Shrek.
Photo: DreamWorks / Courtesy of the Everett Collection
This article is updated frequently as titles come and go on Netflix. *New additions are indicated with an asterisk.
Netflix has huge catalogs of TV shows aimed at kids, but it can be harder to sift through its movie library to find something the whole family can watch. That’s why we’re here to help. From recent Netflix originals like Orion and the Dark to timeless family hits like Annie or MinionsThese films offer something for everyone on family movie night.
Year: 1982
Runtime: 2h 7m
Director: John Houston
Life is hard in this beloved original ’80s adaptation of the ’70s musical of the same name. Aileen Quinn played little orphan Annie, but it’s actually Albert Finner, Carol Burnett and Bernadette Peters who steal the show in the classic tale of the adorable redhead and her daddy Warbucks. Teach your children why the sun will rise tomorrow.
Year: 2022
Runtime: 1 hour and 38 minutes
Director: Richard Linklater
The great writer/director of Waking up to life returned to his unique animation style with this charming, nostalgic coming-of-age story set in the days before the Apollo 11 landing. A clearly personal piece for Linklater, this film tells the fictional story of a fourth grader who ends up being the first person landing on the moon. Charming and sweet, it will please all family members, from grandparents to children.
Year: 2017
Runtime: 1h 37m
Director: Tom McGrath
This silly story of a suit-wearing, talking baby, voiced by Alec Baldwin, isn’t a masterpiece of modern animation, but it’s a thoroughly entertaining comedy for the whole family. It’s really a story about maintaining creativity and good for kids who may be struggling with a new sibling.
Year: 2017
Runtime: 1h 28m
Director: David Soren
Fox adapted Dav Pilkey’s hit book series into a film that underperformed enough at the box office to make it unlikely we’ll see another. That’s a shame because David Soren’s family film is smart and funny. It’s a sweet study of friendship, creativity, and a different kind of heroism. And it features a villain called Professor Poopypants.
Year: 2012
Runtime: 1h 31m
Director: Genndy Tartakovsky
The franchise about Count Dracula (Adam Sandler) and his troubled son-in-law (Andy Samberg) ended in early 2022 with Hotel Transylvania 4: Transformania, but it looks like this series really isn’t going away. There will still be people who love these films, and the first two are already on Netflix, so you can see where it all began.
Year: 2019
Runtime: 1h 38m
Director: Sergio Pablo
A little film that could, this animated Christmas adventure was so critically appreciated that it competed with giants like Pixar and DreamWorks for the Best Animated Feature Oscar. It’s a charming little fable about a postman who ends up stationed so far north that he meets a reclusive toymaker named Klaus. Yes, it’s a Santa Claus origin story. With a lovely, old-fashioned style, this is the kind of feel-good movie the whole family can watch any time of year.
Year: 2023
Runtime: 1h 46m
Directors: Rob Marianetti, Robert Smigel, David Wachtenheim
Adam Sandler’s Netflix output has been steadily improving, including this 2023 animated venture Happy Madison, the first Sandman cartoon in over two decades. He voices the title character, a lizard who lived a long life in a classroom. When he begins an existential crisis over his mortality, he ends up going home with several students to teach them lessons about life. He’s smarter than he needs to be and genuinely sweet.
Year: 2022
Runtime: 1:30 am
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Camp adapted his delightful short about a talking seashell into an even more enchanting feature film, one of the best children’s films of the current decade. It’s never been on streaming services before, so gather the family for this wonderful story of a shell who is trying to find her family. It’s a beautiful, moving and hysterical work.
Year: 2015
Runtime: 1:30 am
Director: Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin
When the yellow idiots stole My favorite evilalso on Netflix, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before they got their own film, which was so successful that it already produced a sequel, also on Netflix. Put on your best yellow suit, practice your impression, and sit back for an original story about the little boys who stole so many scenes that they got their own franchise (most of them on Netflix).
