For a lot of kids, summer is considered the favorite season because it means no school, more time with friends and family, and adventures that will become great stories. For many adults, summer is the time to be with family and enjoy the warm weather outside. Water parks, bonfires, and late nights with friends are just a few of the things that make the season so great. When creating a movie based on either kids or adults having a fantastic summer, writers know how to make even a simple night out on the town seem like the most fun adventure.
As the season comes to a close, you may be itching for one more fun thing to do. Whether that be traveling to an incredible destination or spending another night walking on the sandy beach with a summer crush or good friend, this list is compiled of films that inspire audiences to get out into the warm weather and have fun.
Check out the 20 movies you need to watch before the season is over.
20 Dazed and Confused
It seems like seniors hold all the power in high school in Dazed and Confused, so when an upper classman, Pink, takes pity on a freshly hazed freshman, Mitch, an unlikely friendship emerges. Pink and his buddies want their first night of summer to be epic, so when the first house party of the season gets shut down, they make sure to still have a good time.
Teenagers cruise around town, chat up their crushes, and get into some minor trouble. In the end, the younger kids realize that there are some cool people at their school, and the first night of summer marks the start of a great vacation.
19 Grown Ups
If lake houses could talk, there would be endless stories to tell. For Lenny and his three buddies in Grown Ups, they decide to celebrate the Fourth of July together with their families down at the lake house that holds many memories. The dads get their children to play outside, the families hit up the local water park, and most importantly, everyone has a good time despite a lot of initial hesitation about the trip. Even after people have grown up and gone their separate ways, reliving the glory days and including new family members and friends can make for fun experiences.
18 High School Musical 2
The singing and dancing Wildcats return in High School Musical 2, where everyone gets a summer job at the local country club — that is, everyone except Sharpay and Ryan, who are members of the club. While everyone does their best to earn money and have a fun summer, Troy constantly finds himself being pulled away by Sharpay. The film is fun, the soundtrack is upbeat, and in the end, everyone learns a bit about themselves and is better for it.
17 Just Go With It
Sometimes people just have to go with the flow, and when that "flow" results in a free trip to Hawaii to keep a ruse going, everyone is all in. In order to get things sorted out with a woman in Just Go With It, Danny ends up down a rabbit hole of lies. He gets his office assistant to pose as his soon-to-be ex-wife, but when her children and a few others get involved, things get messy. This summer romantic comedy is adorable and heartwarming, and it will have fans planning their next vacation.
16 The Last Song
In The Last Song, Ronnie and her brother are sent to stay with their father one summer, and for Ronnie, this beach vacation is the worst thing she could think of. At first, she either ignores her father or simply argues with him, but after letting herself open up to some new people, Ronnie realizes that she needs to put her teenage angst behind her to genuinely have a good time. A summer romance takes place, siblings accept one another, and Ronnie learns to forgive a few people including herself.
15 Cheaper by the Dozen 2
Family vacations can be hectic, but when 12 kids are involved, chaos is sure to ensue — as seen in Cheaper by the Dozen 2. Tom Baker gets all of his children together for a final summer vacation at their favorite cabin, but memories don't hold up as well as he thought. The cabin, especially in comparison to their neighbors' place, is a bit decrepit, and there is not much for the kids to do on their own.
When several of them make friends with the children of their father's nemesis, Jimmy Murtaugh, the fun finally begins. Not-so-friendly competitions happen, and forbidden puppy love takes place for one of Tom's daughters.
14 The Parent Trap
Summer camp can be a lot of fun, especially if the campers are willing to show up with an open mind and enthusiastic attitude. For Hallie and Annie in The Parent Trap, they do more than just follow an itinerary and play games. They discover that they are twins who were separated at birth, and after some consideration, they decide to switch places and go home with their other parent. The girls spend the summer trying to get their parents back together, but that comes with a lot of schemes and some very helpful staff.
13 Adventureland
In Adventureland, James Brennan finds out that he has to work rather than travel during his summer vacation after finishing college, he takes up a position at the local amusement park. James meets some rather colorful characters including a troubled girl named Em who immediately catches his attention.
James does his best to impress Em, and even when he finds out that she is involved with a married man, he continues to pursue her. From the stories told and the advice shared, there is a certain realism and down-to-earth feeling that holds this summer film together.
12 Moana
Disney does a great job at making certain places look incredible, and Moana is at the top of the charts for depicting one of the most beautiful locations. Set on the Polynesian island of Motunui, Moana has to travel across the blue seas to return Te Fiti her heart so that the islands will not wither away. Between the amazing culture represented in the film and the magical life below the sea, this movie will have audiences booking their next beach getaway.
11 The Lizzie McGuire Movie
Lizzie, her best friend, Gordo, and several of her classmates go on a summer trip to Rome, but for Lizzie, she finds more than good food and beautiful architecture. In The Lizzie McGuire Movie, Lizzie gets mistaken for a pop star named Isabella, and her signing partner, Paolo, takes advantage of this.
