Science fiction movies that are appropriate for 12 year olds?

Arrival - best science fiction movie in recent memory (maybe ever?)

Ex Machina - also great.

Her - different style, but still very good (also with recent LLM developments maybe closer than we think).

The Martian (not as good, but entertaining)

Also I know parents have their preferences, but 12 seems old enough for any of this (if they’re reading Asimov)

I was disappointed in interstellar (but it is a beautiful movie) just dumb in a lot of ways and the “but what above love” subplot really annoyed me.

I’d give gravity an honorable mention. The director’s other movie Children of Men is one of my favorites but doesn’t really qualify as scifi.

For shows, the expanse is probably the best recent thing.

I’m not sure if Super8 qualifies, but I think that’s a generally underrated movie.

Arrival and Children of men are also both in the rare category where the film is better than the source material.

I also forgot about district 9 which I haven’t seen in years, but remember being good.

I haven't seen these mentioned yet: Galaxy Quest, The Fifth Element, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Oblivion, Tron: Legacy, Mission to Mars, Pacific Rim, Bicentennial Man, Alita: Battle Angel (some of these may be PG-13)

Treasure Planet and Titan A.E. are also good animated movies, although Treasure Planet is more science-fantasy.

I'd also second Back to the Future, Contact, Interstellar, Gattaca, October Sky

> He found 2001: space odyssey kind of slow and tedious

So do most adults. That and bladerunner are probably the two slowest sci fi movies in the canon (i love them, but they are high effort watches). Maybe literally anything else.

That said, i'd suggest trying to find out what aspect of the books he reads that he likes and go from there. We all read books for different things, and it helps to know what parts the kid likes.

Maybe the expanse tv show is a safe bet (i thought it was better than the books, but that is just me)

If he really likes the unitended technical consequences aspect of asimov, primer might be good, although the plot is very complicated. Predestination is also good.

Don't know if you want to make a distinction between Science Fiction and Science Fantasy.

Forbidden Planet (1956)

Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)

The War of the Worlds (1953)

Contact (1997)

Back To The Future (1995)

Logan's Run (1976)

Soylent Green (1973)

Solaris (1972)

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

The Andromeda Strain (1971)

Tron (1982)

ET (1982)

Fantastic Voyage (1966)

Planet of the Apes (1968)

Apollo 13 (1995)

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1954)

Armageddon (1998)

The Omega Man (1971)

The Quiet Earth (1985)

WarGames (1983)

When Worlds Collide (1951)

Independence Day (1996)

Earth vs. The Flying Saucers (1956)

The Thing from Another World (1951) -- "Keep watching the skies!"

Invaders from Mars (1953)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

Rocketship X-M (1950); Osa Massen wow!

The Brain from Planet Arous (1957)

Finally two of the very best Disney comedies:

The Abscent-Minded Professor (1961); "Hey Neptune, why don't you just submerge!"

Son of Flubber (1963)

Contact (1997) is one of my favorite films of all time. I watched it as a teenager for the first time, so that would be my recommendation.

Can't speak to movies but at this age I loved Star Trek Voyager. Lots of episodic episodes facing real issues/moral decisions.. insightful.

While it isn't sci-fi, it'd probably be right up their alley: October Sky.

Free Guy, story line is similar to Matrix, however it is a much better execution, plus it is a kids-friendly movie (no bad words, depressing topic, etc)

> He found 2001: space odyssey kind of slow and tedious

Oh man, have you rewatched it lately? I had very fond memories of 2001, like I’m sure many people here, but I watched it again and found it slow and tedious and then some. The first act with the apes and wailing operatic singing went on forever. The stuff on the moon is forgettable. I was really surprised to find out that everything I remember about the movie, where they’re near Jupiter, starts halfway through. The ending is so weird I’d forgotten most it that too. There’s no question about 2001’s influence and place in movie history, but by today’s film standards, for kids who are used to modern film, 2001 is harder to appreciate. Or I don’t know, I looked up the critical reception and maybe it was then too… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001:_A_Space_Odyssey_(film)#R...

