So My Kids Can Watch / Film

Franchises/Multiple Examples Within One Film:

Franchises:

• Harry Potter:
  • Michael Gambon accepted the role of Prof. Dumbledore in the films specifically so that his grandchildren wouldn't go through the shame of being related to someone who had turned down being Dumbledore. As revealed on the interviews to Prisoner of Azkaban, the kids today aren't impressed by Samuel Beckett.
  • Similarly, Robbie Coltrane has said, "Can you imagine if I'd gone home and said 'Children, I was offered the part of Hagrid, but I turned it down'? Large actor found in the Clyde."
  • Ditto with Emma Thompson, who played Professor Trelawney.
  • Gambon's predecessor, Richard Harris, initially turned down the role of Dumbledore because he knew he wasn't going to be around for seven movies. His 11-year-old granddaughter heard about it and threatened never to speak to him again. He changed his mind on the grounds that he couldn't do without her.
  • Gary Oldman's own words were something along the lines of "Wanting to do something I could finally take my kids to see." Not the first time. See his Lost in Space entry below. He also said he hadn't worked in over a year and needed the money.
  • Reportedly, Alan Rickman did the movies at the request of his nieces. Can you say "best uncle ever"? Even then, he at first refused the role (Rickman actually didn't like playing villainous characters) but was persuaded when JK Rowling revealed to him, privately, something about Snape's character, most likely his true motivations and allegiance. (At the time, the seventh book had yet to be written.)
  • A general example with David Thewlis who wanted to make a children's film, having never done one before.
• Marvel Cinematic Universe:
  • Mark Ruffalo took the part of the Hulk from The Avengers onward for this reason (that, and Edward Norton didn't want to come back). Backfired when his kids became so terrified he had to take them out of the theater.
  • Anthony Mackie pursued the role of The Falcon so that his son, nieces, nephews, and black kids in general could have a black superhero to look up to. He's also been very vocal about the need for greater diversity in superhero movies.
  • Robert Redford wanted to do Captain America: The Winter Soldier because his grandchildren are fans of Marvel movies and he wanted them to see him in one. It also crosses into Awesome, Dear Boy, since A) he's never been in such a special effects-heavy film before and B) it marks the first time he's played a villain in any of his works.
  • Djimon Hounsou has said he took the role of Korath in Guardians of the Galaxy because his son is a big fan of the Superhero genre, and he'd like to show him a more racially diverse depiction of comic characters.
  • James Spader claims one of his big motivations for playing the title villain in Avengers: Age of Ultron was that his sons are superhero fans. That, and he'd wanted to do a superhero film for a while.
  • Tim Roth was best-known for playing murderers, robbers, and badasses in general but did The Incredible Hulk once his sons were old enough to start going to his movies. He was, however, still typecast as the villain. (Interestingly, he turned down the role of Professor Snape in favor of the Planet of the Apes remake...)
  • Michael Keaton cited his daughter being a massive Spider-Man fan as the reason for playing the Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
  • Michael Douglas said the exact same thing about taking on the role of Hank Pym in Ant-Man, stating that his 13-year-old son is a huge superhero fan, whom he took to Comic-Con to promote the movie.
    Douglas: And most importantly, I did it for my children. They’re so excited. I’ve finally got a picture that they are so excited about. Dad is cool. You have to understand, for most of my career, I’ve done so many R-rated pictures. They can never see any of my movies. Just recently, at 14 and 12, they’re becoming more aware of some of the things that I’ve done. So, this is a lot of fun.
  • Cate Blanchett has commented that she joined in Thor: Ragnarok for the massive amounts of street cred that it will give her with her kids and give her a career boost. Apparently, it was one of her sons (reportedly the eldest) who suggested that she do a blockbuster movie in the first place after she finished filming the comparatively more serious Carol. This is also what persuaded her to agree to do the voice of Valka in How to Train Your Dragon 2, saying that her initial response was to smile at the director and tell him the first movie was very popular in their house.
  • Tom Vaughan-Lawlor joined Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame as Ebony Maw so his son could see an age-appropriate film he was in, as noted here in this article. This, despite the fact he plays one of the villains and suffers a Family-Unfriendly Death to boot.
  • In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Charlize Theron made an Early-Bird Cameo as Clea - Doctor Strange's traditional Love Interest - in The Stinger. Her rationale? Her kids were into the MCU, and they were too young to watch most of her prior films.
• DC Extended Universe:
  • Man of Steel: One of the reasons why Russell Crowe took the role of Jor-El was that he wants his two sons to see him as a father figure in a movie catered to their age group.
  • Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: Ben Affleck joined the film as Batman for his son and daughters for one of the main reasons. The other reason is that he always wanted to play Batman, especially since they were taking the The Dark Knight Returns route.
  • Aquaman (2018): Nicole Kidman has said that her daughters became interested in the film after learning that she would be playing a superhero queen. This also crosses over with Awesome, Dear Boy, since she had fun while filming.
    • In a similar example to the above film, Jason Momoa has been excited to play the titular role since Zack Snyder chose him way back in 2013, but he has also expressed how happy he was for his children, who were just as thrilled. He even saved his first viewing of the finished film for the premiere to discover it at the same time as them.
• Star Wars:
  • Sir Alec Guinness allegedly did A New Hope because of this trope, and would later resent the fact that it became one of his most famous roles. Peter Cushing had a similar reason, but it was more for kids in general.
  • The Phantom Menace has a lot of interesting ideas that were fumbled in execution. But there is one relatively last-minute change which makes it controversial: Anakin was supposed to be 12 and not 9, which makes his relationship with Padme less confusing. But George wanted to make movies for his kids and that's how old they were. Overall this change makes the movie more kid-friendly, which isn't terrible on its own.
  • Donnie Yen said this was one of his reasons for starring in Rogue One, as most of his martial arts movies are too visceral for his children to watch. But when Gareth Edwards first reached out, he wasn't sure if he wanted to go from Hong Kong to London for five months to shoot it. So he asked his kids, and they went wild. Similarly, as told in the extras, Jiang Wen's sons translated the script for Rogue One for him and asked him to take on the role for them.
• Spy Kids:
  • Robert Rodriguez. Do you know him as the director of Sin City or of Spy Kids? The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl was even "co-written" by his kids.
  • Antonio Banderas also said he did Spy Kids so his kids could watch. His roles in the Shrek franchise, Puss in Boots (2011), The Sponge Bob Movie Sponge Out Of Water, and Dolittle could also count.
  • Joel McHale said this was why he did Spy Kids: All the Time in the World. Jessica Alba also appeared in it for her children.
• Transformers Film Series:
  • John Turturro was in Transformers so his sons could watch something with him in it.
  • Jon Voight had a similar reason, so his grandkids (both biological and adopted) could watch him in something appropriate.
  • Patrick Dempsey was in Transformers: Dark of the Moon because his kids wouldn't believe he was good at his job until he'd been in a Transformers film.
  • Hong Kong actor Ray Lui had originally turned down the offer to cameo in Transformers: Age of Extinction. He later accepted it because his son's birthday wish was for him to act in the movie.
• Trolls:
  • James Corden took a role as Biggie so his three children could watch something he was in. After all, Into the Woods wouldn't be considered a family-friendly film...
  • Rachel Bloom took a role as Queen Barb in Trolls World Tour for her then soon-to-be-born daughter, in a similar case to Rashida Jones as mentioned below. She even recorded her lines while she was pregnant with her.
  • One of the main reasons the McElroy Brothers wanted roles in World Tour. The other reason stemmed from a joke made in their podcast that the brothers wished to be in a Trolls sequel if DreamWorks Animation ever pursued one. Sure enough, the three of them actually managed to snag a few roles bordering on cameo appearances.
  • Rumor has it that Chance the Rapper joined World Tour as Prince D because his daughter Kensli is a fan of the franchise before being recast with Anderson Paak.
  • Travis Scott and Kylie Jenner both starred in Trolls: Holiday in Harmony because their daughter Stormi is a huge fan of the franchise.
• The Twilight Saga:
  • Michael Sheen has talked about how part of his motivation for taking the role of Aro was because his daughter was a fan of the books.
  • Similarly, Christopher Heyerdahl took the role of Marcus because his nieces were fans.
  • Peter Facinelli, who plays Carlisle, took his part partially for his daughters and his wife.

