7 Movies From 2001 That All 1990s Kids Still Love Today
James Hunt is a writer, editor, and content strategist based in Newcastle, UK. A journalism graduate with an NCTJ qualification, he has well over a decade of experience in online entertainment media. He's had thousands of articles published, received millions of views, and led coverage on everything from the latest blockbuster movies to the Oscars to bingeworthy and prestige TV shows.
Sign in to your ScreenRant account
2001 was, in multiple ways, a turning point for movies. Cinema was brought kicking and screaming into the 21st Century, superhero movies were becoming mainsteam hits, DVD was starting to replace VHS, Christopher Nolan's career was just starting to rise, The Rock was becoming an actor, and two major fantasy franchises were launched, changing the future of the genre, IP, and moviemaking forever.
Being a kid in the 1990s had already meant growing up in a pretty remarkable period for movies. The decade gave audiences some all-time classics, but the early 2000s were arguably just as important for those who were still young enough to spend their weekends watching DVDs until their parents threatened to turn the television off. In 2001, Hollywood delivered an unusually strong collection of movies that would go on to define the childhoods and teenage years of an entire generation.
Though things were starting to shift in Hollywood, and this year would play a huge part in that, this was still one with a lot of variety. Fantasy adventures that made the magical feel real, comedies became staples of sleepovers, animation pushed the boundaries of what seemed possible, and multiple stars were being born. Some of these films were aimed squarely at children, while others were movies that younger viewers discovered later through older siblings, late-night TV showings, or a DVD (or VHS) they might've been too young to be watching.
To be clear, this is not a list of the best movies of 2001 (though at least one here would qualify). As great as things like Mulholland Drive, Memento (which hit theaters that year, despite a festival premiere in 2000), and Training Day are, they weren't among the formative movies for most '90s kids (but if they were for you, fair play and I sincerely hope you turned out ok).
Instead, these are childhood and teenage favorites (not in any particular order), some of which have aged better than others, but all of which are viewed through the wistful lens of someone born in 1990, now with bad knees and slightly more weary outlook, clinging to the nostalgia if youth and the movies that were so important back then, and are absolutely still fun to watch today.
7 The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring
For children accustomed to animated adventures and relatively straightforward fantasy stories that could be told in two hours or less, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was a total game-changer. Peter Jackson's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's novel introduced audiences to Middle-earth in December 2001, and the sheer scale of the production was difficult to comprehend, or even fully appreciate, at the time.
That sense of discovery was a huge part of the appeal for younger viewers, with plenty to capture the imagination, without ever talking (or dumbing) down to them. Seeing places like the Shire, Rivendell, and the Mines of Moria truly felt like being transported to another world, filled with creatures just the amount of terrifying like the Balrog.
Crucially, it was rooted in characters who were very easy to understand, like, and root for. The members of the Fellowship are wise, brave, funny, and heroic, and there's a real warmth to the movie that helps make it easier for adolescents to embrace.
The trilogy has since become a fixture of home viewing, to be rewatched in lengthy marathons and, eventually, for those who saw it in the youth to introduce it to their own children. And while each of the three is a masterpiece, there is a unique quality to the first. Before the battles grew larger and the stakes became more desperate, Fellowship offered a blend of the epic and the intimate, with character-driven storytelling and a sense of a wondrous spirit, with the simple thrill of watching an ordinary Hobbit leave home and discover that the world was much bigger than he imagined.
6 Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone
If there was one movie that made children believe their lives might be hiding a little magic, it was Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Released in November 2001, the film brought Hogwarts to the screen at a time when J.K. Rowling's books were already becoming a phenomenon, and took the saga to a whole other level of popularity and becoming a genuine event.
There were two different camps for the Harry Potter experience. I was firmly in that of who had read the books, and was thrilled by the idea of the characters, story, and world I love somehow being brought to life. For those who hadn't, the film offered the pleasure of discovering everything alongside Harry. Stepping into Diagon Alley, through the barrier on Platform 9 3/4, and then finally seeing Hogwarts for the very first time created a sense of wonder that very little had matched.
