The Best Throwback Movies You Can Watch On HBO Max

If you love your pizza topped with a heaping helping of nostalgia, you can't go wrong with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. We're talking the 1990 version, with the people in the elaborate puppet suits — the way it should be. Although the turtles are very much a product of their time, this first film has aged surprisingly well. It has some pretty impressive fight sequences, is funnier than it has any right to be, and the turtle costumes (designed by Jim Henson's Creature Shop) are really well made.

The film is very much an origin story, touching on the background of the titular turtles as well as Master Splinter, Shredder, and the Foot Clan. It is very much a children's property, owing more to the cartoon than the original black-and-white alt comics, but it doesn't lean as heavily into the juvenile humor of the second and third films. As such, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles doesn't have nearly as many painful moments as so many other "based on a cartoon" movies.

If you want to continue down this path, the sequel and (shudder) the third film are on HBO Max, as is the 2007 animated release TMNT. Cowabunga!

The NeverEnding Story traumatized a lot of kids on its release in 1984. The glowing red eyes of the Gmork. The all-consuming Nothing. Those statues that shot out laser beams. And, of course, the Swamps of Sadness. A lot of panicked, bawling children probably had to be hurried out of theaters as parents realized that Artax wasn't going to get happy all of a sudden.

All that sorrow is part of what makes The NeverEnding Story so magical. All the best fairy tales have serious horror and tragedy in them — it's something that every child understands and can identify with. For all the sadness in the film, there are just as many moments of wonder. Who can forget Falkor, the Luck Dragon? And Stranger Things helped remind us that the film's theme song is an absolute bop.

Few movies are as pure, nostalgic bliss as this story of heroism and hope in the face of sorrow and apathy. If you can get past the inevitable sadness of Artax (it's okay to shed a few tears), The NeverEnding Story is a slam dunk. The not-as-good-but-still-solid sequel is available as well.

Babe is a much better movie than a lot of people realize. It may seem like a fairly standard trope: what if animals could talk? However, there is a surprisingly thematic narrative at work here, and Babe holds up really well as a great example of a movie for kids that adults can also enjoy. That mature appeal isn't surprising when you remember that it was co-written and produced by Mad Max creator George Miller.

Babe is the story of a piglet who is raised on a farm by sheepdogs. Since Babe doesn't know any better, he grows up believing he is a sheepdog, too. All the animals on the farm like Babe, so when Farmer Hoggett allows Babe to herd the sheep, they comply. Astounded, Farmer Hoggett enters Babe in a herding competition, but things don't run as smoothly when Babe is off of his farm.

It's a sweet story about hard work and friendship with just a dash of existential darkness, all told with some adorable animal shenanigans. The cast is a solid group of character actors — keep your ears open for Hugo Weaving as the voice of Rex. If you need more sheepdog pigs in your life, you can also stream the surreal sequel Babe: Pig in the City, for which Miller took the helm as director as well. That'll do, HBO Max. That'll do.

Oh, you want a traumatizing animated film? Take The Last Unicorn for a spin. It seems like this one is often forgotten about when discussing classic, non-Disney animated films, but you've probably seen bits and pieces of The Last Unicorn at some point.

The Last Unicorn is about... well... the last unicorn in the world, who goes on a quest to find out what happened to the rest of her kind and help bring them back into existence. There is plenty of magic, danger, and peril along the way, and more than a fair share of existential crises that the unicorn must face down with the friends she makes along the way. One particularly scarring part of The Last Unicorn is the "carnival" where the unicorn is imprisoned by the witch Mommy Fortuna.

The Last Unicorn has a great voice cast, including Alan Arkin, Jeff Bridges, Mia Farrow, Angela Lansbury, and Christopher Lee. It's got beautiful animation, a powerful story about the loss of innocence, and an awesome orchestral soundtrack. Don't miss it.

HBO Max has a solid selection of Robin Williams movies to trigger your nostalgia, including Patch Adams, Good Will Hunting, and License to Wed (alright, so they aren't all winners). But for our money, Mrs. Doubtfire is the one that most people are going to be excited about. It's Williams at his absolute zaniest, and it's got more than a few iconic scenes.

Mrs. Doubtfire is about an out-of-work actor (Williams) whose wife files for divorce. She gains custody of their three kids, but has to hire a nanny in order to care for them. That's when he takes the opportunity to dress as a sweet old lady named Mrs. Doubtfire so he can still be around his children while he attempts to find a new job.

Mrs. Doubtfire also features solid performances from Sally Field and Pierce Brosnan in supporting roles, but this is definitely one of those "star vehicle" films. Robin Williams is just too much fun to watch.

