Movies with Best Child Performances
All around the world, there are A LOT of movies with great and exceptional performances by children!
I put all genres here and most of the titles are movies with best child actresses and actors EVER: Shirley Temple, Dakota Fanning, Abigail Breslin, Pamela Franklin, Jodelle Ferland, AnnaSophia Robb, River Phoenix, Haley Joel Osment, Freddie Highmore, Brad Renfro, Lukas Haas, Macaulay Culkin etc.
My basic criteria for the list, except for the great acting, was that NOBODY hadn't more than 16 YEARS OLD when these movies were finished! I probably forgot several excellent performances by some young actors/actresses, so please give me your suggestions to make this list better.
I put the names of the child actors and/or actresses who were amazing in their roles, below every movie on the list.
P.S. Thanks to my friends Boris Tomić and Ivan Pavlović, who helped me with some movies listed here.
My other lists:
100+ Best Mind-Twisting Movies Ever Made
Best Movies with Grade BELOW 7 on IMDb
Best Teenage/High School Drama Movies Ever Made
Melissa George's Movies - from Best to Worst
Movies That I Own on Original DVD's
My Favorite Directors
I put all genres here and most of the titles are movies with best child actresses and actors EVER: Shirley Temple, Dakota Fanning, Abigail Breslin, Pamela Franklin, Jodelle Ferland, AnnaSophia Robb, River Phoenix, Haley Joel Osment, Freddie Highmore, Brad Renfro, Lukas Haas, Macaulay Culkin etc.
My basic criteria for the list, except for the great acting, was that NOBODY hadn't more than 16 YEARS OLD when these movies were finished! I probably forgot several excellent performances by some young actors/actresses, so please give me your suggestions to make this list better.
I put the names of the child actors and/or actresses who were amazing in their roles, below every movie on the list.
P.S. Thanks to my friends Boris Tomić and Ivan Pavlović, who helped me with some movies listed here.
My other lists:
100+ Best Mind-Twisting Movies Ever Made
Best Movies with Grade BELOW 7 on IMDb
Best Teenage/High School Drama Movies Ever Made
Melissa George's Movies - from Best to Worst
Movies That I Own on Original DVD's
My Favorite Directors
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- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsJean-Pierre LéaudAlbert RémyClaire MaurierA young boy, left without attention, delves into a life of petty crime.
- DirectorEmile ArdolinoStarsTom SelleckSteve GuttenbergTed DansonThree ex-dads quickly discover how empty life is without their little lady, and go to outrageous lengths in their efforts to win their daughter back in this critically acclaimed and equally charming sequel.
- DirectorJames MangoldStarsRussell CroweChristian BaleBen FosterA small-time rancher agrees to hold a captured outlaw who's awaiting a train to go to court in Yuma. A battle of wills ensues as the outlaw tries to psych out the rancher.
- DirectorRick BieberStarsRyan MerrimanAndie MacDowellAidan QuinnDriven by the tragic and fatal car crash that took the life of his fifteen year old brother Luke, and wearing Luke's number 5 jersey, Jon Abbate helps to lead the Wake Forest Demon Deacons to the most successful season in school history.
- DirectorDaniel GrouStarsClaude LegaultRobert NaylorEugénie BeaudryTommy, 10 years old, is well known by Social Services. He is considered a danger to society. Gilles, his guardian at this halfway house, sees potential for redemption in this kid driven by violence.
- DirectorMichael CuestaStarsConor DonovanJesse CamachoZoe WeizenbaumAfter his twin brother is accidentally killed by vengeful bullies, a 12-year old boy and his friends face the harsh realities of death, teenage hormones, and family dysfunction.
- DirectorKieth MerrillStarsJordan-Claire GreenTom KempSusan WoodA girl who uses dogs to teach people about the true meaning of Christmas during the Depression.
- DirectorCorbin BernsenStarsNathan GambleTimothy OmundsonMaureen FlanniganThe story of an 11-year-old boy whose derby dreams are left in pieces when his soldier father is killed in Afghanistan. The boy teams up with a father figure whose own son, a firefighter, died in the line of duty, and the two help each other find redemption and revive the derby.
- DirectorMarc WebbStarsZooey DeschanelJoseph Gordon-LevittGeoffrey ArendAfter being dumped by the girl he believes to be his soulmate, hopeless romantic Tom Hansen reflects on their relationship to try and figure out where things went wrong and how he can win her back.
- DirectorMikael HåfströmStarsJohn CusackSamuel L. JacksonMary McCormackA man who specialises in debunking paranormal occurrences checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. Soon after settling in, he confronts genuine terror.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHaley Joel OsmentJude LawFrances O'ConnorA highly advanced robotic boy longs to become "real" so that he can regain the love of his human mother.
- DirectorChris WeitzPaul WeitzStarsHugh GrantNicholas HoultToni ColletteWill, who attends single parent meetings to woo women, meets Marcus, a troubled 12-year-old boy. As they become friends, Will learns to be responsible while he helps Marcus with his studies.
- DirectorTimur BekmambetovStarsBenjamin WalkerRufus SewellDominic CooperAbraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, discovers vampires are planning to take over the United States. He makes it his mission to eliminate them.
- DirectorSteve PinkStarsJustin LongJonah HillBlake LivelyA high school slacker who's rejected by every school he applies to opts to create his own institution of higher learning, the South Harmon Institute of Technology, on a rundown piece of property near his hometown.
- DirectorBarry SonnenfeldStarsAnjelica HustonRaul JuliaChristopher LloydCon artists plan to fleece an eccentric family using an accomplice who claims to be their long-lost uncle.
- DirectorBarry SonnenfeldStarsAnjelica HustonRaul JuliaChristopher LloydThe Addams Family try to rescue their beloved Uncle Fester from his gold-digging new love, a black widow named Debbie.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJohn NevilleEric IdleSarah PolleyAn account of Baron Munchausen's supposed travels and fantastical experiences across late 18th-century Europe with his band of misfits.
- DirectorW.D. RichterStarsPeter WellerJohn LithgowEllen BarkinAdventurer, brain surgeon, rock musician Buckaroo Banzai and his crime-fighting team, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, must stop evil alien invaders from the eighth dimension who are planning to conquer Earth.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsTony RandallEddie HodgesArchie MooreMark Twain's 1851 story about two runaway friends, a fostered white boy and an escaped black slave, who sailed on a raft down the Mississippi River in search of freedom and adventure.
- DirectorChris ColumbusStarsElisabeth ShueMaia BrewtonKeith CooganA babysitter must battle her way through the big city after being stranded there with the kids she's looking after.
- DirectorPaul SchraderStarsNick NolteSissy SpacekJames CoburnA deeply troubled small-town cop investigates a suspicious hunting death while other events jeopardize his sanity.
- DirectorAgnieszka Wojtowicz-VoslooStarsChristina RicciLiam NeesonJustin LongAfter a car accident, a young woman caught between life and death meets a funeral director who claims to have the gift of transitioning the dead into the afterlife.
- DirectorCharlotte WellsStarsPaul MescalFrankie CorioCelia Rowlson-HallSophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier. Memories real and imagined fill the gaps between as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the man she didn't...
- DirectorXiaogang FengStarsDaoming ChenChen LiYi LuThe epic story of a family separated as a result of the Great Tangshan Earthquake of 1976.
- DirectorCharles Martin SmithStarsMichael JeterKevin ZegersWendy MakkenaAn unexpected player joins the school basketball team - a circus dog who escaped from a cruel master.
- DirectorRichard MartinStarsKevin ZegersCynthia StevensonTim ConwayStory of a golden retriever who can play football.
- DirectorJim AbrahamsDavid ZuckerJerry ZuckerStarsRobert HaysJulie HagertyLeslie NielsenAfter the crew becomes sick with food poisoning, a neurotic ex-fighter pilot must safely land a commercial airplane full of passengers.
