If you’re aiming to have more family movie nights this year, then you need to know the best family movies on Netflix right now. It’s much easier to cut to the chase with this list rather than waste the first 20 minutes of the night navigating the platform for something everyone can watch. We’ve done that part for you so you can narrow down your selection and get into the watching faster.
This February is a small update, with just Happy Feet and Space Jam joining the list. (Two big entries — Despicable Me 4 and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 — arrive on the last day of the month, but we’ll save those for March.) For now, these are the best family movies on Netflix.
Looking for something else? We’ve also rounded up the best new movies to stream, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime, and the best movies on Disney+. For Netflix fans, check out the best movies on Netflix.
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Space Jampg 1996
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Happy Feetpg 2006
Space Jam (1996)
A basketball movie so great that LeBron James felt the need to make his own version, Space Jam is a great combo of 1990s nostalgia and timeless family-friendly fun. After seeing the Looney Tunes on TV, intergalactic amusement park tycoon Swackhammer dispatches his minions from Moron Mountain to enslave the Tunes to entertain the park’s guests.
Seeing the diminutive creatures, Bugs Bunny challenges them to a game of basketball in exchange for their freedom. The aliens have a trick up their sleeve: draining the talent from some of the NBA’s greatest talents. The suddenly overmatched Looney Tunes need an ace in the hole, so they chase down a “retired” great: Michael Jordan.
Happy Feet (2006)
Everyone knows that emperor penguins find mates by singing beautifully. (Such is the claim of Happy Feet, anyway.) Unfortunately, tone-deaf outcast Mumble (Elijah Wood) doesn’t have that natural gift.
What he does have is some happy feet, and with the help of the suave Ramon (Robin Williams), he learns to embrace his true talents, celebrate his authentic self, and make a big difference in his penguin community.
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024)
Netflix has become the American hub for Nick Park’s Shaun the Sheep and Wallace & Gromit, with plenty of claymation fun for the whole family. In Vengeance Most Fowl, Gromit becomes concerned that Wallace is becoming too dependent on his inventions, a feeling that becomes justified when Wallace’s latest invention — a “smart” gnome called Norbot — develops a mind of its own.
Soon, Gromit realizes that a vengeful figure from the past is behind this latest development, and it’s once again up to him to save Wallace!
Scooby-Doo (2002)
It is entirely possible that the kids will find this live-action remake of the beloved animated franchise “lame.” However, Scooby-Doo is an excellent nostalgia watch for teens and tweens from the early 2000s.
Sarah Jessica Parker, Linda Cardellini, Freddie Prinze Jr., and Matthew Lillard star in what is basically a PG-rated teen comedy, as Mystery Inc. follows an invite to Spooky Island, a popular spring break island retreat. But they soon discover that it’s not just a spooky-themed attraction; there’s something actually sinister going on. Mystery Inc. is on the case!
Spider-Man (2002)
One of the most important movies for springboarding the superhero genre, 2002’s Spider-Man (and the entire original Sony trilogy currently on Netflix) showed that comic book stories could have real heart and stakes. Taking on the classic Peter Parker origin story is Tobey Maguire.
Peter, a talented high school outcast, is bitten by a genetically altered spider. Suddenly endowed with super strength, agility, and the ability to climb walls, Peter is initially just excited to goof off with his new powers. But after the tragic murder of his Uncle Ben, he resolves to use these powers to fight crime.
The Lorax (2012)
Adapted from Dr. Seuss’ beloved children’s book, The Lorax follows 12-year-old Ted (Zac Efron) on a journey to find the one thing that will draw the attention of his dream girl: a real tree. To find it, he must leave Thneedville and track down the Once-ler (Ed Helms), a mythic man who might know what happened to all the trees.
Upon meeting him, Ted learns the story of The Lorax (Danny DeVito), the guardian of the forest who fights ferociously (and grumpily) to protect the natural world.
That Christmas (2024)
Richard Curtis is perhaps best known for writing Love Actually, and he brings that textbook vignette style to a new animated Netflix original for the whole family. Based on his trilogy of children’s books of the same name, That Christmas follows several tales of a particularly memorable Christmas in the coastal town of Wellington-on-Sea.
When the town is rocked by one of the worst snowstorms in years, everyone’s plans are suddenly thrown into limbo. And, yes, that does include Santa Claus’s plans as well.
Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas (2021)
Netflix quietly released this Christmas special featurinh one of Nick Park’s (Wallace & Gromit) classic characters a few years ago, but it’s still a great small watch to enjoy with the whole family.
Shaun the Sheep is predictably excited for the holiday season, but when a farmhouse raid to get bigger stockings for the flock leads to Timmy getting lost, it throws the whole season into disarray. Now, Shaun must find toddler Timmy before he becomes somebody else’s present.
The Secret Life of Pets (2016)
Ever wonder what your pup gets into when you’re gone for the day? Well, it’s probably not what happens in The Secret Life of Pets, but it’s still a fun watch. Terrier Max (Louis C.K.) leads a cushy life as a beloved pet living in a Manhattan apartment building. But when his owner brings home a sloppy mutt named Duke (Eric Stonestreet), Max is none too thrilled.
The duo will have to put their differences behind them, however, to fight back against a white bunny named Snowball (Kevin Hart), who is building an army of abandoned pets to seek vengeance on all the happily cared-for pets and their owners.
Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014)
The Karate Kid (1984)
Migration (2023)
Minions (2015)
Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie (2024)
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013)
Nimona (2023)
Leo (2023)
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)
Enola Holmes 2 (2022)
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie (2022)
Too Old for Fairy Tales (2022)
My Octopus Teacher (2020)
The Sea Beast (2022)
Vivo (2021)
We Can Be Heroes (2020)
Back to the Outback (2021)
Enola Holmes (2020)
Klaus (2019)
Pee-wee's Big Holiday (2016)
The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021)
Benji (2018)
The Willoughbys (2020)
Invader ZIM: Enter the Florpus (2019)
If you’re looking for more films suitable for the whole family, we’ve also rounded up the best family movies on Amazon Prime Video and the best family movies on Disney+.