The BFI's blockbusters

The British Film Institute has published a list of must-see movies for youngsters, from Hollywood blockbusters to an obscure Iranian epic. Here's what made it into their top 50...

A Day at the Races (1937) Marx Brothers comedy

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) Oscar-winning Sherwood Forest action

Au revoir les enfants (1987) World War II drama set in French boarding school

Back to the Future (1985) Michael J Fox's time-travelling adventure

Beauty and the Beast (1991) Disney's musical masterpiece

La Belle et la bete (1946) French telling of Beauty and the Beast

Bicycle Thieves (1948) Italian film focusing on life after World War II

Billy Elliot (2000) Working class boy who turns to ballet

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) Stephen Spielberg's sci-fi tearjerker

Edward Scissorhands (1990) Romantic tale of an uncommonly gentle man

Etre et Avoir (2002) Portrait of a French school staffed by one teacher

Finding Nemo (2003) Underwater animation

It's a Wonderful Life (1946) Frank Capra's uplifting family feature

Jason and the Argonauts (1963) Greek hero and his adventures

Kes (1969) Gritty working class British drama

The Kid (1921) Charlie Chaplin as a tramp

King Kong (1933) Giant ape thriller

Kirikou et la sorciere (1998) Animated African folk tale

Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (1953) French comedy about a holidaymaker who wreaks havoc

My Life as a Dog (1985) Swedish boy abused by his family

My Neighbour Totoro (1988) Outstanding Japanese animation

The Night of the Hunter (1955) Robert Mitchum as a serial killer in America's Deep South

Oliver Twist (1948) Charles Dickens' classic

The Outsiders (1983) Crime drama from Francis Ford Coppola

Pather Panchali (1955) Indian story of survival for a boy in Bengal

Playtime (1967) Jacques Tati in a French farce

The Princess Bride (1987) Rob Reiner directed fantastical fairytale

Les Quatre cents coups (1959) Classic French tale of a teenager turned hellraiser

Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) Aboriginal epic

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Harrison Ford goes on a perilous quest

The Railway Children (1970) Charming drama set in Victorian England

The Red Balloon (1956) French parable

Romeo & Juliet (1996) Baz Luhrmann's modern take on Shakespeare's tragedy

The Secret Garden (1993) Maggie Smith stars in the classic journey of discovery

Show Me Love (1998) Coming-of-age tale of two Swedish girls

Singin' in the Rain (1952) Gene Kelly musical

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) Classic animated fairytale

Some Like it Hot (1959) Marilyn Monroe and Tony Curtis mob film

The Spirit of the Beehive (1973) Tense drama set in post civil war Spain

Spirited Away (2001) Animated Japanese film

Star Wars (1977) George Lucas's sci-fi epic

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) Movie of the Pulitzer prize winning novel

Toy Story (1995) Buzz Lightyear and Woody brought to life by computer animation

Le Voyage dans la lune (1902) Vintage French space travel

Walkabout (1971) Children stranded in the Australian outback

Whale Rider (2002) New Zealand tale of love

Where is the Friend's House (1987) One of Iranian director Kiarostami's earlier works

Whistle Down the Wind (1961) Hayley Mills finds Jesus on a farm

The White Balloon (1995) Iranian tale

The Wizard of Oz (1939) Musical classic