While the world of streaming has opened up a vast amount of possibilities in terms of viewing options, it can sometimes be overwhelming trying to decide exactly what to choose — especially when you have the entire family on the brain. That’s why we’ve crafted a specially curated list of the best family movies on Netflix, which runs down the very best movie-watching options for all (or at least most) ages to enjoy. They range from animated features to uplifting live-action stories of real-life heroes. If you’re looking for the perfect viewing option that both kids and parents will enjoy, we’re pretty confident you’ll find something here. Check out our full list of the best family movies on Netflix below.

For more recommendations, check out our list of The Best Fantasy Movies on Netflix Right Now, The Best Comedies on Netflix Right Now, and The Best Movies on Netflix Right Now.

Editor’s Note: This piece was last updated November 2023 to include Leo.

Leo

Rotten Tomatoes: 77% | IMDb: 7.7

Returning to the world of silly voices, Adam Sandler stars in the surprisingly sweet animated comedy Leo. Co-written by Sandler, alongside SNL legend Robert Smigel and Paul Sado, Leo hilariously explores growing up through the lens of an aging and jaded lizard who spent the last 74 years living in a Florida classroom. Leo features the voices of comedians Bill Burr and Cecily Strong, as well as frequent Sandler collaborators Rob Schneider and Nick Swardson.

Aside from the charming coming-of-age premise, Leo delightfully utilizes the comedy skills of the voice cast, highlighted by vividly slick animation and undeniably catchy songs. While the storyline seems geared at adolescents, Leo the Lizard’s sage wisdom appeals to audiences of all ages, particularly anyone exploring a new beginning in any aspect of their life. – Yael Tygiel

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Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Rotten Tomatoes: 97% | IMDb: 7.8/10

Filmmaker Taika Waititi landed on most people’s radars as the director behind Thor: Ragnarok, but just before the Marvel sequel, he crafted the delightful adventure comedy Hunt for the Wilderpeople. It’s full of quirky humor, but it is never glib in the face of its often intensely emotional material. Instead, it’s a beautiful dance between the two, as the New Zealand-set story follows something of an inverted Anne of Green Gables, as the young Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison) is taken in by foster parents to help out on their farm. Though he starts to connect with the more overtly loving “Aunt” Bella (Rima Te Wiata), he ends up spending most of the movie with “Uncle” Hector (Sam Neill), as part of a mutual and begrudging acceptance that they need each other more than they care to admit. The story is part adventure tale and part family drama, yet even in its wilder moments, it balances these disparate parts in a wonderfully entertaining way (including a national manhunt, a faked death, and an almost New Wave-like series of vignettes within the story itself). Waititi’s sensibilities as a writer and director here lean towards the bombastic and comedic, but the movie does its best work in the quiet moments. Even the most bizarre turns never distract us from how deeply we end up feeling about this weird little kid and his surly new father figure out in the New Zealand bush. — Allison Keene

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Monkey King

Rotten Tomatoes: 59% | IMDb: 5.7/10

Based on characters from the classic 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West, Monkey King puts the titular rambunctious demon-slaying monkey front-and-center in a story about acceptance and helping others. Taking the lead as the boastful Sun Wukong is comedian Jimmy O. Yang (American Born Chinese), who faces off against the Dragon King, voiced by fellow comedian Bowen Yang (Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai). The two titans of hilarity are backed by a wonderful cast of Asian American actors like Jolie Hoang-Rappaport (Head of the Class) and BD Wong (Mulan), who help to bring this story to life for a modern audience.

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Yes Day

Rotten Tomatoes: 52% | IMDb: 5.7/10

Based on the children’s book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld, Yes Day is a movie about rediscovering your inner child and embracing saying yes to life. Jennifer Garner (13 Going on 30) and Édgar Ramírez (Gold) star as a couple who feel like they’ve become real buzzkills since becoming parents – and their kids would agree wholeheartedly. So they make a deal to agree to every one of their children’s requests for a full 24 hours. During this test of mental, physical, and emotional endurance, they try to reconnect with their kids and figure out who they truly want to be as parents. – Tauri Miller

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The Willoughbys

Rotten Tomatoes: 91% | IMDb: 6.4/10

In most kid’s movies, parents are loving, caring people who would do anything for their children. Not in The Willoughbys though. This acclaimed animated film follows the story of a group of siblings whose parents absolutely despise all children. Deprived of love, music, and food their entire lives, the Willoughby children put together a plot to send their parents on a deadly vacation that they think is sure to kill them off. Okay, yes, all of that sounds quite dark but rest assured, this really is a family movie. The Willoughbys’ fortunes change shortly after their parents leave with the arrival of their new nanny (voiced by the iconic Maya Rudolph). Over the course of the rest of the movie, the siblings eventually find a family of their own, one where they are loved and cared for in a way their parents are simply incapable of doing. It’s a unique take on family and childhood that’s worth the watch. Plus, Alessia Cara sings an absolute banger of a song and Ricky Gervais narrates the story as a cat. Do we need to say more?— Remus Noronha

