25 Best Netflix Movies to Watch with Family

What happens when the entire family including the kids gets together and asks you to play a fun movie? Well, you desperately search for the flick that can live up to everyone’s taste. And that’s the time when a fascinating and appropriate movie comes into the picture! To ensure that your family showtime remains incredibly entertaining, Netflix offers a boatload of movies that can appeal to everyone’s preference and in this article, I have rounded up the best family movies on Netflix which you should check out.

1. Family Switch

• Release Date: November 30, 2023
• Rotten Tomatoes: 41%/43%
• IMDB: 5.3
• Cast: Emma Mayers, Brady Noon, Jennifer Garner, Ed Helms, Matthias Schweighöfer,
• Runtime: 1 Hour 45 Minutes

“You wouldn’t say this if you knew how it is to be in my shoes” I’m pretty sure that almost every parent has said this to their children at least once and vice versa. Family Switch, released in 2023 brings this very statement to life. In this movie adaptation of the book “Bedtime For Mommy” by Amy Krouse-Rosenthal, we get to see a family growing distant from each other with the children becoming teenagers creating a gap of understanding between the kids and the parents.

Due to certain events that I will not disclose, the kids and the parents switch bodies on the most important day of all the family members’ lives. This movie revolves around how things turn out after this switch and if they make it through it without messing up one another’s big day.

2. Mowgli: Legend Of The Jungle

• Release Date: November 29, 2018 
• Rotten Tomatoes: 52%/ 51%
• IMDb: 6.5
• Cast: Andy Serkis, Rohan Chand, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch
• Runtime: 1 Hour 44 Minutes

I am pretty sure that you must have at least once in your lifetime witnessed the legend of Tarzan, either in animated or live-action adaptations. However, what if I told you he is not the only child brought up in a forest by animals? Mowgli is the live-action adaptation of the highly acclaimed animated show that ran on Indian television for over a decade.

This movie revolves around a child who was lost in the Jungles of Pench Tiger Reserve and was adopted by a pack of Wolves being raised as one of their own. This movie is by all means, a cinematic as well as storytelling masterpiece that you should witness at least once

3. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

• Release Date: April 5, 2023
• Rotten Tomatoes: 59%/ 95%
• IMDb: 7
• Cast: Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Charles Martinet, Seth Rogen, Anya Taylor-Joy
• Runtime: 1 Hour 32 Minutes

Back in 2023, Universal Pictures brought one of the most remarkable videogames in history to life with an animated flick. Super Mario Bros. revolves around Mario and Luigi, two Italian boys brought up in Brooklyn who work as struggling plumbers. However, one day, they get teleported into a magical world where they have to take a stand against a tyrant named Browser while assisting Princess Peach to prevent Browser from traveling to their world and causing mass destruction. The plot of this movie might sound serious but is filled with laughs and giggles and some jokes that only 90s kids who grew up playing these OG Nintendo games will understand.

4. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

• Release Date: July 10, 2005
• Rotten Tomatoes: 83%/51%
• IMDb: 6.6
• Cast: Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore, David Kelly, Helena Bonham Carter, Noah Taylor
• Runtime: 1 Hour, 55 Minutes

Are you on the hunt for a top-notch musical fantasy film? If yes, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” would be an exciting option. This flick is based on the 1964 novel of the same name and stars Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka and Freddie Highmore in the prominent roles. The plot is set around Charlie who wins an awesome contest and goes on an exciting tour of the chocolate factory. What happens next? To discover how Charlie weaves magic, you’ll have to watch this movie.

5. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile

• Release Date:  October 7, 2022 
• Rotten Tomatoes: 71%/93%
• IMDb:6.1
• Cast: Shawn Mendes, Javier Bardem, Winslow Fegley, Constance Wu, Scoot McNairy, Brett Gelman
• Runtime: 1 Hour 46 Minutes

As far as I think, when it comes to a family, the ones we call family don’t need to be blood-related to us, however, what about them being a different species altogether? Lyle, Lyle Crocodile revolves around the Primm family and their young son named Josh who is struggling to settle into a new city. He has difficulty making friends but soon enough gets an unlikely friend in the shape of Lyle, a crocodile who loves to sing, take hot baths, and caviar. However, their neighbor is hellbent on exposing to the world that Primms have a crocodile in their house, and now it’s up to the family to fend for themselves and protect their reptilian family member.

