The 15 Best Movies for Kids on Amazon Prime Video

December 02, 2024

How We Pick Our Films

Critic Brian Tallerico watches and writes about movies and TV every day. To curate this list, he dives into Amazon Prime Video’s catalogue every month to surface family-friendly titles both kids and adults can enjoy — using his taste and a lifetime of cinema study as his guide, instead of whatever the algorithm happens to be pushing. After triple-checking to make sure they’re still available, he watches each and writes his recommendation. We highlight more than just the crowdpleasers: Family movies may be intended for kids, but that doesn’t mean their artistry or ideas don’t have the potential to be just as interesting. Read on to find something to watch.

Addams Family 2

Year: 2021
Runtime: 1 hour, 33 minutes
Directors: Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon

The characters created by Charles Addams will never grow old, even if this recent animated hit isn’t exactly their best outing. There’s still just enough to like in this sequel to the 2019 animated debut of the Addams Family, especially in the voice work by Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Nick Kroll, Bill Hader, Wallace Shawn, and many more. This one is about a road trip for the Addams clan and despite being generally ignored during the pandemic, it still made a fortune. They’re going to be making Addams movies forever.

Addams Family 2 Watch on prime video

*Arthur Christmas

Year: 2011
Runtime: 1h 37m
Director: Sarah Smith

One of the stronger recent holiday flicks is this film from the geniuses at Aardman Animation. Leaving behind their stop-motion mastery for a CGI adventure, this tells the tale of Arthur Christmas, the least successful son of Santa and how he saves the holiday for a little girl.

Arthur Christmas watch on prime video

Cinderella

Year: 2021
Runtime: 1h 53m
Director: Kay Cannon

Another year, another Cinderella movie. The original one on Prime belongs to pop superstar Camila Cabello, who channeled her fame from the music world into this jukebox musical take on the classic tale. That means familiar hits, intertwined with a few original songs. It’s not the best Cinderella, but it’s not the worst either. Maybe it will be the shoe that fits you.

Cinderella Watch on prime video

Clifford the Big Red Dog

Year: 2021
Runtime: 1h 37m
Director: Walt Becker

This adaptation of the children’s book series about the giant dog was originally scheduled for a theatrical release but ended up shuffled onto Paramount+ in late 2021 before also being made available to Prime subscribers. It’s just sweet enough to make this list, thanks in large part to a game cast that includes a fun Tony Hale and Kenan Thompson.

Clifford the Big Red Dog Watch on prime video

Hotel Transylvania: Transformania

Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 27m
Director: Derek Drymon and Jennifer Kluska

The massive blockbuster franchise of Hotel Transylvania films took a surprising turn in early 2022 when the pandemic forced this once-Sony property into a Prime Video exclusive. Likely the final film in this four-movie series, this one sees Dracula (Adam Sandler) becoming a human as his son-in-law (Andy Samberg) becomes a monster. Of course, it’s about what’s on the inside that really counts. Everybody knows that.

Hotel Transylvania: Transformania Watch on prime video

How to Train Your Dragon

Year: 2010
Runtime: 1h 37m
Director: Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois

The movies based on the book by Cressida Cowell comprise one of the best trilogies of the 2010s. It all started with this DreamWorks adventure film about a boy (Jay Baruchel) who befriends a dragon named Toothless, despite his people’s fear of the flying creatures. A classic tale of never judging a book by its cover, this a beautiful adventure tale, a movie with equal amounts of heart and spirit.

How to Train Your Dragon watch on prime video

Igor

Year: 2008
Runtime: 1h 26m
Director: Anthony Leondis

History seems to have memory holed this mediocre animated film but the selection of family flicks on Prime Video is pretty dire right now, so forgive us. It does have a pretty killer voice cast that includes John Cusack, Steve Buscemi, Jay Leno, Eddie Izzard, John Cleese, Molly Shannon, and Jennifer Coolidge. Cusack plays the classic title character, who dreams of becoming a mad scientist on his own.

Igor watch on prime video

It’s a Wonderful Life

Year: 1946
Runtime: 2h 10m
Director: Frank Capra

One of the most beloved films of all time doesn’t just have to be watched around the holidays. The lessons in this film about what people value in life could be appreciated any time of the year, as could one of the most iconic performances in film history from Jimmy Stewart.

It’s a Wonderful Life Watch on prime video

*Jumanji

Year: 1995
Runtime: 1h 44m
Director: Joe Johnston

This is not the massively successful reboots with Kevin Hart & Dwayne Johnson, but the underrated original that was loosely based on the kid’s book of the same name and featured a board game come to life. This hit movie features a committed performance from Robin Williams as the boy who gets trapped in the game until he’s released a generation by a couple of kids. Chaos ensues.

Jumanji watch on prime video

Mousehunt

Year: 1997
Runtime: 1h 37m
Director: Gore Verbinski

The great Gore Verbinski directed this 1997 black comedy that works for the whole family. On the surface, it’s the story of two brothers tormented by one small mouse in a house they’ve inherited from their father. It’s filled with great physical humor from Nathan Lane and Lee Evans, who crib their style from classic comedy duos like Laurel & Hardy and Abbott & Costello.

Mousehunt watch on prime video

Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank

Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 37m
Director: Rob Minkoff, Mark Koetsier, Chris Bailey

A loose remake of Blazing Saddles, this 2022 CGI animated film barely made any waves when it was released last Summer, but it’s not bad! Michael Cera, Ricky Gervais, Samuel L. Jackson, Michelle Yeoh, and even Mel Brooks himself contribute voice work to the tale of a dog who becomes a samurai to help rescue a cat village from its awful owner.

Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank watch on prime video

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Year: 2022
Runtime: 2h 2m
Director: David Mickey Evans

With a third film in production, it kind of feels like these films about the fast little blue guy are the first new mega-franchise of the pandemic, right? And something interesting about them is how quickly Paramount has worked to make them available to subscribers. This film jumped from theatres to Paramount+ before it was even on Blu-ray and now it’s on Prime Video too. There’s a reason kids love these movies. Watch for yourself and find out why.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Watch on prime video

Sounder

Year: 1973
Runtime: 1h 45m
Director: Martin Ritt

It may not be the kind of family film that Minions fans are looking for, but why not challenge your kids with something more grounded every now and then? Sounder is more than just the story of a dog. It’s a tale of the Deep South during the Great Depression, anchored by stunning performances from Paul Winfield and Cicely Tyson, both of whom earned Oscar nominations for their work here, and the movie was also nominated for Best Picture.

Sounder watch on prime video

Stardust

Year: 2007
Runtime: 2h 7m
Director: Matthew Vaughn

The director of The Kingsman may not seem a fit for this guide, but his adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s novel is a charming romantic fantasy for all ages. Claire Danes, Charlie Cox, Sienna Miller, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, and many more familiar face star in a film that’s modest but sweet, a flick that has developed a cult following since its release.

Stardust watch on prime video

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Year: 2014
Runtime: 1h 41m
Director: Jonathan Liebesman

Who could have guessed that the pizza-loving turtles would become such a long-lasting franchise that an animated reboot film called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is hitting theaters later this year. Before then, go back and check out the last reboot attempt in the live-action flick starring Megan Fox, Will Arnett, and the voices of Tony Shalhoub and Johnny Knoxville. It’s a silly movie but it’s just old enough that it might be nostalgic already for the right Prime subscriber.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles watch on prime video

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