25 best kids’ movies on US Netflix

When the weekend calls for a family movie night, it’s time to grab some popcorn and load up on Netflix. Whether it’s a family favorite you’ve seen countless times before or a movie you’re watching for the first time, you want to make sure you’re choosing a flick that will capture everyone’s attention, as well as something that is age appropriate for your tiny audience.

With so many movies to choose from on Netflix, it could take you all night to find the right one. Lucky for you, we’ve done the work for you and compiled this list of the 25 best kids’ movies on US Netflix.

Sit back, relax and scroll through our list to find your next family movie night flick!

1. Bee Movie 

Whoever heard of a bee that doesn’t want to make honey? Well, you’ve obviously never met Barry B. Benson. The last thing this little worker bee wants to do is, well, work to make honey! To make matters worse, Barry is less than happy to learn that humans use honey in so many products, so he decides to take legal action. He really is one busy bee.

Rating: PG Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 5+

2. Casper (1995)

Adapted from the well-known cartoon series, Casper tells the story of a paranormal expert and his daughter who move into a house to get the ghosts out. That’s when they meet the friendliest ghost of all: Casper. But they soon learn that not all ghosts are like him.

Rating: PG Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 8+ (there is some profanity in this movie, even though it’s rated PG, and a lot of talk about deaths and spirits, so keep that in mind before you press Play)

3. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

Golden tickets and chocolate: That’s all you need to say to get kids on board with this new twist on an old classic. Charlie Bucket and four other kids get the chance to tour Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory to see how he makes his candy. During the journey, they meet the Oompa-Loompas and some other friends. It’s a pretty sweet trip!

Rating: PG Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 8+

4. Coraline 

Little Coraline opens a small hidden door in her new house and finds more than she ever could have imagined. Her parents, her house and everything else in her life seem better, but are they? This is a great movie to see if your kids are always saying “I wish I had....” It may make them realize just how good they really do have it.

Rating: PG Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 9+ (this one may be a bit scary for little ones but great for the older set)

5. Finding Dory 

Who says a sequel can’t be just as good as the original (or even better)? Finding Dory is the sequel to the hugely popular Disney-Pixar film Finding Nemo. In this flick, Dory, the forgetful fish, has a flashback and decides to go and find her family with Nemo and Marlin, but it’s not that easy. Dory learns that she has to just keep swimming if she wants to succeed. It’s a great metaphor for life and a great lesson for the kids: You have to keep going, even when things get tough.

Rating: PG Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 6+

6. High School Musical

We had Grease, and our kids have High School Musical. Tryouts for the school musical bring about jealousy and just the right amount of childhood angst in this sweet movie about love and friendship. The storyline and catchy songs are enough to keep kids interested and leave adults singing and shimmying along (admit it, you know all the words, too, because we’re all in this together!).

Rating: TV-G Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 8+

7. Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves 

It’s based on the premise of the popular ’80s film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, only the parents get shrunk (oops!) in this instalment. What happens when the kids realize their parents have disappeared? Well, they throw a party, of course. Little (no pun intended) do they realize that their parents are still there—they’re just bite-size and trying to avoid getting stepped on!

Rating: PG Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 6+

8. Kung Fu Panda 

This is a family favorite because it combines cool martial arts with cute pandas and a message of believing in yourself. Po, a giant panda, is a huge kung fu fan and works in his father’s noodle restaurant. In a series of mind-blowing events, Po ends up being the Dragon Warrior and must train to defeat the enemy and fulfill an ancient Chinese prophecy. You and your kids will be cheering on Po to see if he can save the day. It’s as much of a nail-biter as you can get with a kids’ movie.

Rating: PG Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 6+

9. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

Here’s another sequel that holds its own against the original. Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman think they’re heading home. Instead, their plane crashes and lands in—you guessed it—Africa. The animals face a few surprises as they try to find their way home.

Rating: PG Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 6+

10. Moana

You haven’t seen Moana yet? What are you waiting for? Moana is the daughter of Tui, the island chief of Motunui, and she is set to become the next leader of the people. But something is very wrong on Motunui, leading Moana to go on a quest to find the demigod Maui (voiced by The Rock), who surprisingly ends up teaching her a lesson. It’s a feel-good story with some really catchy tunes. “You’re welcome” for this movie tidbit (you’ll see what we’re talking about once you see it).

Rating: PG Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 6+

11. Mulan

Mulan knows her father is too weak to fight in the Chinese army, so she does what any good daughter would do: She dresses up as a man and heads off to training. The songs are beautiful in this film, and your child will definitely be singing them all the time. And you’ll all love Mushu, the hilarious Chinese dragon who is Mulan’s friend and inadvertently causes many mishaps.

Rating: G Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 5+

12. My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

If your kids like the My Little Pony series and toys, then this is a slam-dunk choice for movie night. In this latest instalment, there’s a princess pony power struggle that only the biggest My Little Pony fans will understand.