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The Loud House Movie

Rotten Tomatoes: 64% | IMDb: 6.1/10

A collaboration between Netflix and Nickelodeon, The Loud House Movie features the Nickelodeon series The Loud House and takes the zany family overseas. While vacationing in Scotland, the Loud family discovers that they are descended from royalty. As you might imagine, chaos ensues. A fun and funny musical, The Loud House Movie received more or less positive reviews on its release. It tells a heartwarming story with some lovely music and rollicking adventures involving castles, dragons, and Michelle Gomez as a disgruntled caretaker. This is one movie that the whole family can enjoy. — Remus Noronha

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Nightbooks

Rotten Tomatoes: 88% | IMDb: 5.8/10

Looking for something genuinely spooky to watch this Halloween season that’s also perfect for the whole family? Look no further than Nightbooks, a witchy Netflix original from director David Yarovesky (Brightburn) and producer Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead). Alex (Winslow Fegley) is teased so much for his love of writing horror stories he swears never to pen another tale again. But when a witch (Krysten Ritter) traps Alex in her New York City apartment and demands he spin her a new yarn every night, the creative kid has to use every ounce of his storytelling talent to make sure he and fellow prisoner Yasmin (Lidya Jewett) make it out alive. Nighbooks occupies a vital space in the horror genre—one similar to the likes of Goosebumps, A Nightmare Before Christmas, and Hocus Pocus—which is to say it’s just scary enough to act as a gateway movie for any kid (like Alex!) who might be interested in the harder stuff down the road. –Vinnie Mancuso

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Paddington

Rotten Tomatoes: 97% | IMDb: 7.3/10

Based on the charming children’s book character Paddington Bear (created by Michael Bond), Paddington is a lovely movie tailor-made for family time. The film earned widespread acclaim when it was released in 2014, receiving two BAFTA nominations. While the movie does introduce some changes, the heart of the source material is preserved, which just adds to Paddington‘s charm.

The story of Paddington revolves around the eponymous talking bear, who moves from “Darkest Peru” to London in search of a family to take care of him. It’s not an easy task, but Paddington holds on to his sweet, polite nature despite the obstacles in his path. And the biggest obstacle he faces is an evil taxidermist, played by Nicole Kidman, who wants to kill and stuff him. This one really is a story for all ages and the film has already had one sequel with another on the way. – Remus Noronha

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The Christmas Chronicles

Rotten Tomatoes: 68% | IMDb: 7.0/10

Netflix is shockingly consistent when it comes to pumping out quality Christmas content and that remains true in the case of the one-two punch of The Christmas Chronicles and its sequel, in which Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn play a delightful and quite frankly devastatingly attractive Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus. In the first film, a pair of siblings, Kate (Darby Camp) and Teddy (Judah Lewis), accidentally crash Santa’s sleigh on Christmas night. As the sunrise approaches, the two kids have to help St. Nick save the holiday. In the sequel—which sees Home Alone and Harry Potter helmer Chris Columbus take over directing duties—Kate has to re-team with the Clauses when an elf named Belsnickel (Julian Dennison) goes rogue and threatens to cancel Christmas. If a perfectly pleasant yuletide double feature is on your family’s wish list, look no further. –Vinnie Mancuso

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White Christmas

Rotten Tomatoes: 77% | IMDb: 7.5/10

Putting the “classic” in Christmas Classic, we have White Christmas. The 1954 movie is a musical rom-com about two sets of performers who put together a Christmas show, finding love and friendship along the way. Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye star as Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, two former soldiers who make it big as musical producers after World War II. They meet the Haynes sisters, Betty (Rosemary Clooney) and Judy (Vera-Ellen), and despite initial conflicts, they become friends. After the two men help rescue the sisters from their greedy landlord, the four of them get together to put on a show to help Bob and Phil’s former commander out of a tight spot.

White Christmas is particularly notable for being the first film released in VistaVision, a process that gave the movie a higher resolution and brighter colors than others of its time. And despite being decades old, White Christmas holds up pretty well in the present day, with well-written characters and a good story. Some parts of the movie may come off a bit dated, but it’s still a highly enjoyable watch for the whole family. – Remus Noronha

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Enola Holmes

Rotten Tomatoes: 91% | IMDb: 6.6./10

Eliminate all the movies you’ve watched a hundred times before from your Netflix queue and whatever remains, no matter how improbable, is most likely Enola Holmes, a gem of a Netflix original that came and went in the pop culture conversation too fast. Based on the YA series of the same name, Enola Holmes sees Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown playing the title character, younger sister to history’s most famous sleuth, Sherlock Holmes (Henry Cavill). But when the Holmes family matriarch, Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter) goes missing, it’s Enola on the case, tracking her mother’s trail of secrets straight into a grand conspiracy. Brown is, no surprise, endlessly charming in the lead, the mystery plot is just challenging enough to keep the kids guessing, and Cavill is clearly having a blast playing the stuffy Sherlock figure. The mystery of What to Watch, solved. –Vinnie Mancuso

