Drew Barrymore's impressive imagination

Casting the right children to play the three main siblings in the movie was absolutely crucial, and Drew Barrymore won the part of Gertie easily.

Drew - who was just six years old at the time - told Spielberg at their first meeting that she wasn't an actress, and was a drummer for a hard punk rock band instead.

Because of her lively imagination, the director knew she was right for the role, and so Drew got the job.

She later said: “I was six, and I lied my face off. I told him I was in a rock 'n' roll band, that I was a drummer, that I was a cook.”