The best films for vocabulary and creative writing have rich language, places worth describing and a strong story, and many come with a book to read alongside. Watch them for fun, then pause now and then to talk about what you see and hear.
Every film below is rated U or PG by the BBFC, so they suit most 7 to 11-year-olds. If your child scares easily, read the short content notes on the BBFC’s site first.
Films with few words, so your child supplies them
- The Snowman (1982, U). Once the story starts there’s no dialogue at all, so your child can narrate every scene in their own words.
- Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers (1993, U). Gromit never speaks, so your child has to put his raised eyebrows and worried glances into words.
Films with settings worth describing
- My Neighbour Totoro (1988, U). An old country house, a giant camphor tree and a rainy bus stop at night give you three very different places to describe.
- Spirited Away (2001, PG). The spirits’ bathhouse is full of steam, noise and strange food, ideal for writing with all five senses.
- Wolfwalkers (2020, PG). The walled town and the wild forest outside it look completely different, which makes a ready-made lesson in contrasting settings.
- Hugo (2011, U). A boy who lives inside the clocks of a Paris railway station gives you gears, steam and crowds to describe, and Brian Selznick’s book tells much of the story in drawings.
- The Secret Garden (1993, U). The garden comes back to life from winter to spring, a good model for writing about how a place changes over time.
Films with words to borrow
- Paddington 2 (2017, PG). Paddington’s polite, precise way of talking shows children how formal English sounds, and the first film (2014, PG) is just as good.
- The BFG (2016, PG). The giant’s made-up words, like snozzcumber and whizzpopper, get children playing with how words are built.
Films with a book to read alongside
- Matilda (1996, PG). A fun film, but the book is even better, with more of Miss Trunchbull’s gloriously horrible speeches.
- Fantastic Mr Fox (2009, PG). Roald Dahl’s book is short enough to read in an evening, and the film adds lots of new scenes, so there’s plenty to compare.
- How to Train Your Dragon (2010, PG). In Cressida Cowell’s book Toothless is small and badly behaved, so children love spotting what the film changed.
- Wonder (2017, PG). Like R. J. Palacio’s book, the film moves between characters’ points of view, a good model for writing one moment through different eyes.
How to turn a film into word and writing practice
None of these takes more than ten minutes, and they work best when they feel like part of the fun.
- Pause and describe. Stop on a still frame and describe it with all five senses.
- Collect three words. New words from the film, or good words you used to describe it, written in a notebook.
- Write the next scene. Pause before a big moment, have your child write what happens next, then press play and compare.
- Compare the film with the book. What did the film add, cut or change, and which version did they prefer, and why?
Three new words a film soon adds up. Finding a synonym for each is a quick way to make them stick, and it’s exactly what Rush’s free Synonyms game practises in 100 seconds. Our guides to vocabulary and creative writing show what the 11+ asks for. For words to write with, our free creative writing worksheets cover places, characters, feelings and the parts of a story, each with a model story.
A worked example: the bus stop in My Neighbour Totoro
Pause when Satsuki is waiting at the bus stop at night, in the rain, with her little sister Mei on her back. Ask one question for each sense.
- See: one street lamp, dark trees, then a huge grey shape standing beside them.
- Hear: rain drumming on the umbrella and drips plopping off the leaves.
- Smell: wet earth and wet wood.
- Touch: cold, damp socks and a sleepy sister getting heavier by the minute.
- Taste: rain on your lips.
Then collect three words, such as drenched, looming and patter. Before you press play, ask for the next scene in five sentences, using all three words. Most children are keen to find out how close they got.
Questions parents also ask
Is a PG film fine for my 7-year-old?
Usually. PG films can have scarier moments than U films, so check the BBFC’s content notes and watch the first time together.
Should we read the book or watch the film first?
Either works. Reading first lets your child picture the characters for themselves, while watching first can make a harder book feel easier to start.
Do films count as reading?
They don’t replace it. A good film often sends children to the book, though, and talking about it builds the same words.
