Isn’t it true that family time is the most enjoyable time? Checking out the best family movies on Netflix seems like a perfect way to spend the last days of summer together as the kids return from summer camp and settle in for the next school year! However, whenever the family gets together to watch a movie, it generally ends up in a messy situation of choosing which movie to watch. Netflix lets people avoid such scenarios by offering an entire genre of family-friendly films to choose from.
Nothing beats getting the whole family together in front of the TV to enjoy a wonderful movie. To make things even better, Netflix is the ideal way to bring everyone together and choose the ones from the top Netflix family movies or the new family movies on Netflix Australia. These movies are categorized as the best movies on Netflix Australia.
The O.G. streaming platform, which has hundreds of family-friendly titles, offers some of the best open-armed entertainment, including animated epics, laugh-out-loud comedies, best family Christmas movies on Netflix, best family comedy movies on Netflix Australia & heartwarming dramas.
We’ve compiled a list of the top family movies on Netflix to assist you in finding something appropriate for your family. You can also get the American Netflix in Australia by just changing your Netflix region.
1. Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019)
Director: James Bobin
Writers: Tom Wheeler
Cast: Eugenio Derbez, Michael Peña, Isabela Moner
Runtime: 1h 42mins
IMDb Rating: 6.1/10
Dora, an adolescent adventurer, embarks on a journey with her companions to save her parents and discover the mystery of a buried city of gold.
She had spent most of her life with her parents exploring the forest, but nothing could have prepared her for her most scary experience yet: high school. Dora, who has always been an explorer, finds herself leading Boots, Diego, a mysterious jungle resident, and a motley crew of teenagers on a live-action adventure to save her parents & solve the incredible riddle surrounding an ancient Inca civilization.
2. Peter Pan (2003)
Director: P.J. Hogan
Writers: P.J. Hogan
Cast: Jeremy Sumpter, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Jason Isaacs
Runtime: 1h 53mins
IMDb Rating: 6.8/10
Peter Pan pays a visit to the Darling children and whisks them away to Never Never Land, where an unending battle with the villainous Pirate Captain Hook rages.
When Wendy Darling was visited by Peter Pan while she told stories to her brothers, John & Michael. Wendy and her brothers are invited to Neverland, an island where Peter dwells with the Lost Boys, by Peter, a kid who magically never matures. Wendy & her brothers are captured by Captain Hook once they arrive. To save the Darlings, Peter, with the help of the fairy Tink, must fight Hook. This is one of the best family movies on Netflix Australia.
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Writers: Steve Kloves
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint
Runtime: 2h 22mins
IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
It’s one of the good kids movies on Netflix in which Harry Potter’s third year at Hogwarts begins with chaos when he discovers that psychotic assassin Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban prison and is on a mission to kill the teenage wizard.
A swarm of deadly Dementors is deployed to guard the school against Black, while Hermione’s cat torments Ron’s ill rat, causing a split among the trio. A strange new teacher assists Harry in learning self-defence, but what is his connection to Sirius Black?
You can also watch Harry Potter Reunion as it is the sequel of this movie.
4. The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl (2005)
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Writers: Robert Rodriguez
Cast: Cayden Boyd, Taylor Dooley, Taylor Lautner
Runtime: 1h 35mins
IMDb Rating: 3.7/10
Young Max, who is bullied by his classmates, retreats into a dream world, conjuring up the action-packed lives of Lavagirl & Sharkboy. But one day, Lavagirl & Sharkboy reappear, and their world, Planet Drool, is in desperate need of a hero named Max. Max fights invaders and seeks to save his new friends’ world from destruction as he flees to Planet Drool.
He also fights his bullies, who have become villains like the Ice Princess. Watch this movie using the best VPNs for Netflix.
5. The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013)
Director: Isao Takahata
Writers: Isao Takahata
Cast: Takeo Chii, Kengo Kora, Aki Asakura
Runtime: 2h 17mins
IMDb Rating: 8/10
This movie comes in the list of most interesting movies on Netflix. An older man sells bamboo for a living. He discovers a princess in bamboo one day. The princess is no bigger than a fingernail. Kaguya is her name.
Five men from prestigious households propose to Kaguya as she grows older. Kaguya requests that the men find her unforgettable wedding gifts, but the five men cannot locate what Kaguya desires. After that, Japan’s Emperor proposes to her. This is one of the best family movies on Netflix.