Multiple Examples Within One Film:

• My Little Pony: The Movie (2017):
  • Emily Blunt, Michael Peña, and Liev Schreiber all joined the film for this reason.
  • Schreiber, in particular, was apparently desperate for kid-friendly/family-friendly roles after he showed X-Men Origins: Wolverine to his kids in an attempt to reassure them that he wasn't a bad person in real life. Ironically, his character was still the Big Bad, but still more appropriate for audiences. In fact, he has said this of his role in the film.
• Shark Tale:
  • Robert De Niro took a role in Shark Tale for his sons Julian and Elliot.
  • Will Smith played the main character, Oscar, in that movie for the same reason.
• Snow Day:
  • Chris Elliott said he did Snow Day because he hadn't done a kids film yet and he wanted to be in something his kids could watch. However, he also did it as a favor for a friend who worked at Nickelodeon.
  • Chevy Chase also did Snow Day for his kids.
• Spice World:
  • Richard E. Grant has been in many fine and not so fine works, but the one that really excited his daughter was Spice World.
  • Stephen Fry admitted in an episode of QI that he took a role in Spice World because it allowed him to get autographed posters of the Spice Girls for his nephews, which he claimed "was like ten Christmases for them."
• Spy Kids: All the Time in the World:
  • As mentioned above, both Joel McHale and Jessica Alba starred in the film for their children.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014):
  • Megan Fox, Will Arnett, Alan Ritchson and Johnny Knoxville all mentioned this as a factor for their roles in the film.
  • Whoopi Goldberg is a late attempt (as her daughter, who wanted mommy to be in a Ninja Turtles movie, was already grown) that still fits "So My Grandkids Can Watch".
• Wild Wild West
  • This was reported to be this for both Will Smith and Kevin Kline...despite the fact that Smith was primarily known for his family-friendly sitcom. Plus, his previous film was hardly adults-only, and even his rap music tended to reside on the inoffensive side of the scale.

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Actors/Actresses:

