THE LAST STARFIGHTER (1984). Maybe the only thing really dated about this '80s minor classic is that kids might not understand why you have to stand up somewhere not in your house and insert quarters to play video games! Other than that, boys especially - I'd say eight or nine and up, will groove to this modern fantasy where a young lad scores so well on an arcade game - sort of an Atari sword in the stone - that he is recruited into outer space to help save the good galaxies of the universe from some advancing meanies. Some terrific characters, including a gentle intergalactic conman played by the late, great Robert Preston. This was one of the first films to use C.G.I. for the space ships and such, and while the grown ups especially will notice how basic that element is the wish-fulfillment adventure of it all is timeless. And probably just as good as the intergalactic starwars going on is the situational havoc caused by the boy's doppelgänger robot double back on Earth interacting with his would-be girlfriend and family.

THE ROCKETEER (1991). Too often lost in the shuffle, this Disney-produced adaptation of the '80s cult comic book that so lovingly paid homage to the serials and pulps of the '30s and '40s, it's probably a little too kiddie-friendly by design to ever soar into the stratosphere of masterpiece, but it also makes it ideal for the pre-teen set looking for a good action movie that doesn't even have the level of bloodshed and frightening mayhem found in Raimi's SPIDER-MAN franchise. The period setting and fun with gangsters and international spies vying for the rocketpack found by a humble yet stalwart hero-to-be (Bill Campbell) who has to save the would-be love of his life (Jennifer Connelly) while learning how to operate the flying device should keep them entertained and make the adults smile throughout. A top-notch supporting cast led by Alan Arkin, Paul Sorvino and Timothy Dalton as the Errol Flynn-type Hollywood baddie raises the enjoyment level of the whole flick.

NATE & HAYES (1983). No, it doesn't have the unlimited budget, effects spectaculars or over-the-top pacing and plain visual denseness of the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN mega-blockbusters, but this PG-rated pirate adventure with the dashing thirtysomething Tommy Lee Jones as Captain Bully Hayes is still a lot of fun. Even with the pirating, kidnapping, swordplay and ships it probably has more in common with RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK than the classic Hollywood swashbucklers (CAPTAIN BLOOD, THE SEA HAWK, THE CRIMSON PIRATE). A good time to be had by all. If they're old enough to see those Johnny Depp theme park-inspired pirate flicks they can certainly take this one.

THE 5,000 FINGERS OF DR. T (1953). For those who feel Gilliam and Burton's weirdness is just too weird a might dark for the smaller tots, this oddity may be more to your liking. A live-action movie from the mind of Theodore "Dr. Seuss" Geisel - an original screenplay, not adapted from one of his beloved books. A Musical fantasy about kids not wanting to do their piano lessons with some of the ingenious rhyming Seuss wordplay concoctions plus inventive, colorful sets make for memorable fun in the WIZARD OF OZ vein.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHERIFF! (1969). I'm a huge Western fan but I know you don't start 'em off with Peckinpah, Leone, Ford and Eastwood so this charmer is a good, fun introduction to the genre for kids. Starring James Garner at his easygoing charismatic best, it's a gentle parody of Westerns minus the raunchy older ingredients found in BLAZING SADDLES, but still with plenty of laughs and slapstick to keep an eight or nine-year-old giggling and interested. Marvelous supporting cast of Western veterans including the scene-stealing Bruce Dern, Jack Elam, Harry Morgan and the hilarious Walter Brennan. A few people have mentioned CAT BALLOU and that's a good start too, but for my money SUPPORT YOU LOCAL SHERIFF! is consistently funnier. But both are better than the likes of THE CASTAWAY COWBOY (1974) or THE APPLE DUMPLING GANG (1975) which young kids may enjoy but parents will likely be bored by.

If you want to turn a slightly older kid onto the genre SHANE (1953) with the story seen through the eyes of a boy is the best of the classics, but those craving a bit more action in the eleven and up crowd should delight to BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969) and THE PROFESSIONALS (1966). I know I did.

THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1973). Of all the many, many versions of this story, Richard Lester's is by far the best and most enduring. Led by Michael York as D'Artagnan with Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain and Frank Finlay as the Musketeers and a perfect supporting cast including Faye Dunaway, Raquel Welch, Geraldine Chaplin, Christopher Lee and Chuck Heston as Cardinal Richelieu, it is endlessly fun. I was introduced to this version at ten or eleven and it was my favorite movie not containing the words "Star Wars" or "Lost Ark" for years. Lester and the entire cast are also great in the filmed-at-the-same-time sequel THE FOUR MUSKETEERS (1974), though be warned it has the darker moments of the Alexandre Dumas story. There are some moments that border on the bawdy, but they mostly have to do with Spike Milligan and others fumbling for Raquel's ample cleavage...which much to my dismay, now and then, nobody ever gets a good hold of.

The 1948 MGM version of THREE MUSKETEERS with Gene Kelly, Lana Turner, Van Heflin, Vincent Price, Keenan Wynn, Gig Young and Angela Lansbury is good and definitely preferable to the atrocious 1993 Disneyized version with Charlie Sheen, Chris O'Donnell and Kiefer Sutherland (despite the best efforts of Oliver Platt and Tim Curry), but the Dick Lester flicks from the '70s are in a class by themselves and not to be missed by anyone, ages ten to a hundred and seven.