6. Wonder

• Release Date: November 17, 2017
• Rotten Tomatoes: 86% / 88%
• IMDb: 7.9
• Cast: Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, Jacob Tremblay, Mandy Patinkin, Daveed Diggs
• Runtime: 1 Hour 53 Minutes

Wonder is a tearjerker and inspiring movie inspired by R. J. Palacio’s novel of the same name. The movie introduces us to Auggie Pullman, a 10-year-old boy with a rare facial deformity. As he grows up and finally joins a school, life isn’t easy for him because of being bullied for his deformity. The movie was a blockbuster hit and critically acclaimed for its amazing acting performances. Everything in the movie including the story, music score, make-up, and more is worth praising. You will definitely love this one if you find coming-of-age movies charming.

7. Chupa

• Release Date: April 7, 2023
• Rotten Tomatoes: 68%/ 58%
• IMDB: 5.5
• Cast: Evan Wittan, Ashley Ciarra, Demián Bichir, Christian Slater, Nickolas Verdugo, Adriana Paz
• Runtime: 1 Hour 35 Minutes

If you miss the early 2000’s adventure-type movies, Chupa is the go-to flick for you and your family. This movie revolves around a teenage boy named Alex who visits his family in Mexico. However, what was supposed to be a fun trip, turns out to be the adventure of his lifetime when he encounters a young mythical creature called Chupacabra hiding in his grandfather’s shed.

Since this creature is a myth, bad people are behind it to capture it while Alex’s grandfather and his cousins embark on a journey to reunite the young creature with its mother. Will they succeed? watch the movie to find out!

8. Orion and The Dark

• Release Date: February 2, 2024
• Rotten Tomatoes: 91%/ 61%
• IMDB: 6.4
• Cast: Paul Walter Hauser, Jacob Tremblay, Colin Hanks, Chelsea Peretti, Rob Delaney
• Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

If you are someone who spent their childhood being deathly scared of the dark, this movie is quite literally handcrafted for you. Orion and The Dark is an animated flick that revolves around a young boy named Orion who is afraid of, well, most things. However, his greatest fear is the dark.

One day, when he is about to sleep, the literal embodiment of Dark shows up and takes the task of redeeming Orion from all of his fears, especially, the dark. If you have kids, this is the perfect movie to watch with them to give them a sense that dark is not some scary monster but a friendly and goofy giant.

9. Puss In Boots: The Last Wish

• Release Date: December 21, 2022 
• Rotten Tomatoes: 95%/ 94%
• IMDb: 7.8
• Cast: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Florence Pugh,Harvey Guillén, Olivia Colman,Wagner Moura
• Runtime: 1 Hour 40 Minutes

Since his first appearance in Shrek 2, Puss in Boots became a fan-favorite character in no time and soon took the big screen with his solo film Puss in Boots released in 2011. Puss in Boots: The Lst Wish revolves around Puss who, on his adventures has exhausted eight out of his nine lives and is now on a quest to find the mythical Last Wish and restore his nine lives.

10. Shazam!

• Release Date: April 5, 2019
• Rotten Tomatoes: 90%/82%
• IMDb: 7.1
• Cast: Zachary Levi, Mark Strong, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Djimon Hounsou
• Runtime: 2 Hours 12 Minutes

Shazam!, The superhero movie based on DC comics is probably one of the few superhero movies you can watch with your family. This movie follows Billy Batson, a young boy chosen by an ancient wizard to be the next champion. The wizard gives him godlike powers which can be summoned by saying the word “Shazam!”. Now, Billy must discover more about his powers with the help of his foster brother Freddy to fight against evil. The film showcases the relationship among the foster siblings and how they work together to stop evil from taking over the world. 

11. Slumberland

• Release Date:  November 9, 2022
• Rotten Tomatoes: 40%/ 86%
• IMDB: 6.7
• Cast: Jason Momoa, Marlow Barkley, Mercedes Blanche, Kyle Chandler
• Runtime: 1 Hour 57 Minutes

Slumberland is a movie that I personally enjoyed very much. This movie revolves around a young girl who has lost her father and is having recurring nightmares. One day she goes to sleep and all of a sudden everything around her starts coming to life, her soft toy, even her bed. She then encounters a character called Flip, played by Jason Momoa. He is an outlaw who makes it his mission to reunite this young girl with her father. Now your question must be, “How is that going to happen, her father is dead?” well, you gotta watch the movie to find out!

12. The Sleepover

• Release Date: August 21, 2020
• Rotten Tomatoes: 67%/ 73%
• IMDB: 5.7
• Cast: Sadie Stanley, Cree Cicchino, Maxwell Simkins, Malin Åkerman, Ken Marino, Joe Manganiello
• Runtime: 1 Hour 40 Minutes

If you have grown up watching movies like Spy Kids, you are going to have a blast watching “The Sleepover” This movie revolves around a pretty similar plot as Spy Kids. During a sleepover at their friend’s the mother of two siblings gets kidnapped. The kids uncover that their mom who used to appear as a timid, stay-at-home parent, was an ex-high-profile thief. When even their dad gets abducted, the kids team up with their mom’s ex-partner to rescue their parents.

