The 20 Best Movies for Kids on Netflix

Photo: Netflix

This article is updated frequently as titles leave and enter Netflix. *New additions are indicated with an asterisk.

Netflix has massive catalogs of TV shows aimed at children, but it can be harder to sift through their movie library to find something that the whole family can watch. That’s why we’re here to help. From recent Netflix Originals like Orion and the Dark to timeless family hits like The Annie or Minions, these films offer a little something for everybody on family movie night.

Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood

Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 38m
Director: Richard Linklater

The great writer/director of Waking Life returned to his unique animated style with this charming, nostalgic coming-of-age story set in the days just before the Apollo 11 landing. A clearly personal piece for Linklater, this film tells the fictional story of a fourth grader who ends up actually being the first person to land on the moon. Charming and sweet, it will appeal to every family member, from grandparents to kids.

Back to the Future

Year: 1985
Runtime: 1h 56m
Director: Robert Zemeckis

Robert Zemeckis directed all three movies in one of the most beloved trilogies of all time. The story of a teen who goes back in time turned Michael J. Fox into a household name and still serves as the template for how to do this kind of family/sci-fi adventure. The two sequels may not be as good but they’re better than you remember. And all three are on Netflix.

*Chicken Run

Year: 2000
Runtime: 1h 24m
Directors: Peter Lord, Nick Park

We don’t deserve Aardman. The geniuses behind Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, and others made their biggest cinematic splash with this 2000 hit. A clever riff on prison break movies like Escape From Alcatraz (but with chickens!), this is actually the highest-grossing stop-motion animated film of all time, a title it’s held for over 20 years now.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2

Year: 2013
Runtime: 1h 34m
Directors: Cody Cameron, Kris Pearn

A rare animated sequel that’s just about as funny as the first film, this 2013 sequel built on the visual wit and sharp characters from the 2009 movie. Bill Hader and Anna Faris lead a stellar voice work as Flint Lockwood are forced to return to Swallow Falls to save the day. It’s inventive and very fun.

Klaus

Year: 2019
Runtime: 1h 38m
Director: Sergio Pablos

A little movie that could, this animated Christmas adventure was so critically beloved that it competed with giants like Pixar and DreamWorks for the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. It’s a delightful little fable about a postman who ends up stationed so far to the north that he meets a reclusive toymaker there named Klaus. Yes, it’s a Santa Claus origin story. With lovely, old-fashioned style, this is the kind of joyous film that the whole family can watch any time of year.

The Lego Batman Movie

Year: 2017
Runtime: 1h 44m
Director: Chris McKay

More than just a child’s version of a superhero movie or a spoof of the genre, this family flick is a legitimately clever and well-crafted action film. Will Arnett spins off his version of the Dark Knight that premiered in The LEGO Movie for a film that unpacks the clichés about Bruce Wayne and Batman in a manner that’s funny and very smart.

The Lorax

Year: 2012
Runtime: 1h 26m
Directors: Chris Renaud, Kyle Balda

While the success of Despicable Me 4 makes it clear how Ilumination is still a dominant force in creative entertainment, why not go back to one of their earliest ventures? This is the story of Thneedville, a walled city that has no need for the natural world, and a 12-year-old there who learns the story of the Lorax, voiced perfectly by Danny DeVito. As the state of our planet continues its free fall due to climate change, a sweet, funny reminder that we need to cherish it could be good for kids and parents too.

Marcel the Shell With Shoes On

Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 30m
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp

Camp adapted his delightful short about a talking shell into an even-more-delightful feature film, one of the best kids movies of the current decade. It hasn’t been on streaming services before, so gather the family around for this wonderful story of a shell who is trying to find his family. It’s a beautiful, heartwarming, hysterical piece of work.

Matilda

Year: 1996
Runtime: 1h 38m
Director: Danny DeVito

The musical version of the Roald Dahl classic is making waves on Netflix, and now they have finally also added the clever and funny 1990s edition of this tale of a precocious kid with superpowers. Mara Wilson plays the title character and real-life couple Rhea Perlman and Danny DeVito play her parents. The TV star also directed this charming flick that kinda bombed in theaters but developed a following on VHS and DVD.

*Migration

Year: 2023
Runtime: 1h 22m
Director: Benjamin Renner

One of the best Illumination films is so for a number of reasons, including a screenplay by Mike White, great voice work from Kumail Nanjiani, and sharp visuals from Benjamin Renner, the French cartoonist behind the gorgeous Ernest & Celestine. Yes, this is not your typical movie from the house that the Minions built.