Rating: Not rated Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 6+

13. Paddington 

Get the marmalade ready because Paddington bear has arrived! The Brown family meets this suspicious little bear at Paddington train station in London (hence his name). He arrives in the city after an earthquake destroyed his village in Peru. Paddington has some fun adventures with the Brown family as he starts living with them—except that there’s a taxidermist after him! Who knew a bear could get himself into so much trouble?

Rating: PG Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 6+

14. Pocahontas

A Disney favourite, Pocahontas is a love story about the daughter of Chief Powhatan, who isn’t very excited about her upcoming arranged marriage. Throw that drama into the mix of Pocahontas meeting a British settler named John Smith and escalating tensions over a treasure and you have yourself a movie that’s definitely not historically correct (a great time for a history lesson) but great fun for the kids! And you can’t beat the songs: “Can you paint with all the colours of the wind?”

Rating: G Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 6+

15. Scooby-Doo (2002)

Jinkies! Mystery, Inc. has been broken up for years, but something bad is happening on Spooky Island. Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and, of course, Scooby are all tricked into coming to the island to solve the mystery, but can they manage to work together? Grab the Scooby snacks and find out. Save this movie for older kids because little ones might get a little scared by the adventures of Scooby and the Mystery Machine gang.

Rated: PG Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 10+

16. Sing

This fun animated movie centres on Buster Moon, a koala who decides to hold a talent contest to help his ailing theatre make money. The movie includes cute characters singing some pretty popular songs that your kids probably already love bobbing around to. In the end, the characters learn the importance of working together—but not before they run into some danger. There is some slapstick comedy and a few insults thrown around here and there, but this is mainly a family-friendly film.

Rated: PG Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 7+

17. The Angry Birds Movie 

The Angry Birds Movie is based on the hugely popular app Angry Birds. The main character is—you guessed it—an angry bird named Red who tries to fit into the world but can’t so he is forced to take anger-management classes. There are plenty of jokes the kids will love, especially if they’re fans of the app.

Rated: PG Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 7+

18. The BFG 

If you’ve read the Roald Dahl book, you know that BFG stands for “Big Friendly Giant,” and he is brought to life in this magical film. Sophie is an orphan who can’t sleep and, one night, “the Boogie Monster” takes her to Giant Island. At first, she is afraid, but soon she meets the BFG and discovers that he brings sweet dreams to her and kids everywhere.

Rated: PG Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 7+

19. The Boss Baby 

Based on a picture book by Marla Frazee, The Boss Baby is a tale of sibling rivalry at its finest. Tim isn’t exactly thrilled about his new brother—what kind of baby wears a suit? He is sure that something fishy is going on and tries to get to the bottom of it and get rid of the Boss Baby. Expect plenty of poop jokes here—it’s about a baby, after all! Despite the potty humour, there are some great messages about family to take away from this film.

Rated: PG Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 6+

20. The Jungle Book (2016)

The Jungle Book is based on Rudyard Kipling’s classic book of short stories. It tells the story of Mowgli, a man cub who is raised by a pack of wolves. But Mowgli soon learns that it really is a jungle out there when Shere Khan vows to kill him. You may want to save this flick for older kids because there are some violent scenes that may keep the little ones up at night.

Rated: PG Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 9+

21. The Little Rascals (1994)

In this updated version of the classic movie, Spanky and the gang are still getting into trouble—and there are still no girls allowed in the He-Man Woman Haters Club. There are plenty of antics and laughs as Alfalfa attempts to woo Darla back and all the kids try to win the Soap Box Derby go-kart race. Just make sure that no one takes a page out of Spanky’s book and drinks the dish soap.

Rated: PG Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 8+

22. The Santa Clause

What happens when you scare Santa and he falls off the roof? Oh, and all that’s left of him is his suit? Well, you take matters—and the suit—into your own hands and become Santa! (Now you just need to convince everyone else that you’re not crazy.) This is a fun movie that you can enjoy at any time of year.

Rated: PG Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 9+

23. The Secret Life of Pets

What do you think your pets do all day while you’re at work? Let’s hope they don’t get themselves into all the shenanigans that Max, Duke and all the other four-legged friends do in The Secret Life of Pets. Expect lots of laughs with this flick and warm and fuzzy feelings at the end!

Rated: PG Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 6+

24. Trolls

This movie is pure fun and has plenty of great music to dance to! Everything is rainbows and glitter for Princess Poppy and the gang until they get caught by the mean Bergens—these guys wouldn’t know happiness if it hit them over the head. Princess Poppy must find a way to save her friends while still keeping that smile on her face and, of course, her pink hair in place.

Rated: PG Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 6+

25. Zootopia

Zootopia is one of those movies that will keep both kids and parents entertained. Judy Hopps is the first rabbit to become a police officer at the Zootopia Police Department. Judy soon finds herself on the case to figure out who is behind several kidnappings and has to enlist the help of one sly fox named Nick Wilde to crack the case.

Rated: PG Common Sense Media Rating: Ages 8+

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