You can pick your friends and your partners, but you can’t choose your family: but that doesn’t make sibling stories boring. The lack of agency when it comes to family is part of what makes siblings’ stories so interesting. You can’t choose who’s older or smarter or prettier because, however the cards fall, the differences are purely by chance.

This makes for some of the purest love and deepest resentment because it is so close to yourself yet out of your control.

Siblings act as natural foils to each other in stories because their differences are highlighted by their shared origin. Whether they are your best friend or arch nemesis, siblings make great characters by showing both how people are different and what they share simultaneously. So, if you love your sibling or hate them, here are ten sibling movies that really feature these intimate and involuntary relationships whether the bond is loving, tragic, or disturbed.

Related: 10 Noteworthy Sibling Rivalries Through History

10 Lilo and Stitch

What keeps a story about an intergalactic alien manhunt down to earth? Hula dances and two sisters’ love. Even an extraterrestrial designed to cause destruction can empathize.

Disney was taking risks in Lilo and Stitch (2002). Not just by taking a turn toward science fiction and away from the fantasy kingdoms we know and love, but by steering away from fairy tale romance to the realistic struggles of two orphaned sisters. Romantic love isn’t the core struggle but rather the refrain of keeping your “Ohana” together while things fall apart. Lilo and Nani fuss and fight, but their relationship is characterized by their effort to stay together while Nani faces unemployment as a single sibling guardian.

Their love and struggle fill the screen as Nani faces the real possibility of losing Lilo. Instead of breaking the news outright, she holds her sister and spends their last night together under the stars and singing “Aloha Oe” which translates to “farewell to thee.” This song is famously associated with Hawaii and was written by the last Queen of Hawaii, Liliuokalani, as a heartfelt farewell. The lyrics sing a message to Lilo, whom Nani expects to lose custody of in the morning:

“One fond embrace / I leave / Until we meet again.
Sweet memories come back to me / Bringing fresh remembrances of the past.
Dearest one, yes, you are mine own / From you, true love shall never depart.”

This touching moment really captures the depth of love these two have for each other.^[1]

9 Slumdog Millionaire

This 2008 film racked up at the Oscars with a cast of breakout actors and unknowns, making you laugh, cry, and really try to remember the name of the third musketeer. This story spans a decade and many walks of life, but love and brotherhood are the emotional core of the story.

This epic follows the story of two impoverished brothers growing up in the slums of Mumbai. After they are orphaned at a young age, their bond helps them survive and intensifies their true natures. Salim is willing to do anything to survive, which hardens him. At the same time, Jamal is driven by love, first for his brother and then for their third musketeer Latika. Jamal’s unending belief in this love proves victorious over even Salim’s hard heart, who ultimately shows his true love for his brother by sacrificing everything for Jamal to be happy.^[2]

8 Encanto

There is no way to avoid this 2021 film making the list unless I just hadn’t seen it. This is a story about a family of two generations of siblings dealing with relatable issues of cracking under family expectation and the stress of living with it. This is a family movie, not just because it is fun for all ages but because family pressure is the villain, and the answers are hugs.

Mirabel and Bruno are the outcast siblings in their respective stories, and they team up to save the magic by understanding what it is in their family that is weakening it. The solution they find in the vision? Mirabel needs to hug and make nice with her sister Isabella who has been forced to be a pretty picture her entire life. Mirabel hates her out of jealousy because her personal imperfection is mirrored by her sister’s projection of infallibility.

Their reconciliation is in realizing that Isabella is struggling just as much under the expectation to be perfect even though she doesn’t even want to be, to the point of marrying someone she doesn’t love. Ultimately, they are able to rebuild their family and their magic without this fatal flaw because of Mirabel’s heroic effort, listening to her sisters and understanding how they feel.^[3]

7 Fiddler on the Roof

Based on a book titled Tevye’s Daughters and the Broadway play that followed, this 1971 musical film examines three sisters on the precipice of adulthood in a traditional Jewish community in Imperial Russia. To them, that means marriage and how they each decide to carry their tradition and values forward instead of letting it hold them back. These sisters all understand each other’s longing and excitement for love, and each makes a path for the other to follow their dreams.

