Trolls.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 Apollo 10 1/2 to timeless family blockbusters like The Karate Kid or Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, these films offer a little something for everybody on family movie night.
How We Pick Our Films
Critic Brian Tallerico watches and writes about movies and TV every day. To curate this list, he dives into Netflix’s catalogue every month to surface family-friendly titles both kids and adults can enjoy — using his taste and a lifetime of cinema study as his guide, instead of whatever the algorithm happens to be pushing. After triple-checking to make sure they’re still available, he watches each and writes his recommendation. We highlight more than just the crowdpleasers: Family movies may be intended for kids, but that doesn’t mean their artistry or ideas don’t have the potential to be just as interesting. Read on to find something to watch.
Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood
Year: 2022
Runtime: 1 hour, 38 minutes
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.
Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood Watch on NetflixThe Boss Baby
Year: 2017
Runtime: 1h 37m
Director: Tom McGrath
This goofy story of a talking, suit-wearing baby voiced by Alec Baldwin isn’t a modern animated masterpiece, but it is a thoroughly entertaining comedy for the whole family. It’s really a story of maintaining creativity and a good one for kids who may be struggling with a new sibling.
The Boss Baby watch on netflixCaptain Underpants: The First Epic Movie
Year: 2017
Runtime: 1h 28m
Director: David Soren
Fox adapted the hit book series by Dav Pilkey into a film that underperformed enough at the box office to make it unlikely that we’ll see another. That’s too bad because David Soren’s family flick is clever and funny. It’s a sweet study of friendship, creativity, and a different kind of heroism. And it features a villain named Professor Poopypants.
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie watch on netflixCloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
Year: 2013
Runtime: 1h 34m
Director: Cody Cameron, Kris Pearn
A rare animated sequel that’s just about as funny as the first film, this sequel built on the visual wit and sharp characters from the 2009 movie. Bill Hader and Anna Faris lead a stellar voice cast as Flint Lockwood and Sam Sparks are forced to return to Swallow Falls to save the day. It’s inventive and very fun.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 watch on netflix*The Croods
Year: 2013
Runtime: 1h 38m
Director: Kirk DeMicco, Chris Sanders
Nicolas Cage leads a voice cast that also includes great work from Emma Stone and Ryan Reynolds in this animated hit that’s basically a family sitcom set in the caveman days. It’s got some pretty generic father-daughter material but it’s visually clever at times and an easy rewatch for young ones that has a nice blend of heart and humor.
The Croods watch on netflixDC League of Super-pets
Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 45m
Director: Jared Stern, Sam J. Levine
There was a time when Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were one of the most popular comedy teams in the world and their charming brand of physical humor is timeless. Introduce your kids to some of the best comic timing in movie history with the most classic Abbott and Costello monster movie. It’s delightful.
DC League of Super-pets watch on netflixEnola Holmes
Year: 2020
Runtime: 2h 3m
Director: Harry Bradbeer
Let’s make more of these. A truly charming adventure for the whole family, this Netflix original stars Millie Bobby Brown as the title character, the sister of the most famous crime-solver of all time, Sherlock Holmes. Based on the book series of the same name, there are certainly more mysteries that Enola can solve. Why don’t you watch this one so the numbers are high enough to make one?
Enola Holmes Watch on Netflix*How to Train Your Dragon
Year: 2010
Runtime: 1h 39m
Director: Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders
The movies based on the book by Cressida Cowell comprise one of the best trilogies of the 2010s. It all started with this DreamWorks adventure film about a boy (Jay Baruchel) who befriends a dragon named Toothless, despite his people’s fear of the flying creatures. A classic tale of never judging a book by its cover, How to Train Your Dragon is a beautiful tale, a movie with equal amounts of heart and spirit.
How to Train Your Dragon watch on netflixKlaus
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.
Klaus watch on netflixMinions
Year: 2015
Runtime: 1h 30m
Director: Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin
When the little yellow idiots stole Despicable Me, also on Netflix, it only seemed to be a matter of time before they got their own movie, which was such a hit that it’s already produced a sequel, also on Netflix. Put on your best yellow suit, practice your impression, and sit down for an origin story about the little dudes who stole so many scenes that they got their own franchise (most of which is on Netflix).
Minions watch on netflixThe 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.
The Mitchells vs. the Machines Watch on NetflixA Monster Calls
Year: 2016
Runtime: 1h 48m
Director: J.A. Bayona
Patrick Ness adapted his novel of the same name in this moving study of a grief so strong that it basically transforms into a literal monster. Lewis MacDougall plays Conor, a child whose mother (Felicity Jones) is dying. As he tries to flee the grief in his home, he runs into a giant tree monster (voiced by Liam Neeson), who offers to tell Conor three stories. Of course, the stories are designed to teach the young man to deal with the grief over his mother in a film that may scare some of the littlest ones in the family.
A Monster Calls Watch on NetflixGuillermo 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.
Pinocchio watch on netflixPuss in Boots: The Last Wish
Year: 2023
Runtime: 1h 42m
Director: Joel Crawford
No one would have predicted that the presumed-dead Shrek franchise had another spin-off sequel of this caliber yet to be released, but December 2022 saw the critical and commercial success of arguably the best film in the entire series. Using a style more reminiscent of Into the Spider-Verse than typical DreamWorks, The Last Wish is a gorgeous and surprisingly moving story of the title character dealing with something he never expected to face: mortality. It’s funny, clever, and memorable. (On Netflix July 13th.)
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish watch on netflixThe 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.
The Sea Beast Watch on NetflixA 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.
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon Watch on Netflix*Trolls
Year: 2016
Runtime: 1h 32m
Director: Walt Dohrn, Mike Mitchell
The end of 2023 saw the release of Trolls: Band Together, so why not go back and watch the original? Take this chance to catch up with the lovable, singing trolls voiced by Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake while you can. The second film is often on streamers but not the first. Aren’t you lucky?
Trolls watch on netflixWallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Year: 2005
Runtime: 1h 24m
Director: 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 next year. 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!)
Wendell & Wild watch on netflixThe 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.
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