• Dame Judith Anderson took the part of T'Lar in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock for her nephew, whom she jokingly said would never have forgiven her for turning down a role in a Star Trek film.
• Alec Baldwin said this was why he wanted to be in Beetlejuice. One would wonder how scarred said children are.
  • He also played Dennis in The Spongebob Squarepants Movie so his kids can watch him in an animated movie. You know, the scary hitman who was hired to murder our heroes. Like Beetlejuice above, his kids must have been terrified.^note  or at least his younger kids, since the older ones were fans of the show
  • Considering Alec Baldwin is known for having a sardonic sense of humor, he might have been joking. His role in Thomas & Friends is likely an example of this too. However, his later works with DreamWorks Animation could be seen as better attempts.
• Antonio Banderas did the Spy Kids franchise, the Shrek franchise, and Puss in Boots (2011) so that his daughter and stepdaughter could watch films he was in, since most of his films were too violent, too mature, or too visceral to enjoy. His later roles in The Sponge Bob Movie Sponge Out Of Water and Dolittle could also count.
• Originally, Kathy Bates didn't want to play Mama Boucher in The Waterboy, but agreed to because her niece was a fan of Adam Sandler. This was fortunate for him, since she was his first and only pick for the part.
• Paul Bettany signed on for Inkheart largely because his kids liked the book. He also lamented the fact that the only role by which his kids were actually impressed was his short voice acting cameo in Iron Man as JARVIS.
• Jack Black inverted this trope when he starred in The Holiday. He wanted to make a movie that his mother would enjoy.
• Shortly before the birth of her daughter, Rachel Bloom starred in The Angry Birds Movie 2 and Trolls World Tour.
• Emily Blunt: Aside from the above case, she also starred in Animal Crackers (2017) (alongside her real-life husband John Krasinski), Sherlock Gnomes, Mary Poppins Returns, and Jungle Cruise for her two daughters.
• Welsh heavyweight thespian Richard Burton wanted to do a film that he could show his kids, so he got his novelist mate Alistair McLean to knock off a rollicking World War II adventure screenplay for him. The result - Where Eagles Dare - remains one of his best-known parts...
• Michael Caine:
  • Played the part of Ebeneezer Scrooge in The Muppet Christmas Carol so his young daughter could see him in a movie. He's also gone on record as saying he had an absolute blast making the film, and considers Scrooge one of his favorite roles he's ever played.
  • On why he accepted a role in the sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D:
    Caine: I took the film because I have grandchildren now, and I get to ride around on a giant bumblebee... My grandchildren are... going to say to kids at school, "Can your grandfather do that?"
  • He also starred in Cars 2 and Gnomeo & Juliet, both released in 2011.
• Dana Carvey made The Master of Disguise as his first starring role after recovering from a botched heart operation specifically so he could make a film for his kids. Unfortunately, its lack of appeal for adults meant it didn't make for much of a comeback.
• Johnny Depp, in numerous roles. He still manages to remain incredibly bizarre (even creepy) in these roles. In an interview, he confessed that it wasn't fully motivated by this trope, but he didn't want "the DVDs for his movies all at the back of the shelf".
  • His role as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl came about partly because of this trope, and partly because he had wanted to do a Disney film after watching most of their animated movies with his children and finding that he was really enjoying them.
• Robert Downey Jr. and his wife Susan chose to make Dolittle for their kids after wrapping Avengers: Endgame to give them something to watch other than the Marvel movies.
• This was a possible motivation for the decision by Clint Eastwood to follow up a decade of violent westerns and police dramas with two PG-rated comedy films in which his his co-star was an orangutan.
• Idris Elba: After the birth of his two children.
  • After playing a Noble Demon corrupt gangster and even more terrifying Cowboy Cop, he starred in three films for Disney in 2016: Zootopia, The Jungle Book (2016), and Finding Dory. Never mind the fact that the second film, despite being a Live-Action Adaptation of a classic children's film, is essentially Darker and Edgier than its source material and the fact that Shere Khan suffers a Family-Unfriendly Death by fire in the climax.
  • His roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Trek Beyond, and Hobbs & Shaw could count as well.
• Jamie Foxx took the role of Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 because his daughter is a massive Spider-Man fan. He also starred in Rio, Rio 2, and Soul.
• Jennifer Garner: After being an Action Girl on Alias, Daredevil, and its Spin-Off Elektra, she starred in The Odd Life of Timothy Green, Miracles From Heaven, Nine Lives (2016), Wonder Park, and Yes Day.
• Walton Goggins: He appeared in roles like Ant-Man and the Wasp and Spirit Untamed for his son Augustus.
• Although he doesn't have children himself, it could be argued that Jake Gyllenhaal starred in Spider-Man: Far From Home and Spirit Untamed for his niece Ramona and goddaughter Matilda.
• Dustin Hoffman, of all people, lobbied for the role of Mario in Super Mario Bros. (1993) so his kids could see him in that role.
• Kevin James has been in several animated films for his daughters, including Monster House, Barnyard and the Hotel Transylvania series.
• Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson seems to be becoming notorious for this. To wit:
  • After the birth of his first daughter Simone, Johnson took roles in The Game Plan, Race to Witch Mountain, Planet 51, The Tooth Fairy, and Journey 2 The Mysterious Island alongside Michael Caine.
  • After the birth of his next two daughters, Jasmine and Tiana, he then took roles as the demigod Maui in Moana; Dr. Smolder Bravestone in the PG-rated Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which came out soon after an R-rated turn in another remake, Baywatch (and in the midst of his starring in the adult-oriented TV series, Ballers); the sequel Jumanji: The Next Level; an executive producer in the superhero film SHAZAM! (2019), the star of Black Adam (2022); and Jungle Cruise along fellow entry Emily Blunt.
  • Johnson once recounted a story on Late Show with David Letterman about how he asked the studio to make him a special copy of The Scorpion King — only his scenes, and cutting anything that wouldn't get a G rating, because his very young daughter wanted to see "Daddy's movie." This special cut ran about 5 minutes.
• Angelina Jolie: For every Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Wanted, and Salt, there is one Shark Tale, Kung Fu Panda, Kung Fu Panda 2, Maleficent, Kung Fu Panda 3, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and Eternals.
• Rashida Jones did the voice of Donna Lou-Who in The Grinch for her then soon-to-be-born son Isaiah. Afterwards, she was the co-writer of Toy Story 4 and appeared in Klaus and Spies in Disguise.
• Tommy Lee Jones (no relation) became Two-Face in Batman Forever because his son was a big fan of Harvey Dent.
  • Likewise, Tom Hardy's son was a fan of Venom, so he became Eddie Brock in Venom. And given it's an Anti-Hero with a penchant for violence, Hardy snarked at the SDCC:
    Hardy: "I wanted to do something my son could watch...so I did something where I bite people's heads off."
• Raúl Juliá took the role of M. Bison from the Street Fighter film as a gift to his children. He already knew he was dying of cancer and wanted to earn a decent final salary as a legacy to his surviving family members. He let his sons choose his last role from the ones he was currently being offered, and they, fans of the series, chose that one.
• Kevin Kline: Just don't mention Wild Wild West to him. He also starred in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Road to El Dorado, The Tale of Despereaux, and Beauty and the Beast (2017) for his son Owen and daughter Greta.
• Wayne Knight said he did Space Jam so kids in general would know him as something other than "the bad guy from Jurassic Park". (That didn't keep him from voicing the bad guy in Toy Story 2, though.) He was aware, however, that adults would still view him as Newman.
• John Krasinski: Monsters University, The Prophet, Animal Crackers (2017) (alongside his real-life wife Emily Blunt), and Next Gen. Now compare that to 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi and A Quiet Place.
• Frank Langella took the role of Skeletor in the Masters of the Universe film specifically because he wanted to do something for his kids. To this day, he loves to talk about the role and how much fun he had playing it.
• Matthew Lillard signed on for Five Nights at Freddy's (2023) after his kids informed him of how big FNAF was as a franchise, and told him how big of an opportunity being in the movie would be.
• Michael Madsen did Free Willy so his sons could see him in a movie (most of his previous roles had been in violent R-rated movies such as Thelma & Louise and Reservoir Dogs). It also turned out to be one of the few movies that he's proud of.
  • On a similar note, Madsen's sister Virginia admits that she did the infamous "talking horse" comedy Hot to Trot for similar reasons.
• Tyler Mane wasn't familiar with X-Men before he appeared in the first movie; he prepped for the role with his son, who was a big fan of the comics.
• James Marsden took the role for Prince Edward in Enchanted so that he and his kids could have something to watch together. After the birth of his 9-year-old son, he starred in Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) (and its sequel), The Boss Baby: Family Business, and My Little Pony: A New Generation.
• Matthew McConaughey starred in Sing and Kubo and the Two Strings because his most recent body of works were too mature or visceral for his kids to watch. For the former, he even stated:
  McConaughey: I look back at my last ten years and I haven't made anything my kids can see. It's not a good idea to sit them down in front of a lot...anything in the last ten years yet.
• Lee Meriwether played Catwoman in Batman: The Movie for her kids. In an interview, she explained that she had to do either Batman or Star Trek: The Original Series to please them. (She later appeared in Star Trek as well so presumably, her kids were pleased.)
• Julianne Moore's two children were fans of The Hunger Games books, and convinced her to sign on to play Alma Coin in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. She also appeared in Spirit Untamed.
  • In a similar case, Kate Winslet played Jeanine in Divergent partially for this reason, joking that it's the one film of hers in which her kids won't have to see her naked. She also joked that her kids became very cool at school when word got out that their mother was Jeanine.
• Word of God says this is initially why Viggo Mortensen signed on for The Lord of the Rings: He was offered the part of Aragorn when the actor originally cast backed out, so he'd have to immediately fly halfway around the world and put the rest of his life on hold for an entire year. Naturally, Mortensen was a little hesitant about making that kind of commitment since he had not yet read the books. It was his son who insisted he HAD to take the role or he would regret it forever. Mortensen read the books on the flight to New Zealand and says he was glad his son was so adamant about it.
