10 Best Kid Movies on Netflix

10 Best Kid Movies on Netflix

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These ten kid movies on Netflix are the ultimate family-friendly entertainment, offering laughter, imagination, and a sprinkle of life lessons that’ll captivate the little ones and charm the grown-ups. Animated wonders will transport them to magical realms, and heartwarming tales will tug at every heartstring as these films are the perfect way to bond with your little movie buffs. So, whether you’re planning a weekend movie marathon or just seeking a moment of shared joy, here are the best kid movies on Netflix.

1. Song of the Sea (2014)

7.9

Country

Belgium, Denmark, France

Director

Tomm Moore

Actors

Brendan Gleeson, Colm ÓSnodaigh, Colm O'Snodaigh, David Rawle

Moods

Heart-warming, Original, Uplifting

This animated movie is absolutely wonderful. It’s an Irish production, and the drawings/graphics are so beautiful and different from what you usually see in this genre. This alone, along with the music, would be good reasons to watch this.

But what really makes this worth your time is the story – it’s about a boy dealing with the loss of his mother. He embarks on an adventure into a parallel world of feelings to save his sister.

I found it to be refreshingly original, sometimes quite intense (I cried, but I easily cry), and heartwarming. The details are great. And I love the way the story was interwoven with Irish mythology, making it magical.

2. Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)

7.7

Country

United States of America

Director

Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson

Actors

Ariana Molkara, Benjamin Valic, Burn Gorman, Cate Blanchett

Moods

Character-driven, Easy, Emotional

I think it’s safe to say you’ve never seen a Pinocchio adaptation quite like Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. It still largely stays true to the source material, which is to stay it’s still about a father grappling with the loss of his son and a boy figuring out where he figures in the world. But the movie departs from it in significant ways too. Instead of a fairy tale setting, for instance, this Pinocchio has 1930s fascist Italy as its background, lending the film a realism and historicism that weren’t there before.

Stars Ewan McGregor, Christoph Waltz, Tilda Swinton, and newcomer Gregory Mann lend their voice in this tender and stellar stop-motion animated movie.

3. The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021)

7.5

Country

Hong Kong, United States of America

Director

Michael Rianda, Mike Rianda

Actors

Abbi Jacobson, Adam Wylie, Alex Hirsch, Alison Rich

Moods

Action-packed, Discussion-sparking, Gripping

Animated in every sense of the word, The Mitchells vs. the Machines is a fun and lively watch for anyone of any age. On the surface, it’s about a tech company’s AI going haywire as it turns against humans and takes over the world (an obvious and much-deserved dig at Big Tech). It also immediately stands out as an energetic and inventive film bursting with love for the animation genre.

But at its core, it’s about family and learning to love them even and especially when the going gets tough. Teenager Katie and her father Rick are at that precarious moment in their relationship where everything they do seems to annoy the other, while Katie’s mother Linda tries and fails and tries again to keep the peace. The Mitchells are filled with love, but they’re not quite sure how to express it to each other, and it’s both funny and relatable how it takes a literal apocalypse for them to realize that. This is a family story elevated by dynamic animation and a bizarro storyline. Expect it to go off the rails in the best possible way.

4. Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical (2022)

7.4

Country

United Kingdom

Director

Matthew Warchus

Actors

Alisha Weir, Amanda Lawrence, Andrea Riseborough, Ann Firbank

Moods

Easy, Emotional, Funny

It’s very likely you already know about the fictional character Matilda, a clever but neglected child who discovers she has telekinesis and uses it for good. You may have even grown up watching the 1996 film multiple times, as I have, and secretly tried to move a random object with your mind to see if you somehow shared Matilda’s powers…as I have.

If so, I can assure you that you’ll enjoy the latest Matilda adaptation, aptly called Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical on Netflix. It’s pure energy, all bright colors and high-pitched emotions, but not overwhelmingly so. It is also funny and tender, and the techniques it uses to transition and transpose are eye-poppingly inventive. It stars Emma Thompson, once again prosthetic-ed to perfection; Lashana Lynch, a grounding and heartwarming presence; and Alisha Weir, a revelation of a child actor.

5. Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood (2022)

7.2

Country

Netherlands, United States, United States of America

Director

Richard Linklater

Actors

Bill Wise, Brian Villalobos, Buzz Aldrin, David DeLao

Moods

Easy, Feel-Good, Slice-of-Life

Narrated by the familiar voice of Jack Black, Apollo 10 ½ is a throwback story told with admirable specificity and imagination. Black plays a grown-up Stan, who looks back on his younger years with a mix of fondness and wonder: how did they get away with the things they did then? American suburbia in the 1960s was both loose and conservative, caught between a generation holding on to the reins of the earlier century and one eager to launch into the next. 

