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1. Les Choristes (2004)

English Title: The Chorus
Genre: Dramedy, Music
IMDb: 7.9 / 10

This is the beautiful, award-winning story of a failed composer who goes to a boarding school to teach some unruly orphans of World War II. He finds a way to break through to them using music and forming a choir.

If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s definitely worth a watch.

2. La Gloire de Mon Père (1990)

English Title: My Father’s Glory
Genre: Adventure, Biography, Dramedy
IMDb: 7.6 / 10

A classic by Marcel Pagnol, a famous French writer of the early 20th century. The movies are based on his autobiographical books where he retraces his childhood holidays in the South of France. (Heavy Southern French accent included!)

3. Le Château de ma Mère (1990)

English Title: My Mother’s Castle
Genre: Adventure, Biography, Dramedy
IMDb: 7.6 / 10

This movie is the autobiographical sequel to La Gloire de mon Père, written by famous French author Marcel Pagnol, relating his childhood holidays in the South of France.

4. Le Papillon (2002)

English Title: The Butterfly
Genre: Adventure, Dramedy
IMDb: 7.2 / 10

This is the story of Julien, a widower who collects butterflies. One day, he decides to find a rare butterfly and doesn’t realize that his tenant’s daughter sneaked into the car to come along. He then takes her on this journey – until the mother reports her missing daughter and Julien is accused of kidnapping.

5. L’École Buissonnière (2017)

English Title: School of Life
Genre: Dramedy, Family
IMDb: 6.9 / 10

This is the beautiful tale of a young orphan who is taken in by the maid of a rich family in the countryside. The boy becomes friends with a poacher who starts teaching many things about animals and nature.

A beautiful movie with lovely shots of nature. The level of French is quite difficult because of all the nature-related vocabulary used. But it’s still definitely worth a watch.

Note: “Faire l’école buissonnière” is a French expression that means to skip school or to play truant. Here it’s a pun meaning “The bush school”, since “buisson” means “bush” or “thicket”.

6. Fahim (2019)

English Title: Fahim
Genre: Biography, Dramedy
IMDb: 6.8 / 10

This is the incredible story of a young boy from Bangladesh who is a great chess player and who illegally comes to France with his father in the hope of being coached by a great chess master, in order to win France’s Junior Championship.

Based on a true story.

7. Le Petit Nicolas (2009)

English Title: Little Nicholas
Genre: Comedy, Family
IMDb: 7.1 / 10

This movie is based on the classic children’s novels Le Petit Nicolas. The huge success of these books was due in large part to the very childlike narrative. The stories are told through the eyes of a little boy Nicolas in the words a child would use, with a child’s interpretation of reality.

The cast is fabulous and the movie is definitely worth a watch (much better than the trailer I found, trust me!)

8. Le Petit Nicholas en Vacances (2014)

English Title: Nicholas on Holiday
Genre: Comedy, Family
IMDb: 6.2 / 10

9. Belle et Sébastien (2013)

English Title: Belle and Sebastian
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Romance
IMDb: 6.9 / 10

The Belle et Sébastien series has become a classic and favorite among children, especially young boys. The following three movies are the most recent remake of the movies and the images, especially in the first one, are spectacular.

It’s about the friendship between a young boy and a stray dog during WWII.

10. Belle et Sébastien, L’Aventure Continue (2015)

English Title: Belle and Sebastian, The Adventure Continues
Genre: Adventure, Family
IMDb: 6.6 / 10

11. Belle et Sébastien, Le Dernier Chapitre (2017)

English Title: Belle and Sebastian, Friends for Life
Genre: Adventure, Family
IMDb: 6.3 / 10

12. Gaston Lagaffe (2018)

English Title: –
Genre: Adventure, Comedy
IMDb: 4.4 / 10

This movie is based on one of the oldest classic French comics Gaston Lagaffe (called Gomer Goof in English), an inventor who always brings trouble at work – where he rarely does any work he’s tired to do.

The movie was a bit of a flop for adults, but children and teenagers will probably enjoy the ridiculousness. 🙂

13. Boule & Bill

English Title: Billy and Buddy
Genre: Comedy, Family
IMDb: 4.3 / 10

This movie is also based on the classic French comic of the same name: Boule & Bill. I grew up reading these. It’s about a boy and his dog.

The movie was a bit of a disappointment for the French (hence the low rating) who probably expected a better movie to bring to life these classic stories. But children will undoubtedly enjoy it!