Best Family Movies of 1935

Charles Dickens' classic tale of an orphaned boy's fight for happiness and the colorful characters who help and hinder him.

After Southern belle Elizabeth Lloyd runs off to marry Yankee Jack Sherman, her father, a former Confederate colonel during the Civil War, vows to never speak to her again. Several years pass and Elizabeth returns to her home town with her husband and young daughter. The little girl charms her crusty grandfather and tries to patch things up between him and her mother.

Wealthy Edward Morgan becomes charmed with a curly-haired orphan and her pretty older sister Mary and arranges to adopt both under the alias of "Mr. Jones". As he spends more time with them, he soon finds himself falling in love with Mary.

Virgie Cary's father, a rebel officer, sneaks back to his rundown plantation to see his dying wife and is arrested. A Yankee officer takes pity and sets up an escape. Everyone is captured and the officers are to be executed. Virgie and Uncle Billy beg President Lincoln to intercede.

The gang tries to dissuade their teacher from geting married.

Ebenezer Scrooge, the ultimate Victorian miser, hasn't a good word for Christmas, though his impoverished clerk Cratchit and nephew Fred are full of holiday spirit. In the night, Scrooge is visited by spirits of the past, present, and future.

Spanky's mother's pushes him to join a local theater amateur night.

Betty Boop is off to see Grampy and she picks up some friends on the way. Check out Grampy's crazy house of funky mechanical devices.

A new truant officer moves into the neighborhood, and everybody wants to get friendly with his daughter.

A robin is shot so the woodland community holds a trial to investigate.

The gang's treasury is entrusted to Spanky, who accidentally gets it mixed up with his father's money.

Betty Boop, annoyed by 'public pests' like backslappers, gum parkers, and mud splashers, imagines what she'd do to them if she were a judge.

The inhabitants, including the trees and rocks, of Balloon Land are made entirely of balloons. They come under attack from the evil Pincushion Man. With the help of a quickly inflated army, they manage to fend off the attacker.

Centuries ago in the past, the witch, who doesn't like Beauty, puts her to sleep, then flies throughout the castle spreading sleep powder, placing all into slumber. Eventually we flash forward to present time: A young hepcat in a convertible tries awakening Sleeping Beauty, and everyone in the castle, with some Big Band music. Will it work? A Puppetoon animated short film.

Betty Boop tries to give Pudgy the Pup a bath, with slapstick results.

Betty Boop takes her stage act on the road, and plays in Japan to great acclaim.

A chicken has hatched seven chicks. She locates six of them, but the other, Eggbert, is missing.

Mrs. Mouse is reading "A Visit from St. Nicholas" to her brood when a cat tries to break in. The cat overhears them arguing about the existence of Santa, so he dresses up accordingly.

A strong mouse says that he will become the heavyweight champion of the world. But his grandma (who is just as strong) doesn't want him to fight...

It's recital day at the schoolhouse. First up: Porky, who recites The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. A nervous kitten recites Mary Had a Little Lamb. The puppies Ham and Ex sing the title song. Oliver Owl plays the piano; Beans the cat puts a cat and dog inside, and they play a tune as well.

Various Hollywood performers put on a pirate-themed variety show on Catalina Island, with a number of amiable stars in the audience.

Betty Boop tells naughty Little Jimmy a corrective fairy tale.

Porky and Beans are prospectors during the Gold Rush, but when a villain steals Porky's bag of loot Beans races to get it back so he can marry Porky's daughter Little Kitty.

An MGM Happy Harmonies cartoon in which a group of industrious bees, working to make honey among other products, attempt to outwit a spider who's chasing two of the bees.

Happy sunshine-bottling gnomes battle gloomy swamp-dwellers.

Betty brings home a cat as a playmate for her pet puppy, Pudgy. The cat manages to get Pudgy blamed for all his misbehaviour.

Don Middleton is so caught up with his work he neglects his wife Elsa. Lonely Elsa begins to spend more time with Don's best friend and they become attracted to one another. Don and Elsa decide to get a divorce, unaware of the effect their problems are having on their daughter Molly. When Elsa announces plans to remarry, Molly runs away from home.

2 puppets are left to their uncle's attention who works at the Fire house.

Bunnies, turtles, and other small woodland animals play. A child skunk remains apart, heartbroken that he has no friends.

W.C.Fields enters the Warmer Bros. Studio. Beans tries to drive in, but the guard throws him and his car against a tree. Charlie Chaplin drives in, followed by Oliver Hardy on foot - but we see that it's really Beans in disguise. Oliver Owl is directing a picture; Beans sneaks onto the stage. He's watching from a catwalk when someone knocks him off, into the middle of the scene. Beans is thrown off the set, right into the set of a Frankenstein movie. He accidentally brings the robotic monster to life, and it crashes into the original studio, eating the camera. Beans tries to stop the monster, but is sent flying. He lands against a wind machine. which chops up the monster.

A 12 episode serial starring Rex, the King of the Wild Horses and Rin-Tin-Tin, Jr. Rex is brought from the island of Sujan, where he is worshiped as a God-Horse, to the U.S. to be trained as a polo pony. He escapes, meets Rinty and with the help of Frank Bradley is returned to Sujan. The natives have been persuaded to turn against their God-Horse, however he is rescued just in time before he is burned as a sacrifice.

This short film highlights the odd 1930s fad of playing baseball while riding donkeys.

During the Great Depression, vaudeville has fallen on hard times. The Palace Theater may have to close its doors, unless the proprietor, William Jenkins, does something different, so he allows his 12-year-old son to put on a kiddie show that packs the house.