It becomes even better when you consider that the ’90s are widely regarded as the most sentimental decade for fans of teen films. The 1990s witnessed a true burst of teenage film cult masterpieces, a decade that also saw the production of numerous other genre favorites.
We have no qualms about saying that we’re pleased. So, whether you want to reminisce about your high school years or find something to identify with in the challenges you’re facing now, lose yourself in the world of the finest adolescent movies of the ’90s.
1. Jumanji
The Jumanji centers on a supernatural board game that releases jungle-based hazards upon its players with every turn. As a boy in 1969, Alan Parrish became trapped inside the game while playing with his friend, Sarah Whittle. Twenty-six years later, siblings Judy and Peter Shepherd find the game, begin playing and then unwittingly release the now-adult Alan. After tracking down Sarah, the quartet resolves to finish the game to reverse all the destruction it has caused.
2. Hocus Pocus
Walt Disney Pictures distributed the film Hocus Pocus in theaters across the United States beginning on July 16, 1993. It met with damaging to positive reviews from film reviewers upon its first release, and it did not fare well at the box office, costing Disney probably up to $16.5 million throughout its run in theaters.
Hocus Pocus has been rediscovered by audiences, which has resulted in a yearly spike in home media sales of the film every Halloween season. It is mainly due to the film’s many annual airings that occur throughout October on Disney Channel and Freeform (formerly ABC Family). Halloween’s popularity significantly contributes to the film’s status as a cult classic.
3. Shipwrecked
Starring Stian Smestad and Gabriel Byrne, Shipwrecked is a 1990 family action-adventure film directed by Nils Gaup. Norwegian author Oluf Falck-novel Ytter’s Haakon Haakonsen: En Norsk Robinson is the basis for this cinematic adaptation.
The original 1873 Norwegian tale for young readers was inspired by another adventure classic, Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe from 1719.
It was filmed in Fiji, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom between July and October 1989.
4. Honey, I Blew Up the Kid
American science fiction comedic family film Honey, I Blew Up the Kid was released in 1992. In the film, Adam Szalinksi, the family’s newest member, is gradually transformed into an enormous size after being subjected to Wayne’s new industrial-sized growth machine.
On its opening day, July 17, 1992, the picture played in 2,492 theaters across the United States and Canada. It made $11 million in its first weekend alone, putting it at the top of the box office charts, and a total of $58.7 million in the US and Canada. The film earned an additional $37 million overseas for a global total of $96 million.
5. Buffy the Vampire
The American comedic horror film Buffy the Vampire Slayer, released in 1992, was directed by Joss Whedon. Buffy, a cheerleader from the Valley, finds out she has to kill vampires. It was well appreciated by audiences but was met with mixed reviews.
Joss Whedon’s original idea for the film was drastically altered, but the darker, more highly praised television series he produced five years later bears the same name.
6. Heavyweights
The American comedy film Heavyweights, released in 1995, was directed by Steven Brill and co-written by Brill and Judd Apatow. In the film, fitness expert Tony Perkins takes control of a summer camp for overweight children.
The two camps used to shoot Heavyweights in North Carolina were called Camp Pinnacle and Camp Ton-A-Wanda, and the shoot lasted for a total of four weeks. The shoot began on March 28, 1994, and ended on May 25, 1994.
7. Cry-Baby
John Waters penned and directed the musical romantic comedy film Cry-Baby, which starred a young cast of American actors in 1990.
The film follows a gang of juvenile offenders known as the “drapes” as they navigate 1950s Baltimore, Maryland, and interact with the town’s other subculture, the “squares.” The romance between “Cry-Baby” Walker, a drape, and Allison, a square, causes uproar in Baltimore since it goes against the grain of their respective subcultures.
The film depicts the struggles endured by the young couple and the ripple effect their actions have on the community at large.
8. George of The Jungle
George of the Jungle, directed by Sam Weisman and based on the American animated television series developed by Jay Ward and Bill Scott in 1967, is a parody of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan.
Leslie Mann plays George’s love interest Ursula, while Thomas Haden Church is her deceitful ex-fiancé. Brendan Fraser plays the titular character, a primitive guy reared by animals in an African forest.
The worldwide total for the movie’s earnings was $174 million. On October 21, 2003, a sequel titled George of the Jungle 2 was released in a home video format.
9. Romeo and Juliet
The 1996 romantic crime film Romeo + Juliet is based on a play by William Shakespeare of the same name. The film was directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It’s a new take on Shakespeare’s tragedy of the same name, updated for today’s audiences.
20th Century Fox distributed the picture to theaters on November 1, 1996. It earned nearly $147 million at the box office against a $14.5 million budget and was welcomed with mostly good reviews from critics.
The British Film Institute recommended the film as one of the “50 films you should watch by the age of 14” in 2005.
