The 15 Best Movies for Kids on Amazon Prime Video

01/08/2025 12:30 PM

This list is regularly updated as movies rotate on and off of Prime Video. *New additions are indicated with an asterisk.

The selection of family films on Amazon Prime's streaming service leaves a little something to be desired, but that just makes a guide like this even more useful! You have to dig through the titles on Prime Video to find something appropriate for everyone from kindergartener to great grandpa, but there are some titles worth a look, including some family classics that you may have forgotten.

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.

Early Man

Year: 2018
Runtime: 1h 28m
Director: Nick Park

Aardman is just the best. Still mostly known for Wallace & Gromit (and maybe now Shaun the Sheep), the stop-motion masters have made other films too, including this 2018 release about a tribe of Stone Age people facing off against the future really when bronze-using invaders challenge them to a game of football. Nick Park directed this funny flick that may not be Aardman's best, but minor Aardman is still a family film worth seeing.

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.

IF

Year: 2024
Runtime: 1h 44m
Director: John Krasinski

No one is going to argue that Krasinski's maudlin flick about imaginary friends (one of the reasons it's called I.F.) is some sort of instant classic, but it is better than the critical drubbing it got on release. It has a BIG heart, and that's sometimes enough for a streaming service that doesn't exactly have a rich catalog of family films.

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.

Labyrinth

Year: 1986
Runtime: 1h 36m
Director: Jim Henson

The legendary creator of The Muppets used his puppet prowess to direct this fantasy flick that enraptured a generation. The one and only David Bowie stars as Jareth, The Goblin King, who kidnaps the half-brother of a girl named Sarah, played by Jennifer Connelly. Some of it is surely a bit dated, but in that good way that reminds people when family films were allowed to be a little weird too.

*The LEGO Movie

Year: 2014
Runtime: 1h 36m
Director: Phil Lord

The meta-era of films that comment on their own existence that looks like it could reach its apex with Greta Gerwig's Barbie owes a debt to this clever family film that took the concept of the LEGO toy and turned it into creative gold. Chris Pratt stars as an ordinary LEGO guy who finds himself on an extraordinary journey in a film that's really about the power of the imagination, distilling the creative joy of playing with LEGOs into a captivating story.

Minions: The Rise of Gru

Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 27m
Directors: Kyle Balda, Brad Ableson, Jonathan del Val

It's the Minions' world — we just live in it. Who could have guessed that the little yellow guys would become so massively popular for an entire generation? The last Minions movie made an insane amount of money, especially in the era when people claim the blockbuster is dead post-COVID. We're talking almost a billion dollars. Will Summer 2024's Despicable Me 4 continue the Minion dominance? Probably.

My Spy

Year: 2020
Runtime: 1h 40m
Director: Peter Segal

Delayed and rescheduled because of the pandemic, this action-comedy landed exclusively on Prime Video in June 2020 to mixed reviews. It stars the reliable Dave Bautista as a CIA agent who gets trapped watching a precocious nine-year-old girl. A little violent for the real little ones, it's worth a look just for Bautista. And there's a sequel dropping in Summer 2024!

*Prancer

Year: 1989
Runtime: 1h 43m
Director: John Lee Hancock

This is a truly sweet and tender film that works as well outside of the holiday season as it does before you take your Christmas lights down. Rebecca Harrell stars in a film that treats young people with intelligence and grace, never talking down to them like so much modern family entertainment, as the story of a wounded reindeer becomes truly magical.

Paranorman

Year: 2012
Runtime: 1h 32m
Director: Chris Butler, Sam Fell

We don't deserve Laika. The geniuses at the best stop-motion animation studio in the world delivered the goods with films like Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings, but their best work remains this 2012 gem about a kid who can see ghosts. As Norman tries to end a centuries-old curse, this visually striking and ultimately moving work never falters once.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 42m
Director: Joel Crawford, Januel P. Mercado

There was NO reason to believe that this decade-in-waiting sequel to Puss in Boots would be better than the original but it undeniably is. One of the reasons is the stunning visual design for the film, clearly inspired by Spider-verse, but it's also a more poignant animated film than usual, anchored by what's really a theme of mortality that's embedded in its heroism. It made a deserved fortune: half a billion dollars worldwide. It's probably the last one, but, if it's not, don't wait another decade for the next sequel.

*Sonic the Hedgehog

Year: 2020
Runtime: 1h 27m
Director: Jeff Fowler

It's hard to believe it but the movies about the super-fast blue hedgehog are kind of more popular than the games right now. Ben Schwartz voices the character in this first film based on the games by Sega, a movie so popular that it's already produced a hit sequel. Jim Carrey kind of steals the movie as the mustachioed villain, going so far over the top that he turns his performance into campy fun.

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.

TMNT: Mutant Mayhem

Year: 2023
Runtime: 1h 39m
Director: Jeff Rowe, Kyler Spears

Heavily inspired by the recent Spider-verse movies, the latest adventure for the pizza-loving ninja turtles is arguably the best yet. Working more from the comic books than the goofy previous films, it's a story of brotherhood and a tale of how outsiders respond to being outsiders by becoming heroes or villains. There will almost certainly be a sequel to this one, and it might even be better.

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