Smash hit

Legally Blonde

(Robert Luketic, 2001)

Suitable for all ages

Appeals to everyone who loves Elle Woods! She wears pink, she has a little chihuahua, she is dismissed as ditsy and proves all her naysayers wrong because not only does she have a big heart and a big brain, but she knows all about the science of hair dye, which proves crucial. In this modern fairytale, Elle learns that the smoothest guys are often the worst. Honesty, hard work and a good heart see her through. Be different like our heroine and the squares and snobs will eventually follow. TT

Cinema Paradiso

(Giuseppe Tornatore, 1988)

Suitable for all ages

This story of a famous film-maker who returns to the dusty Sicilian village where he grew up is drenched in bittersweet nostalgia. The Second World War is the ominous backdrop. But the friendship between the gruff local film projectionist, Alfredo (Philippe Noiret) and the cheeky urchin, Salvatore (Alvatore Cascio) illuminates the magical spell that cinema casts on an impressionable child. How it transports Salvatore, first as a boy, then a man, into a world of dreams, explores the elemental appeal of cinema itself. JAMES CHRISTOPHER

101 Dalmatians

(Wolfgang Reitherman, Hamilton Luske,

Clyde Geronimi, 1961) Suitable for all ages

The Disney original of Dodie Smith's tale is a fabulous animated adventure starring the greatest vamp in cartoon history. Cruella De Vil terrified the living daylights out of children: the leering queen of furs, plotting to skin Dalmatian puppies to make a coat, was a surprisingly prescient lesson in the horrors of the fur trade and the importance of family. JC

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