Stan, as the youngest child of a big, rowdy family, gives us a charming look into the times, as well as a projection of his own fascination: Apollo 11 and the space age. He inserts himself in this monumental narrative and generously brings us along in his fantasy. Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether Stan’s recruitment by NASA is actually fact or fiction, but that’s part of the fun, especially since Stan himself doesn’t seem to mind at all.

6. The Sea Beast (2022)

7.1

Country

United States of America

Director

Chris Williams

Actors

Alex Wyndham, Brian T. Delaney, Dan Stevens, David S. Lee

Moods

Action-packed, Character-driven, Easy

The Sea Beast tells the story of Jacob, a legendary sea monster hunter, and Maisie, a wannabe monster hunter herself. When a dangerous encounter isolates them from the rest of the crew, they’re forced to team up and reconcile their opposing beliefs—Maisie believes there’s good in the beasts, but Jacob has yet to be convinced.

Action-packed, fast-paced, and thoroughly entertaining, The Sea Beast is a perfect weekend watch. The part-Moana, part-Pirates-of-the-Caribbean tale also has the added bonus of being age-appropriate (rated PG), making it suitable for those spending their precious movie time with kids.

7. Hachi: A Dog’s Tale (2009)

6.9

Country

UK, United Kingdom, United States of America

Director

Lasse Hallström

Actors

Adam Masnyk, Bates Wilder, Becki Dennis, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa

Moods

Tear-jerker, Touching, Warm

A college professor (Richard Gere) provides a home for the abandoned Akita he encountered at the train station, against the wishes of his wife (Joan Allen). As a bond develops between dog and master and tragedy suddenly strikes the family, a true act of devotion is displayed by the pup. Based on a supposedly true story which played out in Japan in early 20th century, Lasse Hallstrom’s Hachi finds beauty in its simplicity without being overly cloying and gets empathetic, frankly really strong performance from Gere.

8. Little Women (1994)

6.9

Country

Canada, United States of America

Director

Female director, Gillian Armstrong

Actors

Alan Robertson, Andrea Libman, Beverley Elliott, Christian Bale

Moods

Heart-warming

The 1868 semi-autobiographical novels of Louisa May Alcott have been adapted into film, television and theatre so many times: 6 movies, 4 TV shows, even a broadway musical. It’s a compelling story to watch as it unfolds, and it’s easy to see why many hold this one as the best adaptation of the novels. For one, the cast is top-notch and perfect for the roles: Christian Bale as Laurie, Susan Sarandon as Mrs. March, and Winona Ryder, Trini Alvarado, Claire Danes and a very young Kirsten Dunst as the four sisters.
Little Women is the story of these four girls living in post-civil war America. We watch them grow together, find love, have their little fights, and try to find their place in the world. Everything from the costumes and settings to the dialogue do an excellent job of conveying the heartwarming story and the emotional impact behind it.

9. Nimona (2023)

6.8

Country

United States of America

Director

Nick Bruno, Troy Quane

Actors

Beck Bennett, Chloë Grace Moretz, Eugene Lee Yang, Frances Conroy

Moods

Easy, Heart-warming, Uplifting

After Nimona’s long journey to the big screen (involving the shutdown of animation studio Blue Sky, and Disney’s resistance to LGTBQ+ themes), the fact that the movie has been completed and allowed to tell its story at all is something to be celebrated. The film itself is pretty standard fare for American children’s animation, with a script that spends far too much time on quips, and visuals that don’t take advantage of the movie’s science-fantasy world. But if you can get beyond its more ordinary aspects, Nimona becomes a surprisingly thorough metaphor of Otherness and queerness—best represented in the title character’s shapeshifting abilities, and how people fear and become violent with her before even trying to understand her. It’s a film that’s sadly become more relevant than ever now, addressing how prejudice is something that’s taught and passed down, packaged in an easy, entertaining manner for younger audiences.

10. The Monkey King (2023)

6.7

Country

China, Hong Kong, United States of America

Director

Anthony Stacchi

Actors

Andrew Kishino, Andrew Pang, Artemis Snow, BD Wong

From the moment it begins, The Monkey King hardly pauses to take a breath. The characters are always frantically jumping into the next scene, the action is nonstop, and the jokes, though juvenile, arrive one after the other. This is okay if you’re looking for a brisk viewing experience, but not so if you’re prone to vertigo. It moves at a relentless pace, which doesn’t just make the film a dizzying watch; it also robs the animation’s beautiful details of the time it needs to be appreciated. The movie’s core message, too, is buried under all the film’s pizzaz, which is a shame considering its refreshing pragmatism. When all the other kids’ movies are promoting courage and confidence, The Monkey King actually warns against the dangers of an inflated ego. The Monkey King is passable entertainment for the family, but with a better pace, it could’ve been great. 

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

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