The 15 Best Movies for Kids on Amazon Prime Video

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. We’ve even included the MPAA rating alongside each one.

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.

Cinderella

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

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

The Dark Crystal

Year: 1982
Runtime: 1h 33m
Directors: Jim Henson, Frank Oz
Rating: PG

Look! Muppets! It’s a kid’s movie, right?! Sorta. Yes, there are puppets in this fascinating fantasy film, but it’s also a dark, often scary adventure story that doesn’t talk down to children and isn’t cautious about frightening them. It’s hard to express how groundbreaking this movie was for its time in terms of puppetry, special effects, and even the way children’s entertainment was written. It’s wildly influential, and there’s a reason Netflix returned to its world almost four decades later.

The Dark Crystal watch on prime video

Early Man

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

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.

Early Man watch on prime video

Hotel Transylvania: Transformania

Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 27m
Directors: Derek Drymon, Jennifer Kluska
Rating: PG

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 2

Year: 2014
Runtime: 1h 36m
Director: Dean Deblois
Rating: PG

When people speak of the best film trilogies of all time, they too rarely include the films based on the books by Cressida Cowell about a boy and his beloved fire-breathing friend. These movies are gorgeously animated and legitimately moving. And the second chapter, currently on Prime Video, may be the best of the trilogy.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 watch on prime video

IF

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

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.

IF watch on prime video

It’s a Wonderful Life

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

Click here to preview your posts with PRO themes ››

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

Labyrinth

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

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.

Labyrinth watch on prime video

My Spy

Year: 2020
Runtime: 1h 40m
Director: Peter Segal
Rating: PG-13

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!

My Spy watch on prime video

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 42m
Directors: Joel Crawford, Januel P. Mercado
Rating: PG

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.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish watch on prime video

*The Secret of NIMH

Year: 1982
Runtime: 1h 19m
Director: Don Bluth
Rating: G

Animation great Don Bluth made his directorial debut with this twisted 1982 fantasy film, proving that he wasn’t going to make movies that talked down or coddled his audience. Adapted from Robert C. O’Brien’s novel, it turns the existence of average field mice into an elaborate fantasy world. Audiences of a certain generation were probably traumatized by its visuals at a young age. Pass the trauma on to your kids!

The Secret of NIMH watch on prime video

The Secret of Roan Irish

Year: 1995
Runtime: 1h 42m
Director: John Sayles
Rating: PG

Take a break from the escapism and show your kids something culturally resonant and unforgettable in John Sayles’ version of a classic Irish legend. With breathtaking cinematography by Haskell Wexler, this is the story of a girl in Ireland who hears that her brother was swept away by a selkie when he was a baby. It’s a tale of magic and legends in a way that could only take place in Ireland.

The Secret of Roan Irish watch on prime video

Sounder

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

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

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Year: 2023
Runtime: 1h 39m
Directors: Jeff Rowe, Kyler Spears
Rating: PG

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.

TMNT: Mutant Mayhem watch on prime video

Transformers One

Year: 2024
Runtime: 1h 44m
Director: Josh Cooley
Rating: PG

Should the Transformers movies just always be fully animated? One of the most acclaimed films in the long run of films based on the Hasbro toy is this 2024 animated hit, a movie that completely shifted the future of this franchise. Well, maybe. It didn’t go great at the box office (in part because of a horrible, misleading trailer), so you should probably boost those viewer numbers on Prime if you want to see a Transformers Two.

Transformers One watch on prime video