40 Under-the-Radar Flicks To Watch With Your Kids At Home

A lot of people will be working from home for the next few weeks, and potentially longer, and many will have their kids home with them. To help you out, we’ve put together a list of family flicks to help you pass the time – movies we think both parents and kiddos will like equally. And which might have a nice little lesson to teach before the credits role.

To keep things interesting, we decided to avoid the obvious choices – recent blockbusters or Disney and Pixar classics that your kids (and you) have probably seen dozens of times. We want to help you discover something new.

With that in mind, our list includes some popular 1980s and 1990s hits we think it’s high time you introduced your kids to (The Goonies, An American Tail, The NeverEnding Story); some more recent movies that went criminally underseen (A Monster Calls, Alpha); quirky and off-beat staff favorites from our own childhoods (The Witches, Cats Don’t Dance); and some absolute classics you may have forgotten about (A Little Princess, The Secret Garden, Who Framed Roger Rabbit). Plus, we’ve included a handful of documentaries that will charm – and educate – the whole fam (The Biggest Little Farm, Spellbound). And, of course, there’s a Miyazaki or two.

These are films that will thrill, delight, and entertain, but also leave you with a moral or life lesson to chew on and maybe even discuss, whether it be embracing your differences (like the Boxtrolls do), facing grief (The Witches, A Monster Calls), or appreciation of the environment (FernGully). They may not all be Fresh according to the critics, but they’re worth your and your family’s time.

Enjoy these films, and let us know if you have other suggestions for families to watch in the comments.

Click on the titles to discover more – including where to stream, rent, or buy. 

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Thumbnail image: © Buena Vista/courtesy Everett Collection, © Focus Features, Alan Markfield /© Columbia Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection