Ask HN: Science fiction movies that are appropriate for 12 year olds?

[tarunupaday]

So, my older son is almost 12, and while he reads a good amount of science fiction (Three-Body Problem, Asimov, Project Hail Mary etc.) - he does not enjoy Science Fiction movies as much.

He found 2001: space odyssey kind of slow and tedious, and I have not introduced him to The Matrix etc., as I think it has some strong adult language and themes.

However, I would like him to be introduced to a world of movies beyond Star Wars and the Marvel Universe. What are some well-made science fiction movies appropriate for 12-year-olds?

[gonehome]

Arrival - best science fiction movie in recent memory (maybe ever?)

Ex Machina - also great.

Her - different style, but still very good (also with recent LLM developments maybe closer than we think).

The Martian (not as good, but entertaining)

Also I know parents have their preferences, but 12 seems old enough for any of this (if they’re reading Asimov)

I was disappointed in interstellar (but it is a beautiful movie) just dumb in a lot of ways and the “but what above love” subplot really annoyed me.

I’d give gravity an honorable mention. The director’s other movie Children of Men is one of my favorites but doesn’t really qualify as scifi.

For shows, the expanse is probably the best recent thing.

I’m not sure if Super8 qualifies, but I think that’s a generally underrated movie.

Arrival and Children of men are also both in the rare category where the film is better than the source material.

I also forgot about district 9 which I haven’t seen in years, but remember being good.

[ahoho]

I think that if OP finds The Matrix too adult, Ex Machina is even less appropriate.

Her is a good recommendation but I struggle to imagine a 12 year old identifying well with alienated-middle-aged-man-malaise ;) (although I loved Lost in Translation at 14 or so)

Arrival is a great recommendation. I had some quibbles with its science, but it’s good Sci Fi. Then he can introduce him to Ted Chiang’s other writing

[js2]

Not sure about Ex Machina for a 12 y/o:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470752/parentalguide

I also seem to recall that Her was thematically aimed at adults.

[emedchill]

Ex Machina is rated R. It's a great movie but the language, nudity, and sexual content might not be appropriate for a 12 year old.

[throwawaysalome]

Your 12yo will look at Asian chicks a lot differently after Ex Machina.

[kgodey]

I haven't seen these mentioned yet: Galaxy Quest, The Fifth Element, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Oblivion, Tron: Legacy, Mission to Mars, Pacific Rim, Bicentennial Man, Alita: Battle Angel (some of these may be PG-13)

Treasure Planet and Titan A.E. are also good animated movies, although Treasure Planet is more science-fantasy.

I'd also second Back to the Future, Contact, Interstellar, Gattaca, October Sky

[jackothy]

I think Tron: Legacy, Pacific Rim, and Alita: Battle Angel should all be great for any 12-year-old. High-concept (12-year-old me loved the "what if?" question), lots of action, and not too adult. Great suggestions.

I think some of the other ones like Oblivion, Contact, and Gattaca might be a bit too dry/subtle/pondering (depending on exactly how tedious he found 2001 to be).

[bawolff]

> He found 2001: space odyssey kind of slow and tedious

So do most adults. That and bladerunner are probably the two slowest sci fi movies in the canon (i love them, but they are high effort watches). Maybe literally anything else.

That said, i'd suggest trying to find out what aspect of the books he reads that he likes and go from there. We all read books for different things, and it helps to know what parts the kid likes.

Maybe the expanse tv show is a safe bet (i thought it was better than the books, but that is just me)

If he really likes the unitended technical consequences aspect of asimov, primer might be good, although the plot is very complicated. Predestination is also good.

[js2]

> That and bladerunner are probably the two slowest sci fi movies in the canon

Silent Running: hold my beer.

(I say this with love for Silent Running and Blade Runner. I find 2001 to be the hardest one to watch.)

[darksofa]

Don't know if you want to make a distinction between Science Fiction and Science Fantasy.

Forbidden Planet (1956)

Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)

The War of the Worlds (1953)

Contact (1997)

Back To The Future (1995)

Logan's Run (1976)

Soylent Green (1973)

Solaris (1972)

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

The Andromeda Strain (1971)

Tron (1982)

ET (1982)

Fantastic Voyage (1966)

Planet of the Apes (1968)

Apollo 13 (1995)

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1954)

Armageddon (1998)

The Omega Man (1971)

The Quiet Earth (1985)

WarGames (1983)

When Worlds Collide (1951)

Independence Day (1996)

Earth vs. The Flying Saucers (1956)

The Thing from Another World (1951) -- "Keep watching the skies!"

Invaders from Mars (1953)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

Rocketship X-M (1950); Osa Massen wow!

The Brain from Planet Arous (1957)

Finally two of the very best Disney comedies:

The Abscent-Minded Professor (1961); "Hey Neptune, why don't you just submerge!"

Son of Flubber (1963)

[xtiansimon]

Day the Earth Stood Still and Forbidden Planet are ‘required’. Haha. Robinson Crusoe on Mars is great.