6. Penguins of Madagascar: The Movie (2014)
Director: Eric Darnell
Writers: Alan J. Schoolcraft
Cast: Christopher Knights, Chris Miller, Tom McGrath
Runtime: 1h 32mins
IMDb Rating: 6.7/10
When a criminal scientist, Dr. Octavius Brine, is trying to wipe out their species, the Penguins of Madagascar Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private face their most formidable challenge yet. They are obliged to cooperate with an undercover animal group led by Agent Classified, a husky.
When the two parties finally meet, the Madagascar Penguins decide to fight Dr. Octavius alone to preserve the entire penguin race.
7. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)
Director: Chiwetel Ejiofor
Writers: Chiwetel Ejiofor
Cast: Joseph Marcell, Aissa Maiga, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Runtime: 1h 53mins
IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
When his family can no longer afford the fees, 13-year-old William Kamkwamba is expelled from the school he loves. Returning to the school library, he devises a plan to construct a windmill from the bones of his father Trywell’s bicycle, which rescues his community from famine.
William’s story captures the incredible determination of a boy whose inquisitive mind managed to overcome every hurdle in his path. It is the emotional journey of a father and his exceptional son. This is one of the best family movies on Netflix.
8. Madagascar (2005)
Director: Eric Darnell
Writers: Mark Burton
Cast: Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Ben Stiller
Runtime: 1h 26mins
IMDb Rating: 6.9/10
The king of the urban jungle, Alex, the lion, is the major attraction at New York’s Central Park Zoo. Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe, and Gloria the hippo, his best pals, have spent their entire lives in idyllic captivity in front of an adoring crowd, with regular food provided for them.
Marty, not content to leave well enough alone, let his curiosity get the best of him and flees to explore the world with the help of some prolific penguins.
9. Watership Down (1978)
Director: Martin Rosen
Writers: Martin Rosen
Cast: Michael Graham Cox, Richard Briers, John Hurt
Runtime: 1h 32mins
IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
Fiver, a little runt rabbit who is also a seer, obtains a terrifying vision of his warren’s impending devastation in the Sandleford warren. When he and his caring brother, Hazel, fail to persuade their leader of the necessity of evacuating, they move out on their own with a small band of others who had heard the warning and narrowly escaped Warren’s military caste.
The band then embarks on a treacherous journey in which they face threats of all kinds, including predators, humans, and even their species. While they finally discover a quiet new home at Watership Down, they face unique issues that will lead to a terrible crash with the neighbouring Warren known as Efrafa, which is run by the intense and deranged General Woundwort, a police state.
10. Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat (2003)
Director: Bo Welch
Writers: Alec Berg
Cast: Mike Myers, Kelly Preston, Alec Baldwin
Runtime: 1h 22mins
IMDb Rating: 4/10
The Cat in the Hat (also known as Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat) is a 2003 American fantasy comedy film written by Alec Berg, David Mandel, and Jeff Schaffer and directed by Bo Welch on his directorial debut. It is another best family comedy movies on Netflix.
When a talking cat comes to visit two bored children, their lives are flipped upside down.
The trouble-making Cat in the Hat appears at the home of bored young Sally Walden & her brother, Conrad, while their mother is out in this live-action film based on the famous children’s tale. The Cat’s presence irritates the family’s pet fish, but that doesn’t stop the hat-wearing huge feline from having a good time, no matter how much havoc he leaves in his way.
11. Chillar Party (2011)
Director: Vikas Bahl
Writers: Vikas Bahl
Cast: Sanath Menon, Rohan Grover, Shriya Sharma
Runtime: 2h 15mins
IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
Chillar Party comes among the kids’ movies on Netflix. It’s about seven innocent yet tenacious children who live in Chandan Nagar slum and spend a happy and fun-filled life. Fatka and Bheedu, two strangers, enter their life and become inextricably linked to the Chillar Party. When Bheedu’s life is threatened by a ruthless politician, the lives of the children are put in jeopardy.
They take on the big scary world of politics, demonstrating that even youngsters have the power to move mountains. The Chillar Party urges everyone to feel rather than think in a world where logic rules. They demonstrate that what appears to be correct is not necessarily correct.
12. The Farewell (2019)
Director: Lulu Wang
Writers: Lulu Wang
Cast: Awkwafina, Diana Lin, Tzi Ma
Runtime: 1h 40mins
IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
Billi was six years old when she and her family left Changchun, China, for the United States. Since then, people have died, and her grandma Nai Nai has moved and watched her former home destroyed by industrialization. She is, nevertheless, still present for the time being.
