Bigs and Migs,
I agree with you guys for the large part. Much of the magic and innocence is gone from family style live-action pictures. Bigs, you pointed out some great flicks from our lives as children. Although I am a HUGE fan of the Lord of the Rings trilogy which probably is not for kids my son's age but yet he has seen each of them probably 20 times.
However I do think there are some wonderful animated films that my kids have been able to enjoy. Most recently "Up" which I think is a fantastic film. Some very adult themes at the top and very reflective but rolled into a fun and funny picture that children can enjoy. Pixar has done a few of these that I think are really enjoyable.
While I have a side of me that really enjoys films where I am intellectually stimulated, I have to say I am probably more so turned on by movies that are visual. At least when I go to a theatre. I save the intillectual movies for home.
For the first Transformers movie, I took my son to our local IMAX theatre and we both freaked out over the visuals. I thought it was a stunning movie visually. Of course the story was not complex and was predictable but did not stop me from enjoying it. But more importantly was my son' reaction leaving the theatre where his mind was so blown his words could not keep up with how fast his brain wanted to talk. It was so funny and took me back to being 7 years old walking out of the theatre after seeing Star Wars. I had the same reaction.
So while not as good and it is a different generation, the emotional response it provided him was the same.