The Best Kids Movies on Netflix Right Now (July 2021)

Kids are off for the summer and, while you hope they’ll be outdoors most of the time, you still need some way to entertain them on those rainy days (especially if you’re working from home). Thankfully, Netflix has a great collection of kid-friendly films, including interactive ones in which kids can choose how the story pans out. However, scrolling through the library sometimes feels like your very own choose your own adventure interactive film. To save you some time, we’ve combed through the library and found the best kids’ movies available now.

We’ve also rounded up the best kids movies on Hulu, the best kids movies on Amazon Prime Video, and the best kids movies on Disney+ if you don’t find what you’re looking for on Netflix.

Kung Fu Panda (2008)

Kung Fu Panda kicked off a massive franchise that continues delighting kids to this day. In the original film, we meet Po the panda (Jack Black), who works in his family’s noodle shop while dreaming of becoming a kung fu master. When he is unexpectedly chosen to fulfill an ancient prophecy, his dream soon comes to fruition and he begins to study martial arts skills with his idols, the Furious Five. But to keep up and overcome his clumsiness and provincial origins, he’ll need all of the wisdom, strength, and ability he can summon to protect his people from the evil snow leopard, Tai Lung.

Rotten Tomatoes: 87%
Stars: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan
Director: Josh Stevenson, Mark Osborne
Rating: PG
Runtime: 90 minutes

Stuart Little (1999)

The classic children’s book comes to life in this fun, silly adaptation. The Little family goes to an orphanage to adopt a new family member, only to become smitten with a charming young mouse named Stuart. Stuart’s new, human older brother George (Jonathan Lipnicki) is initially unwelcoming to his new brother, and the family cat, Snowbell, is positively enraged that a mouse is his new “master.” Despite the challenging new arrangement, Stuart summons as much charm and courage as he can muster to convince his new family he belongs.

Rotten Tomatoes: 67%
Stars: Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie, Jonathan Lipnicki
Director: Rob Minkoff
Rating: PG
Runtime: 90 minutes

The Mitchells vs. The Machines (2021)

Katie Mitchell (Abbi Jacobson) is a little different in a family full of people who are a little different. Unfortunately, those differences don’t quite click when it comes to her and her father. So when her dad decides to cancel her plane ticket to film school and instead do a family road trip from Michigan to LA, Katie is less than pleased. But when family bonding time is interrupted by a robotic uprising, the Mitchells must find a way to come together to save themselves and the world from the techpocalypse.

Rotten Tomatoes: 98%
Stars: Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph
Director: Michael Rianda
Rating: PG
Runtime: 114 minutes

Rango (2011)

When chameleon Rango (Johnny Depp) finds himself in the grip of an identity crisis after years of living as a sheltered pet, he sets out to find out how to stand out, despite his nature to blend in. When he mistakenly winds up in a frontier town called Dirt, Rango stumbles into the role of the town’s new sheriff, trying to make a new name for himself. Although he’s just role-playing at first, when real danger appears, Rango is forced to inhabit the role of true hero.

Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
Stars: Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin
Director: Gore Verbinski
Rating: PG
Runtime: 109 minutes

Joe Manganiello and Paul Reubens in Pee-wee's Big Holiday

Pee-wee’s Big Holiday (2016)

This Judd Apatow-produced Netflix original introduces Pee-wee Herman to a whole new generation. After a fateful meeting with a mysterious stranger (Joe Manganiello), Pee-wee embarks on a journey toward his destiny! It just so happens to coincide with him taking his first-ever holiday. Fans of the classic character will enjoy this revitalization, and it just may inspire the kids to go back and watch some of the Pee-wee classics.

Rotten Tomatoes: 80%
Stars: Paul Reubens, Joe Manganiello, Jessica Pohly
Director: John Lee
Rating: PG
Runtime: 89 minutes

Kel Mitchell and Kenan Thompson in Good Burger

Good Burger (1997)

“Welcome to Good Burger, home of the Good Burger, can I take your order?” Such was the refrain of millions of American millennials in their youth. After achieving stardom on the sketch show All That, Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell became royalty to a generation of kids with Kenan & Kel. Good Burger was the pinnacle of the kids’ comedy duo, who play a couple of teen misfits working at a modest burger joint that faces closure when the massive Mondo Burger opens next door. But they happen to have a secret weapon that might just save the day: Sweet, dimwitted Ed’s special sauce.

Rotten Tomatoes: 32%
Stars: Kenan Thompson, Kel Mitchell, Sinbad
Director: Brian Robbins
Rating: PG
Runtime: 95 minutes

Penguins of Madagascar (2014)

The plucky spy penguins were just a few of the stars of 2005’s Madagascar, which may explain why it took nearly 10 years to get their very own spinoff. But sure enough, the penguin cadre of Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private lead the way in this silly adventure when they join forces with a chic undercover organization known as The North Wind. Led by the arrogant Agent Classified, this special interspecies task force has one mission: Stop the tentacled Dr. Octavius Brine from destroying the world.

Rotten Tomatoes: 73%
Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, John Malkovich, Tom McGrath
Director: Eric Darnell, Simon J. Smith
Rating: PG
Runtime: 92 minutes

ParaNorman (2012)

Laika’s unique animation style is put to great use in this eerie, kid-friendly zombie flick. Norman Babcock (Kodi Smit-McPhee) has the ability to speak with the dead, and he just so happens to like them a whole lot more than the living. But when Norman learns from his strange Uncle Prenderghast (John Goodman) that a centuries-old curse on their town is about to raise the dead from their graves, only Norman can stop it. Summoning all of his courage and compassion, Norman must push his paranormal abilities to the limit to save the town.

Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
Stars: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Tucker Albrizzi, Anna Kendrick
Director: Chris Butler, Sam Fell
Rating: PG
Runtime: 92 minutes

Hugo (2011)

Martin Scorsese’s first foray into kids’ movies was a massive critical success. Asa Butterfield stars as Hugo Cabret, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station in 1930s Paris. Hugo’s employed as the keeper of the station’s clocks but he feels more responsibility for protecting a broken automaton and notebook left to him by his late father (Jude Law). Trying to solve the mystery of the automaton and find a place he calls home, Hugo joins forces with the goddaughter (Chloë Grace Moretz) of an embittered toy merchant (Ben Kingsley).

Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Stars: Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Chloë Grace Moretz
Director: Martin Scorsese
Rating: PG
Runtime: 126 minutes

Hook (1991)

A classic from young parents’ childhood, Hook is a movie that resonates with kids of all ages. Middle-aged lawyer Peter Banning (Robin Williams) has no memory of his life as legendary forever-child Peter Pan, but when his own young children are abducted by his old nemesis, Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman), Peter tracks them back to Neverland. Stumbling into a foggy past that he abandoned to start a family, Peter is forced to confront the bitterness of those he left behind, including Tinkerbell (Julia Roberts) and the Lost Boys as he seeks to earn their trust again to save his children.

Rotten Tomatoes: 29%
Stars: Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts
Director: Steven Spielberg
Rating: PG
Runtime: 124 minutes