 | A Christmas Story (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Buy used from: $8.40 Though now a mainstream Christmas classic, this film did poorly at the box office and was gradually discovered by '80's kids on cable and video, thus attaining cult status. Adults followed suit and now it's considered one of the best Christmas films of all time.
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 | The Dog Who Stopped the War
Buy used from: $17.95 Quebecois '80's kids will especially remember this one. (American '80's kids will probably remember the horrible English dubbed version on U.S. cable and video). A French Canadian film about kids spending their winter vacation by having an all-out snowball war with each other. Includes THE coolest snow fort ever built.
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 | The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking
Buy new: $7.49 / Used from: $3.45 Another film that did poorly at the box office but attained cult status (especially among girls) when it hit cable. I'll bet you any '80's kid who saw this can sing at least one of its catchy songs - like the theme song or "Scrubbing Day".
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 | The Secret of NIMH (2-Disc Family Fun Edition)
Buy new: $14.98 / Used from: $8.56 This film was sort of the anti-Disney: it was created by Disney ex-pat Don Bluth and was a bit dark and violent for a kids' movie. It concerned escaped, genetically-altered lab rats with human-like intelligence. Some of the themes probably went right over your head as a kid, so watch it again as an adult.
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 | The Dark Crystal (25th Anniversary Edition)
Buy new: $20.49 / Used from: $5.93 Though created by Jim Hensen, the Muppets this is not. Probably Hensen's darkest film, it includes some elf-like creatures and some scary vulture-like creatures. I haven't watched it in years, so I'm sorry that's the best I can do to describe the plot! I remember watching it on TV and being fascinated, if not a bit scared, by it.
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 | Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre -The Complete Collection Gift Set
Buy used from: $75.00 Since most people didn't have Showtime back then, only a small portion of '80's kids grew up watching these well-written, acted, and produced versions of all the classic fairy tales. The biggest-name actors of the day played the characters, which adds to the fun.
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 | Legend (Ultimate Edition)
Buy new: $11.49 / Used from: $5.34 Ridley Scott's dark fairy tale with unicorns, fairies, Mia Sara, and Tom Cruise (before he went bonkers). '80's kids who were into the fantasy genre probably saw this one. Definitely a film you will enjoy as an adult too!
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 | Sesame Street Presents - Follow that Bird
Buy new: $9.49 / Used from: $1.12 This was a huge box office hit in 1986 - so why did I include this one? Because it WAS a huge box office hit and now nobody ever talks about it anymore. It guess you can call it a fad. Even older kids who thought Sesame Street was passe loved it.
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 | Return to Oz
Buy new: $13.99 / Used from: $9.16 Remember this one?? Disney released it, so that means there was lots of marketing behind it. But it was very dark - probably a little too dark for most kids and families, and so it didn't have the staying power like most Disney films (and the original "Wizard of Oz").
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 | The Black Cauldron (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
Buy used from: $37.98 Another Dark Disney movie, released the same year as "Return to Oz" no less. I haven't seen this one yet, so cannot comment on it personally. However, it meets all my requirements of a cult '80's kid film - it's dark, different, and most people haven't seen it.
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 | Explorers
Buy new: $8.49 / Used from: $3.88 Watch a young Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix build their own spaceship and go to another planet, where they meet aliens. Every '80's kid's dream!!
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