The Taken series has allowed Liam Neeson to launch a new career playing frighteningly capable, quietly seething old men who do whatever they must to protect their loved ones. But Neeson’s hardly the first actor to play a mother, father, uncle, aunt, or family friend taking extraordinary measures to extract children (both little and full-grown) from dangerous situations. The “parents fighting to rescue their kids” picture is practically a genre unto itself, and one that’s intersected over the decades with everything from Westerns to thrillers to cartoons.