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The Mitchells vs. the Machines

Rotten Tomatoes: 97% | IMDb: 7.6./10

The whole family will absolutely love The Mitchells vs. the Machines. The story of this original animated film follows a family in the wake of a robot apocalypse, just as they were about to embark on a cross-country road trip to take the daughter to college. They must work together if they have any hope of saving themselves (or the world), which is difficult because the father and daughter are having trouble communicating. This movie is silly and goofy but also emotional, with a rich heart at its center and a story of the importance of communication boosted by a female lead who is fiercely creative. It’s also tremendously rewatchable. – Adam Chitwood

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We Can Be Heroes

Rotten Tomatoes: 74% | IMDb: 4.7/10

If you’re looking for a sweet and silly sci-fi adventure that’s fun for the whole family, Robert Rodriguez’s We Can Be Heroes is a pretty delightful option. Set in the same universe as his beloved 2005 family superhero film The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, his Netflix film brings all that bright and bubbly energy to a new generation of heroes. After Earth’s legion of superheroes are captured by aliens, their children have to step up and save the day, each with their own distinct set of powers, from classic superhero abilities like controlling time to controlling objects by singing to a good old-fashioned knack for leadership. And lest we forget the scene-stealing Guppy, Sharkboy and Lavagirl’s adorable young daughter who inherited Shark Strength and knows how to use it. It’s a light-hearted, breezy fantasy/sci-fi adventure for kids that should land well with fans of Sharkboy and Lavagirl and Rodriguez’s Spy Kids franchise. – Haleigh Foutch

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Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle

Rotten Tomatoes: 52% | IMDb: 6.5/10

I know you’re thinking of the delightful Disney animated classic, but maybe save this one for when the kids are just a bit older. Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, largely overshadowed by Jon Favreau‘s The Jungle Book released just two years earlier, is a much darker, more intense take on the source material, courtesy of the mo-cap king himself, Andy Serkis (who also provides the voice for brown bear Baloo). But it’s also got one heck of a cast, led by committed young actor Rohan Chand crawling through mud and leaves as Mowgli, surrounded by A-listers like Christian Bale as black panther Bagheera, Benedict Cumberbatch as villainous tiger Shere Khan, and Cate Blanchett as the python Kaa.

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Klaus

Rotten Tomatoes: 95% | IMDb: 8.2/10

With Klaus, Netflix made a bona fide original Christmas classic without a single holiday switch (incredible, I know). Co-written and directed by Sergio Pablos, a Spanish animation master who began working for Disney in the Paris outpost before moving to America and contributing incredible performances and designs for characters as varied and unrelated as Frollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Dr. Doppler in Treasure Planet before becoming a one-man idea farm, coming up with the initial concepts that gave way to Despicable Me and Smallfoot. With Klaus, which tells the origin story of Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons) via his relationship between a small-town mailman (Jason Schwartzman), Pablos cannily mixed traditional, 2D hand-drawn animation with cutting edge computer animation. The resulting film is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before; it’s like watching a magic trick and being unsure how it was accomplished but being transfixed just the same. (It was nominated for the Best Animated Feature and had a good shot at winning, too.) And the story, with warring villagers and a commitment to giving a grounded, emotionally resonant portrayal of the beginnings of the legend (call it Santa Claus Begins) means that it never tips into gooey sentimentality. This is the rare Christmas classic that can be watched any time of year and will still fill you with that singular holiday magic. – Drew Taylor

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Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey

Rotten Tomatoes: 90% | IMDb: 6.5/10

I’m just gonna say it: Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey is a new holiday classic; an instant addition to the canon; the most recent family-friendly Christmas film to so thoroughly capture its audience’s heart and soul since Elf. But unlike Elf, which is rife with childlike glee and slapstick set pieces, Jingle Jangle has another, more unorthodox fuel powering its steampunk-flavored sleigh: Melancholy. Jingle Jangle is a story of loss, betrayal, casting aside dreams, keeping the house standing when the lights have long dimmed, and only eventually of regained hope. Yes, there are catchy pop-MT bangers lensed and choreographed with panache, yes, the production design is eye-poppingly gorgeous, and yes, every child performer in the film is unstoppingly adorable, optimistic, and joyful. But at the center of Jingle Jangle, its silly name and all, is Forest Whitaker’s courageous, unexpected, and frankly bizarre performance. As our central inventor whose greatest products were stolen by a vengeful Keegan Michael-Key (wonderful; he should play villains more often!), Whitaker is a shell of a man, a human reduced to a ghost. He plays this character with a sense of false strength that betrays his inner flimsiness, and gives us no lifeline to the potentially fantastical world around him. It’s astonishing work, one that will no doubt affect kids in unexpected ways – and when he finally lets go of his trauma to sing, dance, and love his way to a brighter future again, the tears welling in my eyes throughout Jingle Jangle can hold no longer. Put it on the boards, it’s a new Christmas classic. – Gregory Lawrence

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