Rearrange the movies into the correct US release order.
Hogwarts was an escape from the humdrum of regular school, because it actually looked fun, adding something extra to the oridinary. Lessons involved learning spells, brewing potions, transfiguring objects, Seamus Finnigan blowing things up, and overemphasizing the "O" in wingardium leviosa. No shade to my childhood home, but the prospect of living at the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was genuinely thrilling, and this was the closest you could get.
There's also something particularly effective about returning to the first film now. Although I think The Chamber of Secrets is one of the weaker Harry Potter movies, director Christopher Columbus did capture a real sense of, well, magic with The Philosopher's Stone (or The Sorcerer's Stone for U.S. kids), and there's an easy charm and delight to it that remains infectious to this day.
5 The Princess Diaries
In contrast to the first two movies mentioned, The Princess Diaries didn't need a sprawling fantasy world to enchant us. Sometimes, the appeal is as simple as watching an awkward teenager discover that she's a princess, particularly when Julie Andrews is on hand to teach her how to behave like one.
In The Princess Diaries, Anne Hathaway plays Mia Thermopolis, a San Francisco high school student whose life changes when she learns that she's the heir to the throne of Genovia. Suddenly, Mia has to contend with royal etiquette and unwanted attention, all while dealing with the usual complications of teenage life. It's a fairly ridiculous premise, but Hathaway, in her breakout role, makes Mia's embarrassment and insecurity feel genuine.
The film offered a fantasy that was considerably different from the magic of Harry Potter or the epic adventures of Lord of the Rings. It was simply about a girl discovering she was capable of more than she realized, even if she still struggled to get through a school day without making a fool of herself.
Hathaway would go on to become a major Hollywood star, but there's a particular charm to watching her here, playing a teenager who has absolutely no idea what she's doing. Andrews is equally entertaining as her formidable grandmother, Queen Clarisse. For anyone who watched the movie growing up, The Princess Diaries remains a reliable comfort watch.
4 American Pie 2
By 2001, many children who had grown up during the 1990s were becoming teenagers themselves, and their entertainment tastes were changing accordingly. Enter American Pie 2, the sequel to the 1999 comedy that had become a defining example of the late-1990s teen movie. Returning to the characters after their high school graduation, the film traded school corridors for a summer house and a fresh collection of increasingly disastrous attempts at romance.
This was not a sequel that reinvented the wheel: a lot of the scenarios are the same, but now colored by Jim, Kevin, Stifler, Oz, and Finch trying to figure out the transition into adulthood, and still being largely hapless at navigating the worlds of sex and relationships. The comedy is big and the situations are wild, but crucially the characters remain likable goofballs and played with the exact right amount of charm from its winning cast.
For older 1990s kids, the movie arrived at an especially relevant moment. Those who had watched the original as teenagers could grow alongside its characters, while younger viewers would discover the franchise through late-night television broadcasts, DVD collections, or older siblings who probably shouldn't have been lending them the movies in the first place. In the UK, this was at one point shown on seemingly a weekly basis on the channel ITV2, meaning I rewatched it endlessly and developed a lot of nostalgia for it over the years.
Of course, American Pie 2 is very much a product of its time. Some of its humor feels dated, and its approach to teenage sexuality, women, and LGBTQ+ relationships are very reflective of that, so some aspects have not stood the test of time. That said, a lot of the humor involves laughing at the boys and how silly it is, and the appeal extends beyond its raunchier jokes. This is about friendships, growing up (and also not doing so too fast), falling in love, breaking up, being insecure, and realizing that some things have to change, but not everything needs to.
It's a snapshot of early 2000s culture, from its easily quotable dialogue to what is, for someone who grew up (and still lives on) a steady diet of late 90s/early 00s pop-punk music, one of the greatest movie soundtracks of all time, it's still hard to resist going back for another slice.