- DirectorDoug AtchisonStarsAngela BassettLaurence FishburneKeke PalmerAkeelah, a young gifted girl, comes from a dysfunctional family and is on the verge of quitting school. She discovers that she has a high aptitude for spellings and enters a spelling bee contest.
- DirectorTim McCanliesStarsJimmy BennettGabriel BassoUriah SheltonAfter the unexpected death of his survivalist father, an eleven-year-old boy raised in the Alabama wilderness must learn how to make a home in the modern world.
- DirectorSterling Van WagenenStarsLukas HaasVanessa ZaouiMichael GrossSet in the forties. A young Jewish boy is called on by his parents to help a young girl come out of her shell, imposed after she watched her father die at the hands of the Nazis.
- DirectorScandar CoptiYaron ShaniStarsFouad HabashNisrin SiksikElias SabaAjami is the religiously mixed community of Muslims and Christians in Tel Aviv. These are five stories about the everyday life in Ajami.
- DirectorJuanma Bajo UlloaStarsSilvia MuntTito ValverdeSusana García DíezThe bitter life of a girl whose mother wants a boy.
- DirectorGeoffrey SaxStarsAlex PettyferMickey RourkeSophie OkonedoAfter the death of his uncle, the 14-year-old schoolboy Alex Rider is forced by the Special Operations Division of the UK's secret intelligence service, MI6, into a mission which will save millions of lives.
- DirectorFraser C. HestonStarsThora BirchVincent KartheiserDirk BenedictWhile searching for their missing father in the mountains of Alaska, two siblings come across a baby polar bear on the run from a pair of poachers.
- DirectorNabil AyouchStarsMounïm KbabMustapha HansaliHicham MoussouneA group of children living on the street leave their gang, prompting retribution from the gang's leader. After one of the children dies, the rest try to come up with the resources to give their friend a proper burial.
- DirectorJan SvankmajerStarsKristýna KohoutováCamilla PowerA surrealistic revision of Alice in Wonderland.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsEllen BurstynKris KristoffersonMia BendixsenA recently widowed woman is on the road with her precocious young son, determined to make a new life for herself as a singer.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsSigourney WeaverMichael BiehnCarrie HennDecades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.
- DirectorRobert LiebermanStarsHarley Jane KozakJamey SheridanEthan EmbryA brother and sister attempt to bring their divorced parents back together for Christmas.
- DirectorAllen ReisnerStarsGlynis JohnsCameron MitchellRex ThompsonAn immigrant family in 1850's Wisconsin prospers until tragedy strikes.
- DirectorMike NewellStarsJamie Lee CurtisGregory PeckDean AlexanderA little league player named Chuck refuses to ever pitch again until nuclear weapons are disarmed. Basketball star "Amazing Grace" Smith follows the boy's example, and starts a trend.
- DirectorChristopher CainStarsStephen LangRyan SlaterYi DingA young American boy visiting China helps his zoologist father rescue a panda cub from unscrupulous poachers while its reserve is threatened with closure from officious bureaucrats.
- DirectorMira NairStarsHilary SwankRichard GereEwan McGregorA look at the life of legendary American pilot Amelia Earhart, who disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 in an attempt to make a flight around the world.
- DirectorMartin BellStarsJeff BridgesEdward FurlongJohn BoylanAn ex-convict is tracked down by his estranged teenage son, and the pair try to build a relationship and life together in Seattle.
- DirectorÉva GárdosStarsNastassja KinskiScarlett JohanssonRaffaella BánságiA young Hungarian girl struggles to find her place in the world when she's reunited with her parents in the USA years after she was left behind during their flight from the communist country in the 1950s.
- DirectorVincent McEveetyStarsJenny AgutterBarry NewmanKathleen NolanA woman leaves her husband after the death of her child to teach deaf children how to speak. Her own child was deaf and although she has no formal training she successfully teaches one boy.
