Eager to spend some quality time with the kids on St. Patrick’s Day or longing to set them up with a babysitter so you can get out of the house on March 17? A family friendly movie might be just the thing to facilitate your holiday aspirations, whatever they may be. Finding a movie that adults and children can enjoy together—and that won’t bore a babysitter to death—isn’t always easy, but our list of St. Paddy’s Day/Irish-themed films can help.
1. Darby O’Gill and the Little People
Most young people know Sean Connery from The League of Extraordinary Gentleman, but he was actually a good actor once. One of his lesser known roles was in this 1959 Disney film, which recounts the adventures Darby, a great spinner of tales, who stumbles upon the king of the leprechauns and a cache of gold. A reputation for tall tales prevents his fellow townspeople from believing Darby, who must match wits his undersized adversary if he hopes to get the treasure. Connery plays the love interest of Darby’s daughter, and even does some singing in the film.
2. Finian’s Rainbow
The 1968 musical follows Finian, played by Fred Astaire, on his rapid departure from Ireland to a made-up state in the American South. He’s stolen a pot of gold from a leprechaun, and he hopes if he buries it near Fort Knox it will grow. The enjoyable romp, directed by Francis Ford Coppola during an early, light-hearted period, delivers the song and dance numbers that made Astaire so famous, but also offers a critique of racism. Cynical teenagers may not like it, but the film should please just about everybody else.
Here’s the trailer (embedding disabled, ugh).
3. The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns
Randy (not Dennis) Quaid and Whoopi (not Bill) Goldberg headline this made-for-television movie about a man thrust into a conflict between leprechauns and fairies on the magical Emerald Isle. The film has plenty of PG action, romance, and Irish singing and dancing, but lacks the visual sophistication to be a big hit with older kids. It can, however, be fairly for the younger ones, and at close to three hours long, it can certainly free up some quality for parents to do what they want to do on St. Patrick’s Day.
4. The Secret of Roan Inish
It’s not a typical St. Patrick’s Day movie, but this film captures many great elements of Irish storytelling and legends, particularly the myth of the selkie—a seal that can become human. The plot revolves around a young girl who is sent from the city to live with her grandparents in rural Ireland, and her search for her young brother, who disappeared into the sea. The story can seem slow moving to youngsters, but it’s a beautifully filmed and touching movie that should please the whole family.
5. Waking Ned Devine
A film that enjoyed considerable popularity in the United States, Waking Ned Devine is better suited for older kids and parents, since it contains a bit of dark humor and some other fairly grown-up themes. The movie paints a charming picture of an Irish town that collectively conspires to cash a lottery ticket, purchased by a resident who died of shock upon discovering his luck. While not specifically St. Patrick’s Day themed, it’s an enjoyable look at the Irish spirit nevertheless.
