Epitomises mid-80s kids' movies
There were so many great kids films during this era, especially if you were a late Gen Xer/early Millennial, and the underrated Explorers, with its focus on characters just coming into their adolescence, a high-concept sci-fi/fantasy plot, and some scary, but not-*too*-scary scenes and sense of dread/atmosphere, arguably epitomises that era of kids films for me, a genre that includes The Goonies, Young Sherlock Holmes, The Neverending Story, Labyrinth, Return to Oz, Gremlins, Back to the Future, Legend, E.T. (which is basically the prototype for this genre), Ghostbusters (even if there aren't any teen characters in that one), and the later likes of Little Monsters, The Witches and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Karate Kid is kind of adjacent to this genre, because it has the same focus on teenage characters and a high-concept that appeals to kids, but eschews the fantasy/genre angle.
Have I missed any? And what are your thoughts on these films? Did you grow up with them, like I did?