These 2000s movies defined childhood. For this list, we’ll be looking at the best films released between 2000-2009 that marked us in the best way growing up.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 Are you wearing the...
00:01 The Chanel boots?
00:02 Yeah, I am.
00:03 Welcome to MsMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10
00:08 2000s movies that defined our childhood.
00:11 You better hold on tight, spider monkey.
00:13 For this list, we'll be looking at the best films released between 2000 and 2009
00:19 that marked us in the best way growing up.
00:21 We're excluding wholly animated flicks, though, since that's a different list.
00:26 We'll be discussing some storylines, so beware of potential spoilers ahead.
00:31 Which movie from the aughts did you obsess over as a kid?
00:34 Let us know in the comments below.
00:36 Number 10, Mamma Mia.
00:39 Mamma Mia, here we go again.
00:41 Talking about this top-tier jukebox movie musical.
00:55 The cast is phenomenal, while the plot about a woman's relationship with her mom and quest to
01:00 figure out who her dad is, is full of heart. And Fantastic doesn't even begin to describe
01:05 the electrifying musical numbers. Plus, for some of us who were younger, the film provided one of
01:10 the first exposures we had to ABBA. Not to mention, it made us want to move to Greece.
01:16 Basically, it hit all the right notes, drawing audiences in and holding them so close.
01:21 So our childhood selves went wild for it. And we're still obsessed.
01:25 We'll always be immensely grateful to Mamma Mia for making us feel like dancing queens.
01:43 You are the dancing queen, young and sweet, only 17.
01:51 Number 9, Hannah Montana, the movie.
01:55 Say it with us now, you get the best of both worlds.
01:58 The Hannah Montana movie gave us exactly that, taking us deeper into the life of the Miley
02:11 Stewart we got to know on the Disney Channel. We loved accompanying our protagonist on her
02:17 journey to Tennessee, and watching as she rediscovered her identity, ultimately bearing
02:21 it all in a big way. And lest we forget that this is the film that gave us The Climb,
02:27 a power ballad we still know by heart, and walk around dramatically belting.
02:39 You can bet it had us doing the hoedown throwdown too, or trying to.
02:44 Heartfelt and funny, this flick made us very happy kids in 2009.
02:48 Number 8, School of Rock.
03:02 We've been pledging allegiance to the band since 2003, and we'll never stop.
03:06 "I pledge allegiance to the band of Mr. Schneebly."
03:12 School of Rock has a relatively simple plot. Floundering musician Dewey,
03:19 played by the inimitable Jack Black, lies about being a substitute teacher.
03:24 Soon he starts a band with his students in the hopes of emerging victorious in a competition.
03:29 The straightforward premise is executed flawlessly with emotion, depth, and so much fun.
03:35 Seeing how Dewey and the kids help each other find themselves while making killer music
03:40 really marked us back in the day.
03:41 We genuinely felt like we were part of the group, seeing ourselves reflected in the characters,
03:52 and that's a priceless childhood experience.
03:55 Rock may have no reason or rhyme, but this movie makes perfect sense.
04:00 "Rock got no reason, rock got no rhyme, you better get me to school on time."
04:07 Number 7, The Notebook.
04:08 "It wasn't over. It still isn't over."
04:13 Some movies shape your identity when you're growing up. You're one person before they
04:20 begin playing, and almost someone else entirely by the time the end credits roll.
04:24 For a lot of us, The Notebook, which chronicles the lives of Noah and Ali,
04:28 was one of those films. After all, it had everything necessary to melt our hearts
04:33 and make us sob, and opposites attract romance, conflict, tragedy, an unexpectedly bittersweet
04:40 ending, and more.
04:41 "I want all of you, forever, you and me, every day."
04:45 The central couple's love is the kind you'd dream about one day finding as a child.
04:50 Big, passionate, all-encompassing. And sure, we now see that their relationship was deeply
04:55 imperfect, but that doesn't change the way it touched our younger selves.
04:59 We'll be birds with those two forever.
05:02 "Now say you're a bird too."
05:03 "If you're a bird, I'm a bird."
05:08 Number 6, The Devil Wears Prada.
05:10 Do you see florals in spring and think, "Ah, groundbreaking."
05:15 Do you feel like dismissing people by saying, "That's all."
05:19 Are you acutely aware of what cerulean is? If you answered yes to any of those questions,
05:24 chances are The Devil Wears Prada was a big deal to you upon release.
05:28 It spotlights Anne Hathaway's Andy, who starts working for the no-nonsense Miranda
05:33 Priestley, portrayed by Meryl Streep at Runway magazine.
05:36 "One time an assistant left the desk because she sliced her hand open with a letter opener,
05:40 and Miranda missed Lagerfeld just before he boarded a 17-hour flight to Australia.
05:45 She now works at TV Guide."
05:47 As her life changes, she has to decide who she wants to be.
05:51 The stellar cast brings style and substance, while the story is clever and sharp.
05:55 "By all means, move at a glacial pace. You know how that thrills me."
05:59 It's no wonder Runway strutted its way into our hearts.
06:03 It's not the only film Hathaway revolutionized our lives with,
06:06 but it remains one of our favorites.
06:08 Number 5, The Lizzie McGuire Movie.
06:11 "Lizzie McGuire, you are an outfit repeater."
06:15 Hilary Duff owned the 2000s. From Raise Your Voice to A Cinderella Story,
06:19 her movies filled our tiny bodies with endless glee.
06:23 Perhaps no role of hers was as impactful as Lizzie McGuire.
06:27 We all related to Lizzie on the Disney Channel.
