The 15 Best Movies for Kids on Hulu

November 28, 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 Hulu’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.

The Amazing Maurice

Year: 2023
Runtime: 1h 33m
Director: Toby Genkel

Terry Pratchett wrote a beloved series of books called Discworld, but this is an adaptation of a novel called The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. It’s the animated tale of a cat named Maurice (Hugh Laurie) who gets entangled in a village with a crazy secret. Laurie is joined by Emilia Clarke, David Thewlis, Gemma Arterton and many more in a film that actually made some decent money worldwide, but barely got a U.S. release. So your kids probably haven’t seen it yet!

The Amazing Maurice hulu

Eight Crazy Nights

Year: 2002
Runtime: 1h 16m
Director: Seth Kearsley

There aren’t enough family films on any streaming service for Hannukah, so make a note that Adam Sandler’s goofy animated comedy for the holiday is on Hulu. Told like an old-fashioned TV holiday special, Eight Crazy Nights merges Sandler’s man-child comedic persona with elements of the holiday. One wishes it was better, but it’s still better than nothing if your family is looking for a Hannukah movie this year.

Eight Crazy Nights hulu

*Hook

Year: 1991
Runtime: 2h 22m
Director: Steven Spielberg

One of Spielberg’s most divisive movies, it feels like people who love this version of the legend of Peter Pan the most are the ones who were exactly the right age when it came out. Say what you will about it overall, it definitely features some fun performances, especially from Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman.

Hook hulu

Ice Age: Continental Drift

Year: 2012
Runtime: 1h 28m
Director: Steve Martino, Mike Thurmeier

Hulu gets so random with their family choices, choosing different films in this franchise on about a quarterly basis. They’ve gone back to the 2012 fourth film in the series as of this writing. Watch this and remember a time when Manny, Sid, and Diego led one of the biggest franchises in the world. Continental Drift made almost a billion dollars worldwide, which is almost hard to believe. So while nearly every kid on Earth has probably seen it, there’s no reason they can’t watch it again.

Ice Age: Continental Drift hulu

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Year: 2017
Runtime: 1h 59m
Director: Jake Kasdan

This massive blockbuster actually isn’t on streaming services that often, so take this chance while you can on Hulu. Kevin Hart, Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan star as the avatar versions of four teens who end up transported into a video game. A massive hit when it was released, it’s already produced one sequel, with another in development. It’s a lot of fun.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle hulu

The Last Unicorn

Year: 1982
Runtime: 1h 32m
Directors: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr.

Remember when they made animated fantasies for kids that could be dark and intense too? The Last Unicorn is a thrilling adventure film based on the beloved novel of the same name by Peter S. Beagle. Featuring the voices of Alan Arkin, Jeff Bridges, Mia Farrow, and more, it’s the story of its title: A unicorn searching for what happened to her kind.

The Last Unicorn hulu

Lupin III: The First

Year: 2019
Runtime: 1h 33m
Director: Takashi Yamazaki

Gentleman thieves named Lupin have become more popular than ever due to the hit live-action show on Netflix, but the Monkey Punch character is his own entity — and holds a special place in the hearts of Hayao Miyazaki fans. This isn’t the anime classic Castle of Cagliostro is, but the 2019 CGI-animated film is still worth your time.

Lupin III: The First hulu

Miracle on 34th Street

Year: 1994
Runtime: 1h 54m
Director: Les Mayfield

This story has been told a few times, including most famously in 1947 with Maureen O’Hara, but this 1994 Fox update is work a look too, largely because of a heartfelt performance from Richard Attenborough as Kris Kringle himself. Elizabeth Perkins and Dylan McDermott co-star in a film that might be the perfect fit for parents who want to show their kids a movie they loved when they were growing up in the ‘90s.

Miracle on 34th Street hulu

*The Nightmare Before Christmas

Year: 1993
Runtime: 1h 11m
Director: Henry Selick

One of the most beloved films of its era, Tim Burton and Henry Selick’s stop-motion classic is probably always playing somewhere from Halloween through the holiday season. It’s one of those films that feels like it gets more popular with each generation, further staking its claim as a modern animated classic.

The Nightmare Before Christmas hulu

Paddington

Year: 2014
Runtime: 1h 26m
Director: Paul King

What a charming movie Paddington is for the whole family. Paul King (who also helmed this month’s Wonka) also returned to direct the sequel to the 2014 original, a film that actually outpaces its predecessor in both humor and heart (and is also on Hulu). Do the double feature of these wonderful fables that truly work for all ages.

Paddington hulu

Racetime

Year: 2018
Runtime: 1h 30m
Director: Benoit Godbout

This is a cute French Canadian film that’s actually a sequel to another CGI animated film that you probably haven’t heard of called Snowtime!. It’s the same group of kids from that movie, who have to work to win a sled race over their winter holiday. It was a big hit in Canada for a reason. Find out why.

Racetime hulu

The Sandlot

Year: 1993
Runtime: 1h 41m
Director: David Mickey Evans

This family flick made almost no impact when it was released but has become a sports movie favorite every time such a list is released. What is it about the story of a L.A. kids playing ball in the summer of ’62 that has made it so timeless? We can all see ourselves in one of the kids in The Sandlot, and there’s a sense of revisiting our own childhood in this sweet, funny modern classic.

The Sandlot hulu

Space Jam

Year: 1996
Runtime: 1h 27m
Director: Joe Pytka

Has everyone forgotten the sequel to this already? Probably. (Although it’s also on Hulu if you want to remember.) Just go back to the original film where Michael Jordan teams up with Bugs Bunny and the rest of the Looney Tunes crew to save the world. It hasn’t exactly “held up” but it does get the job done when you’re feeling a little nostalgic for a film that you probably loved a lifetime ago.

Space Jam hulu

*Stuart Little

Year: 1999
Runtime: 1h 32m
Director: Rob Minkoff

Michael J. Fox playfully voices the title character in this adaptation of the beloved children’s book by E.B. White. The tale of a talking mouse adopted by a new family and adjusting to life in the big city has something for any kid who ever felt like he wasn’t quite like everyone else. It’s a sweet flick that made an absolute fortune at the box office, leading to two sequels and even a TV series.

Stuart Little hulu

We Bare Bears: The Movie

Year: 2020
Runtime: 1h 10m
Director: Daniel Chong

If you haven’t heard of We Bare Bears, you probably don’t have kids. The show ran from 2015 to 2019, producing over 140 episodes about Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear, a trio of bears who try to live in a human world. It’s a cute charmer and the creators closed it out with a movie in 2020 that’s totally worth a look for fans of the show.

We Bare Bears: The Movie hulu

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