A movie-night setup with DVDs and snacks laid out for teenage viewers.

Best Clean Teen Movies on DVD (Family-Approved Picks for Ages 13–17)

Updated September 2026

Clean Teen Movies on DVD: Our Short List

The best clean teen movies on DVD for ages 13–17 include Remember the Titans, Rudy, Miracle, The Princess Bride, Secondhand Lions and the 2005 Pride & Prejudice. Our sixteen picks are fifteen G or PG films and one PG-13. None has sex scenes, the language stays mild to moderate, and each gets a specific parent note below.

Film Year Rating Best for
Remember the Titans 2000 PG 12+
Rudy 1993 PG 12+
Miracle 2004 PG 11+
Soul Surfer 2011 PG 11+
Glory Road 2006 PG 12+
The Blind Side 2009 PG-13 13+
The Princess Bride 1987 PG 11+
Back to the Future 1985 PG 13+
National Treasure 2004 PG 11+
Secondhand Lions 2003 PG 11+
The Princess Diaries 2001 G 11+
Freaky Friday 2003 PG 11+
Pride & Prejudice 2005 PG 13+
Wonder 2017 PG 11+
The Truman Show 1998 PG 13+
Dead Poets Society 1989 PG 14+

Ratings are the official MPAA ratings, checked against Common Sense Media's listings. The "best for" ages are our own call, based on the content notes below rather than the rating alone.

In this guide:

True Stories and Sports Films

These are the easiest sell to a teenager who says family movies are boring. They're built around real people, real stakes and a win that has to be earned.

Remember the Titans (2000, PG)

Denzel Washington coaches a newly integrated Virginia high school football team in 1971. It's about teamwork, and it's also a clear-eyed look at racism that gives you plenty to talk about afterward. Parent note: racial slurs, a brick through a window, fistfights and a car accident that leaves a player paralyzed. Language is mild otherwise.

Rudy (1993, PG)

A steelworker's son who is too small, too poor and too average a student sets his heart on playing football at Notre Dame. Teens pursuing anything hard respond to this one. Parent note: a fatal mill explosion early on, a drunk scene, some football injuries and a handful of mild swear words.

Miracle (2004, PG)

Kurt Russell plays coach Herb Brooks, who took a team of college players to the 1980 Winter Olympics and beat the Soviet Union. It's the best "discipline pays off" film on this list. Parent note: hockey hits and a fight, a few mild curse words, brief drinking.

Soul Surfer (2011, PG)

The story of Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm to a shark at 13 and went back to competitive surfing. Her Christian faith is part of the story without the film turning into a sermon. If that balance is what you're after, our Christian family movies on DVD list has more like it. Parent note: the shark attack is sudden and bloody, and it's the scene to warn a sensitive viewer about. Otherwise very clean.

Glory Road (2006, PG)

Coach Don Haskins starts an all-Black lineup for Texas Western in the 1966 NCAA basketball final. It's a good companion to Remember the Titans for a civil rights unit, and our historical movies for homeschool families guide adds more films to build that unit around. Parent note: racial slurs, a player beaten in a restroom, vandalism, some drinking.

The Blind Side (2009, PG-13)

Sandra Bullock won an Oscar as the Memphis mom who takes in a homeless teenager, future NFL lineman Michael Oher. Parent note: this is the only PG-13 here, rated for one scene of brief violence plus drug and sexual references in a rough neighborhood. There's also racial language. Worth knowing too: Oher has since disputed parts of how the film tells his story, which is a useful conversation with an older teen about "based on a true story."

Adventure, Fantasy and Pure Fun

The Princess Bride (1987, PG)

Sword fights, giants, a revenge quest and some of the most quotable lines in any movie. It works on teens because it's funny first and romantic second. Parent note: a torture machine scene, sword deaths and a few mild words. Kissing is brief.

Back to the Future (1985, PG)

Marty McFly goes back to 1955 and has to get his parents to fall in love. It holds up remarkably well. Parent note: this is a 1985 PG, which means more language than a modern PG, including a few strong words. There's a car-seat assault attempt on Marty's future mom, and the plot plays her crush on Marty for laughs. We put it at 13+ for those reasons.

National Treasure (2004, PG)

Nicolas Cage steals the Declaration of Independence to protect it from someone worse. Silly and fast, and it sends kids to look up the Freemasons and Ben Franklin. Parent note: gunplay, explosions, some peril and skeletons in a tomb. Essentially no language or romance to worry about.

Secondhand Lions (2003, PG)

A shy boy is dumped for the summer with two great-uncles (Robert Duvall and Michael Caine) who may or may not have been legendary adventurers. Their speech about what a man should believe in is worth the whole disc. Parent note: some language, shotgun-waving at salesmen, a sword fight and an adult slapping the boy.