• Eddie Murphy. Watch Daddy Day Care. Now watch Trading Places. In fact, just watch Trading Places.
  • Another reason for Murphy's stint in family movies was an attempt to change his image after being spotted picking up a prostitute in 1997. After this, he appeared in Mulan, Dr. Dolittle, the Shrek franchise, and Imagine That.
• Liam Neeson signed on for 2010's Clash of the Titans remake solely because his children were really into Classical Mythology and thought it would be cool for him to play Zeus.
• Gary Oldman:
  • He took the role of Doctor Smith in The Film of the Series of Lost in Space so his kids could watch it. Of course, he's probably the best thing in the movie.
  • He also played Lord Ruber in Quest for Camelot. Like the above example, he is considered the best thing in a film full of Narm.
  • He later took roles in A Christmas Carol (2009), Planet 51, and Kung Fu Panda 2, the latter two as the Big Bad again and one of them suffers a very violent death at the climax.
• Robert Patrick, aka the T-1000, cited this trope word for word on why he starred as the main character's dad in Bridge to Terabithia.
• Michael Peña: After the birth of his son Roman, Pena starred in roles such as Turbo, Ant-Man and its sequel, The LEGO Ninjago Movie, the aforementioned My Little Pony: The Movie (2017), Next Gen, Dora and the Lost City of Gold, and Tom & Jerry (2021).
• Ryan Reynolds is most well-known for his R-rated roles, particularly Deadpool. He leapt at the opportunity to do something more kid-friendly, the titular star of Pokémon Detective Pikachu, so his children could enjoy a movie he was in.
  • Bill Nighy also gave this reason for being in the film. That, and another reason entirely...
• According to the man himself, Adam Sandler's Bedtime Stories (2008) and Jack and Jill were created for his kids, made apparent by the lack of raunchy humor Adam Sandler movies are typically known for in favor of more lighthearted, juvenile gags. He also starred in the Hotel Transylvania franchise and Pixels...of course, whether or not the latter film can be considered family-friendly is up to debate.
• Brooke Shields did Furry Vengeance for her kids.
• Will Smith: Aside from the aforementioned Men in Black, Wild Wild West, and Shark Tale for his son Jaden and daughter Willow, he also did Suicide Squad (2016), Aladdin (2019) (a Live-Action Adaptation of the animated Disney film of the same name), and Spies in Disguise.
• Mary Steenburgen played Clara Clayton in Back to the Future Part III (and subsequently in the animated series) because her children begged her. This was quite fortunate for the filmmakers, who regarded her as their first and only choice for the part.
• Meryl Streep took the role of Aunt Josephine in A Series of Unfortunate Events upon the request of her daughter, a big fan of the books. On the other hand, she starred in Mamma Mia! specifically to embarrass her children.
• Sydney Sweeney doesn't have kids, but said in an interview that she did Madame Web (2024) partly because she knew her younger cousins would enjoy seeing her in it.
• Charlize Theron: She starred in Kubo and the Two Strings, The Addams Family (2019), and the The School for Good and Evil Live-Action Adaptation for her two daughters. Remember, this is the woman who was a member of the Vuvalini, a top-level MI6 agent, a criminal mastermind cyberterrorist, and an immortal superhero warrior.
• Mark Wahlberg did the film Invincible so that his kids could actually see him in a film (most of his films before then were either R-rated or so bad that no one should watch them, no matter the rating). His later roles in Transformers: Age of Extinction, Daddy's Home, Transformers: The Last Knight, Instant Family, and SCOOB! can also count.
• Paul Walker admitted while promoting the very R-rated Running Scared (2006) that he made Eight Below (which opened the week before) so he could take his daughter, nieces and nephews to a movie premiere.
• Despite the film's R rating, Denzel Washington made Virtuosity because his son asked him to do the film.
• Sigourney Weaver appeared in Holes because it was her daughter's favorite book and she begged her to play the Warden.
• Michelle Williams said that her favorite part of starring in The Greatest Showman was making a movie that she could take her daughter and her daughter's girl scout troop to go see, since most of her movies are heavy dramas not remotely suitable for children (eg, Brokeback Mountain, Shutter Island). Before this, she starred as Glinda The Good Witch in Oz the Great and Powerful.
• Robin Williams (again, no relation). He didn't start doing it right after his first son, Zachary, was born (1982), though. But after his other two children, Zelda (1989) and Cody (1991) were born, he did stuff like Hook, Aladdin, FernGully: The Last Rainforest, Jumanji, and Jack. Mrs. Doubtfire might also count as a family film, albeit one for the WHOLE family. Williams had gone back to the more adult roles sometime in the 2000s, but he still did a few kiddie flicks here and there before his suicide in 2014.
• Bruce Willis said in an interview this was pretty much the reason he starred in the 2000 movie The Kid (2000). Afterwards, he portrayed Spike in Rugrats Go Wild! and RJ in Over the Hedge.
• Reese Witherspoon took a role in The Trumpet of the Swan for her then two-year-old daughter Ava. After her son Deacon was born, she then starred in Monsters vs. Aliens, Sing, and A Wrinkle in Time (2018).