- DirectorNadia TassStarsAlana De RomaRachel GriffithsBen MendelsohnAmy is a story of a young girl who witnesses her dad's death on stage at a rock concert. She becomes mentally mute/deaf after this, and 4 years later discovers she can communicate only by singing.
- DirectorHarold RamisStarsRobert De NiroBilly CrystalLisa KudrowA comedy about a psychiatrist whose number-one patient is an insecure mob boss.
- DirectorTony CooksonStarsJoshua John MillerEdan GrossMarcia StrassmanTwo inventor brothers create a working robot that is also inhabited by the spirit of their dead father.
- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsTina MajorinoKeith CarradineChelsea FieldThe true story of how a seal named Andre befriended a little girl named Toni and her family in 1962.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsEmily WatsonRobert CarlyleJoe BreenAn Irish Catholic family returns to 1930s Limerick after a child's death in America. The unemployed I.R.A. veteran father struggles with poverty, prejudice and alcoholism as the family endures harsh slum conditions.
- DirectorWilliam DearStarsDanny GloverBrenda FrickerTony DanzaWhen a boy prays for a chance to have a family if the California Angels win the pennant, angels are assigned to make that possible.
- DirectorPeter SegalStarsJack NicholsonAdam SandlerMarisa TomeiDave Buznik is a businessman who is wrongly sentenced to an anger management program, where he meets an aggressive instructor.
- DirectorPatrick Read JohnsonStarsCharlie TalbertGeorge C. ScottKathy BatesA miserable fat teenager secretly has a crush on the class beauty, ends up becoming the surprising participant to dance with her at a high school dance, meaning he's got to get his act together with the help of his best friend.
- DirectorRobert WiemerStarsDina MerrillMartha ByrneMark PattonAnna Hart is one of a series of clones created to uncover the secrets of Anna Zimmerman, who was close to conquering world hunger when she died years ago.
- DirectorDavid F. SandbergStarsAnthony LaPagliaSamara LeeMiranda OttoTwelve years after the tragic death of their little girl, a doll-maker and his wife welcome a nun and several girls from a shuttered orphanage into their home, where they become the target of the doll-maker's possessed creation, Annabelle.
- DirectorAndy TennantStarsJodie FosterChow Yun-FatBai LingThe story of the romance between the King of Siam and widowed British schoolteacher, Anna Leonowens, during the 1860s.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsAileen QuinnAlbert FinneyCarol BurnettA spunky young orphan is taken in by a rich eccentric, much to the chagrin of the cantankerous woman who runs the orphanage.
- DirectorDenzel WashingtonStarsDenzel WashingtonDerek LukeJoy BryantAntwone Fisher, a young navy man, is forced to see a psychiatrist after a violent outburst against a fellow crewman. During the course of treatment a painful past is revealed and a new hope begins.
- DirectorBryan SingerStarsIan McKellenBrad RenfroJoshua JacksonA boy blackmails his neighbor after suspecting him to be a Nazi war criminal.
- DirectorElizabeth Allen RosenbaumStarsEmma RobertsJoJoSara PaxtonTwo teenage girls discover a mermaid in their beach club's swimming pool.
- DirectorFrank MarshallStarsJeff DanielsJulian SandsJohn GoodmanA new species of South American killer spider hitches a lift to a small California town in a coffin and starts to breed, leaving a trail of deaths that puzzle and terrify the young doctor newly arrived in town with his family.
- DirectorBrian LevantStarsIce CubeNia LongAleisha AllenTo impress a foxy divorcee, ladies' man Nick offers to take her kids on an extended road trip, unaware of the torture he's in for.
- DirectorJoey TravoltaStarsGemini BarnettBrent BlairChristy BlairTwo brothers learn about life and grow up during a summer camp vacation.
- DirectorLuc BessonStarsFreddie HighmoreMia FarrowMadonnaTen-year-old Arthur, in a bid to save his grandfather's house from being demolished, goes looking for some much-fabled hidden treasure in the land of the Minimoys, tiny people living in harmony with nature.
