17 Must-Watch Netflix Movies for Kids Right Now (September 2025)

Step into a world of pure imagination with this timeless classic starring Gene Wilder, based on the beloved novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. Though the world of Wonka’s chocolate factory has been revisited several times since 1971, this iconic musical film is probably the one you grew up on — so its inclusion on Netflix is the perfect opportunity to introduce it to your kids. 

Charlie Bucket (Peter Ostrum) lives in poverty with his family, but his fortunes change when he wins one of five golden tickets hidden within Wonka Bars, granting him access to the mysterious and magical candy factory owned by the eccentric candy-maker. From Oompa Loompas to Everlasting Gobstoppers, revisit the magic of this colorful confection of a film.

Before there was Jurassic Park, Steven Spielberg produced a much more heartwarming dinosaur story in The Land Before Time, which was directed by legendary animator Don Bluth. This family film follows a young Apatosaurus (or “long neck”) named Littlefoot (Gabriel Damon) who is fleeing from a famine alongside his family when he finds himself roaming the dangerous landscape alone.

Without his mother or grandparents to guide him, Littlefoot must ally with dinosaurs of other species — like Cera the short-fused Triceratops (Candace Hutson), playful Ducky the Saurolophus (Judith Barsi), anxious Petrie the Pteranodon (Will Ryan) and silent Spike the Stegosaurus. The newfound “herd” learns to overcome their prejudices and work together, becoming a chosen family.

A tearjerker with stunning animation and a stirring score, The Land Before Time is an epic story about friendship, family and perserverance.

SomeBODY once told me — that all four Shrek movies are now on Netflix. This DreamWorks film about a curmudgeonly ogre with the heart of a hero is popular on the streamer, thanks to the performance by Mike Myers as Shrek. Go back to the fairy tale land where it all began, as Shrek tries to keep the evil Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) and other fairy tale creatures out of his swamp — only to end up on the adventure of a lifetime. When he accepts a quest to rescue the beautiful and mysterious Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) for Farquaad, with the help of his “noble steed” Donkey (Eddie Murphy), Shrek’s heart begins to open to love — but he must confront his own insecurities to admit it.

Adult humor and hilarious fairy tale parodies abound in this slick animated film, but its message is as wholesome and heartwarming as any other movie on this list.

One of the oldest stories ever told and beautifully rendered through animation, The Prince of Egypt is a musical extravaganza based on the story of Moses. Starting with the moment a baby is put in a basket on the Nile River and leading to the Exodus from Egypt, this movie beautifully portrays an adult Moses (Val Kilmer) struggling with the conflict between what he knows is right and his love for the Egyptian royal family that raised him.

The conflict between Moses and his adoptive brother Rameses (Ralph Fiennes), Egypt’s pharaoh, is heartbreaking, while the depiction of the famous 10 plagues is awe-inspiring. The extended cast is a who’s who of stars, including Michelle Pfeiffer as Tzipporah, Sandra Bullock as Miriam, Jeff Goldblum as Aaron, Danny Glover as Jethro and Patrick Stewart as Pharaoh Seti. The songs are incredibly moving — especially the Oscar-winning number “When You Believe.”

You can bet your bottom dollar, the 1982 version of Annie holds up. Set during the Great Depression, the story follows the cheerful and optimistic orphan, Annie (Aileen Quinn), who dreams of finding her biological parents.

When the billionaire Oliver Warbucks (Albert Finney) decides to invite an orphan to live with him for a week as a publicity stunt, Annie is plucked out of her “Hard Knock Life” under the tyrannical thumb of Miss Hannigan (Carol Burnett). But Hannigan and her con man brother, Rooster (Tim Curry), have dastardly plans for Annie.

This family movie has great music, a heartwarming story and colorful production design. Perfect for family movie night!

Singing anthropomorphic animals working together to save a struggling business — what more could you want? Oh, they sing songs you already love, jukebox musical style? Even better. Sing follows Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey), a koala trying to save his beloved theater from financial ruin, who hatches a plan — he’ll host a singing competition! The contest attracts a diverse group of animal contestants, each with their own unique backstory and dreams of stardom.