The Black Hole is a Disney movie.

How about some TV?

Classic: Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers, need I mention, Star Trek?

Current: Lost in Space, …

(Yikes. If 2001 is slow and boring, Solaris (1972) is watching paint dry. Sheesh)

… age appropriate is difficult, ahaha. You could also try your local library, the might have DVDs of TV shows and staff usually have kids section, and classics separate.

[darkhorse13]

Contact (1997) is one of my favorite films of all time. I watched it as a teenager for the first time, so that would be my recommendation.

[gonehome]

This is one where Sagan’s book has the opposite conclusion.

In the book a team of international people are selected to go (rather than just one) and it ends with them doing science to gather evidence to prove their story (whereas the movie ends with an emotional speech about accepting her story “on faith”)

[lathiat]

Can't speak to movies but at this age I loved Star Trek Voyager. Lots of episodic episodes facing real issues/moral decisions.. insightful.

[qchris]

You could probably make this case for Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Enterprise as well. TNG and Voyager probably fall closer into the "highly-episodic" category, while DS9 and Enterprise tend to be structured around larger ongoing plot lines. I think they all have the same kind of merit as Voyager with regards to discussions about issues and moral decisions.

Depending on the 11-year-old, you might be able to make a case for Seth Macfarlane's The Orville, which can be a bit more hit-and-miss, but does have some truly excellent episodes, particularly in Season 3.

The newer Star Trek series coming out are probably too gritty if the parent is worried about age-appropriateness (I believe Picard has a TV-MA rating?) and unless you really like The Original Series, it's pretty noticeably a product of its age and I personally had trouble staying engaged by it when I was that age.

[MonkeyMalarky]

While it isn't sci-fi, it'd probably be right up their alley: October Sky.

[richajak]

Free Guy, story line is similar to Matrix, however it is a much better execution, plus it is a kids-friendly movie (no bad words, depressing topic, etc)

[jackothy]

Free Guy might work, but I would consider just saving the whole simulation concept for whenever he is old enough for The Matrix, or other AI movies such as Her and Blade Runner. Free Guy is quite lazy with the Hollywood tropes. Lazy might be fine when he hasn't seen that many movies yet, but still I would prioritize watching something "better" (many other good suggestions here).

[dahart]

> He found 2001: space odyssey kind of slow and tedious

Oh man, have you rewatched it lately? I had very fond memories of 2001, like I’m sure many people here, but I watched it again and found it slow and tedious and then some. The first act with the apes and wailing operatic singing went on forever. The stuff on the moon is forgettable. I was really surprised to find out that everything I remember about the movie, where they’re near Jupiter, starts halfway through. The ending is so weird I’d forgotten most it that too. There’s no question about 2001’s influence and place in movie history, but by today’s film standards, for kids who are used to modern film, 2001 is harder to appreciate. Or I don’t know, I looked up the critical reception and maybe it was then too… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001:_A_Space_Odyssey_(film)#R...

I have made the mistake of showing my kids films that I loved from my childhood way too many times. It has backfired and made my kids not want to watch movies with me, and most of the time they’re right and the films I loved just aren’t that good by today’s standards. My youngest is also afraid of watching space movies, especially with me, because I liked a lot of them and maybe started trying to show him when we was too young. The quality of films and shows has gone up, though, and my kids helped me see it. Once I completely stopped pushing the movies I liked, the kids started sometimes finding them on their own, but they also show me movies they live that I wouldn’t have considered. It is also surprising how often movies I like haven’t aged well in terms of social dynamics, my kids are fairly sensitive to mildly racist or sexist dialogue, and there’s more than we remember from movies made in the 70s-90s.

Sci fi movies my kids have loved: Villeneuve’s Dune, The Last Mimzy, A Wrinkle in Time (non-Disney version), Tomorrowland, Cowboy Bebop (anime), Interstellar, Arrival, FLCL, Donnie Darko, Inception, Blade Runner 2049, WarGames, Serial Experiments Lain (warning heavy death themes) … Will add more as I remember

[apecat]

There's a lot of great picks here, such as Gattaca, Man from Earth, Contact, The Matrix, Wall-E, Children of Men, The Fifth Element, 12 Monkeys. I would add Truman Show.

Depending on the individual and their patience, Primer (2004) might also be a great fit. The pace is a bid subdued but thematically, it's mind bending. I don't think it includes anything particularly awkward as an early scifi movie to watch together with your own child. I would probably start with one of the spectacles from the above picks, though.

[emedchill]

The Martian, Men in Back, Jurassic Park, Stargate, Minority Report

[tdubhro1]

Minority Report is 15+ in some places, the climactic “crime” deals with some pretty heavy themes as I recall

[jackothy]

First some that I don't see mentioned here yet:

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Limitless (2011)

Looper (2012)

Upgrade (2018)

Source Code (2011)

District 9 (2009)

Black Mirror S3E2: "Playtest", S4E1: "USS Callister"

The 7 minute YouTube video "Slaughterbots"[1]

The YouTube series The Backrooms[2]

If you are worried about your son hearing swear words and seeing blood, and not just whether or not he will be able to understand/appreciate the movie, then you probably want to wait with a couple of those.

