Best Movies for Kids & How to Watch Them Online

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Are you looking for the best movies for kids? From timeless classics to recent gems, we've created a list of the most essential movies for kids and families, and where to stream them online.

There are so many amazing movies for kids to enjoy, from Hollywood classics like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and The Wizard of Oz to modern animated franchises like Despicable Me and Shrek (both the first and second movie because they are equally brilliant). In this streaming guide, we've added at least one movie to represent a whole franchise. So, although only the first Harry Potter movie appears we'd encourage you to watch all Harry Potter movies in order with your family too. The same applies for the very long list of kids movies by Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks – which are essential viewing for kids and families.

Where can I watch the best movies for kids?

Below you'll find over 100 of the best movies for kids and families, along with streaming information for all of them. Remember to check the age rating of each movie to make sure it's age appropriate for you and your family. For example, Labyrinth and The Sound of Music are fantastic family movies but may still a bit scary for younger kids to watch on their own. E.T: The Extra Terrestrial, on the other hand, is suitable for all ages.

Netflix
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Max
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CuriosityStream Apple TV Channel
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HISTORY Vault Apple TV Channel
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Kino Film Collection
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Filters
  1. Despicable Me

    Despicable Me

    2010

    IMDB 7.6 (586k)

    #1

    Gru, a criminal mastermind, adopts three orphans as pawns to carry out the biggest heist in history. His life takes an unexpected turn when the little girls see the evildoer as their potential father.

  2. Mulan

    Mulan

    1998

    IMDB 7.7 (317k)

    #2

    To save her father from certain death in the army, a young woman secretly enlists in his place and becomes one of China's greatest heroines in the process.

  3. Monsters, Inc.

    Monsters, Inc.

    2001

    IMDB 8.1 (982k)

    #3

    Lovable Sulley and his wisecracking sidekick Mike Wazowski are the top scare team at Monsters, Inc., the scream-processing factory in Monstropolis. When a little girl named Boo wanders into their world, it's the monsters who are scared silly, and it's up to Sulley and Mike to keep her out of sight and get her back home.

  4. The Iron Giant

    The Iron Giant

    1999

    IMDB 8.1 (228k)

    #4

    In the small town of Rockwell, Maine in October 1957, a giant metal machine befriends a nine-year-old boy and ultimately finds its humanity by unselfishly saving people from their own fears and prejudices.

  5. Toy Story 3

    Toy Story 3

    2010

    IMDB 8.3 (895k)

    #5

    Woody, Buzz, and the rest of Andy's toys haven't been played with in years. With Andy about to go to college, the gang find themselves accidentally left at a nefarious day care center. The toys must band together to escape and return home to Andy.

  6. Mary Poppins

    Mary Poppins

    1964

    IMDB 7.8 (186k)

    #6

    Mr Banks is looking for a nanny for his two mischievous children and comes across Mary Poppins, an angelic nanny. She not only brings a change in their lives but also spreads happiness.

  7. Elf

    Elf

    2003

    IMDB 7.1 (311k)

    #7

    When young Buddy falls into Santa's gift sack on Christmas Eve, he's transported back to the North Pole and raised as a toy-making elf by Santa's helpers. But as he grows into adulthood, he can't shake the nagging feeling that he doesn't belong. Buddy vows to visit Manhattan and find his real dad, a workaholic.

  8. Up

    Up

    2009

    IMDB 8.3 (1m)

    #8

    Carl Fredricksen spent his entire life dreaming of exploring the globe and experiencing life to its fullest. But at age 78, life seems to have passed him by, until a twist of fate (and a persistent 8-year old Wilderness Explorer named Russell) gives him a new lease on life.

  9. Time Bandits

    Time Bandits

    1981

    IMDB 6.9 (68k)

    #9

    Young history buff Kevin can scarcely believe it when six dwarfs emerge from his closet one night. Former employees of the Supreme Being, they've purloined a map charting all of the holes in the fabric of time and are using it to steal treasures from different historical eras. Taking Kevin with them, they variously drop in on Napoleon, Robin Hood and King Agamemnon before the Supreme Being catches up with them.

  10. Inside Out

    Inside Out

    2015

    IMDB 8.1 (790k)

    #10

    From an adventurous balloon ride above the clouds to a monster-filled metropolis, Academy Award®-winning director Pete Docter (“Monsters, Inc.,” “Up”) has taken audiences to unique and imaginative places. In Disney and Pixar’s original movie “ Inside Out,” he will take us to the most extraordinary location of all—inside the mind.

  11. Finding Nemo

    Finding Nemo

    2003

    IMDB 8.1 (1m)

    #11

    Nemo, an adventurous young clownfish, is unexpectedly taken from his Great Barrier Reef home to a dentist's office aquarium. It's up to his worrisome father Marlin and a friendly but forgetful fish Dory to bring Nemo home -- meeting vegetarian sharks, surfer dude turtles, hypnotic jellyfish, hungry seagulls, and more along the way.

  12. Spirited Away

    Spirited Away

    2001

    IMDB 8.6 (854k)

    #12

    A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.

  13. Cinderella

    Cinderella

    2015

    IMDB 6.9 (191k)

    #13

    When her father unexpectedly passes away, young Ella finds herself at the mercy of her cruel stepmother and her daughters. Never one to give up hope, Ella's fortunes begin to change after meeting a dashing stranger in the woods.

  14. Shrek 2

    Shrek 2

    2004

    IMDB 7.3 (507k)

    #14

    Shrek, Fiona and Donkey set off to Far, Far Away to meet Fiona's mother and father. But not everyone is happy. Shrek and the King find it hard to get along, and there's tension in the marriage. The fairy godmother discovers that Shrek has married Fiona instead of her Son Prince Charming and sets about destroying their marriage.

  15. Labyrinth

    Labyrinth

    1986

    IMDB 7.3 (150k)

    #15

    When teen Sarah is forced to babysit her half-brother Toby, she summons Jareth the Goblin King to take him away. When he is actually kidnapped, Sarah is given just thirteen hours to solve a labyrinth and rescue him.

  16. Home Alone

    Home Alone

    1990

    IMDB 7.7 (654k)

    #16

    Eight-year-old Kevin McCallister makes the most of the situation after his family unwittingly leaves him behind when they go on Christmas vacation. But when a pair of bungling burglars set their sights on Kevin's house, the plucky kid stands ready to defend his territory. By planting booby traps galore, adorably mischievous Kevin stands his ground as his frantic mother attempts to race home before Christmas Day.

  17. Paddington

    Paddington

    2014

    IMDB 7.3 (134k)

    #17

    A young Peruvian bear travels to London in search of a new home. Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, he meets the kindly Brown family.

  18. The Sound of Music

    The Sound of Music

    1965

    IMDB 8.1 (262k)

    #18

    In the years before the Second World War, a tomboyish postulant at an Austrian abbey is hired as a governess in the home of a widowed naval captain with seven children, and brings a new love of life and music into the home.

  19. Beauty and the Beast

    Beauty and the Beast

    1991

    IMDB 8.0 (480k)

    #19

    Follow the adventures of Belle, a bright young woman who finds herself in the castle of a prince who's been turned into a mysterious beast. With the help of the castle's enchanted staff, Belle soon learns the most important lesson of all -- that true beauty comes from within.

  20. Moana

    Moana

    2016

    IMDB 7.6 (380k)

    #20

    In Ancient Polynesia, when a terrible curse incurred by Maui reaches an impetuous Chieftain's daughter's island, she answers the Ocean's call to seek out the demigod to set things right.