We laugh (comedy) when we see ourselves in others, we cry (drama) when we'd hate to see ourselves in the shoes of another

Drama is about conflict which either gets resolved or doesn't, not necessarily about making people cry.

We also cry through empathy when we see ourselves in others, e.g. someone dealing with the death of a loved one; and laugh when we see people who we'd hate to be in the shoes of, e.g. Trump.

It's difficult to dig out the main point you're trying to make, but Super 8 is an example of kids on an adventure, although granted it's in a retro-callback style. There are also way more kids TV shows with much more developed and adventuring kid characters than there used to be, so maybe there is less need for specific movies about them. I did wish I was part of the Goonies, because I'd get to kiss the girl with the yellow jacket. edit: Percy Jackson and Harry Potter films have kids on adventures.

In your example, while Han is the bangable one Luke is the hero protagonist, although this doesn't become fully evident until the end of the third film.