I have made the mistake of showing my kids films that I loved from my childhood way too many times. It has backfired and made my kids not want to watch movies with me, and most of the time they’re right and the films I loved just aren’t that good by today’s standards. My youngest is also afraid of watching space movies, especially with me, because I liked a lot of them and maybe started trying to show him when we was too young. The quality of films and shows has gone up, though, and my kids helped me see it. Once I completely stopped pushing the movies I liked, the kids started sometimes finding them on their own, but they also show me movies they live that I wouldn’t have considered. It is also surprising how often movies I like haven’t aged well in terms of social dynamics, my kids are fairly sensitive to mildly racist or sexist dialogue, and there’s more than we remember from movies made in the 70s-90s.

Sci fi movies my kids have loved: Villeneuve’s Dune, The Last Mimzy, A Wrinkle in Time (non-Disney version), Tomorrowland, Cowboy Bebop (anime), Interstellar, Arrival, FLCL, Donnie Darko, Inception, Blade Runner 2049, WarGames, Serial Experiments Lain (warning heavy death themes) … Will add more as I remember

There's a lot of great picks here, such as Gattaca, Man from Earth, Contact, The Matrix, Wall-E, Children of Men, The Fifth Element, 12 Monkeys. I would add Truman Show.

Depending on the individual and their patience, Primer (2004) might also be a great fit. The pace is a bid subdued but thematically, it's mind bending. I don't think it includes anything particularly awkward as an early scifi movie to watch together with your own child. I would probably start with one of the spectacles from the above picks, though.

The Martian, Men in Back, Jurassic Park, Stargate, Minority Report

First some that I don't see mentioned here yet:

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Limitless (2011)

Looper (2012)

Upgrade (2018)

Source Code (2011)

District 9 (2009)

Black Mirror S3E2: "Playtest", S4E1: "USS Callister"

The 7 minute YouTube video "Slaughterbots"[1]

The YouTube series The Backrooms[2]

If you are worried about your son hearing swear words and seeing blood, and not just whether or not he will be able to understand/appreciate the movie, then you probably want to wait with a couple of those.

And then I would also agree with those here that mention Inception, Interstellar, Back to the Future, The Martian, Men in Black, Minority Report, The Terminator, Terminator 2, and The Expanse. I also don't think he should have much of a problem following along with The Matrix.

[1]: https://youtu.be/O-2tpwW0kmU [2]: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVAh-MgDVqvDUEq6qDXqORBio...

These are all generally highly reviewed can lead to interesting discussions:

Gattaca - interesting take on genetics/DNA discrimination

Europa - hard science fiction, maybe a bit slow for a 12 year old

The Net - older movie but the concept of digital exile resonates today

City of Ember - post apocalyptic civilization that lives deep underground

First Man - dramatization of Neil Armstrong and the first moon landing (not realy "fiction")

Arrival - first contact situation, tastefully done

Contact - another first contact situation that explores how politics, skepticism, and fanaticism react

The Martian - easily as fun as the book

The Prestige - competing magicians in an industrial age setting

The Hunger Games - extreme class divide in a future setting

Jurassic Park - the original not the sequels

Stargate - wormhole travel to another planet (be careful with the TV shows though, SG1 on streaming has full frontal nudity and "not ok" scenes which were obviously not on the broadcast version and a total shock when we watched it as a family)

District 9 - has some graphic gore and language, so it might be 14+, but is an interesting look at aliens as refugees

Contagion - a look at how a pandemic could play out. Premiered before COVID.

The Maze Runner - interesting setting and look at group dynamics

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids - fun setting

The Village - scary movie with a sci fi twist

Galaxy Quest - comedy

Short Circuit - old movie that deals with AI sentience

Innerspace - another old one, but has some fun concepts

"2010: The Year We Make Contact" is a much more accessible movie that holds up pretty well. It also feels like a payoff after investing so much time being confused/bored by 2001.

I was 11 when "Logan's Run" came out. Yes it's kinda loaded with 70's sex tropes for the first act, but it's also equal parts goofy and a really good film.