With an uplifting narrative that emphasizes themes of perseverance, self-discovery, and the importance of chasing one’s dreams, Sing delivers a heartwarming message that resonates with audiences of all ages. You’ll love the soundtrack, kids will love the animation, and you all will enjoy the entertaining cast, which includes Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly and more.

What if your favorite music band was secretly a team of demon hunters protecting humanity? That’s the central conceit behind KPop Demon Hunters, a visually dazzling new animated movie that features plenty of magical creatures as well as some catchy songs. 

When K-pop girl group HUNTR/X aren’t touring or recording vocals for their next album, they are slaying demons and keeping the villainous Gwi-Ma from taking over the world. But when he hatches a plan to defeat them by forming his own boy band, the Saja Boys — who will sap fans’ energy and thus weaken the portal between human and demon worlds — they’ll have to summon all the powers they possess to stop him. Will HUNTR/X save the day while topping the charts at the same time? 

In The Wild Robot, an android named Roz (Lupita Nyong’o) crash-lands on an island and befriends various animals, like the fox Fink (Pedro Pascal) and orphaned gosling Brightbill (Kit Connor). Now a “wild robot,” Roz must choose between its new companions or leaving the island to complete its mission.

A surprise hit in late 2024, The Wild Robot is quickly becoming an all-ages animated classic. Based on the popular children’s novel of the same name by Peter Brown, the film tells a classic adventure tale with memorable supporting characters that are as funny as appealing as The Little Mermaid’s Sebastian or Finding Nemo’s Dory. The animation is truly spectacular, but the film’s biggest strength is its superb vocal cast, with Pascal and Connor bringing color and life to their roles.

Allison and Carlos Torres (Jennifer Garner and Édgar Ramírez) are overworked parents to three children who view their parents more as dictators than loving guardians. Taking the advice of a family friend, Allison and Carlos initiate a “Yes Day,” a 24-hour period where they can’t say “no” to any request from their children. Naturally, this causes all sorts of hijinks, but will it bring the family closer together or tear them apart?

Yes Day is silly, but it’s also a good-natured comedy that garners its laughs through real-world scenarios parents face all the time. Garner and Ramirez are appealing as the stressed-out parents who want the best for their children, and Jenna Ortega has an early, stand-out role as their eldest child, Katie.

Based on Emma Yarlett’s award-winning children’s book of the same name, Orion and the Dark tells the story of 11-year-old Orion (voiced by Jacob Tremblay), who has a paralyzing fear of the dark. One night, he’s visited by Dark itself (Paul Walter Hauser), who takes the young boy on a magical journey where he meets other nighttime entities like Sweet Dreams (Angela Bassett) and Insomnia (Nat Faxon). But will Orion truly accept Dark, and all the fears associated with it, before Light comes and disintegrates the entity forever?

That’s just the beginning of the movie, which develops into a weird and wonderful tale about growing up but never forgetting what it was like to be young and adventurous. The animated movie was written by Being John Malkovich’s Charlie Kaufman, who puts his own unique spin on what’s already a twisted kids story. Orion and the Dark is a beautiful film to look at and experience and will surely become a generational classic in the years to come.

Those unstoppable Minions are now on Netflix, and they are just as lovable as ever. In this fourth entry in the Despicable Me franchise, those adorable lemmings return with their master, Gru (Steve Carell), for yet another brightly colored adventure. This time around, Gru and his new family must go into hiding after an old classmate, Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell), wants to turn his son, Gru Jr. (Tara Strong), into a super-villain cockroach.

Gru and his family assume new identities in a cookie-cutter suburb to avoid being detected by Maxime. But Le Mal is dead set to get what he wants, and Gru just might have met his match. If he doesn’t find a solution fast, there won’t be a Despicable Me 5.

When puppy Bella is left by her family at a farm in New Mexico, she’s determined to find her way back home to Denver. Four hundred miles is a long way to go, though, and she’ll need the help of a stray cat, some homeless people and other kind-hearted strangers to reunite her with the only family she’s ever known.

