I’ve shared my top ten movies of all time and today I’m sharing my top ten family movies. I have the perfect excuse to watch them with my children but to be honest I’ve never needed one and regularly picked a family film to watch long before they came along. Here are my favourites, in no particular order.

First up is E.T. the story of an impossibly adorable alien who gets stranded on earth and befriends sweet little Elliot and his big brother and little sister (a tiny impossibly cute Drew Barrymore pre troubled adolescence). It’s an absolute classic and I’ve wept many times as E.T gets discovered by the bad guys in the white hazmat suits and manages to escape to the mothership.

Inside Out. Last years Disney hit, an unusual premise in which the main characters are the different emotions inside a young girls head. This film is absolutely fantastic for teaching children about their emotions. The characters Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear and Sadness work at a control centre inside 11 year old Riley’s head. They control how she feels and manage her memories and aspects of her personality as she copes with moving to a new area with her parents.

I think this movie is particularly good for those on the autistic spectrum, and even found it helpful myself.

Toy Story, a classic Disney movie. Andy is a lucky little boy with lots of toys who pretend to be lifeless in the presence of humans. When the humans leave they come to life and have adventures. In this movie, the first in a series of four, Andy gets a new Buzz Lightyear toy for his birthday. Woody his favourite cowboy toy feels usurped by this spaceman with fancy lights and noises, then the pair end up lost, outside the safety of Andy’s house, together.

Paddington. I love an animal doing something hilarious! Whether it’s a real life cat riding a robot hoover, or an animated penguin who loves to dance, I just can’t get enough and always laugh my socks off.

Paddington is the perfect adaptation of the classic story about a bear with a passion for marmalade sandwiches who leaves Peru and ends up in London lost and alone. Add in some fabulous styling (Mrs Brown’s enviable wardrobe and the cherry blossom tree decorating the stairs of their perfect London family home), some quirky characters and brilliantly timed slapstick comedy and you get a brilliant movie. I can watch this over and over and still end up laughing out loud.

Annie. When I was a little autistic girl (but didn’t know it) in order to try to fit in I used to watch films and emulate my favourite characters. Annie was one of my favourites and I would sit in my bedroom singing ‘The Sun will come out Tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar there’ll be sun’ and ‘It’s a hard knock life’ escaping my reality and finding solace in little Annie’s plight.

Cheeky, larger than life Annie and her rags to riches story is a wonderful musical with some brilliant characters and a wonderful score.

Finding Nemo. The story of a little clownfish who gets separated from his widowed Father and has a fantastical adventure. Who doesn’t love Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres) ,who has memory issues, and her ‘just keep swimming’ song. The ridiculous AA style shark support group for sharks who have given up eating fish and the comical seagulls shouting “mine, mine, mine”.

My Neighbour Totoro. I love Studio Ghibli and this is my favourite from them. Two young girls move into a house in the country to be closer to their hospitalised Mother. They discover that the forest is inhabited by magical creatures and after befriending a friendly wood spirit they have several adventures.

Studio Ghibli have a knack for taking very serious, difficult topics and turning them into beautiful, touching movies which stand the test of time. My Neighbour Totoro still looks fantastic now and it’s nearly 30 years old.

Mary Poppins. The awesome Julie Andrews plays a magical Nanny sent to help the disjointed Banks family become a happy family. Joined by Dick Van Dyke as Mary’s friend Bert the children and their parents learn what’s important in life with Mary.

I love Mary Poppins and have watched it several times with my children who loved it too. Who can resist a round of ‘Spoonful of sugar’ or ‘Let’s go fly a kite’ after watching this classic.

Home Alone. When Kevin Mcallister’s family take a trip to Paris for Christmas eight year old Kevin gets accidentally left behind. He has to do some serious growing up as he tackles caring for himself, and thwarting a pair of dastardly burglars who are casing his neighbourhood.

My youngest son Robo Boy loves this movie. The slapstick comedy as Kevin puts the burglars through all kinds of pain have him laughing hysterically every time we watch it.

Howl’s Moving Castle. My last movie is from Studio Ghibli. Howl and his moving castle provide shelter for 18 year old Sophie who has been turned into an elderly lady when she is cursed by a witch. Howl’s fire demon Karishifa makes a deal with Sophie, if she breaks the contract he is under to serve Howl then he will lift the curse and return her to her youth.

Beautifully animated and with a multitude of amazing characters and themes I love this movie.