10. The Parent Trap
Produced and co-written by Charles Shyer, Nancy Meyers helmed and co-wrote the 1998 American romantic comedy film The Parent Trap. It’s an updated version of the 1961 film of the same name, based on the 1949 German novel Lisa and Lottie by Erich Kästner.
Lindsay Lohan plays both Hallie Parker and Annie James, twins who were accidentally separated at birth but are reunited at summer camp thanks to Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson’s characters.
11. American Pie
There are four sex comedies in the American Pie film series Universal Pictures released the first American Pie movie in 1999. The film achieved iconic status and a devoted teen fanbase throughout the world.
First, there came American Pie, then American Pie 2 (2001) and American Wedding (2003), and finally American Reunion (2012). From 2005 to 2020, a series of five direct-to-video films branded American Pie Presents were released.
12. 101 Dalmatians
The American comedy-adventure film 101 Dalmatians was released in 1996. The novel, written by Dodie Smith in 1956, was adapted into an animated feature by Walt Disney in 1961 with practically the same name.
Jim Henson’s Creature Shop furnished the film with animatronic monsters. Every dog featured in the movie was promised to be adopted by producer Edward S. Feldman.
13. Titanic
James Cameron helmed, wrote, produced, and co-edited the 1997 American epic romance and disaster film Titanic. It is based on reports of the RMS Titanic sinking and incorporates real-life and imagined events.
Cameron’s interest in shipwrecks inspired the picture; he knew that a love tale intercut with human loss would be necessary to effectively express the tragedy’s emotional impact. Cameron captured the first footage of the actual Titanic wreck in 1995, marking the start of production.
With a budget of $200 million, it was the most expensive movie ever filmed.
14. Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion
The 1997 American comedy film Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion was directed by David Mirkin.
Two females, now 28 years old and seemingly disappointed in life, decide to fabricate false occupations to dazzle their high school friends at their ten-year reunion.
Critics praised the picture, and now it’s a classic among fans of the genre.
15. Spice World
British director Bob Spiers and writer/composer Kim Fuller collaborated on the musical comedy film Spice World, released in 1997. All five members of the female group Spice Girls play themselves in the movie.
Before its global release on Boxing Day, a British holiday, the picture had its premiere in the United Kingdom on December 15th, 1997. (December 26th).
The American release of Spice World was a huge financial success, grossing over $10.5 million on its first weekend, which shattered the previous record for the biggest opening for Super Bowl weekend.
16. The Santa Clause
The Santa Clause is a 1994 American Christmas comedy film written by Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick and directed by John Pasquin.
Tim Allen plays Scott Calvin, a regular guy who mistakenly knocks Santa off his roof on Christmas Eve, in the first film of The Santa Clause trilogy. After St. Nick’s journey and deliveries are complete, Scott and his small son, Charlie, travel to the North Pole, where Scott discovers that he must assume the role of Santa Claus and trick his loved ones into believing he is the real Santa.
17. Drive Me Crazy
Filmmaker Todd Strasser adapted his novel How I Created My Perfect Prom Date into the 1999 American adolescent romantic comedy Drive Me.
The film was renamed Drive Me Crazy after Britney Spears’ song “(You Drive Me) Crazy,” which appears on the film’s soundtrack. The original title was Next to You.
The picture was only moderately successful at the box office, grossing $22,593,409 worldwide on a budget of $8 million. Movie regulars The Donnas contributed to the music.
18. Home Alone
John Hughes and Chris Columbus’s Home Alone is a Christmas comedy film released in the United States in 1990.
Culkin portrays Kevin McCallister, a little kid who must protect his suburban Chicago house from intruders when his family leaves him behind for a Christmas trip to Paris.
Home Alone was the highest-grossing comedy of 1990, making $476.7 million worldwide. It was up for Best Picture at the Golden Globes. Since then, “Home Alone” has been heralded as a top-tier Christmas movie. In 1992, a follow-up called Home Alone 2: Lost in New York was published.
19. Baby’s Day Out
John Hughes wrote and directed the American comedic adventure film Baby’s Day Out in 1994.
The story revolves around the kidnapping of a rich infant by three criminals, the baby’s subsequent escape, and the crooks’ pursuit of the child through the streets of Chicago.
Industrial Light and Magic faced a formidable challenge with Baby’s Day Out, including one of the earliest computer-generated 3D cityscapes.
20. Babe
Chris Noonan and George Miller co-wrote and directed the 1995 comedy-drama Babe.
The Babe film is based on the 1983 novel The Sheep-Pig by Dick King-Smith, which depicts the story of a farm pig who longs to be a sheepdog. Both live animals and mechanical puppets portray the primary animal characters in this video, narrated by Roscoe Lee Browne.
Pigs and Border Collies, both actual and CGI-animated, perform the lead animal roles. The pigs were of the fast-growing Large White kind. As a result, the production employed an animatronic model for the visual effects and 46 real piglets of the right size in the actual filming.
