In which children and young teens experience love (or something akin to it)
A list of films with a plot featuring children, or young teens falling in love, being in a relationship with each other, or where there is obvious romantic feeling between two characters. Most of these are emotional, heart stirring films.
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- DirectorFranco ZeffirelliStarsLeonard WhitingOlivia HusseyJohn McEneryWhen two young members of feuding families meet, forbidden love ensues.
- DirectorWaris HusseinStarsMark LesterTracy HydeJack WildTwo youngsters declare to their parents that they want to get married as soon as possible.
- DirectorArthur BarronStarsRobby BensonGlynnis O'ConnorLen BariShy cellist boy meets upperclassman ballet-student girl at school. They experience first-time love, then happenstance pulls them apart
- DirectorNicolas GessnerStarsJodie FosterMartin SheenAlexis SmithA thirteen-year-old girl, who lives with her absentee father, befriends a disabled teenage amateur magician and invites him, gradually, into her tenuous struggle against a predatory local neighbor.Interesting soft horror with young romance as a large plot.
- DirectorMax Baer Jr.StarsRobby BensonGlynnis O'ConnorJoan HotchkisIn 1950s Mississippi, teenager Bobbie Lee Hartley navigates her blossoming hormones as she is courted by Billy Joe McAllister, who is headed for tragedy.Based on the song of this same name, this film will hit you in the heart. Childhood friends Bobbi Lee and Billy Joe become romantically entangled. However, Billy Joe is struggling with his feelings, and has to come to terms with a secret that may break them apart.
- DirectorRobert M. YoungStarsTrini AlvaradoJeremy LevyKathryn WalkerTwo 12-year-olds, the products of Upper-West-Side broken homes, struggle to make sense of their parents' lives and their own adolescent feelings.Twelve year old Franny meets Jamie, the new boy in town, and they instantly become best friends. At the same time, Franny's parents decide to divorce, and Franny becomes interested in sex. Her interest leads her to seek out romance with Jamie, in a way that was very much taboo fora twelve year old in the 70's. While Jamie helps Franny traverse the world of parental divorce, he also helps her explore small bits and pieces of the romantic world her parents left behind.
- DirectorRandal KleiserStarsBrooke ShieldsChristopher AtkinsLeo McKernIn the Victorian period, two children are shipwrecked on a tropical island in the South Pacific. With no adults to guide them, the two make a simple life together, unaware that sexual maturity will eventually intervene.
- DirectorLinda FefermanStarsJennifer ConnellyByron ThamesMaddie CormanWhen her father goes out of town, beautiful A-student Natalie lets best friends Jeff and Polly move in. Separately and together, the trio of young teens learn much about life, love, and growing up.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsWil WheatonRiver PhoenixCorey FeldmanA writer recounts a childhood journey with his friends to find the body of a missing boy.While arguable, the relationship between main characters Gordy and Chris, definitely borders on romantic. After seeing this film, one of the impressions left is that there is much more than Bromance going on here. A great emotional summer film, which will stick with you for years to come.
- DirectorJohn DuiganStarsNoah TaylorLoene CarmenBen MendelsohnIn rural 1960s Australia, a boy watches helplessly as his best friend falls in love with a small-time criminal, setting off a violent chain of events.Danny Falls in love with his best friend, and deals with his feelings about her and her new relationship with a local boy.
- DirectorJohn DuiganStarsNoah TaylorThandiwe NewtonNicole KidmanTwo freethinking teenagers - a boy and a girl - confront with authoritarian teachers in their boarding schools. The other students treat this differently.The sequel to "The Year my voice broke". Danny goes to boarding school and traverses the world of racism, when he falls in love with a beautiful black girl from a new by school.
- DirectorHoward ZieffStarsAnna ChlumskyMacaulay CulkinDan AykroydVada is obsessed with death. Her mother is dead, and her father runs a funeral parlor. When Vada's father hires Shelly, a makeup expert, and begins to fall in love, Vada is outraged and does everything in her power to split them up.Vada and Thomas J are 10 year old best friends. They spend their days bicycling around and promise to marry each other one day, if they don't find someone else. Vada Is also in "love" with her poetry teacher. Tragedy strikes, and things are changed forever. Very emotional, poignant. Anna Chlumsky is wonderful.
- DirectorMary Agnes DonoghueStarsMelanie GriffithDon JohnsonElijah WoodMelanie Griffith and Don Johnson (at the time married to each other) play Lily and Ben Reed, a young couple torn apart by a family tragedy. It would take a miracle to rekindle their love and a miracle arrives in the form of a summer guest - Willard Young played by Elijah Wood.