06:29 The 2003 movie wrapped up her story via a breathtaking sojourn in Rome,
06:35 where she learns she's basically famed singer Isabella Parigi's doppelganger.
06:39 "Freaky, huh?"
06:40 "Way freaky. Way, way freaky."
06:45 She's convinced by Isabella's musical partner, Paolo, to take the star's place.
06:49 Initially not realizing he has sinister intentions.
06:52 It's super entertaining stuff, to put it mildly.
06:55 Everything from the Vespa riding to what dreams are made of to the iconic dialogue
07:00 had us jumping for joy when we first saw this film.
07:03 Honestly, nothing has changed.
07:05 Number 4, High School Musical Franchise.
07:15 What team?
07:18 If you said Wildcats, we're betting you, like us,
07:22 were hooked on the High School Musical movies in the aughts.
07:25 We're not exaggerating when we say 2006, 2007,
07:29 and 2008 were better years because of these releases.
07:32 Following Troy, Gabriela, Sharpay, and the rest of the characters as they figured life out
07:37 through song and dance helped us to do the same.
07:40 Each musical number became an anthem we memorized,
07:48 and the routines fundamentally altered our brain chemistry.
07:51 Now, folks may have differing opinions on which of the three films is best,
07:56 but we're all in this together in terms of agreeing that the trilogy defined our youth.
08:01 What time is it?
08:02 Time to have a High School Musical marathon, we reckon.
08:16 Number 3, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
08:20 Who among us wasn't waiting for a Hogwarts letter in the 2000s?
08:24 If we're being real, we're still holding out hope it'll one day arrive.
08:27 "You're a wizard, Harry."
08:29 "I'm a what?"
08:32 "A wizard."
08:33 The Harry Potter franchise was huge, and while all the films are great, this was the first.
08:39 And it wasted no time putting us under its magnetic spell.
08:42 "Gryffindor!"
08:44 [CHEERING]
08:50 We truly couldn't get enough of the immersive wizarding world and all the fantastical magic
08:54 it had to offer.
08:55 It was impossible to look away as Harry's story began unfolding.
08:59 Watching him, Hermione, and Ron develop a lifelong friendship
09:03 and fight against evil was downright epic.
09:06 "Devil's snare hates sunlight. Luma solemn!"
09:13 To this day, we find ourselves referencing the story, shuddering at the thought of you-know-who,
09:18 and asking others what Hogwarts house they'd be in.
09:21 Number 2, Legally Blonde.
09:24 "Whoever said orange was the new pink was seriously disturbed."
09:27 What?
09:30 Like creating a movie that'll stick with countless people forever is hard?
09:34 "What, like it's hard?"
09:36 When Reese Witherspoon's L words get into Harvard Law, many expect her to fail.
09:40 But she soon proves she has what it takes while fully coming into herself.
09:45 Thanks to Elle, we believed that we could become lawyers, or anything else we wanted.
09:50 More importantly, we believed we could do it without sacrificing our identity.
09:55 Pink, bubbly, smart, witty, and endlessly quotable.
09:58 Legally Blonde taught us that we could tackle the world in 2001.
10:02 "Exorcist gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy.
10:06 Happy people just don't shoot their husbands.
10:10 They just don't."
10:11 With it by our side, getting older didn't seem as scary.
10:14 As a bonus, we now feel comfortable using legal jargon in everyday life,
10:18 are pros at the bend and snap, and know all about perm maintenance.
10:23 "Because isn't it the first cardinal rule of perm maintenance that you're forbidden to
10:26 wet your hair for at least 24 hours after getting a perm,
10:29 at the risk of deactivating the ammonium thigh gloccolate?"
10:31 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
10:35 Crossroads, Britney Spears, A Road Trip, and A Touching Tale About Friendship.
10:40 What more could you want?
10:41 500 Days of Summer.
10:54 The reality of this innovative rom-com defied our expectations.
10:58 Twilight.
11:06 We were eating out of this movie's sparkly vampire hands.
11:09 "You're beautiful."
11:10 "Beautiful? This is the skin of the killer, Bella."
11:18 Spy Kids.
11:19 These kids were basically our heroes.
11:22 "Where's my mom and dad?"
11:23 "Thanks."
11:29 "I got it."
11:33 "What'd he say?"
11:34 "I'll play it backwards."
11:35 "They're in the dungeon. They're in the dungeon. Hurry."
11:37 Bridget Jones's Diary.
11:39 Quirky and cute, this film hit us in the feels.
11:42 "All by myself. Don't wanna be all by myself."
11:54 Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about
11:59 our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
12:04 If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
12:11 Mean Girls.
12:13 Whenever we're looking to relive our childhoods, we turn to Lindsay Lohan's filmography.
12:17 Freaky Friday, for instance, has never let us down.
12:20 But it's Mean Girls that rocked our worlds the hardest in the aughts.
12:29 And the same remains true today. An entire generation of us remembers the day we first
12:33 saw it, or at least how we felt experiencing the hilarious heartwarming teen flick in all its glory.
12:39 "Why is everybody stressing over this thing? I mean, it's just plastic. It's really just…"
12:45 The shenanigans that unfold as Kady bonds with Janice and Damien falls for Aaron,
12:52 and gets in over her head with the Regina George-led plastics will always be everything.
12:58 Seriously, Wednesdays, pink, candy canes, and October 3rd forever hold special meaning.
13:04 It's all, dare we say, quite fetch?
13:08 "Gretchen, stop trying to make fetch happen. It's not going to happen."
13:12 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
13:16 And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
13:19 [Music]