Tevye acts as a narrator in a story that is really about his daughters and their community as it changes through the turmoil that threatens their way of life. The three sisters decide to change their fates as daughters of a poor milkman. One after another, they reject their custom of arranged marriages in pursuit of romantic partners who align with their personal values more than the customs of the community. We see the sisters embolden each other as one girl’s bravery pours into the next until they all have taken their stand.^[4]

6 Dead Ringers

Based on the story of two real-life doctors, Cyril and Stewart Marcus, Jeremy Irons stars opposite himself in the role of identical twins Beverly and Elliot. What starts with sinister tricks like sharing women they seduce at their gynecology practice ends in horror and tragedy as their self-destructive descent into drug addiction spirals out of control on-screen. These two codependent characters drag each other down until neither can escape.

Director David Cronenberg, master of body horror, demonstrates what they are doing to themselves with addiction by what they are doing to each other. I will warn you—it is an eerie and uneasy watch.

Rooting for the main characters in this 1988 film is rooting against them because they must be stopped as they hurt other people, themselves, and each other with their dark tendencies. This story is by far the darkest on the list. However, I think it is also the only true story demonstrating the complex nature of the bond between siblings. Many believed this film was snubbed by the Oscars that year, and when Irons went on to get his Best Actor for Reversal of Fortune, he thanked Cronenberg for making it possible.^[5]

5 Onward

Onward (2020) is an animated adventure that stars Chris Pratt and Tom Holland as Ian and Barley Lightfoot. They are two brothers bonding over the death of their father through the magic Barley learned from him when he was young and that Ian inherited the ability to actually practice. They embark on a quest to complete the spell and bring their father, who died before Ian could get to know him, back for the rest of the day.

Through this adventure, they grow to appreciate each other’s strengths and love. By the end of their journey, Ian realizes he doesn’t even need to meet his father. He now knows that because his brother has stood in for him so much that there is nothing in his dreams for his father that Barley has not already done for him. The strength of their brotherhood has supported them, and their shared desire for the magic from their father has created its own magic. This movie was inspired by director Dan Scanlon’s relationship with his brother and their connection to their father, who passed when he was an infant.^[6]

4 Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

This iconic thriller is about the toxic relationship between two aging stars. The 1962 film pits the real-life rival screen queens Bette Davis and Joan Crawford against each other in a movie that sears with resentment and jealousy—the way that only sisters have for each other.

Joan Crawford plays Blanche, an aging Hollywood actress in the care of her sister Baby Jane. The latter had been famous first but fizzled much quicker. After Blanche is injured in an accident, Baby Jane, now haggard and cruel, traps and abuses her sister while trying to swindle her fortune. Baby Jane is trying to make a comeback with a vaudeville act she is 50 years too old for. This movie has all the madness, delusion, and scintillating acting from Sunset Boulevard but given a sister to highlight their heightening psychological stress and desperation. This truly iconic film is said to have kicked off a whole subgenre of horror called psycho biddy or “hagsploitation.”^[7]

3 Frozen

Frozen (2013) won many hearts with its strong feminist themes and going against the grain of some earlier Disney tropes like love at first sight and the necessity of a romantic lead. In Frozen, the act of true love is not from a handsome Prince but from the love these sisters have for each other.

Anna and Elsa are princesses in the land of Arendelle. Though they were once very dear friends, their father’s suppression of Elsa drives a wedge between their relationship. This results in Elsa shutting herself off from Anna and eventually the whole country. The conflict of this story stems from bringing them back together and restoring things to how they were. And that is exactly what their love for each other accomplishes. It turns out that love is an open door (between sisters who want to build a snowman).^[8]

2 The Color Purple

This story features a young Whoppi Goldberg in a breakout role as Celie, one of two sisters fated to a difficult life after their mother dies. They are left with nothing but the love between sisters and God to care for them when no one but each other bothers. This heartbreaking story of these African American women in the rural south deals with every kind of abuse and finding love for themselves and each other. If the two of them playing patty cake doesn’t bring tears to your eyes by the end of the movie, you need to get your heart examined.