The original "The Day The Earth Stood Still" holds up.

"A Boy and His Dog" is a bit crude here and there, but might resonate with a 12yo.

"Quatermass and the Pit" (aka "Five Million Years to Earth") is both intense and fairly tame.

A lot of old TV series hold up - Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, UFO, Space 1999, Star Trek TOS, etc all have some excellent episodes.

I absolutely love "Dark City" and "12 Monkeys" but I'm not sure they'd have held my interest at 12.

Doctor Who, both old and new are excellent. Though I'm partial to the Tom Baker era.

The Stargate franchise is pretty good.

"Moon" (2009) is a bit cerebral but a good SF story.

Interstellar is rated 12, and I think it’s enjoyable regardless of how much of the science you understand

A lot of recency bias in the suggestions. Here's some which are older or more obscure that I enjoyed and that I wouldn't have minded showing my kids at 12.

Gattaca, Moon, Gravity, Contact, Space Camp, Andromeda Strain, the original Westworld (1973), the first two Star Trek movies, the STTNG TV series, Another Earth (2011, PG-13), The Man from Earth, Fantastic Voyage, War of the Worlds (1953), The Day the Earth Stood Still, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

In its defense, I saw The Matrix at 12 or 13 and adored it because I felt like it was something more serious—-that I could appreciate it was a sign I was maturing, and I was grateful for that

Of course all kids are different. I always loved the Back to The Future movies from a young age. Moon is also harder fare while being less violent than The Matrix.

You might also enjoy watching the modern Doctor Who together? Or Star Trek?

As for more books, maybe introduce him to Hitchhikers Guide?

Ghostbusters, Back to the Future

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Machine_(1960_film)

The Time Machine starring Rod Taylor is a charming film from Nineteen Sixty based on the HG Wells book of the same name from 1895. Might not be a bad idea for your 12 year old to read the book too, only perhaps after watching the movie.

Man From Earth. Surprisingly all three of my kids were riveted to this sci-fi bottle movie. And the youngest was 10 or so at the time.

Over the pandemic I created a website to solve a very similar problem for finding appropriate movies for my kids.

https://www.movienight.tips/

Click through to the list of movies and then add a genre filter for sci-fi. You can further filter by rating, popularity or maturity level as desired. Enjoy!

Colossal (2016) is a fun, underrated sci-fi movie featuring an alcoholic young woman impersonating a city-destroying fighter robot.

Mobile Suit Gundam, Patlabor, Space Battleship Yamato, Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Tenchi Muyo, Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Demolition Man is foundational to growing up and having good taste in movies

See also: Star Trek the next generation (series)

Asa Butterfield plays in a few sci-fi films that might be fun for that age:

- Ender’s game

- Space between us

Also:

- Ready player one (book is way better, but nonetheless)

E. T.

*Batteries Not Included

Back to the Future trilogy

Flight of the Navigator

The Last Starfighter

Honey, I shrunk the kids

Short Circuit 1 and 2

Teen Wolf

Ghostbusters 1 and 2

Big

InnerSpace

Gremlins 1 and 2

The Iron Giant

Little Shop of Horrors

Willow

Labyrinth

The Dark Crystal

Enemy Mine

Cocoon

Most of star trek is appropriate for a 12 year old. We watch TNG and DS9 with my 10 year old son, he seems to enjoy them, but needs some explaining at times (especially with DS9). The original star trek movies are good too, no gore, and full of positive messages.

Ghost in the Shell, Sunshine, Children of Men, 12 Monkeys, Edge of Tomorrow, Moon

The Expanse show/books are great

I’m waiting til 13 for Akira

Mine is 11 and matrix, terminator, back to the future, arrival were all too slow. He liked the Jurassic Park books but the movie was “too hokey.”

I watched Terminator (1984) around that age, perhaps a year younger. It's not great science fiction, but I still like it quite a bit for the drab, claustrophobic atmosphere, with brief "light horror" sequences, which were a perfect age-appropriate fit for me at the time. At that point I also quite enjoyed action sequences with heavy 70s-80s American body-on-frame sedans getting wrecked.

