It’s not always easy to find a movie that everyone in the family wants to watch, but when we get it right it feels so good!
The important thing with satisfying family films is to find a movie that’s age-appropriate, fun, and maybe even a little bit inspiring. Movies that raise tough questions can be a good choice because they encourage discussion between adults and kids. On the other hand, sometimes a good mindless comedy can be a panacea for a terrible day.
If you’re looking for a great film to stream on Netflix you’ll find ten of the best family flicks available now listed below. Go ahead and pop some popcorn, dim the lights, and enjoy the magic of cinema with your loved ones.
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (2023)
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is a certified sleeper hit! The latest animated action-comedy from DreamWorks Animation flopped at the box office but boomed on streaming, climbing the charts to become the most-watched movie on Netflix during the month of February 2024. At the time of this writing, it’s still sitting pretty in the number two spot.
The movie is about Ruby, a shy 16-year-old kraken (Lana Condor) trying her hardest to fit in with the popular kids at Oceanside High. After butting heads with her controlling mother (Toni Collette), she sneaks into the deep ocean and discovers she’s destined to become a kraken warrior like her grandmother (Jane Fonda). But how … and when?
Minions (2015)
In this adorable prequel to 2010’s Despicable Me, we learn the backstory of the Minions before they found Gru (Steve Carell) to serve. Most of the Minions’ voices are provided by Pierre Coffin, who also directed with Kyle Balda. Sandra Bullock also lends her voice as Scarlet Overkill, the world’s first female supervillain. Other vocal talent includes Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Allison Janney, Geoffrey Rush, and Jennifer Saunders.
Minions was a big success and ultimately became the highest-grossing film produced by Illumination before it was toppled from the top spot by The Super Mario Bros. Movie. In 2022, a second Minions movie called Minions: The Rise of Gru was equally successful.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
People who grew up playing Nintendo’s Mario video games, this one’s for you! The Super Mario Bros. Movie finally gets the franchise right (let’s not talk about the 1993 attempt at live-action film). This adventure comedy provides an origin story for Italian-American brothers Mario (voiced by Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day). The story goes that the brothers were inexplicably transported to the fantastical world of the Mushroom Kingdom where they meet Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and their sworn enemy Bowser (Jack Black). Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, and others also provide their voices for roles.
Upon release, The Super Mario Bros. Movie made history as the largest worldwide opening weekend for an animated film and the second-highest grossing film of the whole year.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)
In this sequel to the fantastic Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), viewers get to know Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) as he adjusts to becoming the newest Spider-Man in the multiverse. The newest version of the popular superhero goes on a journey with Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), or Spider-Woman, as she’s known around these parts. They meet other Spideys who are all members of the Spider-Society, and together they must figure out how to thwart their common enemy, the Spot (Jason Schwartzman).
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)
If you’re looking to take a break from animated films, check out this under-the-radar African drama directed and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave). Based on a memoir by William Kamkwamba, The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind tells the story of Kamkwamba as a young boy (played by Maxwell Simba) living in the impoverished farm community of Kasungu, Malawi. The boy displayed a talent for fixing mechanical things, but there’s little use for this skill where he lives. Unable to afford school, the tenacious boy finds a way to bribe a teacher just to give him access to the library, where he studies engineering on his own.
Drought is a constant worry where he lives, and in the mid-2000s the whole village nearly starved due to famine and drought. Kamkwamba decides to build a small windmill to power the broken well pump in town, and it works! Still, in order to make one large enough to save the village he must ask his father to put all of his faith in his son’s small hands.
Paddington (2014)
Paddington Bear has long been a staple in the entertainment world. First came the series of books by Michael Bond, then innumerable cartoon versions, and finally, in 2014, the live-action comedy written and directed by Paul King (Wonka). Ben Whishaw lends his velvety voice to everyone’s favorite bear as he leaves his home in Peru to London. Once there, he’s adopted by a loveable English family consisting of Henry (Hugh Bonneville), Mary (Sally Hawkins), and their two kids, Judy (Madeleine Harris) and Jonathan (Samuel Joslin). In between the bear’s clumsy but well-meaning antics, Paddington encounters the evil Millicent Clyde (Nicole Kidman), a taxidermist who is determined to add him to her ever-growing collection of furs.
If you love Paddington (and you will!), be sure to watch its 2017 sequel, Paddington 2.
Shazam! (2019)
DC Comics movies don’t always cut the mustard, but Shazam! is a very entertaining exception to that rule! Asher Angel plays teenager Billy Batson, a teenager who gets selected by an ancient wizard called Shazam (Djimon Hounsou) to follow in his footsteps and become an adult superhero, super suit and all (the adult Shazam is played by Zachary Levi). Billy enlists help from his foster family, especially his foster brother Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer) to battle Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong), an evil doctor who has manifested the Seven Deadly Sins into terrifyingly corporal forms.
There’s a sequel 2023 titled Shazam! Fury of the Gods, which isn’t quite as good, but still worth a viewing if you’ve got the time.
True Spirit (2023)
True Spirit is a biographical drama about Australian sailor Jessica Watson (Teagan Croft), a 16-year-old who attempted to become the youngest person to ever circumnavigate the globe by herself in a sailboat in 2009. This action-packed film captures the thrilling yet terrifying journey she made over 210 days alone at sea. She dealt with a collision with a massive cargo ship, countless tropical storms, and a debilitating “dead calm” period that left her drifting helplessly for a solid week. Jessica’s tenacious spirit carried her through it all and produced a satisfying tale of determination, hard work, and redemption.
Yes Day (2021)
Yes Day is based on a children’s book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld. It follows Allison (Jennifer Garner) and Carlos Torres (Edgar Ramirez) and their three children (Katie (Jenna Ortega), Nando (Julian Lerner), and Ellie (Everly Carganilla), a stressed out and over-booked suburban family who say and hear “no” far too often.
When Allison overhears her kids calling her a “dictator,” she vows to change her ways. The family decides to have a day when the parents say yes to everything, with hilariously discombobulated results. For the next 24 hours, anything goes. And we do mean anything!
Annie (1982)
We leave you with a classic Broadway musical come to life on the silver screen. Annie is based on the 1977 Broadway play, a concept which originated in comic form with the Little Orphan Annie comic strip by Harold Gray. This beloved redhead (Aileen Quinn) sings and dances her way into our hearts with help from her adoptive father Daddy Warbucks (Albert Finney), a whole slew of adorable orphans, and funny villains played to perfection by Carol Burnett and Tim Curry.
All of these family movies are available to stream on Netflix! The only question is which one we should watch first.
(featured image: Universal Pictures)
Published: Feb 29, 2024 03:34 pm