Published: 13th April 2022

10 treasure hunting films for young adventurers

The concept of an ‘X’ on a map and the thrill of hidden treasure has inspired films and TV shows across the globe.

From family classics like National Treasure to more recent releases like The Lost City… before you embark on a treasure hunting quest with your children, watch our curated list of family-friendly films rated U all the way to 12.

Muppet Treasure Island

Contains mild comic violence and sex references

Muppet Treasure Island is a Muppet adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's adventure novel, Treasure Island.

Aladdin

Contains mild threat

Aladdin is an animated adventure film about a young thief who falls in love with a princess and receives help in the form of a magic lamp containing a magical genie.

Threat

Mild threat occurs in occasional scenes including a man entering a giant tiger-headed cave that roars and snaps its mouth shut, characters escaping from a sea of lava in the cave, and a sequence in which a man is knocked unconscious and thrown into the sea before being saved. During the climax, a character turns into a large cobra during a fight, and a woman is trapped inside an hour glass and partially buried in sand.

There is also one use of 'moron' by one of the villainous characters.

The Road To El Dorado

mild bad language, threat, scary scenes

The Road To El Dorado is an animated comedy adventure from 2000 in which two young rogues find themselves in the fabled city of gold.

Language

There is mild bad language ('crappy') and very mild bad language including uses of 'hell', 'damn' and God'. There is also some comic wordplay when a character in a small boat sees a much larger vessel bearing down on him and exclaims, 'Holy ship'!

Threat and horror

Characters are placed in danger at sea, or are swept along on a torrent of water raging through tunnels under a city and are buffeted against the tunnel walls. In other scenes, a carving of a gigantic jaguar is brought to life and rampages through a city, stomping on people and picking them up in its mouth, and a man is threatened with being thrown off a ledge into a whirlpool. There are also mildly scary moments, such as the discovery of skeletons on a beach and when an evil character transforms himself into snakes, rats and spiders.

There is very mild comic suggestiveness as a female character performs a swaying dance and makes eyes at her love interest, with the pair then engaging in some kissing and shoulder-rubbing.

National Treasure

Contains mild action violence and peril

National Treasure is an action film in which a historian races to find the legendary Templar Treasure before a team of mercenaries.

Dora And The Lost City Of Gold

mild threat, rude humour

Dora And The Lost City Of Gold is a US adventure film in which an intrepid teenager and her classmates set off on a mission to rescue her parents.

Threat and horror

Scenes of mild threat include ones in which teenagers are shot at with arrows, become stuck in quicksand, and are caught in booby traps in an ancient temple. No one is injured and the scenes focus on the heroes' resourcefulness and teamwork.

Rude humour

Sequences of toilet humour include jokes about 'poo' and fart noises. There are also infrequent comic references to animals mating.

A scene shows people hallucinating after accidentally inhaling fantastical plant spores. Other issues include very mild scenes of bullying, slapstick violence and very mild bad language (eg 'freaking', 'butt', 'what the flip').

Finding 'Ohana

injury detail, crude humour, language, threat, emotionally intense scenes

On Oʻahu for the summer, two siblings from Brooklyn connect with their Hawaiian heritage – and their family – on a daring quest for long-lost treasure.

The Lost City

moderate violence, brief bloody images, sex references, language

The Lost CIty is a romantic comedy in which a novelist and her cover model find themselves embroiled in an adventure on a remote island, after an abduction goes awry.

language

There is moderate bad language ('slut'), and milder terms including 'shit', 'crap', 'dick' and 'asshole'.

sex

There are moderate verbal sex references and innuendo.

violence

Scenes of violence are moderate, and are balanced by a comic tone. They include exchanges of punches and kicks, gunfire, choking, blows to the head, and a man being set on fire. In one scene, a man is shot, with blood spurting onto another man's clothing and face. During the ensuing comic dialogue, he claims there is brain matter on his face.

Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade

moderate violence, horror, threat

Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade is an action adventure in which an archaeologist and his father must stop the Nazis from recovering the Holy Grail.

Scenes of moderate threat occur in which people escape from precarious situations, such as burning rooms, sinking ships, snake pits, swarming rats, and Nazi soldiers with guns. In a scene of moderate horror a man ages rapidly until his body decays and turns into dust.

There are occasional scenes of moderate violence including fistfights and gunfights, sometimes resulting in moderate spurts of blood or bloody aftermath detail. In one scene a man is decapitated off screen by a boobytrap, with aftermath sight of his severed head rolling across the floor.

There are infrequent mild sex references and innuendo, as well as very mild bad language (‘son of a--’, 'damn', 'hell', ‘moron’).

The Goonies

brief drug, sex and suicide references, infrequent strong language

The Goonies is a US adventure comedy, from 1985, in which a group of young friends go looking for hidden treasure.

Drugs

There is a comic reference to marijuana, speed, cocaine and heroin.

Sex

There is a brief comic reference to 'sexual torture devices'.

Suicide

A prisoner fakes suicide by hanging in order to break out of jail.

Language

There is infrequent use of strong language ('f**k'), as well as milder terms such as 'shit', 'screw', 'turd', 'God', 'piss', 'damn'', 'jerk', 'balls', 'ass', 'hell', 'crap', 'fricking', 'Jesus Christ' and 'bastard'.

There is mild threat and violence. A dislikeable character calls her son a 'sissy'. A villainous character smokes cigarettes.

Pirates Of The Caribbean - The Curse Of The Black Pearl

Contains moderate horror and action violence

Pirates Of The Caribbean - The Curse Of The Black Pearl is a fantasy adventure in which a young woman is captured by pirates searching for a piece of treasure to lift a terrible curse.

Threat

A pirate crew are revealed to be zombie-like creatures in the moonlight, with decomposing, skeletal bodies. However, the horror elements are often offset by scenes of action and humour.

Violence

There are frequent action scenes, including gunfights, cannon battles between ships, and sword fights. Blood and injury detail is limited throughout.

Language includes use of 'damn', 'bloody' and 'bastard'.

To find out where you can stream, buy or rent these films, check out Find Any Film.