The Mitchells vs. the Machines

Year: 2021
Runtime: 1h 54m
Directors: Mike Rianda and Jeff Rowe

Originally planned for a theatrical release by Sony (with the much-worse title Connected), the studio sold this off to Netflix during the pandemic…and probably regretted that decision. One of the most critically and commercially beloved animated films of 2021, this is an incredibly smart and sweet family vacation movie, a comedy that’s as much about a tender relationship between a father and daughter as it is the fact that they end up having to save the world together.

Monster House

Year: 2006
Runtime: 1h 30m
Director: Gil Kenan

Everyone had a house in their neighborhood that the kids avoided, and Gil Kenan turned that shared fear into a clever and action-packed animated film about a creepy mansion that literally comes to life and tries to eat people. Using a motion-capture technique instead of pure CGI, this is a visually dated film, but the storytelling is funny, feeling almost like an early influence on Stranger Things in the way it channels ‘80s influences like Steven Spielberg.

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 56m
Director: Guillermo del Toro

The Oscar-winning director took his visionary skills to stop-motion animation with this instant classic, a retelling of the beloved fairy tale about the wooden boy who longed to be real. With spectacular voice work, this version reimagines Pinocchio during the period before World War II, allowing him to explore his themes of innocence and violence again. It’s a deeply personal, beautiful film.

The Sea Beast

Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 55m
Director: Chris Williams

One of 2022’s most surprising hits for Netflix has been this film from one of the creators of Bolt and Big Hero 6. It’s a blend of a lot of things that have been done before with echoes of How to Train Your Dragon, Moana, and Pirates of the Caribbean (with a little Kaiju too) but this is a detailed adventure film that really plays to everyone in the family.

A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon

Year: 2019
Runtime: 1h 27m
Directors: Richard Phelan and Will Becher

Shaun the Sheep is an international treasure. The silent comedy star leads one of the most consistently hilarious franchises of all time in his own TV episodes and feature films. This one is a brilliant Netflix original from Aardman Animations about how everyone’s favorite ovine helps a stranded alien return to his own kind.

Trolls: Band Together

Year: 2023
Runtime: 1h 31m
Directors: Walt Dohrn, Tim Heitz

This is easily the worst movie so far in this franchise, but most kids don’t care. It’s got the tunes, the bright colors, and the familiar characters to keep them distracted. Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake return in a story that kind of pays homage to the true story of its male lead as Branch’s boyband, BroZone, gets reunited to save the day. It’s a bit trippier than other Trolls movies, and one senses that the passion isn’t really there anymore from the creators, but, again, it’s distracting enough to pass the time in a way that doesn’t feel like it insults the intelligence of kids or parents.

*Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit

Year: 2005
Runtime: 1h 24m
Directors: Steve Box, Nick Park

The winner for the Oscar for Best Animated Feature was, sadly, the last theatrical outing for the wonderful characters that put Aardman on the map. The cheese-loving farmer Wallace and his loyal mutt Gromit star in a film inspired by Hammer Horror flicks. The pair are reportedly returning in an in-production film soon. It’s long overdue.

Wendell & Wild

Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 46m
Director: Henry Selick

The director of A Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline finally returned this year with this clever and twisted tale co-written by Oscar winner Jordan Peele. The comedian also co-stars as one of the title characters, the literal demons for a girl who blames herself for the death of her parents. Selick is a master of stop-motion animation and this project allows him to stretch his visual prowess in new, gross ways. It’s a new Halloween classic (that can be watched any time, of course!)

The Willoughbys

Year: 2020
Runtime: 1h 32m
Director: Kris Pearn

Remember when Tim Burton made weird, slightly disturbing kids movies? This truly inventive 2020 comedy feels inspired by those flicks as four kids decide that they’re going to replace their apathetic parents with ones that actually care. Based on the book of the same name by Lois Lowry, this flick includes voice work by Will Forte, Maya Rudolph, Terry Crews, and Ricky Gervais, and it’s probably the best family movie on Netflix that you probably haven’t seen.

The Wiz

Year: 1978
Runtime: 2h 14m
Director: Sidney Lumet

A Black-led reimagining of The Wizard of Oz, this Sidney Lumet adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name (that’s actually back in a revival right now) failed at the box office way back in 1978 but developed a loyal fan base on VHS and cable in the 1980s. Starring a charming Diana Ross in the lead role (and featuring Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow), it has some elements that feel a bit dated but it may be the perfect thing for a parent who wants to show their kids what was their favorite film a generation or even two ago.

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