However, with Nai Nai suffering from stage 4 cancer, Billi and her father Haiyan and mother Jian must return to China. Like Billi, two people have a tumultuous connection with Chinese customs now that they’ve become Americanized and who, like Billi, battle with the concept of keeping her terminal cancer secret from Nai Nai.
13. Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)
Director: Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Writers: Jonathan Aibel
Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Bryan Cranston, Jack Black
Runtime: 1h 35mins
IMDb Rating: 7.1/10
Po, who is living a large & loving life, recognizes that he still has a lot to learn if he meets his beloved instructor’s next challenge. Po must shift from student to teacher after reconciling with his long-lost father and train a troop of bumbling, fun-loving pandas to become martial-arts fighters.
The kung-fu brothers band up to take on Kai, a supernatural fighter who grows stronger with each battle. This is one of the best family movies on Netflix.
14. Only Yesterday (1991)
Director: Isao Takahata
Writers: Isao Takahata
Cast: Yōko Honna, Toshirō Yanagiba, Miki Imai
Runtime: 1h 58mins
IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
Taeko Okajima, an unmarried career woman, goes to rural Yamagata to visit her sister’s family during an annual safflower harvest, marking her first extended journey outside Tokyo. Taeko daydreams about her pre-adolescent self on the train.
She experiences longer memories of the frustrations and minor pleasures of her youth as her vacation progresses, and she wonders if her stressed-out adult existence is what the young Taeko would have wanted for herself.
15. Seal Team (2021)
Director: Greig Cameron
Writers: Greig Cameron
Cast: Kristen Schaal, J.K. Simmons, Jessie Usher
Runtime: 1h 38mins
IMDb Rating: 5.6/10
A charming yet stubborn seal, Quinn assembles a SEAL TEAM to fight back against a gang of sharks dominating the neighbourhood after his best friend is killed in a shark attack. This jolly gang of foreign seals, on the other hand, is unprepared for such a job.
They enlist the aid of Claggart, a far more skilled combatant, but even his twists and flips can’t get these guys in condition. This is one of the best family movies on Netflix.
16. Shrek 2 (2004)
Director: Andrew Adamson
Writers: Joe Stillman
Cast: Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Mike Myers
Runtime: 1h 33mins
IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
To celebrate their marriage, Shrek and Fiona travel to the Kingdom of Far Far Away, where Fiona’s parents are King and Queen. When they arrive, they discover that they are not as welcomed as they had hoped.
When a journey to meet the in-laws turns into a wonderfully twisted experience for Shrek and Fiona, happily ever after didn’t look so far away. Shrek battles a potion-brewing Fairy Godmother, the pompous Prince Charming, as well as the ogre-killer Puss In Boots, who is a pussycat, with the help of his beloved Donkey.
17. STAND BY ME Doraemon (2014)
Director: Ryūichi Yagi
Writers: Takashi Yamazaki
Cast: Yumi Kakazu, Megumi Ōhara, Wasabi Mizuta
Runtime: 1h 35mins
IMDb Rating: 7.4/10
Nobita Nobi is a primary school student who despises studying, performs poorly in sports, and does his business half-heartedly. He’s a softie, unfortunate, and afraid of many things. His personality makes him a failure in life, and it even impacts his offspring.
Sewashi, his great-great-grandchild, takes command of the situation as a result. Sewashi travels from the 22nd to the 20th century to visit Nobita, who is taken aback when he emerges from his drawer beside a blue robotic cat.
18. Pinkfong & Baby Shark’s Space Adventure (2019)
Director: Byeon Hee-sun
Writers: Byeon Hee-sun
Cast: Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Jo Kyoung-i, Connor Andrade
Runtime: 1h 6mins
IMDb Rating: 5.1/10
Pinkfong & Baby Shark are great friends who are travelling deep space when Pinkfong’s star breaks and crashes ashore on a planet with dinosaurs after colliding with a meteor.
Because Pinkfong needs the star to guide him home, the two buddies embark on an adventure, meeting new people and solving difficulties along the way. This is a fun film for smaller kids. The plot is interesting, and it offers some important truths.
19. The Blue Umbrella (2005)
Director: Vishal Bhardwaj
Writers: Ruskin Bond
Cast: Shreya Sharma, Pankaj Kapur, Deepak Dobriyal
Runtime: 1h 32mins
IMDb Rating: 7.4/10
When a little girl’s precious umbrella is stolen in a small village, things go bad for a greedy tea merchant who was very interested in buying it from her.