- DirectorRobert MulliganStarsSam WaterstonTess HarperGail StricklandA coming of age story set in the south of the U.S. when Elvis was King.
- DirectorJózsef GémesStarsClaire BloomJoss AcklandRoy KinnearA naive princess, her beloved cat and a poor mining boy team up to save their kingdom from a nasty underground realm of bad-mannered goblins.A surprising Gem of a cartoon, this film kept me busy for hours when I was small. I was always disappointed when it ended, wanting to relive the interaction between Princess Irenie and Curdie. There is also a lot of good action scenes, and a very memorable song. The sound of Curdie singing it has always stuck with me.
- DirectorRoeland KerboschStarsMaarten SmitAndrew KelleyJeroen KrabbéSet in The Netherlands at the end of WW II, this touching story, told in flashbacks, explores the complex and romantic relationship between an adult soldier and a displaced, lonely adolescent boy.I felt a little iffy on adding this one. However, it does feature a strong amount of emotion. It is about a small boy, who during World War 2 meets a young Canadian Soldier and enters a romantic relationship with him. While the subject is controversial, I was surprised to see that this film was done very tastefully, and poignantly. Based on an Autobiography, this tale hits very hard. The boy is beginning to feel the stirrings of romantic love, and the soldier, broken from the war falls for him too.
- DirectorP.J. HoganStarsJeremy SumpterJason IsaacsOlivia WilliamsThe Darling family children receive a visit from Peter Pan, who takes them to Never Never Land where an ongoing war with the evil Pirate Captain Hook is taking place.Very well done version of Peter Pan, with a larger romantic slant than the Disney version. This version, while it does not stick to the book entirely, is fantastic. The acting is superb, and Jeremy Sumpter plays out his emotion and confusion at first love with perfect intensity.
- DirectorMark LevinStarsJosh HutchersonCharlotte Ray RosenbergBradley WhitfordA 10-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl find love in New York City.
- DirectorGabor CsupoStarsJosh HutchersonAnnaSophia RobbZooey DeschanelA preteen's life turns upside down when he befriends the new girl in school and they imagine a whole new fantasy world to escape reality.Fantastic tale of Jess and Leslie. 12 year old Jess meets the new girl, Leslie. She shows him a world of magic and friendship. As with so many of these tales, tragedy strikes, and life lessons are learned. A great coming of age tale with bits of romance and fantasy. The book is also a great read.
- DirectorEric TillStarsAnnette O'TooleJulian CouttsJulie BeaulieuWhen Leslie Burke moves in next door to Jess Aarons, Jess finds a friend in Leslie. Over time, they discover a secret place in the forest across a fallen pine tree, and over a creek, they call Terabithia, a place where memories are sacred.An earlier, made for TV version of Bridge to Terabithia. While not as strong or magical as the 2007 version, it sticks close to the book, and there are still hints of the flame between Jess(Jessie as he's known here) and Leslie.
Very 80's, with sweat suits and cork bottle glasses.
Part one on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZLV6qwMwIM - DirectorLance DalyStarsKelly O'NeillShane CurryPaul RoeTwo kids, Dylan and Kylie, run away from home at Christmas and spend a night of magic and terror on the streets of inner-city Dublin.
- DirectorTomas AlfredsonStarsKåre HedebrantLina LeanderssonPer RagnarOskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.A Powerful Vampire tale. Two 12 year olds, Oskar, and Eli, meet in a small Swedish town. It soon becomes clear that Eli is a vampire....and what she does to get her blood is not at all pleasant. A very dark, intense film, with much emotion and feeling between the two characters.
- DirectorTom HarperStarsThomas TurgooseHolliday GraingerRuth WellmanWhen David discovers that his best friend Emily is being forced to leave their caravan park home, he agrees to help her to run away. But after their plan starts to unravel, secrets come to light that transform his life in ways he never imagined.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsMadeline CarrollCallan McAuliffeRebecca De MornayTwo eighth-graders start to have feelings for each other despite being total opposites.
- DirectorMatt ReevesStarsKodi Smit-McPheeChloë Grace MoretzRichard JenkinsA bullied young boy befriends a young female vampire who lives in secrecy with her guardian.The American Remake of "Let the Right one in" (Låt den rätte komma in). Nearly entirely a scene for scene remake, this film holds much of the intensity and emotion of the original. This film is still wonderful, but not as good as the original. This may be due to the slight attempts to Americanize the tale. Oskar and Eli become Owen and Abby, from a small town in New Mexico. The language changes slightly from the wonderful original captioned version. I would highly recommend seeing this one *after* you watch the original in it's native language.