Growing up, Celie does her best to shelter her young, intelligent, and beautiful sister from the abuse that she has received, but this changes when Celie is married off. Nettie teaches Celie to read so that they can be together in letters even if they can’t be together in person. They both keep their faith through letters, Nettie to Celie for their entire adult life even though Celie can never write back. And Celie to God, although he never responds until miraculously, their prayers are answered. These sisters show us and each other how to fight, survive, and keep faith alive no matter what your outside circumstances are.^[9]

1 Grave of the Fireflies

This entry is as emotionally devastating as it is beautifully crafted. Grave of the Fireflies (1988) is a Studio Ghibli movie set in WWII Japan and its immediate aftermath. Don’t let its gorgeous animation fool you; this movie is not for children (unless you would like your children to understand death and the horrors of war).

Seita is a teenage boy who takes up the responsibility of looking after his little sister Setsuko after their home is firebombed. The story follows them on their journey of survival and growing desperation as they find themselves running out of options. Seita’s love for Setsuko will tear your heart open as he does his very best to support her and himself with nothing. We may find it strange in the West to have such a heavy-themed movie produced as an animated film. However, the author of Grave of the Fireflies could not imagine it being brought to the screen in any other way.^[10]

The James Bond movie franchise has given us some great gadgets—some of which we wish we had and others that aren’t so practical but still pretty cool. But real life has given us some neat gadgets too! Sure, we may not have access to a dagger shoe or a mini-rocket cigarette.

Still, innovations in technology and practical applications of survivalist techniques have shown us that Hollywood could take a few pointers from what is already available in real life. Here are ten gadgets that James Bond would want in real life (in no particular order).

Related: 10 Most Controversial James Bond Facts

10 Makr Shakr

The quintessential Bond line “Shaken, not stirred” is the inspiration for our first selection. The Makr Shakr is a robotic arm bartender that eliminates the need for a human bartender. Or, to be less salty about it, all you have to do is sit back and let the robot do its job.

This may not be spy gear, but it definitely plays an important role in Bond’s personal life and vices. However, the outrageous look of an assembly line machine arm bartender makes it seem that it’d be better suited for Archer, who is the perfect parody of Roger Moore’s suave playboy vibes and Pierce Brosnan’s sarcasm and wit.

9 Belty

Daniel Craig, in my opinion, is the darkest version of Bond. He is the silent type who has no problem reminding us that he’s a covert agent first and has no problem killing who he has to kill. He’s also terribly good-looking. That’s why Belty is on this list.

Belty is a self-adjusting belt. It is stylish enough to pass as a regular belt, but why limit the technology behind it to constrict waists and hold up pants? Hear me out. What if Bond could adjust the Belty to self-adjust around a person’s neck? To me, it’s the perfect 2-in-1 tool, like the exploding pen. Forget piano wire—that’s such a mafia tactic anyway. Bond uses a belt to choke his targets.

8 LifeStraw

If you camp, you know how important it is to NOT drink water from lakes, ponds, or streams without boiling it first. Drinking the water straight could result in some pretty nasty medical complications and a ruined camping trip. Fortunately, several solutions don’t require you to boil water, one of which is the LifeStraw.

The LifeStraw is a portable straw that filters water of viruses and bacteria. The company behind it, Vestergaard, has some great sustainability and water equality initiatives, too, so good on them.

In his line of work, Bond visits some far-out places, as seen in No Time to Die, for example. The Lifestraw, then, seems a logical addition to his survivalist tools should he have to travel through harsh and limiting conditions. Stay hydrated, my friends.

7 Ray-Ban Stories

Of all the Bonds, Roger Moore probably got the coolest gadgets. He’d be the one we would most likely see shopping around for the next Swiss Army knife of ridiculous all-in-one features. With him in mind, though, it isn’t easy coming up with a real-life gadget that he would want. We could give him a smartwatch, but nothing compares to the Rolex Submariner. We could give him a self-driving car, but, meh—he had the Lotus Esprit coupe. That’s a car and a submarine with a torpedo launcher. So we decided to look for something simpler that could still appeal to Moore’s crazy gadget side. We came up with the Ray-Ban Stories.