And then I would also agree with those here that mention Inception, Interstellar, Back to the Future, The Martian, Men in Black, Minority Report, The Terminator, Terminator 2, and The Expanse. I also don't think he should have much of a problem following along with The Matrix.

[1]: https://youtu.be/O-2tpwW0kmU [2]: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVAh-MgDVqvDUEq6qDXqORBio...

[hairofadog]

This is a list of really good movies! But if OP thinks The Matrix is too spicy I think a lot of these will be too much for sure.

[kyriakos]

Edge of tomorrow has some gore scenes if I remember correctly.

[Zurrrrr]

Limitless is more fantasy than sci-fi IMO.

[ewjt]

These are all generally highly reviewed can lead to interesting discussions:

Gattaca - interesting take on genetics/DNA discrimination

Europa - hard science fiction, maybe a bit slow for a 12 year old

The Net - older movie but the concept of digital exile resonates today

City of Ember - post apocalyptic civilization that lives deep underground

First Man - dramatization of Neil Armstrong and the first moon landing (not realy "fiction")

Arrival - first contact situation, tastefully done

Contact - another first contact situation that explores how politics, skepticism, and fanaticism react

The Martian - easily as fun as the book

The Prestige - competing magicians in an industrial age setting

The Hunger Games - extreme class divide in a future setting

Jurassic Park - the original not the sequels

Stargate - wormhole travel to another planet (be careful with the TV shows though, SG1 on streaming has full frontal nudity and "not ok" scenes which were obviously not on the broadcast version and a total shock when we watched it as a family)

District 9 - has some graphic gore and language, so it might be 14+, but is an interesting look at aliens as refugees

Contagion - a look at how a pandemic could play out. Premiered before COVID.

The Maze Runner - interesting setting and look at group dynamics

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids - fun setting

The Village - scary movie with a sci fi twist

Galaxy Quest - comedy

Short Circuit - old movie that deals with AI sentience

Innerspace - another old one, but has some fun concepts

[gomijacogeo]

"2010: The Year We Make Contact" is a much more accessible movie that holds up pretty well. It also feels like a payoff after investing so much time being confused/bored by 2001.

I was 11 when "Logan's Run" came out. Yes it's kinda loaded with 70's sex tropes for the first act, but it's also equal parts goofy and a really good film.

The original "The Day The Earth Stood Still" holds up.

"A Boy and His Dog" is a bit crude here and there, but might resonate with a 12yo.

"Quatermass and the Pit" (aka "Five Million Years to Earth") is both intense and fairly tame.

A lot of old TV series hold up - Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, UFO, Space 1999, Star Trek TOS, etc all have some excellent episodes.

I absolutely love "Dark City" and "12 Monkeys" but I'm not sure they'd have held my interest at 12.

Doctor Who, both old and new are excellent. Though I'm partial to the Tom Baker era.

The Stargate franchise is pretty good.

"Moon" (2009) is a bit cerebral but a good SF story.

[tomduncalf]

Interstellar is rated 12, and I think it’s enjoyable regardless of how much of the science you understand

[hellisothers]

My 9yo has seen Interstellar 4 times and if asked will tell you it’s his favorite movie before you can finish the question. Strong recommend if OP’s kid hasn’t seen it yet.

[js2]

A lot of recency bias in the suggestions. Here's some which are older or more obscure that I enjoyed and that I wouldn't have minded showing my kids at 12.

Gattaca, Moon, Gravity, Contact, Space Camp, Andromeda Strain, the original Westworld (1973), the first two Star Trek movies, the STTNG TV series, Another Earth (2011, PG-13), The Man from Earth, Fantastic Voyage, War of the Worlds (1953), The Day the Earth Stood Still, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

[ahoho]

In its defense, I saw The Matrix at 12 or 13 and adored it because I felt like it was something more serious—-that I could appreciate it was a sign I was maturing, and I was grateful for that

Of course all kids are different. I always loved the Back to The Future movies from a young age. Moon is also harder fare while being less violent than The Matrix.

You might also enjoy watching the modern Doctor Who together? Or Star Trek?

As for more books, maybe introduce him to Hitchhikers Guide?

[veganjay]

Ghostbusters, Back to the Future

[MopMop]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Machine_(1960_film)

The Time Machine starring Rod Taylor is a charming film from Nineteen Sixty based on the HG Wells book of the same name from 1895. Might not be a bad idea for your 12 year old to read the book too, only perhaps after watching the movie.

[ryandvm]

Man From Earth. Surprisingly all three of my kids were riveted to this sci-fi bottle movie. And the youngest was 10 or so at the time.