddy is its portrayal of a gay couple, with passing yet enlightening conversations that promote acceptance at a time when coming out wasn’t as common as it is today.
4
‘Blank Check’ (1994)
Directed by Rupert Wainwright
There are red flags in just reading the synopsis of Blank Check. Preston Waters (Brian Bonsall) is an 11-year-old boy who feels inadequate because he doesn’t make money like his wealthy father and entrepreneurial siblings (as if he should when he’s just a child). One day, a car hits him while he’s riding his bike, and the driver, Carl (Miguel Ferrer), an escaped convict, writes him a signed blank check in hopes it will make Preston go away and not call the police. Cashing it in for a million bucks, Preston winds up face-to-face with the bank president Edward (Michael Lerner), who, it turns out, was in on nefarious dealings with Carl and thinks Preston is his associate.
Now on the run from Edward, who soon learns his mistake, Preston goes on a spending spree and winds up on an awkward date with a grown woman named Shay (Karen Duffy), a bank teller who is actually an FBI agent. There are so many reasons this plot is wrong and irresponsible, not to mention predatory, when Preston and Shay actually kiss.
3
‘Ace Ventura: Pet Detective’ (1994)
Directed by Tom Shadyac
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective is 1990s Jim Carrey at his finest. It’s completely silly with tons of physical humor and juvenile jokes. The plot isn’t the issue, which sees Ace (Carrey), an animal detective, tasked with locating an abducted missing dolphin mascot. It’s how the story ends that has fans feeling uneasy.
Lieutenant Lois Einhorn (Sean Young) is discovered to be the abductor. However, as it turns out, she is actually Ray Finkle, a disgraced former player who missed the game-winning kick a decade earlier and has blamed Dan Marino, who has a cameo in the movie as himself, for the fumble all these years. Ace outs Finkle in the most violating way, marking the type of treatment of a transgender character that would be chastised today.
2
‘The Parent Trap’ (1998)
Directed by Nancy Meyers
There’s no denying that The Parent Trap is one of Lindsay Lohan’s most iconic roles, especially considering she played a dual role at such a young age as two long-lost twin sisters. The premise is sweet in that these two girls meet, realize the resemblance and that both their parents are single, and put two-and-two together: They were separated in the divorce.
Never mind the idea that two “loving” parents willingly ripped twins apart to ensure they were both selfishly satisfied, as though having one of their kids was enough. The fact that both went on with their lives, never telling their kids that the other existed, or even letting them see or speak to one another, is mind-blowing. Once the film ends, it’s implied that there’s no harm, no foul, as though all the years of trauma they caused are worth sweeping under the rug.
1
‘Ladybugs’ (1992)
Directed by Sidney J. Furie
What would a selection of ‘90s family movies that aged poorly be without at least one entry involving Rodney Dangerfield, an actor who has some of the funniest improv scenes in comedy movies? In Ladybugs, he stars as Chester Lee, who lies about being a great soccer player so he can get a promotion. He ends up coaching a girls’ soccer team, but quickly realizes that most of the team are new to the sport and have no idea what they’re doing. His solution? Have Matthew (Jonathan Brandis), the son of his girlfriend, dress as a girl and play on the team under the name Martha.
The idea that a flailing girls’ soccer team needs a boy to help it, not to mention the act of a grown man forcing a young boy to dress in drag and lie so he can win, is atrocious. Further, the idea that Matthew would instantly be selfish and not a team player perpetuates stereotypes of the male need for dominance.
