Get the whole family together with these family movies on Netflix
Over the past year, households across the globe have had their fair share of family time, and some parents may be maxing out on touchy-feely togetherness. The COVID-19 pandemic has had schools across the globe close, reopen, and close again, leaving parents to spend extra time with their kids.
While some schools seamlessly transitioned to virtual learning, others have had a more difficult time and forced moms & dads to step up their parenting game. When Zoom class, board games, and fort-building have been exhausted, there’s only one thing to turn to for many parents struggling to raise kids during a pandemic: the almighty TV screen.
We can only imagine parents have watched every episode of Paw Patrol available on streaming, and one more episode of Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures would be enough to send some moms & dads into a catatonic state. Is there anything to watch on Netflix that the whole family can enjoy?
Luckily, the answer is yes. We’ve dug up some hidden gems of Netflix family movies that kids & parents alike can enjoy, and for about ninety minutes, forget about the apparent societal decay outside their front doors. It’s time to unmute the infernal auto-playing Netflix home screen and scroll down to some of the best Netflix family movies.
The Indian in the Cupboard
Gen alpha have become the youngest generation, and it’s time for millennials to face their ages and bring some of their childhood favorites to a brand new generation. Thirty-somethings and perhaps even some Zoomers will remember throwing on a VHS of 1995’s The Indian in the Cupboard from director Frank Oz (the original Yoda).
In the early 90s, the director who voiced & puppeteered everyone’s favorite green wiseman in The Empire Strikes Back brought us a heartfelt tale of a magic cupboard that brings action figures to life (aka every kid’s fantasy). Kids will love to see the magic unfold while parents will be locked in for a nostalgia ride – before using the opportunity to tell the little ones why we don’t say “indian” anymore.
Good Burger
Speaking of nostalgia, Netflix family movies must have been curated by millennial parents this month, as there’s a plethora of golden age Nickelodeon fare for February. Good Burger is one of the best live action movies to come from 90s Nickelodeon films, and it plays out with the color & fun of a comic book that the whole family can enjoy.
SNL’s Kenan Thompson & Deliciousness’s Kel Mitchell instantly become Nickelodeon’s Kenan & Kel upon pressing play, and as kids fall in love with their hilarious antics, parents will bask in the glow of 90s sentimentality with every appearance of Sinbad & Carmen Electra. To top it off, none of the other Netflix family movies will have as much ska as Good Burger.
Zathura: A Space Adventure
Did you love Jumanji as a kid and use any opportunity you can find to use the Robin Williams “what year is it” meme?
If this sounds like you, there’s a pick from the wide array of Netflix family movies just for you; just as 1995’s The Indian in the Cupboard yielded 1998’s Small Soldiers, 1995’s Jumanji gave us 2005’s Zathura: A Space Adventure.
Zathura is Jon Favreau’s take on the board-game-come-to-life movie, and families will send the director no ill will on his making Jumanji in space. Kids get aliens & flaming meteors shooting through the house, while parents get a young Kristen Stewart & Dax Shepard to watch & say, “look how young”. All the fun comes together as one of the best Netflix family movies.
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If you’re sick & tired of the twenty-minute displays of flashing colors & cute sounds that have filled your home to keep your kids busy, we hope you’ll find solace in these Netflix family movies. They may only keep everyone busy for about 100 minutes at a time, but in 2021, that’s family time well spent.
