The 15 best kids movies on Netflix (January 2022)

Netflix is a perfect streaming service for kids, as there are plenty of great options under its Kids profile for all ages.

There is a lot on Netflix for children to enjoy, whether cartoons, animated films or kid-friendly live-action movies.

Be it a Netflix original or a movie licensed from another studio, there is something here for kids of all ages.

As with all Netflix movies and TV shows, monthly, several leave the streaming service all the time. The good news is that many films and TV shows are replacing them each month.

Make sure to bookmark this page as we will update it every month with the new releases while also removing those movies that have left Netflix.

Updated in January 2022: Every month, movies leave Netflix, and it is sometimes hard for subscribers to keep track of what is still available to view on any given month, especially for kids wanting to watch something age-appropriate.

However, the good news is that we will watch it for you and update this article every month with the comings and goings, and we will have replacements for any movies that have left the service so you can find the perfect film for your kids.

Hook (1991)

Steven Spielberg directed a family movie based on the tales of Peter Pan in 1991 titled Hook.

The movie starred Robin Williams as Peter Pan and Dustin Hoffman as Captain Hook, and the movie was mostly seen as a letdown through the year of Spielberg’s career.

However, both for kids who grew up when the movie was released and for young explorers today, there is a lot to love about the movie, which was very much a boy’s tale about adventures and friendship.

Kung Fu Panda (2008)

Kung Fu Panda is a DreamWorks animation movie about a clumsy panda bear who learns he might be the chosen one.

The voice cast was spectacular, with Jack Black voicing Po, the panda. He is joined by Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu and Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, and Jackie Chan as the Furious Five.

Despite no one believing in him, Po trains hard and ends up standing up to the Furious Five’s enemy, Tai Lung, a snow leopard who believes he deserves Po’s new role in the community.

Rise of the Guardians (2012)

Rise of the Guardians was a surprisingly great animated movie from DreamWorks Animation in 2012.

The movie featured mythological characters based around the holidays that needed kids to believe in them for them to remain strong.

However, when a nightmarish figure gets free and starts to cause kids to stop believing in Santa, the Easter Bunny, and more, these Guardians need help.

This is where Jack Frost, one of the lesser known figures, steps up to save the day.

Happy Feet (2006)

Happy Feet is a sweet kids movie about a young penguin who sets out to become what he believes he was meant to be.

Sadly, for little Mumble, that makes him an outcast. In his pack, singing is very important, but he has the worst voice and just wants to dance.

Because his voice is so bad, he can’t find a mate and soon finds himself ostracized from his pack. Luckily, he finds fellow outcasts and soon learns that he is good enough just the way he is.

Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)

Monsters vs. Aliens was a 2009 DreamWorks movie about a secret government facility that holds monsters it finds captive.

When a woman is getting ready for her wedding day, she encounters some mysterious alien artifact and ends up growing into a giant, where the government show up and capture her, locking her up as a new “monster.”

However, when aliens attack Earth, this woman and the monsters she meets are the only line up defense between human survival and the aliens taking over the planet.

Addams Family Values (1993)

Released in 1993, Addams Family Values was the sequel to the big-screen remake of the classic horror television show.

Considered the better of the two movies, the cast returns with Raul Julia, Anjelica Huston, Christopher Lloyd, and Christina Ricci in the lead roles.

In this sequel, a serial killer marries Uncle Fester and plans to kill him for his inheritance. However, she never realized what the family had planned for her.

Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans (2021)

After several seasons and a sprawling, brilliant story by Guillermo Del Toro, the Trollhunters saga concluded in 2021 with Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans.

The characters that viewers have grown to love and hate gather together for this one last battle, with huge set pieces, giant battles, and some tearful sacrifices to wrap things up.

This was a perfect finale and is a movie that fans of the series can’t miss.

Finding ‘Ohana (2021)

Finding ‘Ohana was a Netflix original that arrived in January 2021 and received critical praise as a quality family movie.

The film follows two siblings from Brooklyn as they take a trip to Oahu and end up in an adventure they never expected. By the end, they discover their Hawaiin heritage and some hidden treasure.

Finding ‘Ohana has an 85% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes and was a huge hit for the streaming service upon its release.

The Mitchells vs. The Machines (2021)

The Mitchells vs. The Machines is one of the best family movies Netflix released in 2021 and might end up the best-animated movie of the year by year’s end.

The movie features the Mitchell family, with a father and daughter who used to be close but now can’t seem to understand each other. The daughter is ready to go to college and never plans to return.

Wanting to fix things with his daughter, dad sets up a road trip to drive her to college. However, a robot uprising occurs and the Mitchell family finds themselves the last free humans, and it is up to them to save the world … if they can learn to get along.

The BFG (2016)

Released in 2016, The BFG is a Steven Spielberg movie for Disney that is based on the classic story by Roald Rahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).

The movie is a fantasy film about a world with giants and a 10-year-old orphaned girl named Sophie who befriends one of the benevolent giants.

While both are outcasts among their own people, they end up the only thing standing between a war between the humans and the giants that want to eat everyone.

Mark Rylance starred as The BFG, which was filmed and then animated using motion capture technology.

Over the Moon (2020)

Over the Moon was an animated Netflix original movie released in 2020.

The movie is about a girl named Fei Fei, who learns of the legend of the Moon goddess Chang’e, who took an immortality potion. Sadly, she ascended to the moon and is forever waiting for the love of her life to rejoin her.

The little girl’s mother dies, and she gives her a bunny before her death. Her life then falls into turmoil when her father decides to remarry, and she sets off to prove that Chang’e is real.

We Can Be Heroes (2020)

Believe it or not, Robert Rodriguez’s 2005 kid’s movie The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl received a sequel 15 years later.

While the only real returning castmember was Taylor Dooley as Lavagirl (Taylor Lautner did not return as Sharkboy and the character was recast), the movie picked up in the future with their children.

This time things have changed. The first movie was about a boy who created Sharkboy and Lavagirl facing his own insecurities in school; this one has real superhero children to save the world.

Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014)

On August 11, the animated film Mr. Peabody & Sherman hits Netflix.

For older Netflix subscribers, they might remember Mr. Peabody & Sherman from their days on the classic The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.

The movie jumps right into their story, with Mr. Peabody as a brilliant anthropomorphic dog who also likes to work on scientific experiments. Sherman is his seven-year-old adopted human son.

When a person from Child Protective Services shows up and believes that Sherman is in danger due to a dog raising him, and the two find something more dangerous than time-traveling warlords to fight.

The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)

The Spiderwick Chronicles is an adaptation of the children’s book series by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black.

Mark Waters (Mean Girls) directs the film where Freddie Highmore stars as twin boys Jared and Simon, who move to the family’s ancestral home with their mother (Mary Louise Parker) and sister (Sarah Bolger).

In the new home, Jared finds an old book written by one of his ancestors, Arthur Spiderwick – a Field guide about all the fairies he has encountered. Soon, Jared can see these creatures, but this also opens a door where goblins invade his world.

Pokemon The Movie: I Choose You (2017)

Fans of Pokemon have many options on Netflix, as there is a ton of series from the franchise available for streaming.

There is also the kids’ movie from the franchise, Pokemon The Movie: I Choose You.

Be warned; some moments are devastatingly sad in this movie, so parents should watch it with the kids as a family-friendly movie on Netflix, at least for the first time. However, the story of Ash and Pikachu is heartwarming and very rewatchable for kids of all ages.

This Pokemon movie is set in an alternate timeline from the series and shows Ash heading out to find Legendary Pokemon Ho-Oh.