These sunglasses made by Ray-Bans compete hard with the Bose Bluetooth sunglasses—and win. The smart glasses are supported by Meta technology and come with a whole host of features. You can take video and photos hands-free (there are two small built-in cameras in the frames). A touch response option allows you to do the same. You can also play and pause music with verbal or touch commands. The glasses also come with a charging case, open-air speakers, Facebook assistant, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, iPhone and Android compatibility, and three stylish frame designs with prescription lens options.

6 The Tile

The Tile is a portable tracking device intended to keep track of your possessions. The company behind it sells a credit card-sized version of the device, a round, waterproof sticker tracker, or a small tile. Simply keep the Tile with your belongings and sync the device with the iPhone or Android app. Obviously, it can also be left in purses or cars to keep tabs on someone’s whereabouts (but the company would never promote that).

It may not be the most subtle tracking device he’s ever used, but it could prove to be a useful tool for his civilian lifestyle, especially if he tends to misplace his keys or wallet or girlfriends.

5 Nuraphone

The Nuraphone is a set of Bluetooth headphones that send out different frequencies to your ear and measure your ears’ responses to them. It then creates an equalizer profile for you based on these responses. The result is the perfect equalizer setting for your ears only. Additionally, you can take phone calls, adjust the “transparency” of the headphones if you still need to listen to your surroundings, or plug in wires if you don’t want to go wireless.

Bond may never use these things on the job, but we think they’re impressive enough that he wouldn’t mind listening to custom EQ music on his day off.

4 Max Privacy Screen Protector

A screen protector? Boring—but logical. I’m not even a spy, and I don’t want people to see what I’m looking at—and what I’m looking at isn’t even that important. Imagine what James Bond looks at on his phone…*jokes ensue*.

The max privacy screen protector for iPhone is so private that supposedly unless you’re looking directly at your phone, the screen will appear black. It’s also made out of glass, so its protective capabilities go beyond privacy.

3 The Wasp Gas Injection Knife

You guys, I really like this one. It’s a knife. But wait, there’s more! It’s a knife that releases enough carbon dioxide to cause a small explosion when you stab something with it. So yes, you can stab something and then make the wound worse by blowing it up with the press of a button on the knife’s bolster. On top of that, the carbon dioxide that causes the explosion is really cold, so it freezes the organs and tissues around it.

The knife was originally intended for divers who encounter predators, like sharks. If you’re underwater and have to use it, the shark will float to the surface before it starts bleeding. The blood will then attract other sharks to the surface so you can keep diving. It makes sense to me!

But you don’t have to be underwater to use it. Land or sea, for close-range combat, this is a pretty neat tool to have and one I’m sure Bond would love to keep handy.

2 Wazoo Firecraft Necklace

You don’t necessarily want to deck yourself out in jewelry when you’re out in the wilderness. It’s not practical. But this necklace is designed to be functional (and hipster-looking). Wazoo put flint and steel on a pendant, and this surprisingly simple solution to fire starting is wildly successful. The sparks will fly! We’re sure that Bond has plenty of survival skills, not to need flint and steel to start a fire, but he is always prepared for a sticky situation. We figured that he’d bring it along with him to make his life easier. Who actually wants to spend time looking for flint and steel in the middle of nowhere?

1 The Drink Detective

Hey, remember when Daniel Craig was poisoned at the casino in Casino Royale“? Not to throw salt on a wound, but you’re 007. Don’t just say, “Hey, thanks for my drink. I’m going to drink it in the same room as my enemy without checking it!” That’s why, as punishment, we’re presenting here the way-too-complicated spiked drink detector!

To use the Drink Detective:

1. Remove a test swab and test card from the package.
2. Dip the swab in the drink and apply it to the test squares on the card.
3. Wait a couple of seconds, and if the squares have changed colors, your drink has been spiked.