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Directors:

• Tim Burton doing Big Fish and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory can be justified by the birth of his son and the death of his father. There is also the likes of Corpse Bride, Alice in Wonderland (2010), Frankenweenie, and Dumbo (2019).
• It is believed that one of the reasons why Francis Ford Coppola made Jack was so that his young granddaughter could see one of his films.
• MGM higher-ups were a bit nervous about asking usually no-nonsense director Victor Fleming to direct The Wizard of Oz. When they did, he immediately said yes, saying that he wants to make a movie that his kids can see.
• Stephen Gaghan, best known for crime dramas and political thrillers, directed Dolittle, a children's fantasy blockbuster, for his two younger children.
• George Lucas had wanted to make a movie for his daughters, so Strange Magic was the belated movie. He viewed Star Wars as being for 12-year-old boys, and this movie was for the 12-year-old girls that his daughters used to be.
• Christopher Nolan's work on Batman Begins is a downplayed example. As famous as the film was for its Darker and Edgier take on the Batman mythos and its repudiation of the Denser and Wackier Joel Schumacher films, Nolan had no problem with the studio's mandate that it be rated PG-13 instead of R, as he envisioned it as the kind of Batman movie he dreamed of seeing as a kid — with emphasis on "kid".
  Nolan: My view was that this is a movie I wanted to see when I was 11 years old, so in my mind it’s always been PG-13. I never really addressed that issue specifically. I just assumed that’s what it would be.
• Trey Parker of South Park fame took the role he was offered in Despicable Me 3 so his then one-and-a-half-year-old daughter could watch something her daddy was in for once. (Which is kind of funny, because said daughter has also voiced Ike in South Park.)
• Robert Rodriguez made the Spy Kids franchise, Shorts, and We Can Be Heroes (2020) for his children. The Adventures Of Shark Boy And Lava Girl was even co-written by one of his children.
• Martin Scorsese made Hugo because he wanted something he could take his youngest daughter (who is a teenager, so this may not count) and his granddaughter to see.
• M. Night Shyamalan said he did The Last Airbender for his kids because they all loved the Avatar: The Last Airbender show and also because he actually enjoyed it with them. It... didn't pan out the way he intended.
• Kevin Smith's Jersey Girl was made because he'd just had a daughter and wanted to make a movie that wasn't filled with crude humor. Unfortunately, a lot of his fans were angered by their hero "going soft," and he was forced to make a return to form. Watching the movie knowing that it was made for and about Smith's daughter does make the movie much sweeter, though.
  • Smith also inverts this trope by not making a particular movie for his kids, specifically a Dogma sequel he'd been kicking around, which would have centered around the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
• This was Zack Snyder's reason for doing Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole.
• One of the reasons Park Chan-wook made I'm a Cyborg, but That's OK was the realisation that, with his twelve-year-old daughter becoming interested in seeing her father's work, he absolutely could not show her Oldboy (2003).
• Joe Wright, a filmmaker best known for period dramas and the occasional action film, directed Pan, a big-budget PG-rated fantasy film that served as an origin story for Peter Pan, for his two sons.

