Top 11 Child Ensembles in Movies

By CJ Tiernan

Whether written for adults or kids, there are certain movies and stories that follow groups of children. It can be a difficult task for a film production for several reasons. One is simply that there are child labor laws that limit how much a child actor can work in a day, limiting your window to film a scene. Another reason is that it is hard to find a great child actor. They lack the experience to draw on to always be able to create and embody a character. However, when you do hit on a child actor, it really elevates the movie, even more so when you hit multiple times. Below is a list of my 11 favorite acting ensembles by children in movies that I've ever seen.

1. Super 8 (2011)

This movie was created by J.J. Abrams as an homage to the Sci-Fi of his childhood and to filmmaker extraordinaire Steven Spielberg (who did actually produce the movie). It felt very much like a throw-back to the '80s with one notable exception. The kid actors were remarkable. Elle Fanning steals the show as Alice, but fellow child actors Zach Mills, Riley Griffiths, and Ryan Lee are also great. I'm also a sucker for the "film within a film" troupe, and watching the kids filming a story completely independent of adults is very fun.

2. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Raffi Asdourian, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Written and Directed by Wes Anderson, you know this movie is going to be weird and visually stunning. It is further elevated by the performances of the two main characters, played by Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward. They are 12-year-olds at a summer camp on an island that run away to spend time with one another. It is a beautiful story and you get completely lost in their performances. It's also worth watching for the delightful adult performances by Wes Anderson mainstays: Jason Schwartzman, Edward Norton, and Bill Murrary, plus newcomers Bruce Willis and Frances McDormand.

3. The Kings of Summer (2013)

This is a lovely story of 3 childhood friends hanging out in the woods all summer. Pushed to their limit by suffocating (read loving) parents, they run away from home and are trying to build a house and live off the land. It is a fun story that has heart and comedy. Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, and Moises Arias are the main kids with Erin Moriarty (of The Boys) also in the film. This is a coming-of-age story with all the delightful twists and turns of childhood.

4. It (2017)

A horror movie is not an abnormal place to find a great performance by a child actor. Going all the way back to "The Omen" and "The Exorcist" back in the '70s, you find great performances by child actors in horror movies. This one, however, has my favorite ensemble. There are a lot of kids in "It" with tremendous performances. It also takes place in the '80s, so I seem to be a sucker for a throwback. Watching kids get bullied, whether in movies or TV shows, is really hard for me. I'm empathetic enough to want to jump in and stop it. But to watch the bullied kids rise up to try and defeat a supernatural clown is quite satisfying.

5. Hugo (2011)

Asa Butterfield and Chloë Grace Moretz not only steal the show in this movie, they are the show. The movie is based on the children's book The Invention of Hugo Cabret and directed by Martin Scorsese so what more could you want? How about a mystery, a robot-thing called an automaton, and Sasha Baron Cohen playing a French cop. The movie is visually stunning and the performances will blow you away.

6. Signs (2002)

This is my favorite M. Night Shyamalan film. It's a lot funnier than "The Sixth Sense" while also being a more compelling story than "The Lady in the Water." The performances of Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin are fantastic in this movie. Along with Joaquin Phoenix, they steal the show (especially once the tin-foil hats show up). It's a story of love and loss intermingled with an alien invasion. I highly recommend it.

7. School of Rock (2003)

Obviously Jack Black as the fake Ned Schneebly and real Dewey Finn is the bee's knees in this one, but the ensemble of a classroom full of kids more than hold their own. This is the first of back-to-back Richard Linklater films on this list and they have very different vibes. This one is a comedy and musical following a guy who was kicked out of his band, pretends to be a substitute teacher (his roommate), and molds his Elementary School class into a rock band (while hiding it from the principal). This movie will give you a serious case of "Stick-it-to-da-man-neosis."

8. Boyhood (2014)

This movie almost, sorta doesn't belong on the list. The child (the "boy" in "Boyhood") actor in this one is mainly one person, but his performance is so good it bears mentioning and there are certainly other children in this one. If you're unaware of the concept, this movie follows a child from Elementary School to the start of College. It was shot over the course of just over a decade, so the same actor(s) could be used for the character(s) throughout. Revolutionary! The actor in question is Ellar Coltrane. Elijah Smith and Richard Linklater's own daughter, Lorelei, round out the list of child actors. Awesome performances all around. Oh, also: Patricia Arquette won an Oscar for her performance so she wasn't too shabby either.

9. Little Giants (1994)

I grew up on this movie. The underdog sports movie is always a heartening genre. This one follows a group of kids who are great at football against a group of kids who are wearing football uniforms. The kid performances are terrific and comedic, as are the two adult leads: Rick Moranis and Ed O'Neill. Plus the movie brought us a new name for the fumblerooski: The Annexation of Puerto Rico.

10. Holes (2003)

A Disney movie makes an appearance! I loved the book (also called Holes) when I was a kid so when I found out they were making a movie, I was excited. It did not disappoint. Shia LaBeouf plays the main character, Stanley Yelnats, but the cast is littered with fun performances of characters like Armpit, Squid, X-Ray, Zig-Zag, Twitch, Magnet, Barfbag, and Zero. The adult cast is robust, consisting of Jon Voight, Tim Blake Nelson, Henry "The Fonz" Winkler, Patricia Arquette, Dulé Hill, and Sigourney Weaver. Good family flick!

11. Harry Potter Series (2001-2011)

What? You were worried I was gonna leave Harry Potter off the list? Pish posh! This film series spanning 11 years and 8 movies, is absolutely full of child actors. And while the holy trinity of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint run the show, the movies are absolutely littered with talented actors, old and young. These movies are magical and eminently rewatchable and I highly recommend the lot.

Final Thoughts

Movies featuring a group of child actors has a certain level of charm and magic. The performances, when done well, can really be quite arresting. I'm sure I left some of your favorites off my list, so please let me know in the comments where I failed you. The '90s movie "Heavyweights" is the one I just left off my list, but there are so many other great ones. Thanks!