If you want to know exactly what someone put in it, the different colors correspond with different drugs.

The Drink Detective can detect a host of drugs in your drink, including heroin, cocaine, ketamine, ecstasy, morphine, etc. If it’s an amine, the Drink Detective will find it. Now, it wouldn’t have done any good for the digitalis poison in Bond’s drink, but hey, you know, not everyone has access to digitalis—regular bad guys may opt to roofie him instead.

Are you a James Bond fan? If so, we’re not surprised. There’s something simply cool and fun about a Bond movie. Not only does he save the day (and usually the entire world… secretly, of course!) but he also gets a great car, gadgets, and a beautiful woman.

While you may have stood in line for the latest Bond movie, we doubt you know everything about them. Here are some facts that even some of the most enthusiastic “007” followers may not know…

10. You have one very dedicated family to thank for the franchise

Obviously, a lot of people have been involved in the making of the Bond films over the years. But there’s one family in particular that’s been the driving force behind keeping them going for decades.

The Broccoli family has produced James Bond movies since 1975. These movies are truly a family affair – with Albert R. Broccoli who produced until 1984 when his stepson Michael G. Wilson came on board. Then in 1995, Broccoli let his daughter Barbara Broccoli take over production of the James Bond franchise. So now two generations of the Broccoli family has managed the Bond films, bringing us hours of fantastic entertainment.

9. Ian Fleming didn’t get rich on the first movie

The Bond franchise is a bit of a cash cow, clearly. That’s why they keep churning new ones out, right? But author Ian Fleming didn’t exactly rake in the dough on his first movie adaptation. Not even close, actually. But then, the first movie wasn’t exactly a blockbuster.

In 1954, CBS paid Fleming $1,000 to obtain the rights to turn his first Bond novel, Casino Royale, into a one-hour show. This was part of the series named Climax Mystery Theater. The show featured Barry Nelson as James Bond and Peter Lorre as villain Le Chiffre and was shown to TV audiences on October 21, 1954.

8. The biggest box office hit it in the franchise might not be what you think

If we asked you what the biggest smash hit (financially) in the Bond franchise is, you might immediately think of the Daniel Craig version of Casino Royale, or maybe even Goldeneye. But it’s not either of those, in fact. Casino Royale actually only ranks fourth on the list, and Goldeneye is a distant eighth.

The top earner? It’s Skyfall, which was released on November 8, 2012. The domestic box office in the USA was $304,360,277. That’s more than a hundred million more than the second highest grosser, Spectre. The international box office was truly phenomenal – more than $1 billion, at $1,110,526,981! The Bond movies have been super successful overall and have grossed $7 billion, with their international box office totals.

7. Enjoy Daniel Craig as Bond… while you can

Daniel Craig wasn’t the obvious choice when he got cast as Bond prior to Casino Royale. He didn’t have the same suave, dark-haired look of a Roger Moore or Pierce Brosnan, so naturally some fans were skeptical. And then, of course, people saw him in the film and almost immediately, the debate opened up about whether he was a better Bond than Sean Connery.

However, you probably won’t be seeing him in the role much longer. The next James Bond film will be released on November 8, 2019. This is the final film, currently dubbed ‘Bond 25’, that Craig has been contracted for with them. Craig has been working on a TV show and originally was reluctant to do one last Bond movie, but it is great that he didn’t want to disappoint his enthusiastic fans.

6. That 2019 Bond film is still a total mystery

While it’s certainly great that Daniel Craig is returning to the role (at least) one last time, that’s about all we know about the film at this point. Most of the time, production companies share a plot synopsis or a few details. This time, it simply says “unknown.” This Bond movie has not been without a few bumps, though. Pregnancy bumps, that is. Production was pushed back due to Craig wanting to help his pregnant wife, Oscar winner Rachel Weisz.

Just last year they were searching hard to find a great director, and that is one piece of info that we do have. The newest Bond will be helmed by acclaimed director Danny Boyle, who was the man behind films like Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, and Slumdog Millionaire, and has won an Oscar. For now, we will simply have to be patient and wait.