Year: 2021
Runtime: 1h 54m
Directors: Mike Rianda and Jeff Rowe
Originally planned for theatrical release by Sony (with the much worse title Connected), the studio sold 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 holiday film, a comedy that is both about a tender father-daughter relationship and the fact that they end up having to save the world together.
Year: 2024
Runtime: 1h 32m
Director: Sean Charmatz
The great Charlie Kaufman wrote a children’s film! This new 2024 animated Netflix original owes a huge debt to Pixar films like Toys Story It is Inside out, but also creates its own personality. It’s about a boy (Jacob Tremblay) who is afraid of almost everything and how he overcomes his fear one night on a journey with literal darkness (Paul Walter Hauser). The story unfolds the way you’d expect from Kaufman, but it never gets too complicated for little ones either.
Year: 2014
Runtime: 1:35 am
Director: Paul king
One of the cutest family films ever made adapts the classic talking bear to modern London when Paddington (Ben Whishaw) arrives there from “Darkest Peru” in search of a new home. He finds one with an ordinary family led by Hugh Bonneville and Sally Hawkins, but crosses paths with a nefarious taxidermist (the wonderful Nicole Kidman) who tries to take him down. This is a gently funny and enjoyable film. You kind of have to be an idiot to hate this.
Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 56m
Director: Guilherme 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 wished he were real. With spectacular voice work, this version reimagines Pinocchio during the period before World War II, allowing him to once again explore his themes of innocence and violence. It’s a beautiful and deeply personal film.
Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 55m
Director: Chris Williams
One of the most surprising hits of 2022 for Netflix was this film from one of the creators of Screw It is Big Hero 6. It is a mixture of many things that have been done before with echoes of How to Train Your Dragon, Moana, It is Pirates of the Caribbean (with a little Kaiju thrown in too), but this is a detailed adventure film that will truly please 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 hilarious franchises of all time in his own TV episodes and feature films. This is a brilliant Netflix original from Aardman Animations about how everyone’s favorite sheep helps a trapped alien return to his own kind.
Year: 2001
Runtime: 1:30 am
Directors: Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson
How culturally seismic was this fairy tale skewering? It was announced in 2020 that it would be added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. This is so big. It is the first non-Disney film to achieve this recognition. As for the film itself, it holds up very well, a modern classic with excellent voice work and clever writing.
Year: 2022
Runtime: 2h 2m
Director: Makoto Shinkai
The masterful director of Your name It is Resisting with you returned in 2022 with a beautiful fantasy film about a 17-year-old girl named Suzume who finds a door in the middle of nowhere that could be the answer to solving worldwide catastrophes. Although the script is culturally powerful, Suzume is a reminder of Shinkai’s visual mastery, resulting in some of the best animated art of the 2020s to date.
Year: 2016
Runtime: 1h 32m
Director: Walt Dohrn, Mike Mitchell
The end of 2023 saw the launch of Trolls: Gather, so why not go back and watch the original? Take this opportunity to chat with the adorable singing trolls voiced by Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake while you can. The second film is usually on streamers, but not the first. Aren’t you lucky?
Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 46m
Director: Henry Selick
The director of A nightmare before Christmas It is Coraline finally returned this year with this smart and twisted story co-written by Oscar winner Jordan Peele. The comedian also co-stars as one of the title characters, the literal demons of a girl who blames herself for her parents’ deaths. Selick is a master of stop-motion animation and this project allows him to extend his visual prowess in new, raw ways. It’s a new Halloween classic (which you can watch at any time, of course!)
Year: 2020
Runtime: 1h 32m
Director: Kris Pearn
Remember when Tim Burton made weird and slightly disturbing children’s films? This truly inventive 2020 comedy feels inspired by those films, as four kids decide they’re going to replace their apathetic parents with ones who actually care. Based on the book of the same name by Lois Lowry, this film includes voiceovers from Will Forte, Maya Rudolph, Terry Crews, and Ricky Gervais, and is probably the best Netflix family movie you probably haven’t seen yet.
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