The plot centers around Binya, a little girl who lives in a Himachal Pradesh village near Garhwal. She is from a poor family and lives with her brother Bijju and mother. Binya notices a few Japanese tourists on her way back from the cattle pastures one day and is drawn to their activities, particularly the blue umbrella.
20. Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus (2019)
Director: Hae Young Jung
Writers: Jhonen Vasquez
Cast: Richard Steven Horvitz, Andy Berman, Rosearik Rikki Simons
Runtime: 1h 11mins
IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
For the first time in his life, ZIM learns that his omniscient superiors never planned to come to Earth, and for the first time in his life, he loses faith in himself, which is the enormous break Dib, his human foe, has been waiting for.
Zim and Girl appeared to vanish for a very long time. As a result, everyone except Dib went on. He sat, waited, and watched many monitors, fusing with his chair & gaining weight in the process. Which, according to Zim, was Phase I. What about Phase 2?
He, on the other hand, had forgotten. Phase II, however, escalates into the destruction of Earth by the tallest through a series of incidents, subsequently characterized as things Zim either did on purpose or as part of him adapting to the circumstance. This is made possible thanks to Professor Membrane’s Membracelet.
21. The Secret Garden (2020)
Director: Marc Munden
Writers: Jack Thorne
Cast: Dixie Egerickx, Julie Walters, Colin Firth
Runtime: 1h 40mins
IMDb Rating: 5.6/10
The Secret Garden is a British fantasy drama film released in 2020, based on Frances Hodgson Burnett’s 1911 novel of the same name. It is the fourth film version of the storey.
At her austere uncle’s estate, an orphaned girl discovers a wonderful garden.
The Secret Garden depicts the story of Mary Lennox, a young orphan who is brought to live with her uncle, Lord Archibald Craven, who is still mourning his late wife years later. Mary finds solace in her uncle’s magnificent mansion and gets charmed with the mysterious secret garden she discovers buried in the grounds when stuck indoors with housekeeper Mrs. Medlock.
22. John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch (2019)
Director: Rhys Thomas
Writers: John Mulaney
Cast: Tyler Bourke, John Mulaney, Alexander Bello
Runtime: 1h 10mins
IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
Drunks and children are the only truthful ones. With these timeless lines from Erika Jayne of Real Housewives fame, John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch sets the tone for what you’re about to watch: kids’ shows made by adults starring kids.
Mulaney’s nostalgia-soaked show, on the other hand, is more honest than any previous children’s television. Is it truthful in any way? It’s mostly about dying, after all. For example, there is a lot of dialogue & singing about death, which sounds strange for a children’s play until you recall every Disney-fied fairy tale you’ve ever watched.
23. Sitara: Let Girls Dream (2020)
Director: Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
Writers: Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
Cast: N/A
Runtime: 15mins
IMDb Rating: 7.3/10
Sitara: Let Girls Dream is a new animated short film that depicts a distinct perspective of the feminist struggle. It tells the narrative of Pari, a Pakistani girl of 14 who aspires to be a trailblazer like Amelia Earhart. In the first scene, she and her younger sister, Mehr, throw paper aircraft off a roof, dreaming of becoming a pilot. Pari’s goals, however, will have to wait because she is slated to marry a much older man. Even though the story is set in the 1970s, it is still relevant today.
24. The Adventures of Tintin (2011)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Steven Moffat
Cast: Daniel Craig, Andy Serkis, Jamie Bell
Runtime: 1h 47mins
IMDb Rating: 7.3/10
Accompanied by his trusty dog Snowy, Tintin purchases a replica of a historic ship called the Unicorn while shopping at an outdoor market. Tintin refuses to sell the model to a shadowy figure named Sakharine and then to an American named Barnaby.
Tintin realizes that the ship carries a hint to a secret treasure, but he is abducted and handed over to inebriated Captain Haddock before he can find it.
25. From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)
Director: Gorō Miyazaki
Writers: Keiko Niwa
Cast: Masami Nagasawa, Keiko Takeshita, Junichi Okada
Runtime: 1h 33mins
IMDb Rating: 7.4/10
It is based on the same-named serialized manga by Chizuru Takahashi & Tetsuro Sayama, published in 1980. The film is set in 1963 Yokohama, Japan, and follows Umi Matsuzaki, a high school girl who lives in her grandmother’s boarding house, “Coquelicot Manor.” Umi and Shun Kazama, a member of the school’s journalism club, decide to clean up Quartier Latin, the school’s clubhouse.