3 Legally Blonde
Elle Woods is the kind of character who would be easy to underestimate if Legally Blonde weren't so good at showing why that would be a mistake. When her boyfriend, Warner, dumps her because he doesn't consider her suitable marriage material, Elle decides to follow him to Harvard Law School. What begins as an attempt to win him back eventually becomes something much more.
Reese Witherspoon's performance is what makes everything work. Elle loves fashion, the color pink, and takes her sorority life seriously, but none of that prevents her from being intelligent or ambitious. The people around her assume otherwise, and much of the comedy comes from watching their confidence in those assumptions fall apart.
For teenagers watching in 2001 or on DVD a few years later, that was a refreshing message. Coming-of-age movies often treated growing up as a process of abandoning childish interests and becoming more serious. Elle offers a different perspective. She doesn't need to stop loving pink or change her personality to earn respect. She needs to recognize her own potential and put in the work to prove it.
The courtroom climax remains immensely satisfying because Elle wins through knowledge and attention to detail rather than a sudden stroke of luck. It's the culmination of a story that takes her intelligence seriously, even when other characters refuse to do so.
2 A Knight's Tale
A Knight's Tale is a reminder that not every movie needs to take its historical setting seriously to be entertaining. Heath Ledger stars as William Thatcher, a young man who poses as a knight and enters jousting competitions despite having no noble title. What follows is essentially a classic underdog sports movie story, only dressed up in 14th Century armor.
The film's most distinctive feature is its soundtrack. A medieval crowd stomping along to Queen's "We Will Rock You" is hardly an attempt at historical accuracy, but that's precisely why the scene works. Director Brian Helgeland wanted the movie to feel exciting to a modern audience, and the combination of medieval tournaments and 1970s rock music gives it an identity that few other period adventures can match.
For younger viewers, the appeal was immediate. The jousting sequences had the excitement of a sporting event, William was an easy hero to root for, Ledger's performance made it all feel believable, and the humor kept the story from becoming too serious.
The film has since become a cult favorite, partly because its willingness to ignore historical convention gives it a playful quality that holds up. Ledger's passing has also given the movie an additional poignancy. Watching him here, full of energy and charm, is a reminder of the talent audiences lost far too soon.
Question 1 of 3
Which kind of 2001 favorite feels most nostalgic to you now?
Epic fantasy adventures (e.g., Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter)
Epic fantasy adventures (e.g., Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter) 0%1 Shrek
It's difficult to imagine a childhood in the early 2000s that didn't involve Shrek at some point. DreamWorks' movie flipped fairy tales (and animated movies) on their heads, delighting children and plenty of adults with its sharp sense of humour and yet heart-filled story.
The movie remains an absolute delight that manages to both have its cake (or parfait) and eat it by both subverting the tropes of the genre, while also perfectly executing them along the way. In particular, Disney conventions became targets for jokes, while the soundtrack included songs that had absolutely no business appearing in a medieval fantasy. For younger audiences, it was funny because of its main character ogre and his silly talking donkey sidekick. For older viewers, there was plenty of additional humor hidden beneath the surface.
The characters were just as important. Mike Myers gave Shrek a gruff exterior that concealed a deeply insecure person with a huge heart, while Eddie Murphy's Donkey was an almost unstoppable source of comic energy. Their friendship drives the story, and the movie's willingness to let its supposedly heroic characters be ridiculous is a large part of its appeal.
Then there's Smash Mouth's "All Star," which became so closely associated with the film that it's practically impossible to hear the opening notes without thinking about Shrek. The movie's soundtrack, quotable dialogue, and endlessly repeatable jokes helped it thrive on home video, where children could watch it over and over without getting tired of it, and led to multiple sequels (with another on the way).
More than two decades later, Shrek has acquired a second life through internet memes, but its popularity isn't just a product of online nostalgia. The movie remains genuinely funny, and its message about accepting yourself hasn't become any less meaningful. For children who grew up watching it, the green ogre is still one of animation's most lovable misfits.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.