Nametapes ironed on? Bugspray and sunscreen packed? As kids depart for camp, it is fun to watch some classic movies about the joys and terrors of life among the bunk beds and color wars.
1. Meatballs Bill Murray was the counselor who teaches his campers to embrace their loserdom in this classic anti-hero comedy. (some mature material)
2. Camp Nowhere A bunch of kids with high-pressure parents invent a fake achievement-oriented camps (theater, fat camp, paramilitary, computer camp) and head off to enjoy themselves…until the parents all show up.
3. The Adventures of Spin & Marty Boomer parents will recall this Mickey Mouse club serial about the Triple R camp and the camper who arrived with his butler and learned a few things about roughing it. Watch for Mouseketeer Annette as a guest star.
4. Indian Summer A group of adults return to the camp that they loved as kids in this bittersweet midlife drama filmed on the site of the real-life camp attended by the film’s director.
5. Little Darlings There is some mature material in this very uneven story about two girls who make a bet at camp about which one will be the first to have sex, but it gets some credit for a more honest portrayal than most of the consequences of some of these choices. Watch for future “Sex and the City” co-star Cynthia Nixon as one of the campers. For a more family-friendly film, try The Baby Sitters Club, a sweet story about friendship and loyalty with our heroines creating a day-camp for younger children.
6. The Parent Trap Both the Haley Mills and Lindsay Lohan versions of this story of campers who discover they are identical twins are delightful family classics.
7. Space Camp The kids at space camp find themselves launched into space for real in this exciting family adventure.
8. Camp Based on a real-life camp attended by the film-makers, this is the story of an intense theater camp attended by talented, high-strung, insecure, and very ambitious teenagers. (Some mature material.) Stagedoor is a documentary about the real-life campers.
9. Summercamp Summercamp! is a documentary following the day-to-day drama of 90 kids let loose in the woods at Swift Nature Camp in northern Wisconsin. They go through the highs and lows of adolescent rituals: sing-alongs, talent shows, homesickness, counselor mutiny–and first love.
10. Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown Charles Schultz’s everyman comic strip hero goes to camp with all of his friends. Watch for Linus standing up to bullies and some nice lessons about teamwork.
I saw your gallery – and tried (without success) to comment. You left out one from my earlier life (childhood?), whose name was the best part of the TV show, Camp Runamuck. I remember watching the show, but nothing about any one episode. I guess it was one of the good ideas that fell apart fairly quickly.
I still love Meatballs. Several friends and I have been known to break into the “C.I.T. song”. And Bill Murray’s inspiring speech is certainly a great partner to Bluto’s speech from Animal House (Gee, I wonder why?!?)
I saw your gallery – and tried (without success) to comment. You left out one from my earlier life (childhood?), whose name was the best part of the TV show, Camp Runamuck. I remember watching the show, but nothing about any one episode. I guess it was one of the good ideas that fell apart fairly quickly.
I still love Meatballs. Several friends and I have been known to break into the “C.I.T. song”. And Bill Murray’s inspiring speech is certainly a great partner to Bluto’s speech from Animal House (Gee, I wonder why?!?)