[ad_1]
Hook.
Photo: AccuSoft Inc.
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.
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.
Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 40m
Director: Pierre Perifel
The 2022 film based on the graphic novels by Aaron Blabey was surprisingly clever and fun, making a fortune around the world while the pandemic was loosening the grip on when families felt safe going back to the theater. Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Awkwafina, and Craig Robinson lead an all-star voice cast in the tale of a group of animal criminals who pretend to go straight only to discover that their leader may not actually be pretending.
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.
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.
Year: 2000
Runtime: 1h 24m
Director: 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.
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.
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?
Year: 2015
Runtime: 1h 34m
Director: Tim Johnson
Jim Parsons of The Big Bang Theory fame voices Oh, an awkward alien from the planet Boov who unites with teenager named Tip (Rihanna) who is searching for her mother after an alien invasion. It’s a sweet little comedy that was spun-off into a Netflix original animated series called Home: Adventures with Tip and Oh that was popular enough to run for four seasons.
Year: 1991
Runtime: 2h 21m
Director: Steven Spielberg
Peter Pan & Wendy hasn’t made much of an impact over on Disney+, so why not go back to the Peter Pan tale that so many loved as children? Steven Spielberg’s Robin Williams-starring variation on the J.M. Barrie classic is often derided as one of the master’s lesser films, but it also has a loyal fan base, largely made up of people who were just the right age when it came out. Now they’re old enough to show it to their kids. Pass on the wonder.
Year: 1984
Runtime: 2h 7m
Director: John G. Avildsen
After the massive success of Cobra Kai on Netflix, the streamer finally now also offers fans the original trilogy of films about the kid who learns karate from Mr. Miyagi. The 1984 original is still, by far, the best, starring Ralph Macchio and the great Pat Morita. Less successful are the 1986 and 1989 sequels, but no one would blame fans for wanting to watch the whole trilogy. Note: The Jackie Chan remake is also on Netflix.
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.
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.
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.
Year: 2011
Runtime: 1h 32m
Director: Chris Miller
When Shrek 2 became one of the biggest animated films ever made, plans were put in motion to spin off Antonio Banderas’s heroic kitty into his own franchise, which arguably reached its peak with last year’s excellent Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. This first film isn’t that good but it’s still fun, and might be of interest to kids who saw last year’s movie and wonder where it all began.
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.)
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.
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.
Year: 2021
Runtime: 1h 50m
Director: Garth Jennings
Everyone seems to love the jukebox animated musicals with the Sing banner. Five years after the first movie, the sequel shattered box office expectations, even during a pandemic, making over $400 million worldwide. One of the highest grossing films of 2021 reunited all of the characters from Sing to put on a show in Redshore City — and added Bono!
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!)
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.
If you subscribe to a service through our links, Vulture may earn an affiliate commission.
[ad_2]
Source link