Australian films have had a rockin’ good year at the box office, chalking up nothing shy of the biggest collective haul (not adjusted for inflation) from local cinemas in history. To bastardise/paraphrase the Beatles and Scarface: we get by with a little help from our little friends.

Which is to say that youngsters in the audience have been instrumental in putting bums on seats. While the biggest box office performer this year by a country mile was Mad Max: Fury Road, viewers not old enough to properly appreciate unfettered carnage and a feminist role model with an amputated arm went elsewhere. Kids flicks such as Blinky Bill: The Movie, Paper Planes and Oddball have proved immensely popular (the second two taking around $10m apiece).

Here’s a look back at five of the best Australian movies for children:

Babe

This little piggy went to the market, this little piggy went to town, this little piggy got a ticket to the Oscars. Seven in fact, if you count each of Babe’s nominations. The success of director Chris Noonan’s 1995 heart-warmer about a pipsqueak piece of pork who becomes an expert cattle-controlling “Sheep Pig” blew everybody away.

The little pig gobbled up about a quarter of a billion dollars from the global box office and is regularly (and justly) cited as one of the finest family films ever made. The special effects and animatronics from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop still look amazing today – like watching the original Yoda (not the soulless-looking CGI-animated one), they just don’t age.

Babe’s storybook appearance conceals plenty of meatier undertones for adults and the film set a new standard for talking animal movies.

BMX Bandits

For children living in Australia in the 1980s, nothing was cooler than owning a BMX bike. Director Brian Trenchard-Smith’s action-packed “would have got away with it if it wasn’t for you meddling kids” tale about fast-pedalling youngsters taking down a criminal syndicate was a big reason why.

To this day the film has a strong presence on the big screen, often on the bill in repertory movie programs. A pop-synth soundtrack, gloriously Day-Glo outfits and inventive cinematography from John Seale (who won an Oscar a decade-and-a-half later for The English Patient) are among BMX Bandits’s most memorable indulgences. It also featured the first feature film performance from a then 16-year-old, fuzzy-haired whippersnapper – someone by the name of Nicole Kidman.

Dot and the Kangaroo

Many viewers will never forget the wonderfully sweet sounds of cute creatures in Dot and the Kangaroo singing jovial songs such as “oh what fun you have when you’re a frog on a log”. But it’s the poignant moments in legendary animator (and writer-director-producer) Yoram Gross’s 1977 classic – especially its unforgettably bittersweet ending – that resonate so strongly.

When young Dot (voiced by Barbara Frawley) confronts the realisation that kangaroos belong in the bush and that she must part ways with her beloved new friend, tears roll down her cheeks. Adults rewatching it can be excused for getting a little blubbery too.

Storm Boy

Another soul-enriching film about loving something and learning to let it go, 1976’s Storm Boy is a rare heart-tugger: so beautifully made, so wonderfully peppered with big messages and small details. It is a profound coming of age film, a sweet story about the relationship between a boy and his father and – most memorably – a loving portrait of a kid’s relationship with a charismatic water bird.

If there was an award for the finest performance by a pelican in motion picture history, it would have to go to the inimitable Mr Percival, the long-beaked performer who flapped his way to stardom by performing opposite Greg Rowe (the title character) and co-star David Gulpilil. The latter delivers the film’s best, and most tear-jerking line: “Bird like him, never die”.

Red Dog

In the tradition of Australian family movies that combine light and dark in ways that don’t patronise adults nor those whose shoe size still exceeds their age, film-maker Kriv Stenders was an unlikely choice to direct this real-life inspired tale about a pooch in Western Australia who finally finds, but tragically loses, his one true master. Stenders came to the project after directing three hard-hitting dramas in a row, including 2007’s terrific Boxing Day.

This slickly produced but mature family movie embraces themes familiar to Australian cinema – carefree subjects such as drinking, violence and death – but does so in unpretentious and extremely accessible ways. Red Dog was a big hit with audiences (it’s currently the ninth most successful Australian film of all time at the local box office). Even grey-haired critics, embracing their inner child, gushed about it.

• Do you agree with Luke Buckmaster’s selection? Which other Aussie kids films do you get nostalgic over? Share in the comments below