5. Sometimes Bond’s gadgets have given us a window into the future

Many of Bond’s gadgets are pure entertainment and just add to the adventure. But a few of them seem as if they are a peek into what will be available to the rest of us one day.

The 1985 movie A View to A Kill featured a Ring Camera. Today, tiny cameras can be placed just about anywhere. But in the 1980s, the thought of that technology, being that tiny, was simply unheard of. In that same movie, there was a cute Robot Dog. Now, admittedly it did not quite look like Fido but it certainly was cute. Today you can buy all types of adorable little robot pets including cats and dogs.

In the 2008 movie Quantum of Solace, there was a Multitouch Table, similar to using a large tablet. It’s the size of a table that about 6 people can use. Now you’ll see large screens that people can move documents around with the touch of a finger – why, it’s so Bond-like!

4. Sean Connery wasn’t very “007” when it came to playing Bond

Some of the actors who played James Bond have done plenty of their own stunts. They certainly could not have done all of them, of course, for insurance reasons. One of the actors who refused to do any type of stunt at all, though, might surprise you (well, unless you read the header): Sean Connery.

As his fellow Bond, George Lazenby, noted, “Sean Connery wouldn’t step down a step without saying ‘stunt man!’” Now, let’s be fair. Some of those Bond stunts are a bit daunting. It’s easy for us to make a quick judgement from our comfy, plush movie seats while munching on buttery popcorn. Then again, you’d think the dashing guy who played Bond (and was also a Mr. Universe competitor!) would at least be up for racing a car, skiing down a hill or a few small adventures!

3. The first big-screen Bond was a real player… and not just on-screen

You may not know who George Lazenby is, but he’s the guy who briefly played Bond in exactly one movie: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. And while he didn’t play Bond for long, he sure lived the James Bond lifestyle. He estimates that he was intimate with more than 1,000 women and during the peak of his fame he seduced an average of 5 women each day. He credits his luck with the ladies to being “a good looking Australian” and also having the confidence to approach them.

We think Lazenby was chock-filled with confidence in lots of ways. It might surprise you to know that he got the role of James Bond with absolutely zero professional acting experience! Can you imagine someone getting the lead role in a blockbuster movie like that today?

2. Can you spot the 1963 Aston Martin DB5?

Everyone knows that part of the fun of watching Bond movies is not just the adventure, but also the cars and cool gadgets that Bond has. It might surprise you to know that one Aston Martin car has popped up in six James Bond movies, making it quite unique. Typically a car or gadget appears only once. Even more amazing is the fact that its appearances have spanned decades.

The 1963 Aston Martin DB5 you’ll first see in Goldfinger (1964) and then in Thunderball (1965). It also reappeared more recently in Goldeneye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), Casino Royale (2006), and then the super popular Skyfall (2012). So, it is easy to say that the Aston Martin is James Bond’s car. While he may drive others, this is one of his all-time favorites!

1. So… who will be the next Bond?

Many fans are hoping Daniel Craig will stay on in the role of James Bond, and it has been rumored he has been offered $150 million for another two films. But eventually, he’s going to hang up the Walther PPK, and someone else will need to step into the role. So, who could it be?

Names that have been included in entertainment magazines, on social media, and throughout internet message boards include actors like Idris Elba, Damian Lewis, Aidan Turner, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hardy, or Jamie Bell. For now, we’re just going to have to continue to speculate and see who slides into the black tux and orders his martini… shaken, not stirred.

Are you a James Bond fan? If so, we’re not surprised. There’s something simply cool and fun about a Bond movie. Not only does he save the day (and usually the entire world… secretly, of course!) but he also gets a great car, gadgets, and a beautiful woman. And with the latest news about the franchise, it feels like a good time to revisit everyone’s favorite secret agent.

While you may have stood in line for the latest Bond movie, we doubt you know everything about them. Here are some facts that even some of the most enthusiastic “007” followers may not know…

Read the full list!