5 Family-Friendly Oscar Moments

Betsy Bozdech, Common Sense Media
Mon Feb 25, 9:41 PM UTC

Host Seth MacFarlane (Photo: Getty Images)

Host Seth MacFarlane and his tendency toward wink-wink, nudge-nudge humor aside (we really could have done without the "boobs" song in the opening sequence...), the 85th annual Academy Awards had some stand-out moments when it came to recognizing movies for the whole family. Here are five of our favorites:

1. "Argo" wins Best Picture: Director Ben Affleck might have been snubbed by the Academy, but this teen-friendly thriller (based on an almost-too-incredible-to-be-true real-life story) proved any remaining naysayers wrong by dominating awards season and taking home the biggest prize of the night. If only high school history class could be this funny and exciting!

2. "Brave" wins Best Animated Feature Film: The folks at Pixar beat out "Wreck-It Ralph" (which many favored to win) with this unconventional princess story about a headstrong Scottish lass. Some of Princess Merida's confrontations with scary bears will be too much for little kids, but we give this beautifully animated adventure 4 stars for tweens 8 and up.

3. Ang Lee wins Best Director for "Life of Pi": It's not often that a PG-rated movie takes home one of the Oscars' biggest awards, but Lee's gorgeous, emotional story about faith and friendship gave him the edge over Lincoln favorite Steven Spielberg. There are some very intense scenes, but we give it an "ON" for older tweens and teens.

4. Daniel Day-Lewis wins Best Actor for "Lincoln": The first thespian to win three Best Actor statuettes, Day-Lewis not only played America's legendary Civil War president to perfection in Spielberg's teen-friendly historical drama, but he also proved a model of grace and humility during his acceptance speech. Bravo, sir!

5. Anne Hathaway wins Best Supporting Actress for "Les Miserables": The one-time princess of Genovia was one of the surest bets to win this year for her heartbreaking performance as Fantine in the big-screen adaptation of the hit musical, but her heartfelt thanks still felt sincere. We recommend this gritty but stirring epic for teens ages 14 and up.

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