As with similar dog-centric movies like Benji and My Dog Skip, A Dog’s Way Home is wholesome entertainment that pairs familiar faces with a lovable pooch. Famous actors like Ashley Judd and Jonah Hauer-King are the humans who miss their pet dog, while canine Shelby, who plays Bella, steals the show as the titular man’s best friend trying to find her way home. 

Magic and tech collide in the medieval-futuristic world of Nimona. The title character (Chloë Grace Moretz) is a mysterious and rebellious girl with an amazing superpower — she can shapeshift into any animal. Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed) is a young knight ousted from society for apparently killing the Queen (Lorraine Toussaint). While Ballister tries to prove his innocence, Nimona breaks into his lair and demands to be his new villainous sidekick. 

Nimona is a ball of relentless energy, and her friendship with the more staid and cautious Ballister makes for a chaotically fun movie. The art style is unique and captivating, and the movie has a great message about accepting differences that will reach kids without talking down to them. And if you shed a tear when you learn Nimona’s tragic backstory, we won’t tell anyone.

You know how old maps used to depict monsters in the uncharted depths of the ocean? What if those monsters were real? Netflix’s original film The Sea Beast depicts such a world in a colorful, thoughtful family film that feels like a mash-up of How to Train Your Dragon with Pirates of the Caribbean. 

Spunky orphan Maisie (Zaris-Angel Hator) longs to join the heroic ranks of the brave, seafaring monster hunters, so she stows away aboard a ship. When she and legendary monster killer Jacob (Karl Urban) end up stranded and at the mercy of the beasts, the duo learn that there’s far more to these giant aquatic creatures than meets the eye. Can they help the kingdom overcome its prejudices and restore peace?

This Netflix original movie is a hilarious adventure starring Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph and Broad City’s Abbi Jacobson as a family that accidentally becomes humanity’s only hope against an AI apocalypse.

Convinced her family doesn’t understand her, aspiring filmmaker Katie (Jacobson) can’t wait to start college and find “her people.” Her dad, Rick (McBride), is desperate to recapture his bond with his daughter. Rick decides they should take a device-free cross-country road trip to drop Katie off at school at the same time that PAL (Olivia Colman), a Siri-esque operating system, rebels against her creators. PAL turns every Wi-Fi-enabled device in the world into an evil robot, and it’s up to the Mitchells to stop her before humans are destroyed forever.  

This family movie is an incredible portrayal of how older and younger generations can fail to communicate, and how a little extra understanding can save the world.

If, after the book and the ‘96 movie, you still want more Matilda — and we would understand if you did — then guess what? There’s also a fantastic musical adaptation. The songs in this Netflix film, originally written by Tim Minchin for Broadway, are alternately funny and moving. One number, entitled “When I Grow Up,” is a beautiful tribute to the fantasies of childhood that will bring a tear to your eye.

Alisha Weir is captivating as the titular heroine, and Emma Thompson is wonderfully monstrous as Miss Trunchbull. Matilda the Musical expands upon the lore of the original and will encourage you to be “a little bit naughty” to stand up for what’s right.

It took 20 years for Dav Pilkey’s bestselling book series, Captain Underpants, to be adapted into a movie — but it was worth the wait. This DreamWorks film captures all the scrappy, scatalogical humor and heart of the beloved books, which follow mischievous and creative fourth-graders George (Kevin Hart) and Harold (Thomas Middleditch). The two best friends share a love of potty humor and comic books — they even created their own comic book character, Captain Underpants. Through a series of fittingly silly circumstances, their nasty school principal, Mr. Krupp (Ed Helms), is hypnotized into believing he is the undergarment-themed crimefighter. The boys must team up with Captain Underpants to fight the evil Professor Poopypants (Nick Kroll) before he eliminates all laughter from the world.

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie’s animation style is a loving tribute to childhood and silliness that you and your kids will love. Plus, if your kiddos love Pilkey’s other series, Dog Man, this is a great opportunity to introduce them to the books that started it all. So join Captain Underpants in the fight for “truth, justice and all that is pre-shrunk and cottony!”

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