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Musicians/Singers:

• Christina Aguilera played Akikko Glitter in The Emoji Movie for her daughter Summer.
• Michael Bolton sang for the tiger in the "Upbeat Inspirational Song About Life" for Teen Titans Go! To the Movies because his grandkids were avid viewers of the series.
• Shakira said she got "cool mom points" from her kids for doing Zootopia.
• Gwen Stefani played DJ Suki in Trolls and contributed to the soundtrack for her three sons.
  • Similarly, her fiancé Blake Shelton took roles in The Angry Birds Movie and Ugly Dolls.
• Ice-T did Tank Girl for his son.

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Other:

• James Corden starred in Into the Woods, Trolls, The Emoji Movie, and Peter Rabbit so that his three children could watch something he took part in. He also originally recorded lines for Balloon Man in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies for this reason, but it wound up being a Deleted Role.
• Neil Gaiman notes that despite his much-lauded work, the thing that earned him the most cred with his son was having the planet Neelgaimon named after him in the Star Wars universe.
• While John Oliver's previous roles in child oriented works would fall under "Sesame Street" Cred, his roles in Wonder Park and The Lion King were done so his son Hudson could finally like a project that he worked on.
• Rob Riggle played Aloysius O'Hare in The Lorax for his children Abby and George. He would later go on to do Fancy Nancy and The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants for the same reason.

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