13. Kung Fu Panda 3

• Release Date:  January 29, 2016
• Rotten Tomatoes: 86%/79%
• IMDB: 7.1
• Cast: Jack Black, James Hong, Jackie Chan, Dustin Hoffman, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, Angelina Jolie, Bryan Cranston
• Runtime: 1 Hour 35 Minutes

Kung Fu Panda is a movie series that can tickle the nerves of people from every age group. This series is the pinnacle of action comedy in the animated genre. As a matter of fact, when Kung Fu Panda was made, stories suggest that there was a meeting held among Chinese government officials about how Americans managed to make a movie about Chinese culture better than the Chinese themselves. So, I would highly recommend you watch this with your family for an absolute blast of entertainment.

14. Rescued by Ruby

• Release Date: March 17, 2022
• Rotten Tomatoes: 100%/90%
• IMDb: 7.2
• Cast: Grant Gustin, Scott Wolf, Kaylah Zander
• Runtime: 1 Hour, 30 Minutes

Rescued by Ruby is a biographical drama film based on true events from Daniel O’Neil’s life. He aspired to become a dog trainer in the K-9 squad and failed several times. However, things change when he adopts a shelter dog named Ruby and discovers more about her. It is a heartwarming feeling which will treat you with a wholesome experience. In addition, if you want to convince your parents to get a dog at home, Rescued by Ruby might come in handy.

15. The Karate Kid

• Release Date: June 11, 2010
• Rotten Tomatoes: 66%/67%
• IMDb: 6.2
• Cast: Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, Taraji P. Henson
• Runtime: 2 Hours 20 Minutes

The Karate Kid is a remake of the original film from 1984. However, there are some significant changes to the plot like how the setting takes place in China and how the martial art style changed from Karate to Kung-fu. Still, the movie producers kept the original name as an homage to the first movie. It follows the life of Dre as a school student of color struggling in China. He decides to take self-defense classes after being heavily bullied by his school rival. The Karate Kid is an inspiring story that you can enjoy with your family. 

16. The Mitchells vs. The Machines

• Release Date: April 22, 2021
• Rotten Tomatoes: 97%/89%
• IMDb: 7.7
• Cast: Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph
• Runtime: 1 Hour 54 Minutes

The movie follows the family of the Mitchells. When the girl, Katie, gets a chance to polish her creativity in filmmaking after being accepted to the prestigious California College of Film, the father, Rick, looks at it as an opportunity. Desperate to solidify the bond in the family, he decides to make this journey a cross-country road trip. However, the technology gap between the generations keeps widening. Meanwhile, evolution gave birth to sentient and the robot took over the Earth, everything with a chip becomes alive. At last, it comes to the Mitchells to work together and save humanity from the robot apocalypse.

17. Love and Monsters

• Release Date: October 16, 2020
• Rotten Tomatoes: 94% / 89%
• IMDb: 7.0
• Cast: Dylan O’Brien, Jessica Henwick, Dan Ewing, Ariana Greenblatt, Michael Rooker
• Runtime: 1 Hour 49 Minutes

If you find the concepts of monsters appealing, watch Love and Monsters. Joining the ranks of Jurassic Park, King Kong, and Godzilla, this movie put humans against monsters in an epic battle. The plot starts when an asteroid strikes the Earth and releases a chemical mutating all cold-blooded animals into huge monsters. After seven years in hiding, lovably hapless Joel embarks on a journey to reunite with his love interest. The movie received high appreciation by critics for its original story and visual effects. 

18. Tom and Jerry Movie

• Release Date:  February 26, 2021
• Rotten Tomatoes: 30%/ 82%
• IMDb: 5.2
• Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña, Colin Jost, Rob Delaney
• Runtime: 1 Hour 41 Minutes

I highly doubt that there is even a single person on this planet who has not witnessed that legendary and comical rivalry between Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse. In this movie, Tom and Jerry find themselves in one of the most elite hotels in New York where Jerry is being considered a threat to a world-class wedding that is about to happen and Tom is hired to catch him. This movie overall is filled with hilarious classic Tom and Jerry action that you should not miss.

19. The Adam Project

• Release Date: March 9, 2022
• Rotten Tomatoes: 68% / 77%
• IMDb: 6.8
• Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Walker Scobell, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner
• Runtime: 1 Hour 46 Minutes

Having Ryan Reynolds in the lead role always prepares me for a silly comedy movie. Standing true to the comedy factor, The Adam Project is a package of action, adventure, and sci-fi drama. It revolves around Adam Reed who steals a time-traveling jet to visit 2018, but crash lands in 2022. He convinces his younger self to join him in his mission and help him repair the jet while the authorities from the future are tailing him. Will the heroes successfully save the future and at what cost?