The basic premise is based on James Cameron having a fever dream after all, and it shows in all the best ways when the concept isn't overdeveloped into a family comedy drama like T2. T2 is great, massive cinema in its own right but I feel the entire Terminator concept, time travel and all, falls apart the more you think about it. A dusky, gritty, fast-paced thriller is a better avenue for the concept.

T1's run time is also admirably brief, at just over 90 minutes.

Enders Game might fit the bill

The recent Dune movie is excellent and is rated PG-13. Same with Gattaca.

Interstellar, the Martian and Gravity are my three "Kerbal Space Program" pillars. I wouldn't consider them scifi even though they are. More like "close future"

I get the sense that you would like some adult themes, but not too slow?

edit: Adult themes is here meant in non sexual manner. Still, I've removed two suggestions that in hindsight would not be good for someone his age to watch.

edit2: Re-reading OP I now realize I misread it. Matrix was not shown because of adult themes. Some in this list still fit, but most will involve themes perhaps outside the scope of what OP is seeking. All of them are great however and deal with some aspect of humanity I would think a young viewer would benefit from seeing.

Top of my mind (and in no specific order) would be:

- Dark City

- The Thirteenth Floor

- City of the Lost Children

- Tron (original and maybe new one)

- Interstellar

- Inception

- Her (very relevant to our times)

- Dune (2021 version)

- Brazil

- The Martian

- Children of Men

- Edge of Tomorrow (most like Marvelverse on this list but still very good)

- Moon

- Twelve Monkeys

- Upgrade

- The Fifth Element

- Contact

- Okja

- District 9

- Predestination (very relevant to our times)

- Serenity (but might need some prep from the tv show before watching)

- World on a Wire

- The Abyss

- Minority Report (very relevant in our times)

- The Fly

- Equilibrium

- Strange Days

- The Andromeda Strain (relevant after Covid)

- eXistenZ (trippy but I loved it when it came out and was only around your sons age)

- In Time (interesting class dynamics on display)

- Enemy Mine

- Franklyn (some interesting takes on mental illness)

- The Arrival

They showed is Gattaca in school around that age, for some reason.

Not a movie, but my kid really enjoyed the 28 episodes of the ‘Lost in Space’ TV series on Netflix. It’s rated 7+ but in my opinion 7 is too young. 12 should be perfect.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explorers_(film)

Maybe something less "other worlds"?

These should all be suited to a 12 years old, though of course it is up to you:

Back to the future (1, 2 and 3), Time after Time (1979), Gattaca

Every kid is different and every parent is different.

At 12, I found most horror movies silly or disgusting rather than horrifying. But ALIEN and ALIENS are both great. A few scenes from THE TERMINATOR were disturbing, but it's a good story and TERMINATOR 2 is very good. PREDATOR wasn't for me at 12, but certainly was at 14.

THE TRUMAN SHOW, THE MARTIAN, BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE, THE INVENTION OF LYING are all well-made, entertaining, and should be thought-provoking.

Lilo & Stitch.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.

Time After Time.

Those are all rated PG so should be reasonably OK for a 12 year old.

Galaxy Quest is a scifi Star Trek parody kids that age love. Not too serious but still interesting.

Fantastic Voyage, starring the late Raquel Welch, based on Asimov book. Good for any 12-year old boy.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Contact, The Martian, The Andromeda Strain, and to a very large extent Jurassic Park.

What about tv shows? The new Star Trek: Prodigy is made for a younger audience.

E.T., Flight of the navigator, Ender's game,

Buckaroo Bonzai

Apollo 10 12: A Space Age Childhood

The last star fighter

If he likes Asimov he might like more philosophical/political stuff.

-

Maybe stuff like:

The Time Travelers Wife

Raised by Wolves

Gattica

12 Monkeys

Coherence

Solaris

Artificial Intelligence

Donnie Darko

Minority Report

Needle In A Timestack

Pandorum

Synchronic

Blade Runner

Wall-E

Children of Men

Planet of the Apes

Silent Running?

E.T.

Gattaca