Few movies are as blatantly commercial as The Wizard, but that's part of the charm of this 1989 video game flick. As part of that commercialism, it introduced the world to Super Mario Bros. 3, so it isn't so bad. And, just like the Power Glove, The Wizard is "so bad." If you were a child of the '80s, you know that means good. It was a confusing time.

The Wizard is basically Tommy, but it's about video games instead of pinball. Fred Savage plays Nick, who breaks his PTSD-afflicted brother Jimmy out of the mental institution where he's been committed following the death of his twin sister. Nick learns that Jimmy is an exceptional video game player, and starts hitchhiking across the country so he and Jimmy can enter a competition. He hopes to prove that Jimmy doesn't belong in the hospital by showcasing his talents.

It all culminates with Jimmy competing in the tournament debut of the unreleased Super Mario Bros. 3. The ending is about as predictable as you'd imagine. That said, there's something magical about The Wizard, and it's a perfect time capsule of late '80s youth culture.

Even if you've never seen Gremlins, you're probably familiar with it. Despite there only being two films in the franchise, it spawned a massive line of merchandise and is still beloved by many fans. There have been many different fits and starts towards rebooting the franchise, with the latest attempt being an animated series called Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai that is set to arrive on HBO Max in 2021. If you need your Gremlins fix in the meantime, you can find both films on the service right now.

In Gremlins, an inventor visits a mysterious shop and finds a unique Christmas gift for his son. It's a strange (and adorable) little creature known as a Mogwai, which he names Gizmo. Gizmo comes with three rules: keep him out of bright light, don't let him get wet, and never feed him after midnight. Naturally, it's not long before these rules are broken, spawning ugly, green critters with a vicious mean streak.

The first Gremlins film is a surprisingly dark Christmas movie, while the second is a much more goofy, tongue-in-cheek affair that pokes fun at the culture of the late '80s and early '90s. They're both solid watches with great practical effects and puppetry, even if a few of the gags are a bit stale at this point.

It seems like everyone was confused by many of the decisions surrounding the live-action Hobbit trilogy, and that includes director Peter Jackson. If you really want to get a nostalgia blast while taking in the sights of Middle-Earth, we recommend 1977's The Hobbit, an animated musical feature from Rankin/Bass Productions that is made all the more charming by its technical limitations.

Was The Hobbit trilogy far too long for you? Well, good news — this version clocks in at under ninety minutes. It's wonderfully animated by Japanese animation studio Topcraft (the forerunner to Studio Ghibli) and has an amazing voice cast. The legendary John Huston voices Gandalf, and you'll hear plenty of other old-timey actors you recognize throughout. On top of all that, The Hobbit features over a dozen songs, many incorporating Tolkien's lyrics from the original texts.

Not everything is perfect here, but The Hobbit is a loving adaptation that is sure to please fans of the original novel. Gollum in the entire "Riddles in the Dark" sequence is excellent, Smaug is terrifying, and many of the backgrounds are amazingly detailed. There's a lot to enjoy here.

Did you know that there are five Home Alone films? They're all available on HBO Max, but we would recommend sticking with the first two, and maybe the third if you're desperate. The first two are the only ones that feature Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister, and the later sequels feel more like they are trying to ape the magic rather than continue it.

If you somehow don't know the plot of Home Alone, here's a refresher: the McCallisters are planning a massive Christmas vacation with several members of their extended family. Through a series of mishaps, Kevin is left at home and the family doesn't realize it until after their plane has landed. Back at home, the McCallister home is targeted by Marv and Harry, a duo of criminals calling themselves the Wet Bandits. Kevin sets up a series of booby traps to try to fend off the robbers while his family rushes to get home to him.

Home Alone holds up remarkably well, and Culkin is one of the most natural and charismatic child actors we've ever seen. The second film, Lost in New York, is arguably even better than the first.

It's best to pretend that the prequel Dumb and Dumberer and the late-to-the-party sequel Dumb & Dumber To don't exist.That said, the original Dumb & Dumber is a throwback to a simpler time, when the Farrelly Brothers were the kings of gross-out comedy, Jim Carrey was one of the biggest stars on the planet, and Jeff Daniels was showcasing his abilities as one of the most versatile actors around. Only one of those things is still true.

Dumb & Dumber tells the story of two dimwitted friends, Harry and Lloyd, who go on a cross-country trip to return a lost briefcase to a woman who's caught Lloyd's eye. They are eventually embroiled in a kidnapping and ransom scheme, unwittingly causing all sorts of problems and, of course, bumbling their way into saving the day. In the process, they meet a weirdo cast of characters and drop more quotable lines than even the most die-hard fan can remember.

Dumb & Dumber is really a showcase of two incredible actors at the top of their game. It's obviously a very stupid movie, but it's that special kind of stupid that feels masterfully planned and scripted. Carrey and Daniels are having way too much fun in this film, and more than 25 years later, it still shows.