The best new kids' movies on Netflix right now

Space Jam meets Zootopia in this animated sports comedy about a literal goat who dreams of becoming the figurative GOAT at something called ‘roarball’, which is basically just basketball held in one of the fighting stages from Mortal Kombat. NBA icon Stephen Curry is credited as both producer and a member of the voice cast, along with Stranger Things alums Caleb McLaughlin and David Harbour, Gabrielle Union, Nick Kroll and Jennifer Hudson. Honestly? Way better than either of the Space Jams.

Who could have guessed that a colourful, anime-inspired cartoon about a Korean girl group defending Earth from an evil shapeshifting boy-band, full of catchy songs and exciting action, would become a huge hit? All right, everyone probably should have known – especially since, above all else, it’s really good: a vibrant, high-energy action-adventurer smartly blending the folkloric and the ultra-modern. And the songs? All bangers, no clangers.

Initially buried by Disney – reportedly due to its LGBTQ+ themes, including a same-sex kiss – this medieval adventure was rescued by the triumvirate of Netflix, Annapurna Pictures and DNEG Animation, and thank goodness, because it’s one of the year’s best animated movies. Indeed, it’s something of a queer parable, involving a rebellious shapeshifter (Chloë Grace Moretz) who teams with the knight (Riz Ahmed) sworn to kill her to take down the system that oppresses them both.

Part road-trip comedy, part sci-fi action adventure and every bit hilarious, this hyperkinetic instant-classic from the Into the Spider-verse team – already one of the best animated films of all time – is wall-to-wall delightful. With an all-star voice cast and colorful action, the film – about a family whose cross-country trek is interrupted by a pesky machine uprising – is breathless in its joke-a-minute charm, but its greatest strength is its universal theme of family bonding. 

No matter how exhausted you are by superhero movies, the creative rush of this animated, multiverse-hopping origin story is sure to get your spidey senses tingling again. Miles Morales is a regular Brooklyn teenager until, one day, he gets bitten by a radioactive arachnid, transforming him into a web-slinging saviour. So far, so Spider-Man, right? Think again – it’s at once a total reinvention and a celebration of everything fans love about the character and its lore… and we do mean everything.

Mexico’s first fully stop-motion feature (believe it or not) is a prequel to the Frankelda’s Book of Spooks animated series. In the 19th century, a young horror writer named Francisca is captured by the rulers of a nightmare world dependent on her to invent fresh frights to feed the collective human subconscious. Guillermo del Toro served as an advisor on the film, and it definitely reflects his sensibilities – meaning, it’s cool-looking, lightly spooky and emotional.

The Roald Dahl vibes are strong in this oddball animated feature about a group of kids seeking to become orphans to escape their selfish parents. It’s a slightly darker kids’ tale that ultimately reinforces the importance of family, with an all-star cast delivering hilarious lines as the Willoughby children navigate an increasingly big world with the help of a loving nanny and a wacky candy maker. 

It took a decade, but the loveable kooks at Aardman Animation finally graced us with a second feature starring goofy inventor Wallace and his trusty beagle. In the stop-motion duo’s first feature film since 2005, a villain from their past returns for revenge in a riff on Cape Fear that also involves artificially-intelligent garden gnomes. Great to have them back, truly.

Roald Dahl's booksmart heroine is the star of this ’90s kids movie. Matilda (Mara Wilson) is a precocious, bright, spunky young thing somehow born to mindless, amoral, stupid neanderthals. Her story of libraries, evil headmistresses and the stupidity of adults is a modern-day pantomime about childhood solidarity and self-empowerment. It's a total joy. 

No matter your age, prepare to be inspired by this true-life story of a young boy from Malawi attempting to build a windmill that may save his poor farming community from a terrible drought. Chiwetel Ejiofor directs and stars, but the true standout is Maxwell Simba as William Kamkwamba, the teenage wind-harnesser in question. It will make your heart swell – in a good, totally healthy way. 

A psychotic businessman (Gene Wilder) invites a group of children to his candy factory, only to kill them off one by one in what turns out to be a diabolical scheme to find an heir. Sure, that doesn’t sound family friendly, but the ’70s were a different time. Seriously, though: while it does contain some genuinely scary moments — The Wondrous Boat Ride, anyone? — the literally scrumptious world-building has made this Roald Dahl adaptation a classic that transcends generations.

Herman Melville meets How to Train Your Dragon in this swashbuckling tale of seafaring monster hunters tracking a legendary kaiju and the pint-sized stowaway who clandestinely joins them. Wonderfully animated, this Oscar nominee deals with some big themes – about morality, class and belief – but never lets them bog down the thrills and sense of adventure. 

After an elderly Cuban musician passes away, his adorable pet kinkajou teams up with an energetic young girl to deliver a final song to his long-lost love. With a colour palette seemingly syphoned from a literal rainbow and a slate of catchy songs courtesy of Lin-Manuel Miranda, it’s one of the liveliest animated musicals to come around in a while.

Millennial parents are likely to start feeling sudden joint pain realising their youth is now period-piece fodder, but at least the end result is energetic and heartfelt. It’s 1999, and a young girl who lost her mom and dad in a car accident discovers a cassette tape belonging to her late parents. When it breaks before she can listen, she sets out on a mission to find the songs and maybe learn something about who she is and where she comes from. It’s a movie with genuine rock’n’roll spirit, and a legitimately rad soundtrack to match. 

Call it ‘baby’s first heist flick’. In this crazy-fun, kid-friendly homage to Quentin Tarantino, Ocean’s 11 and other, decidedly not kid-friendly influences, a pack of criminal cartoon animals, led by Mr Wolf (voiced by Sam Rockwell), consider changing their ways after being brought to justice, only to find themselves drawn into conflict with a new foe. Pair it with the 2025 sequel and the prequel series showing how these bad guys got bad in the first place, all also streaming. 

Following in the heavy, ominous footsteps of Goosebumps and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, this anthology horror film is set to be a sleepover favourite for the new generation. Its linking scenes concern a kid being held against their will by an evil witch (Krysten Ritter) who demands to be told a scary story every night. If you’re worried about nightmares, don’t be – this is playful spookiness ideal for the tween set.

The first two live-action Paddington movies are some of the best family films of all-time. The third is a slight step down from those heights, but it’s still a warm, fuzzy good time. In this chapter, everyone’s favourite marmalade-loving ursine, along with his adopted British family, returns home to the jungles of Peru in search of his Aunt Lucy. Also, the always great Olivia Colman plays a Julie Andrews-ish nun. Delightful!

If there was ever any worry that Millie Bobby Brown would forever be typecast as a troubled child with psychic powers, this young adult-oriented crime caper erases all doubts, and confirms even bigger things are in store for the charismatic actor after Stranger Things wraps up. Brown plays the titular character, the little sister of Sherlock, who is forced to prove that super-sleuthing run in the family after their mother goes missing.

Babysitting is a notoriously high-stress gig, at least in the movies. But how could young Kelly Ferguson have known that taking a job on Halloween night would draw her into a confrontation with the literal boogeyman? Every generation deserves a lightly spooky adventure, a la Labyrinth or Hocus Pocus, to act as a gateway to bigger scares in the future. Here’s one for the zoomers. 

In this delightful animated adventure, young Fei Fei is so determined to prove that the stories she’s heard her whole life about an enigmatic space queen are real, she builds a spaceship and sets course for the moon – only for her plans to go haywire when her stepbrother smuggles himself aboard. With a talented all-Asian voice cast (including Margaret Cho, Ken Jeong and Sandra Oh), confectionary imagery and wonderful songs, this is a lesser-known gem to charm the entire family.