Disney+ often gets all the love when it comes to streaming for kids and family entertainment, but Netflix also boasts an impressive number of fantastic kids’ films that parents can enjoy as well.
It’s a solid combination of Netflix original films and movies from other studio libraries, all with great messages, fun visuals and entertaining stories.
Need more recommendations? Then check out the Best New Movies on Netflix, Max, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and More, the Best Movies on Hulu Right Now and the 10 Most Popular Netflix Movies Streaming Right Now.
Magic and tech collide in the medieval-futuristic world of Nimona. The title character (Chloë Grace Moretz) is a mysterious and rebellious girl with an amazing superpower — she can shapeshift into any animal. Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed) is a young knight ousted from society for apparently killing the Queen (Lorraine Toussaint). While Ballister tries to prove his innocence, Nimona breaks into his lair and demands to be his new villainous sidekick.
Nimona is a ball of relentless energy, and her friendship with the more staid and cautious Ballister makes for a chaotically fun movie. The art style is unique and captivating, and the movie has a great message about accepting differences that will reach kids without talking down to them. And if you shed a tear when you learn Nimona’s tragic backstory, we won’t tell anyone.
You know how old maps used to depict monsters in the uncharted depths of the ocean? What if those monsters were real? Netflix’s original film The Sea Beast depicts such a world in a colorful, thoughtful family film that feels like a mash-up of How to Train Your Dragon with Pirates of the Caribbean.
Spunky orphan Maisie (Zaris-Angel Hator) longs to join the heroic ranks of the brave, seafaring monster hunters, so she stows away aboard a ship. When she and legendary monster killer Jacob (Karl Urban) end up stranded and at the mercy of the beasts, the duo learn that there’s far more to these giant aquatic creatures than meets the eye. Can they help the kingdom overcome its prejudices and restore peace?
Anyone who’s played with them understands that Legos are more than stackable blocks — when combined with your imagination, they can become almost anything. (They can even become a dangerous obstacle if you step on one while barefoot, but that’s another matter.) The Lego Movie is a loving tribute to ingenuity and creativity that uses these simple blocks to tell an intoxicating story.
Chris Pratt stars as Emmet, an ordinary “Construction Worker” Lego guy. But his whole life is changed when Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) mistakes him for “The Special,” the chosen one who can defeat the evil Lord Business (Will Ferrell). Lord Business wants to eliminate all the creativity in Lego World by using “the Kragle” (a real-world tube of Krazy Glue) to hold every Lego in place forever. Can Emmett team up with other Master Builders like Batman (Will Arnett), Metalbeard the Pirate (Nick Offerman) and Benny (Charlie Day) to stop him?
This Netflix original movie is a hilarious adventure starring Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph and Broad City’s Abbi Jacobson as a family that accidentally becomes humanity’s only hope against an AI apocalypse.
Convinced her family doesn’t understand her, aspiring filmmaker Katie (Jacobson) can’t wait to start college and find “her people.” Her dad, Rick (McBride), is desperate to recapture his bond with his daughter. Rick decides they should take a device-free cross-country road trip to drop Katie off at school at the same time that PAL (Olivia Colman), a Siri-esque operating system, rebels against her creators. PAL turns every Wi-Fi-enabled device in the world into an evil robot, and it’s up to the Mitchells to stop her before humans are destroyed forever.
This family movie is an incredible portrayal of how older and younger generations can fail to communicate, and how a little extra understanding can save the world.
Danny DeVito directs, narrates and acts in this film adaptation of the beloved Roald Dahl novel. Matilda (Mara Wilson), an exceptionally intelligent girl who loves to read, has the great misfortune of being in an exceptionally dim family. Her father Harry (DeVito) is a crooked used car salesman, while her mother Zinnia (DeVito’s real-life wife Rhea Perlman) is more interested in bingo than parenting. When Matilda is finally allowed to go to school, she bonds with the kindhearted but timid teacher Miss Honey (Embeth Davidtz) and butts heads with the evil school principal, Miss Trunchbull (Pam Ferris). Unwilling to be pushed around any longer, Matilda develops strange, telekinetic powers and uses them to fight back against the adult bullies in her life.
Wilson, who also played an adorably precocious child in Mrs. Doubtfire, shines as the lead in this sweet, magical movie. It’s funny, moving and imaginative. After you finish the film, hand your kiddos the book — they’ll love it.
If, after the book and the ‘96 movie, you still want more Matilda — and we would understand if you did — then guess what? There’s also a fantastic musical adaptation. The songs in this Netflix film, originally written by Tim Minchin for Broadway, are alternately funny and moving. One number, entitled “When I Grow Up,” is a beautiful tribute to the fantasies of childhood that will bring a tear to your eye.
Alisha Weir is captivating as the titular heroine, and Emma Thompson is wonderfully monstrous as Miss Trunchbull. Matilda the Musical expands upon the lore of the original and will encourage you to be “a little bit naughty” to stand up for what’s right.
It took 20 years for Dav Pilkey’s bestselling book series, Captain Underpants, to be adapted into a movie — but it was worth the wait. This DreamWorks film captures all the scrappy, scatalogical humor and heart of the beloved books, which follow mischievous and creative fourth-graders George (Kevin Hart) and Harold (Thomas Middleditch). The two best friends share a love of potty humor and comic books — they even created their own comic book character, Captain Underpants. Through a series of fittingly silly circumstances, their nasty school principal, Mr. Krupp (Ed Helms), is hypnotized into believing he is the undergarment-themed crimefighter. The boys must team up with Captain Underpants to fight the evil Professor Poopypants (Nick Kroll) before he eliminates all laughter from the world.
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie’s animation style is a loving tribute to childhood and silliness that you and your kids will love. Plus, if your kiddos love Pilkey’s other series, Dog Man, this is a great opportunity to introduce them to the books that started it all. So join Captain Underpants in the fight for “truth, justice and all that is pre-shrunk and cottony!”
