This week’s Race to Witch Mountain sees otherworldly tweeners Sara (AnnaSophia Robb) and Seth (Alexander Ludwig) go head to head with government baddies and an extraterrestrial assassin. But if they are going to be the next big action heroes, they have some stiff competition from cinema’s legacy of tough kids.
10. Peter Pan, Peter Pan
He might have an unfair advantage, being caught in permanent prepubescent status, but no kid comes close to Peter Pan’s mad sword-fighting skills. Just think about what kind of action hero YOU’D be after 100 years of being a 10 year-old fighting pirates.
KEEP READING: See No. 9 …
[PAGEBREAK]
9. Danny Madigan, Last Action Hero
The critics didn’t think much of Last Action Hero back in 1993, but that shouldn’t take away from Danny Madigan’s (Austin O’Brien) uncanny knowledge of action movies. In fact, he is so good at predicting the many calamities that would befall his favorite hero (Arnold Schwarzenegger), he even saves the day.
KEEP READING: See No. 8 …
[PAGEBREAK]
8. Short Round, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones kind of steals the thunder in any partnership, but even he needs a sidekick in foreign lands. Short Round’s (Jonathan Ke Quan) excitability and adorably broken English could have been annoying, but Steven Spielberg knows how to pick his moments. In a post Jake Lloyd world, Short Round looks like the cool kid.
KEEP READING: See No. 7 …
[PAGEBREAK]
7. Klaus, Violet and Sunny Baudelaire, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
The film did not launch a franchise as lucrative as the books, on which it is based, but orphans Klaus (Liam Aiken), Violet (Emily Browning) and baby Sunny (Kara and Shelby Hoffman) are pretty resourceful nevertheless. No matter what deathtrap their supposed benefactor Count Olaf (Jim Carrey) lock them in, they devise a way out using their wits, whatever props are nearby, MacGyver style — and of course, Sunny’s super-strong bite.
KEEP READING: See No. 6 …
[PAGEBREAK]
6. Peter, Edmund, Lucy, Susan Pevensie, The Chronicles of Narnia
Peter (William Moseley), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Susan (Anna Popplewell) are take charge kind of siblings. They may have accidentally stumbled through a wardrobe to find themselves in Narnia, but they eventually embrace their destiny as kings and queens of the land with gusto, battling and defeating an evil White Witch (Tilda Swinton) and a merciless king (Sergio Castellitto).
KEEP READING: See No. 5…
[PAGEBREAK]
5. Brad and Sara Anderson, Adventures in Babysitting
OK, even though Brad (Keith Coogan) is technically just beginning as a teenager, he and his little sister Sara (Maia Brewton) still need a babysitter (Elisabeth Shue). Oh man, that’s so uncool. But their subsequent high adventure through the streets of Chicago — escaping thugs, scaling buildings and walking over rafters — is what makes these kids rock.
KEEP READING: See No. 4 …
[PAGEBREAK]
4. Kevin McCallister, Home Alone
Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) had to be the most innovative 8 year-old around. I mean, talk about a budding MacGyver, using all the basic elements at his disposal to inventive traps and foil two would-be burgulars. The only reason Kevin’s not No. 1 on our list is the fact he keeps whining about wanting his family back. Wuss.
KEEP READING: See No. 3 …
[PAGEBREAK]
3. Harry Potter, the Harry Potter series
Poor Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) never really had a choice. His call to action came the moment the 11 year-old is told he is a wizard at and is whisked off to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. From that moment on, his life turns into one giant action adventure, which — along with friends Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) — grows increasingly more dangerous the more Lord Voldermort (Ralph Fiennes) tries to exact his revenge against Harry, the Boy Who Lived.
KEEP READING: See No. 2 …
[PAGEBREAK]
2. Carmen and Juni Cortez, Spy Kids
Director Robert Rodriguez turns pre-teens Carmen (Alexa Vega) and her little brother Juni (Daryl Sabara) into the ultimate spy badasses. They can fight, they can fly, they cansave their parents. What kid wouldn’t fantasize about having more control than their authority figures? Never condescending to the audience while always stimulating their fantasy imagination, Spy Kids is one of this generation’s greatest kids’ movie.
KEEP READING: See No. 1 …
[PAGEBREAK]
1. The Goonies Kids, The Goonies
These kids (including a very young Josh Brolin and Sean Astin) had the biggest adventure of them all, hunting treasure through underground pirate caves and without the use of any super powers or high-tech gadgets. Goonies is the ultimate youth adventure, and it still holds up today with its old-school, real-world thrills.
