Famed film critic Leonard Maltin and his daughter Jessie Maltin team with Turner classic movies on a guide to 25 family-friendly films and corresponding recipes
Leonard Maltin is one of the most revered film critics in American history. In addition to his three decades of reviewing movies for Entertainment Tonight, he has churned out dozens of books on film history, recorded countless introductions for TV and DVDs, and is a favorite professor of film students at USC.
Maltin has a deep and profound love for all genres and all aspects of Hollywood history and his research elevated once-fringe genres like slapstick and B-movies, helping them find younger fans. His multitude of animation and Disney books have changed lives.
“Leonard is one of the pioneers of sharing his personal passion for the movies that make our culture,” says animation director Mark Walsh. “I taught myself to draw pausing the VHS and putting plastic over the TV to copy it. Then I found Leonard’s books with the actual drawings, and I could learn how it was done and who created it.”
Since 2014, the critic has teamed up with his daughter Jessie Maltin for a podcast called Maltin on Movies. The contrast between the studious movie nerd in glasses and his wildly enthusiastic and rainbow-haired millennial offspring captured a new generation of fans. The pair have shared intergenerational memories like the time Titanic star Gloria Stuart attended [Jessie’s] bat mitzvah or when legendary Disney composer Richard Sherman played piano at her wedding.
Leonard and his wife Alice moved to Los Angeles from their native New York in 1983, and today, the pair shares their Sherman Oaks home with Jessie, her husband Scott, and their toddler granddaughter Daisy. When we visited, housekeeper Mercy and two tiny yappy dogs named Mabel and Logan also joined the party.
“Just being together is a huge part of our lives,” Jessie says. “Our family life is watching movies together.” When Turner Classic Movies suggested the Maltins collaborate on a book celebrating their favorite foods and flicks, the pair jumped at the chance to create Family Movie Night Menus: Recipes & Films for Unforgettable Times Together, out April 7 from Hachette Book Group’s Running Press Adult.
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The cookbook and film guide pair more than two dozen classics like The Wizard of Oz and The Princess Bride with themed dishes meant to be shared by the whole family. The Maltins turn toy light sabers into chicken skewers for Star Wars and suggest schnitzel and noodles to accompany The Sound of Music.
“Our new book is encouraging families to watch classic films together,” Leonard says. “And enjoy a snack inspired by the movie. So, when you’re watching Calamity Jane with Doris Day, it would not be inappropriate to have biscuits they might have served out West in those days.”
The pair encourages you to put away your phone and lower the lights when the movie starts, but sometimes life gets in the way. “I do everything with a 4-year-old at my feet,” Leonard says with a laugh. “So, it’s always a circus.”