Is there anything better than a classic family movie night, snuggled on the couch with popcorn?
We asked our Instagram community what their favorite picks are for family movie night, and they delivered. Then we added some of our favorites! The movies on this list will appeal to kids of all ages and interests, and reflect characters with diverse backgrounds and stories.
Every child is different, so we recommend checking Common Sense Media for a synopsis, parent reviews, age ratings, and more.
Here are some ideas for your next family affair:
1. Up! (PG | 2009| 98 minutes)
Synopsis from IMDb: “78-year-old Carl Fredricksen travels to Paradise Falls in his house equipped with balloons, inadvertently taking a young stowaway.”
2. My Neighbor Totoro (G | 1988 | 86 min.)
Synopsis from IMDb: “When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.”
3. Inside Out (PG | 2015 | 102 minutes)
Synopsis from IMDb: “After young Riley is uprooted from her Midwest life and moved to San Francisco, her emotions – Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness – conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house, and school.”
4. Finding Ohana (PG | 2021 | 123 min.)
Synopsis from IMDb: “A summer in rural O‘ahu takes an exciting turn for two Brooklyn-raised siblings when a journal pointing to long-lost treasure sets them on an epic adventure with new friends, and leads them to reconnect with their Hawaiian heritage.”
5. A League of Their Own (PG | 1992 | 128 min.)
Synopsis from IMDb: “Two sisters join the first female professional baseball league and struggle to help it succeed amidst their own growing rivalry.”
6. Soul (PG | 2020 | 100 min.)
Synopsis from IMDb: “After landing the gig of a lifetime, a New York jazz pianist suddenly finds himself trapped in a strange land between Earth and the afterlife.”
7. Mighty Ducks (PG | 1992 | 104 min.)
Synopsis from IMDb: “A self-centered Minnesota lawyer is sentenced to community service coaching a rag tag youth hockey team.”
8. Wizard of Oz (PG | 1939 | 102 min.)
Synopsis from IMDb: “Dorothy Gale is swept away from a farm in Kansas to a magical land of Oz in a tornado and embarks on a quest with her new friends to see the Wizard who can help her return home to Kansas and help her friends as well.”
9. Kiki’s Delivery Service (G | 1989 | 103 min.)
Synopsis from IMDb: “A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.”
10. Coco (PG | 2017 | 105 min.)
Synopsis from IMDb: “Aspiring musician Miguel, confronted with his family’s ancestral ban on music, enters the Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather, a legendary singer.”
11. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (G | 1971 | 100 min.)
Synopsis from IMDb: “A poor but hopeful boy seeks one of the five coveted golden tickets that will send him on a tour of Willy Wonka’s mysterious chocolate factory.”
12. Akeelah and the Bee (PG | 2006 | 112 min.)
Synopsis from IMDb: “A young girl from South Los Angeles tries to make it to the National Spelling Bee.”
13. The Muppets (PG | 2011 | 103 min.)
Synopsis from IMDb: “A Muppet fanatic with some help from his 2 human compatriots must regroup the Muppet gang to stop an avaricious oil mogul from taking down one of their precious life-longing treasures.”
14. Ruby Bridges (PG | 1998 | 96 min.)
Synopsis from IMDb: “When six-year-old Ruby is chosen to be the first African-American to integrate her local elementary school, she is subjected to the true ugliness of racism for the first time.”
15. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (PG | 1989 | 93 min.)
Synopsis from IMDb: “The scientist father of a teenage girl and boy accidentally shrinks his and two other neighborhood teens to the size of insects. Now the teens must fight diminutive dangers as the father searches for them.”
16. March of the Penguins (G | 2005 | 80 min.)
Synopsis from IMDb: “In the Antarctic, every March since the beginning of time, the quest begins to find the perfect mate and start a family.”
17. Angels in the Outfield (PG | 1994 | 102 min.)
Synopsis from IMDb: “When a boy prays for a chance to have a family if the California Angels win the pennant, angels are assigned to make that possible.”
18. The Parent Trap (PG | 1998 | 128 min.)
Synopsis from IMDb: “Identical twins Annie and Hallie, separated at birth and each raised by one of their biological parents, later discover each other for the first time at summer camp and make a plan to bring their wayward parents back together.”
19. Homeward Bound (G | 1993 | 84 min.)
Synopsis from IMDb: “A fun-loving American bulldog pup, a hilarious Himalayan cat, and a wise old golden retriever embark on a long trek through the rugged wilderness of the Sierra Nevada mountains in a quest to reach home and their beloved owners.”
20. Shrek (PG | 2001 | 90 min.)
Synopsis from IMDb: “A mean lord exiles fairytale creatures to the swamp of a grumpy ogre, who must go on a quest and rescue a princess for the lord in order to get his land back.”
21. Annie (PG | 2014 | 118 min.)
Synopsis from IMDb: “A foster kid, who lives with her mean foster mom, sees her life change when business tycoon and New York City mayoral candidate Will Stacks makes a thinly-veiled campaign move and takes her in.”
22. E.T. (PG | 1982 | 115 min.)
Synopsis from IMDb: “A troubled child summons the courage to help a friendly alien escape Earth and return to his home world.”
23. Moana (PG | 2016 | 107 min.)
Synopsis from IMDb: “In Ancient Polynesia, when a terrible curse incurred by the Demigod Maui reaches Moana’s island, she answers the Ocean’s call to seek out the Demigod to set things right.”
24. Winnie The Pooh (G | 2011 | 63 min.)
Synopsis from IMDb: “While searching for honey, Pooh and his friends embark on an adventure to find Eeyore’s missing tail and rescue Christopher Robin from an unknown monster called The Backson.”
25. Free Willy (PG | 1993 | 112 min.)
Synopsis from IMDb: “When a boy learns that a beloved killer whale is to be killed by the aquarium owners, the boy risks everything to free the whale.”
Other Ideas from our Instagram Community:
Home Alone
The Rookie
Toy Story
Secret Life of Pets (1&2)
Mary Poppins
The Gruffalo (Amazon Prime)
Sing!
Ramona & Beezus
Finding Nemo
Scoob
Babe
The Greatest Showman
Big Hero 6
Ponyo
Milan
Wally
Cars
Frozen
Finding Dory
The Nutcracker and the 4 Realms
Trolls World Tour
Over The Moon
