Watch With the Kids
The Pitch
From Greek mythology comes the tale of Jason, who sails his ship (the Argo) in search of a magical golden fleece. They meet winged harpies, skeleton swordsmen, crashing cliffs, and a giant man of bronze.
Age Recommendations
Content Advisories
Potential boredom alert: no exciting monsters in the first half hour. In this story, not all heros act heroically. Also the movie just kind of ends.
Strong men in sandals and short skirts
When presenting an honorary Oscar to Ray Harryhausen, Tom Hanks called Jason and the Argonauts the “greatest movie ever made”. He meant to a boy in 1963, but even today there are delights here for kids. Made five years after The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Harryhausen’s monsters are even more memorable this time around, including the giant bronze statue Talos and the seven-headed Hydra. (And in this movie we get seven sword-wielding skeleton warriors.) It’s a tale of men who bind their fates together for a journey to the edge of the world. The brotherly bond between (an aging) Hercules and the bookish Hylas is the strongest of all, and becomes destined to end in heartbreak. Until a princess shows up, the only female on the ship is made of painted wood (a figurehead through which the goddess Hera speaks). —