- DirectorJoe WrightStarsKeira KnightleyJames McAvoyBrenda BlethynThirteen-year-old fledgling writer Briony Tallis irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsAnthony HopkinsMarsha MasonJohn BeckA stranger attempts to convince a happily married couple that their daughter is actually his daughter reincarnated.
- DirectorKirsten SheridanStarsFreddie HighmoreKeri RussellJonathan Rhys MeyersA musically gifted orphan, Evan, runs away from his orphanage and searches New York City for his birth parents. On his journey, he's taken under the wing of the Wizard, a homeless man who lives in an abandoned theater.
- DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsNicole KidmanHugh JackmanShea AdamsIn 1939, an Englishwoman inherits a sprawling ranch in northern Australia and reluctantly makes a pact with a stockman to drive 2000 head of cattle over unforgiving landscape.
- DirectorJennifer KentStarsEssie DavisNoah WisemanDaniel HenshallA single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book titled "Mister Babadook" manifests in their home.
- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsAidan QuinnElizabeth PerkinsLeo FuchsA Polish-Jewish family comes to the U.S. at the beginning of the twentieth century. There, the family and their children try to make themselves a better future in the so-called promised land.
- DirectorArthur HillerStarsJohn GoodmanKelly McGillisTrini AlvaradoBabe Ruth becomes a baseball legend but is unheroic to those who know him.
- DirectorAlejandro G. IñárrituStarsBrad PittCate BlanchettGael García BernalTragedy strikes a married couple on vacation in the Moroccan desert, which jump starts an interlocking story involving four different families.
- DirectorMelanie MayronStarsSchuyler FiskBre BlairRachael Leigh CookSeven junior-high-school girls organize a daycare camp for children while at the same time experiencing classic adolescent growing pains.
- DirectorLars JacobsonAmardeep KalekaStarsColleen PorchAiden KershRidge CanipeOn a secluded family farm, a mother suffers a psychotic break due to postpartum depression, forcing the eldest son to protect his siblings from the mother they have always known and loved.
- DirectorHarry LachmanStarsShirley TempleJames DunnClaire TrevorEddie Ellison is an ex-con who spent time in Sing-Sing prison. Kay marries him as soon as he serves his time. Five years later, Eddie and his ex-convict buddy Larry, have both gone straight, and Eddie and Kay have a beautiful little daughter named Shirley. However, Welch has kept a close eye on them for years. He believes in "once a criminal, always a criminal." When Eddie's employer's wife's pearls go missing, it comes out that Eddie and Larry both spent time in prison, and they're fired. Welch suspects that Eddie and Larry have something to do with the theft of the pearls. Will Welch prove that Eddie and Larry had something to do with the theft, or will the truth prevail?
- DirectorVictoria HochbergStarsDenis LearyElizabeth HurleyNiCole RobinsonTo inherit a million dollars, an egotistical man must find the women he's betrayed and convince them to forgive him.
- DirectorRosario Garcia-MonteroStarsFatima BuntinxKaterina D'OnofrioMelchor GorrocháteguiA young girl convinces herself that she will die on the same day that her brother will be born.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsNancy KellyPatty McCormackGage ClarkeRhoda Penmark seems like your average, sweet eight-year-old girl. After her rival at school dies in mysterious circumstances at the school picnic, her mother starts to suspect that Rhoda was responsible.
- DirectorJake KasdanStarsCameron DiazJason SegelJustin TimberlakeA lazy, incompetent middle school teacher who hates her job, her students, and her co-workers is forced to return to teaching to make enough money for breast implants after her wealthy fiancé dumps her.
- DirectorCarsten UngerStarsMartina GedeckMarkus KrojerAntonia LingemannNine-year-old Nikolas has been missing for days. Criminal psychologist Claudia notices contradictions in her conversation with the parents of the missing child, in particular Nikolas' mother, who appears to be hiding something.
