Chronicle movie night at Fairyland: vote for your favorite film

Chronicle movie night at Fairyland: vote for your favorite film

In the Bay Area, late September/early October is arguably the best time to be sitting outside and watching a movie.

The Chronicle banking on this theory, and have committed for the second year to screen a drive-in style film on Sept. 23 at the outdoor meadow at Children’s Fairyland.

Below are eight films, chosen by the San Francisco Chronicle movie critics and movie editors.

Fairyland’s historic Jolly Trolly will be running before the show, there will be guided tours of the park and other surprises.

If no movie receives more than 25 percent of the vote in the primary, there will be a run-off between the top finishers.

The Iron Giant (1999): Brad Bird’s entertaining and moving film about a boy and his mechanical alien giant resonates even more today than it did in 1999.

Time Bandits (1981): Terry Gilliam is at his most family-friendly (but still dark and clever) in this storybook adventure about a boy and a group of little people confronting pure evil.

The Sting (1973): Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Robert Shaw as two professional con men who execute the score of their lives against a mob boss.

The Broadway-to-Hollywood transition worked in this musical featuring Robert Preston as a con man who tries to swindle a town, and develops an emotional attachment.

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958): One of the masterworks of stop-motion animation icon Ray Harryhausen, this is the best of the Sinbad movies.

Introduced to a new generation in constant rotation on UHF channels in the 1970s and 1980s.

Magic Boy (1959): The first Japanese anime to be released in the United States features a boy, his sister, and some woodland creatures battling a demon.

Singin’ in the Rain (1952): Arguably the best American musical made was a slow build at the box office, and has been eclipsed in popularity by “The Wizard of Oz,” “The Sound of Music” and even “Grease.”

Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds are Hollywood performers, adjusting as the silent film era comes to an end.

Below are a few honorable mentions chosen by our critics and Fairyland CEO C.J. Hirschfield (who picked “Chicken Run” and “My Neighbor Totoro”), which either weren’t available to screen in the venue, or didn’t fit with our family theme.

Peter Hartlaub is The San Francisco Chronicle’s pop culture critic.