Parents choose Pirates for family film fun

There are few experiences that bond British broods like settling down together and enjoying a great family film. Now, a new poll has determined the absolute favourite flicks that families love to watch and how they like to watch them.

The list is the result of a survey of 3,000 parents carried out by car insurance specialist Admiral. It features much-loved classics and recent box office smashes and is topped by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Rounding out the top three in the list are Disney's classic Peter Pan at number two and DreamWorks' Shrek at number three.

But, there's no stopping Johnny Depp's swashbuckling Captain Jack Sparrow as all three "Pirates" films appear in the top ten. With The Curse of the Black Pearl at number four and At World's End at number nine.

While the movies we love to watch with our families may be timeless, Admiral's survey shows that technology has changed the way we like to watch them. One in six parents (16%) say that watching DVDs is what their children most want to do on long car journeys and one in eight (13%) use DVDs most often to keep their children occupied on a long journey. And, there's clearly a little generational jealousy going on, because more than half (52%) of mums and dads say they wish they'd had in-car DVD players when they were kids too.

The UK's top ten family films are:

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Peter Pan (1953 version)
Shrek
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Mary Poppins
The Wizard of Oz
Toy Story
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Free Willy

Justin Johnson, children's film programmer from the British Film Institute, said, "Admiral's survey provides an exciting insight into the family film viewing choices of the nation. With traditional favourites such as Peter Pan and The Wizard of Oz rubbing shoulders with more recent entries, the list spans 70 years from oldest to newest film.

"With more family films being made than perhaps ever before and the advent of 3D DVD technology just around the corner, it is a fantastic time to reflect on the best films to date whilst also looking forward to the future."

He continued, "The fact that all three Pirates of the Caribbean films feature in the Top 10 should on one hand be unsurprising when one considers how many people world wide have seen them. In Box Office terms, they are among the most successful family titles in history. While the third film may have divided critics, it is also undeniable that all of these films combine traditional, swashbuckling thrills and spills with the best technology in Hollywood to produce the ultimate in family entertainment."

With more than half of parents holidaying in the UK this year, it looks like these family films will be needed to keep the kids entertained. So, Admiral is giving away the top three family films from the poll along with an in-car DVD player to watch them on. To be in with a chance of winning this prize all people need to do is visit admiral.com/ and answer some simple questions.