He shows Lizzie around Rome and wins her naive heart, but then he asks her to pretend to be Isabella at an award ceremony. Gordo feels like the heartthrob is planning something, and unfortunately, he is right. The real Isabella returns, confronts Lizzie, and they create their own plan to get back at Paolo.
10 Stand by Me
Children can turn anything into an adventure, so, in Stand by Me, when four boys hear about a local kid's body being found, they decide to go in search of it. Their goal is to be praised for their efforts by law enforcement and their community, but their journey proves to be so much more rewarding.
Gordie and Chris talk about how they have both been struggling with their families back at home, and the other two friends try their best to sympathize when they know both they don't have the most normal families either.
9 The Way, Way Back
Road trips and forced vacations with people who are less than pleasant can quickly turn into hostile situations, but luckily for Duncan, he is able to mentally and physically escape in The Way, Way Back. Duncan does not like his mother's boyfriend, Trent, or Trent's rude daughter, Steph, so instead of sticking around them all summer, he finds some humorous employees at the local water park.
When Duncan starts spending all of his free time there, he is offered a job. He makes friends, he has his first kiss, and he learns that he and his mother deserve a better person in their lives than Trent.
8 The Sandlot
20th Century Fox
Summers are meant for playing outside and making memories, and that is just what the new kid on the block, Scott Smalls, did in The Sandlot when pressured by his mother to make friends during his first summer in a new neighborhood.
After some initial hesitation, Smalls is accepted by a group of boys who play baseball at the neighborhood sandlot. They play every day together, they hit up the local pool, and they share a vomit-inducing tobacco experience at the fair. After getting caught up in a bad situation involving a "mean" old dog and man, Smalls realizes that people are often better than they seem.
7 Aquamarine
Before summer comes to an end and Hailey has to move with her mother to Australia, she and her best friend Claire meet a mermaid named Aquamarine who washed ashore during a horrible storm. In Aquamarine, the titular mermaid reveals that she needs to prove to her father that true love exists, and with the promise of a wish, the girls decide to help her. The three get to work making Aquamarine the ideal girl for a cute lifeguard, but during all the planning, they realize how love does not always have to come in the form of romance.
6 Soul Surfer
Bethany Hamilton eats, breathes, and lives for surfing in Soul Surfer, so when a random shark attack jeopardized her whole life, she was forced to take a step back and reconsider her priorities. While surfing with her friend's family, a shark rips Bethany's arm from her body. Bethany is able to remain calm during the situation as well as during her healing period, but she just wants to know one thing: when can she get back in the water? Bethany's determination to prove to herself and others that she is nothing less than she's ever been without a limb is absolutely inspiring.
5 Mamma Mia!
As Sophie prepares for her island wedding in Greece in Mamma Mia!, she has one secret up her sleeve: she invited three men in hopes one will be revealed as her father. Sophie's mother, Donna, has to face her past lovers while her daughter thinks the whole ordeal is completely innocent. With both of their best friends encouraging them to do different things, the Sophie and Donna come together and express that they have always wanted the best for one another.
4 Monte Carlo
In Monte Carlo, after graduating from high school, Grace, her best friend, Emma, and Grace's older stepsister, Meg, all go to Paris together. They expect to have an enriching experience, but they are horribly disappointed. Grace gets mistaken as a British heiress, and after some ideas are thrown out, the girls decide to go along with the ruse. They travel to Monte Carlo under the guise that Grace is the heiress, and their adventure gets much more lively. From meeting new people to getting exposed by the real royal members, Grace no doubt will have the best stories when she goes off to college.
3 Camp Rock
Camp is a place where new friendships are made, secrets are told, and adventures happen. For Mitchie in Camp Rock, it is also an opportunity to make something of herself and begin her music career. In the beginning, Mitchie cares more about what others think of her social status and how she was able to attend such an expensive camp, but after her lies are exposed, she realizes she has nothing to lose. Mitchie comes clean to her friends, her crush, and everyone else at the camp about who she is and how she wants to do and better.
2 The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Four best friends each go their own way during summer break in The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants, but they stay connected through a pair of pants that magically fits each girl perfectly. Bridget goes to a soccer camp in Mexico, Lena visits her family in Greece, Carmen goes to stay with her estranged father for the season, and Tibby feels left behind as she stays in their hometown and works.
The girls learn so much about themselves while apart, but in the end, they are grateful to come back together and receive the support of one another during difficult times.
1 Along for the Ride
The summer before college is a time for trying new things, and Auden in Along for the Ride is desperate to come out of her shell and reinvent herself. She tries to fit in with her new peers, but a spontaneous make out session turns hostile when she realizes she now works with the guy's ex-girlfriend.
Auden meets a fellow night owl, Eli, and the two hit it off. Eli makes it his summer mission to get Auden to try things she's never done before. After spending nearly all summer together, both Auden and Eli realize that they bring out the best in one another.