Comedy, Growing Up and a Little Romance

The Princess Diaries (2001, G)

Anne Hathaway as a San Francisco teenager who learns she's heir to a small European throne, with Julie Andrews as her grandmother. It's the rare G-rated movie teen girls still ask for. Parent note: teen kissing, some mean-girl bullying, a party scene.

Freaky Friday (2003, PG)

Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan as a mother and daughter who swap bodies. It's genuinely funny, and it's good for any house where a mother and daughter are clashing. Parent note: some mild language, awkward romance (the daughter-in-mom's-body flirting is played for laughs) and dated stereotypes of the Chinese restaurant owners.

Pride & Prejudice (2005, PG)

Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet. It's shorter and more accessible than the 1995 miniseries, and it's the easiest way to get a reluctant teen interested in Austen. Our Jane Austen books in order guide suggests which novel to hand them next. Parent note: one kiss, a sister who runs off with a scoundrel and some social drinking. This is about as clean as a romance gets.

Wonder (2017, PG)

Auggie, a boy with a facial difference, starts fifth grade at a real school. It's great for the younger end of this age range and for siblings watching together. Parent note: bullying (verbal and one fight), mild insults, and the death of a family dog.

Thought-Provoking Picks for Older Teens

The Truman Show (1998, PG)

Jim Carrey plays a man who slowly realizes his entire life is a television show. Teenagers who live on phones find it unsettling in a good way, and it's excellent for discussions about media. Parent note: a couple of strong words, a staged drowning in a flashback, and a tense storm at sea.

Dead Poets Society (1989, PG)

Robin Williams teaches poetry at a strict 1959 boys' prep school and tells his students to think for themselves. It's a great fit for a literature course. Parent note: a student takes his own life off-screen after clashing with his father. That's why we put this at 14+ and suggest watching it together. There's also smoking, drinking and some crude talk among the boys.

Older teens who are ready for heavier history can move on to our war movies for high school students, which come with the same kind of content notes.

What "Clean" Means on This List

A rating alone won't tell you what's in a film. A PG from 1985 allowed noticeably more language than a PG from 2015. The PG-13 rating didn't exist before July 1984, so some older PG films sit closer to modern PG-13. Here is what we used as the line:

  • No sex scenes or nudity. Kissing and romantic tension are fine.
  • Language kept to the mild end. Where there's an occasional stronger word, we've said so.
  • Violence that serves the story and isn't lingered on. Sports injuries, sword fights and one shark attack, yes. Gore, no.
  • Heavy themes named up front. Racism, suicide and grief are in some of these films because they're in real life. We flag them so you can choose the night and the age.

For younger siblings, our PG movies for family movie night covers ages 5 and up with the same kind of content notes. For anything not on either list, a quick check of a parent review site before movie night is still the best habit. Previewing the one scene you're unsure about takes five minutes.

Getting More Out of Teen Movie Night

Teenagers will talk about a film if the questions aren't obvious. A few that work well with this list:

  • After Remember the Titans or Glory Road: What did it cost the coach to do the right thing, and would you have paid it?
  • After Rudy or Miracle: Was the outcome worth what they gave up? Who on the team gets no credit?
  • After The Truman Show: Which parts of your own life are "produced" for an audience?
  • After Dead Poets Society: Was Mr. Keating responsible for what happened? Was the father?

Let the teen pick the next film from the list. Choosing matters more at this age than what gets chosen.

Where to Find These Used

Used copies of these films come and go, and each disc is a one-off, so what's on the shelf changes weekly. Browse our drama DVDs for the true-story titles, comedy DVDs for Freaky Friday and The Princess Diaries, or the full DVD and movie collection. Orders over $15 ship free, which usually covers three or four discs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some clean movies for teenagers?

Good starting points are Remember the Titans, Rudy, Miracle, Soul Surfer, The Princess Bride, Secondhand Lions, The Princess Diaries, Pride & Prejudice (2005) and Wonder. All are rated G or PG and have no sex scenes.

Is The Blind Side appropriate for a 13-year-old?

For most 13-year-olds, yes. It's rated PG-13 for one scene involving brief violence and drug and sexual references, and it includes some racial language. There is no sex or nudity.

Is The Princess Bride OK for teens?

Yes. It's rated PG, with sword fights, a torture-machine scene and a few mild words. Most families show it to kids well before 13.

Why does Back to the Future have more language than newer PG movies?

It came out in 1985, soon after PG-13 was introduced, and PG then allowed more language than it does today. It includes some strong words and a scene where a teen girl is assaulted in a car, so we suggest 13 and up.

Is Dead Poets Society appropriate for high schoolers?

For most high schoolers, yes, but preview it or watch together. It is rated PG, but one student takes his own life off-screen, and the film deals seriously with parental pressure.

Are there any G-rated movies teens will still enjoy?

The Princess Diaries (2001) is rated G and remains popular with teen girls. For more, see our list of G-rated DVDs, though most of those are aimed at younger children.

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