- DirectorCary Joji FukunagaStarsAbraham AttahEmmanuel AffadziRicky AdelayitorA drama based on the experiences of Agu, a child soldier fighting in the civil war of an unnamed African country.
- DirectorRyu Seung-wanStarsHwang Jung-minSo Ji-seobSong Joong-kiDuring the Japanese colonial era, roughly 400 Korean people, who were forced onto Battleship Island ("Hashima Island") to mine for coal, attempt to a dramatic escape.
- DirectorNobuhiro DoiStarsYûko TakeuchiShidô NakamuraAkashi TakeiA young woman returns from the dead to her guilt-ridden husband and son, but she cannot remember them.
- DirectorBrian CranoStarsJason RitterJake SandvigChandler CanterburyBen and Alan, two misfit best friends incapable of growing up, find direction for their lives by taking in an abandoned child and creating the family they've always needed.
- DirectorBenh ZeitlinStarsQuvenzhané WallisDwight HenryLevy EasterlyFaced with both her hot-tempered father's fading health and melting ice-caps that flood her ramshackle bayou community and unleash ancient aurochs, six-year-old Hushpuppy must learn the ways of courage and love.
- DirectorGarry MarshallStarsBette MidlerBarbara HersheyJohn HeardA privileged rich debutante and a cynical struggling entertainer share a turbulent, but strong childhood friendship over the years.
- DirectorDon CoscarelliStarsMarc SingerTanya RobertsRip TornA sword-and-sorcery fantasy about a young man's search for revenge. Armed with supernatural powers, the handsome hero and his animal allies wage war against marauding forces.
- DirectorSally FieldStarsMinnie DriverHallie EisenbergJoey Lauren AdamsMona sacrifices everything, including family, in pursuit of a beauty pageant victory. Her friend Ruby helps her to an amazing degree.
- DirectorBertrand BlierStarsPatrick DewaereAriel BesseMaurice RonetAfter her mother dies, fourteen-year-old Marion falls in love with her stepfather, Remy.
- DirectorDavid HicksonStarsJunior SingoOwen SejakeMary TwalaYoung Musa is orphaned after a mysterious illness strikes his village in KwaZulu Natal. To help his grandmother, Musa sets out for Johannesburg with his father's last gift, a tribal drum, in search of work and his uncle. The journey confronts him with the stark realities of urban life, but his indomitable spirit never wavers; he returns with a truth and understanding his elders have failed to grasp.
- DirectorJodie FosterStarsMel GibsonJodie FosterAnton YelchinA troubled husband and executive adopts a beaver hand-puppet as his sole means of communication.
- DirectorWayne WangStarsAnnaSophia RobbJeff DanielsEva Marie SaintA mischievous dog befriends a lonely young girl in a new town and helps her make new friends.
- DirectorCheol-soo JangStarsSeo Yeong-hieJi Seong-wonMin-ho HwangA woman subject to mental, physical and sexual abuse on a remote island seeks a way out.
- DirectorShawn ChristensenStarsShawn ChristensenFatima PtacekEmmy RossumAt the lowest point of his life, Richie gets a call from his estranged sister, asking him to look after his 11-year old niece Sophia for a few hours.
- DirectorAdam ShankmanStarsAdam SandlerKeri RussellCourteney CoxA hotel handyman's life changes when the lavish bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew start to magically come true.
- DirectorJohn SchlesingerStarsMartin SheenHelen ShaverHarley CrossCal Jamison, a police psychologist, is forced to deal with a series of ritualistic murders and a malevolent cult.
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsJude HillLewis McAskieCaitríona BalfeA young boy and his working-class Belfast family experience the tumultuous late 1960s.
- DirectorNicolas VanierStarsFélix BossuetTchéky KaryoMargaux ChatelierA six-year-old boy and his dog look to foil a Nazi effort to capture French Resistance fighters.
- DirectorChris WeitzStarsDemián BichirJosé JuliánEddie 'Piolin' SoteloA gardener in East L.A. struggles to keep his son away from gangs and immigration agents while trying to give his son the opportunities he never had.