Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Based on Roald Dahl's classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Willy Wonka is a trippy musical full of wise, dancing Oompa Loompas, child abuse for naughty children, deadbeat grandparents (you know it's true), a tunnel ride that still scares the crap out of most adults and some of the best songs ever recorded. It's a world of pure imagination, and one that has about as much tolerance for spoiled brats as I do.

Watership Down
Hey, we didn't say they had to be happy adaptations. Violent rabbit deaths and diaspora are a bummer, to be sure, but in cartoon form they're still... kind of cute? Really sad, of course, but... kind of cute? Little cartoon bunny culture wars! It's bloody adorable.

The Harry Potter Series
It's not over quite yet, but the films we've gotten so far have been some of the finest fantasy fare in movie history. They've also served as a sort of temp agency for every living British actor in existence, and we're all for public services for English thespians.

Where the Wild Things Are
A lot of people hate this movie, and I get that, but I loved it, and here's why: there were a million, easy ways to flesh out the bare bones original story in incredibly stupid, Hollywood, cash-grabby ways, but director and screenwriter Spike Jonze actually attempted to do something intelligent and poignant instead. If you think he failed, that's fine, but you at least have to admit that there's no way to deny how visually gorgeous this movie is.

Coraline
One of the creepiest and most visually arresting movies I've ever seen, Coraline both entertained and taught an important lesson to our nation's youth: be thankful for your crappy parents, kids, or you'll end up with buttons sewn into your eyes. That's what the movie's about, right? That, and how annoying cats are? Just fantastic.

The Princess Diaries
Don't laugh -- these movies are two of the most brilliantly surreal pieces of cinema this century's first decade had to offer. I mean, Julie Andrews surfs down a staircase in the second one, and the first movie has the immortal "Goodbye, trolley people!" line going for it that literally no one can explain, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. A comprehensive list of all the bizarre things in these movies would take me hours to write, but trust me, they are as hilarious as they are plentiful. You don't often get to watch a director (Garry Marshall, in this case) progressively lose his mind over the course of one franchise, which is precisely what makes The Princess Diaries so special.

The Jungle Book
It doesn't have a whole lot in common with the Rudyard Kipling novel (apparently Beatles impressions and big band music weren't that big in the late 19th century), but it is an awesome movie, and a nostalgic relic of a completely different Disney than the one we know today. Plus, it spawned TaleSpin!

Honorable Mentions:

- Almost every Roald Dahl adaptation, from The Witches to Fantastic Mr. Fox to James and the Giant Peach. This list easily could have been 50% Roald Dahl, but in the interest of diversity it wasn't.

- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (2005), which I haven't seen but critics seemed to have liked just fine. I should really rent it.

Your favorites? Discuss them below, and see our list of kids films that would make awesome horror movies!

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