20. The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind

• Release Date: January 25, 2019
• Rotten Tomatoes: 86%/88%
• IMDb: 7.6
• Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Maxwell Simba, Lily Banda, Philbert Falakeza, Aïssa Maïga
• Runtime: 1 Hour 53 Minutes

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is a movie that acts as an example of the human will to survive and also reinforces the fact that nothing is impossible once you set your mind to it. This movie revolves around a young boy in rural Africa who loves to study but is thrown out of school when his parents can no longer pay his fees. However, his will to learn never goes and when his village is on the verge of famine, he makes a wind-operated pump or a windmill to save his village.

21. Yes Day (2021)

• Release Date: March 12, 2021
• Rotten Tomatoes: 52%/ 57%
• IMDB: 5.7
• Cast: Jeniffer Garner, Jenna Ortega, Édgar Ramírez, Julian Lerner, Everly Carganilla
• Runtime: 1 Hour 29 Minutes

Every kid in this world has a habit of being told no, whether it be going out with your buddies, getting that new videogame, or having pizza for dinner, and if your parents are one of these people, I would recommend sneaking this movie in the family movie night watchlist. ‘Yes Day’ is a movie that revolves around two parents who are habitual of saying no to everything their kids ask of them.

One day, they realize that this habit of theirs is making them kinda unlikeable by almost everyone. So, when they find out about “Yes Day” where parents have to say yes to everything kids ask they hopped on this challenge to make a change but did they succeed? Watch Yes Day to find out!

22. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)

• Release Date:  September 18, 2009
• Rotten Tomatoes: 86%/72%
• IMDB: 7
• Cast: Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Andy Samberg, Bruce Campbell
• Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a science-fiction comedy film starring the voices of notable actors like Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Bruce Campbell, and James Caan. As for the storyline, it follows an aspiring inventor, Flint Lockwood who is passionately working to develop a machine that can convert water into food. However, his experiment goes awry and the machine becomes destructive to the world. Can Flint save the world from this deadly machine? Well, I can’t tell you that now can I? So, go ahead and watch the movie to find out.

23. Jumanji Trilogy (1995-2019)

• Release Date: December 15, 1995
• Rotten Tomatoes: 55%/62%
• IMDB: 7.0
• Cast: Robin Williams, Bonnie Hunt, Kirsten Dunst, Jonathan Hyde
• Runtime: 1 Hour, 44 Minutes

The original Jumanji movie always takes me down the nostalgia lane. The plot revolves around a supernatural board game that releases mystical adaptations of jungle-based hazards on the players at each turn. The movie broke several box-office records at the time of release and grossed $263 million. After a significant amount of time, two more movies continuing the tale of Jumanji were released starring Dwane Johnson. If you are looking for a fun adventure movie time with your family, you just can’t go wrong with Jumanji.

24. Enola Holmes Part 1 and 2 (2020 & 2022)

• Release Date: September 23, 2020
• Rotten Tomatoes: 91%/70%
• IMDB: 6.6
• Cast: Millie Bobby Brown, Sam Claflin, Henry Cavill, Helena Bonham Carter
• Runtime: 2 Hours 3 Minutes

Enola Holmes is a suspense comedy movie series based on the novel of the same name written by Nancy Springer. The story follows the teenage sister of Sherlock Holmes. She comes to London to find her missing mother but ends up on a thrilling adventure. The movie stars Millie Bobby Brown in the lead role of the young and genius detective with some breathtaking performances from actors like Henry Cavill, and Helena Bonham Carter. After the first part was certified as a hit, a sequel to it was released last year and you must check it out.

25. Hugo (2011)

• Release Date: November 23, 2011
• Rotten Tomatoes: 93%/78%
• IMDB: 7.5
• Cast: Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Asa Butterfield, Chloë Grace Moretz
• Runtime: 2 Hours, 6 Minutes

It’s rare when Martin Scorsese chooses to make a family movie, but it happened with Hugo. Based on Brian Selznick’s book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the film is about an orphan boy who lives alone at a railway station in Paris. The film takes a surprising turn when the boy gets embroiled in a mystery involving his late father’s invention.

The film is set in the 1930s and the director has painted the setting with impressive detail. If you have a penchant for a bit of mystery and drama then you are going to love watching Hugo with your family. Not to mention, Hugo won 5 Academy Awards and received 11 nominations for its critical acclaim worldwide. To sum up, Hugo is easily among the best family movies on Netflix and you can’t afford to miss it.