We all have movies that defined our childhood, and we’re not talking about the time we saw The Exorcist by accident and then spent the next three years unable to sleep at night.

Rather we’re talking about the movies that we watched as kids over and over and over, the ones that we can still quote by heart despite not having seen them in a decade, and the ones that our parents were also sick of seeing us put into the video player every weekend. Sure, everyone loves Ghostbusters, but when you’ve seen it six times that month, maybe you want a change…

These are the movies (which were watched exclusively on video, perhaps even beta max) that we can never forget, because we’ve seen them all 68 times.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

We have vivid memories of spending almost every evening on one particular summer holiday away with the family watching Who Framed Roger Rabbit and crunching away on bowl after bowl of cereal on the couch, and the movie itself may be permanently burned into our brains. The fact that it was a hybrid of cartoons and real life also gave it a special air, and one that allowed our folks to get in on the act too and enjoy some of the more adult humour that masqueraded as cartoon fun. 

 Not only that, but it also taught us an important lesson about staying away from barrels with weird green stuff in them. Then, there was Jessica Rabbit…

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze

The Turtles were, without doubt, the best crime-fighting force known to both man and rat, so when they made the leap to the big screen, it was a must see flick. The first one was good, but perhaps it was the Vanilla Ice rap scene in the sequel, The Secret of the Ooze, that really made this movie great. Cruelly shunned by the Oscars though, for some reason. Perhaps Michael Bay’s effort will have more success on that front.

Turner and Hooch

There was a time in the '80s and '90s when Tom Hands wasn't a multiple-Oscar-winning actor, but rather the quintessential everyman/wise ass, who offered comic relief and an effortless, amiable lead on-screen presence. They were simpler times...

While there are many highlights in Hanks' career, few tug at the nostalgia strings more than Turner and Hooch, where the actor played a police detective who gets stung with babysitting an "eye witness" to a murder, the titular 'Hooch' - a dog with an attitude problem. What follows plays beautifully to Tom Hanks' strengths and offered one of the most endearing buddy movies of the late '80s. This is one of those films where you may need the tissues at the end, though. We'll say no more. But er, you've probably guessed.

The Mighty Ducks

Generally speaking sports movies made for kids are about as much fun as being kicked repeatedly in the groin by one. That said, when The Mighty Ducks came along, not only was a new franchise born, but one that could be enjoyed by those old enough to take the youngsters to the cinema. Featuring Emilio Estevez's snotty lawyer fulfilling community service by taking a group of hopeless, inner city kids, and coaching them to take on the division champions - his old team, The Hawks.

It became a huge franchise spawning two sequels, and it also starred a crazily young Joshua Jackson pre-Dawson's Creek. It had enough heart, air-punching and against the odds fun to actually last a couple of decades. The "Flying V" is to The Mighty Ducks what "The Crane" was to The Karate Kid. Ducks stick together! 

Aladdin

Many people grew up watching Disney movies on repeat, and God knows there are millions of parents around the world currently being forced to listen to Frozen for the billionth time, but not many of them held up to he genie-us (sorry not sorry) that was Aladdin. We still will Abu not to touch that gem in the Cave of Wonders and know every word to Prince Ali, fabulous he, Ali Abab-waaa...

The Land Before Time

We've lost count of how many iterations there were of The Land Before Times films, but we all remember the first time we watched it, mostly because this is what happened in our brains: Yay, dinosaurs! Wait, what's happening? Why is everyone dying?? Why is this so sad?! Why is being shown to us?! And then it was shown on a loop and we went through the roller coaster of emotion again and again and again.

Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters shouldn't have worked. Its script, principally written by stars Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, was high-concept and relied upon a seamless collaboration between an ensemble cast, comedic sharpness and cutting edge special effects. Its principal star John Belushi died during pre-production and other major stars of the time Eddie Murphy and John Candy withdrew from the project in its early stages, much to the concern of the film's producers and financiers.

Somehow, though, none of this ultimately mattered. Ghostbusters is as nigh-on a perfect movie as was produced during the 1980s and was required viewing for anyone of a certain vintage. The script was laugh-out-loud funny and, in Dr. Peter Venkman, Bill Murray gave us one of the most memorable characters of the decade and his career, complete with an assembly line of memorable quotes: "We've been going about this all wrong. This Mr. Stay Puft's okay! He's a sailor he's in New York; we get this guy laid, we won't have any trouble!". It's a terrible shame about the sequel, but we'll always have that theme tune...

Labyrinth

Forget that freaky Pan's one from a few years ago, this Labyrinth was the real deal. Starring a very young Jennifer Connolly alongside her epic eyebrows of the time, the movie managed to bring every kids imagination to life back in the eighties. It even had Star Wars' George Lucas executive producing it for crying out loud. It's a sort of Alice in Wonderland story of a girl who ends up on a search for her baby brother after David Bowie comes and steals him one night when she's babysitting.

Yep, that's right, David Bowie. She then goes on the adventure to end all adventures through some mythical world where doors speak, goblins sing and dance, and a troll becomes her bestie... is its awesomeness getting across quite yet? No? Then here's David Bowie dressed as some kind of angelic Big Bird in what is possibly the most eighties thing that ever happened. You're welcome.

Don't tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead

While it's hard to imagine any Irish mammy heading off on her holiers for the summer leaving her five young kids in charge of some near-death's-door aul one, we fully believed it in Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead. It's America, sure anything goes there. The story follows a teenage Christina Applegate (mid-Married with Children days) left with the responsibility of looking after house and home when their babysitter kicks the bucket one night in to their mother's vacation. Of course they could have just told their mother this, but where's the fun in that?

After some iffy days in a greasy burger joint working alongside Josh Charles (of The Good Wife fame), she finds herself bluffing her way into a job in the fashion industry where she pretends to be a twenty-something woman of the world rather than the 16-year-old high school student she is. As you can imagine, a shed load of hi-jinks and banter follows, with some rather epic '80s/'90s clothes too. And you know, Christina Applegate... *StudioAudienceScream*

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 

Ah here, did you think we would leave this one off the list? Oh ye of little faith. No Christmas family gathering is complete these days without the customary shuffle that involves the entire set of in-laws squeezing on to one small couch, mug of tea in hand, to watch ET, and no one says anything right at the end when everyone is on the verge of tears, because no one

Starring a young Drew Barrymore and featuring several incredibly iconic scenes not only in recent memory but in the history of cinema, we would find it very difficult to imagine that we were the only ones who tried to make our bikes fly as a result of watching this. 

We're sure that there are a whole load of others out there that we might have missed (Home Alone, anyone?) so if you want to have your say, then drop us a line on Twitter or Facebook and let us know. 

Main pic via Georgetown.edu