Tokumaru, the local high school chairman and a businessman, intends to demolish the structure for redevelopment, & Umi & Shun, along with Shir Mizunuma, must urge him to reconsider.
26. Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015)
Director: Mark Burton
Writers: Richard Starzak
Cast: John Sparkes, Justin Fletcher, Omid Djalili
Runtime: 1h 25mins
IMDb Rating: 7.3/10
Everything is fine at Mossy Bottom Farm, except the animals, who will do anything to avoid working. As a result, Shaun the sheep and his cunning companions develop a scheme to put their master to sleep. However, the deception backfires as the poor farmer is brought to the big city and loses his memory.
Sean, Timmy the lamb, Shirley the sheep, and the rest of the gang must now travel to the town and bring him back without getting themselves into any more problems.
You can watch Shaun the Sheep in Australia on Netflix.
27. Zog (2018)
Director: Max Lang
Writers: Julia Donaldson
Cast: Rocco Wright, Tracey Ullman, Lenny Henry
Runtime: 27mins
IMDb Rating: 7.4/10
Zog (spelled ZOG on the cover and title page) is a 2010 children’s picture book written by Julia Donaldson and drawn by Axel Scheffler about a young, accident-prone dragon named Zog who aspires to be the top student at dragon school.
At Dragon School, a bright but clumsy dragon learns how to become a dragon.
It’s the story of a young dragon that wants to perform well in his dragon studies & hopes to receive a gold star from his teacher. His frustrating attempts to conquer things he doesn’t understand (flying, shouting, breathing fire) are very understandable. On television, Zog’s antics are just as entertaining as they are on paper.
28. Despicable Me 2 (2013)
Director: Chris Renaud
Writers: Ken Daurio
Cast: Benjamin Bratt, Kristen Wiig, Steve Carell
Runtime: 1h 38mins
IMDb Rating: 7.3/10
Gru is attempting to find a way out to support his new family. Now that he has given up the life of crime so that he could give a good future and can raise Edith, Agnes, and Margo in a peaceful environment.
The Anti-Villain League, a group dedicated to eliminating evil, approaches him as he struggles with his responsibilities as a father. The AVL sent Gru on a mission to apprehend the mastermind behind a spectacular theft, since who better to apprehend the person attempting to usurp his power than the world’s greatest ex-villain?
29. Pom Poko (1994)
Director: Isao Takahata
Writers: Isao Takahata
Cast: Yuriko Ishida, Makoto Nonomura, Kokontei Shinchou
Runtime: 1h 59mins
IMDb Rating: 7.3/10
The story begins in Japan in the late 1960s. A group of tanuki in the Tama Hills on the outskirts of Tokyo are endangered by a massive suburban development project known as New Tama. Their woodland habitat is being cut down, and their property is being divided due to the development. In early 1990s Japan, the plot picks up during the Heisei era’s early years.
The tanuki begins fighting among themselves for declining resources due to a lack of dwelling space and food. Still, at the prompting of the matriarch Oroku, they decide to unite to halt the progress.
30. Fishtronaut: The Movie (2016)
Director: Kiko Mistrorigo
Writers: Célia Catunda
Cast: Fábio Lucindo, Angela Galuppo, Dawn Ford
Runtime: 1h 27mins
IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
Fishtronaut and his companions are sent to the large metropolis to solve a mystery: the population is dwindling! Now the gang must figure out how to save them before they vanish completely!
Fishtronaut and his buddies leave Smiling Trees Park & enter a chaotic city searching for Dr. Green, Billy, and Mac, who have vanished. The surprising thing is that no one lives in the town due to the garbage strewn everywhere.
Conclusion
If you enjoy spending your weekends lounging on the couch with your family while watching a movie, you can go for the good family movies on Netflix. Family films can range from best funny family movies on Netflix to thrillers, suspense, murder mysteries, fantasy, and even cartoons.
The concept of a good family movie is something that you can enjoy with the entire family. Above is a collection of the best family movies on Netflix to help you enjoy your time with your folks.
The movies can be found on Australian Netflix. There is a difference between US Netflix and Australian Netflix. You can get access to the above-mentioned movies by using the best VPNs for streaming.