Now that it’s spring, the school year is quickly coming to an end. But before summer arrives and the kids need entertaining without long days of learning at school, it’s not too soon to get the family movie nights started early. Who says movie nights are only for weekends and summer break? Thankfully, Netflix has an incredible selection of movies available right now.
Beyond the streamer’s amazing original family movies, like Leo, K-Pop Demon Hunters, The Sea Beast, Yes Day, and more, Netflix boasts an even larger collection of family-friendly movies everyone will love. From adventurous comedies to heartwarming fantasies, there’s not a bad choice to bring the whole family together for a fun escape into a new world.
Grab the popcorn, bring the family to the couch, and consider watching any three of these movies that are popular on Netflix right now for movie night!
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
- Directed By: Jake Kasdan
- Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Bobby Cannavale, Rhys Darby
- Rating: PG-13
If you’re a ’90s kid, then you definitely grew up watching the 1995 movie Jumanji starring Robin Williams. The classic original is still worth watching, but the franchise has grown since we were kids with a brand-new reboot featuring some of the biggest movie stars. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle arrived over 20 years after the original and brought the larger the life world back to the screen for a new generation.
Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan star in the new Jumanji movie, which re-conceptualizes the original movie’s board game as a video game. A group of teenagers becomes trapped inside the video game as adult character avatars and must complete quests in order to survive.
The film was a massive hit, nearly grossing $1 billion worldwide and launched the sequels Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) and Jumanji: Open World (2026). Unfortunately, The Next Level isn’t currently on Netflix. While the movie is rated PG-13, with parental supervision, Welcome to the Jungle can be a great choice for the whole family to watch together, providing laughs and adventure.
IF (2024)
- Directed By: John Krasinski
- Starring: Cailey Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr., Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Fiona Shaw
- Rating: PG
When we’re kids, it’s normal that some of us have imaginary friends. People, animals, or creatures that we talk to as if they were actually in the room. The 2024 movie IF from John Krasinski brings that concept to life with a hybrid of live-action and animation. Ryan Reynolds stars in the movie, finally making a movie that children can watch (because they sadly can’t watch Deadpool).
In the movie, a young girl suddenly becomes able to see all of the imaginary friends that were abandoned once their children grew up and forgot about them. She joins forces with her neighbor to try reuniting these imaginary friends with their creators, which brings forth a full-circle, heartstring-tugging revelation of healing.
IF features an incredible voice cast that includes Steve Carell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr., Awkwafina, Emily Blunt, George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, Matt Damon, Bill Hader, Keegan-Michael Key, Blake Lively, and so many more stars. While the movie hit the big screen with moderate success, it’s been one of the most popular movies on Netflix since its addition.
Madagascar (2005)
- Directed By: Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath
- Starring: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter
- Rating: PG
It wouldn’t be a family movie night, or a list of Netflix movie recommendations, without a real throwback in the mix. Sometimes you just have to introduce the kids in your life to the movies you loved when you were growing up (there’s only so many times you can watch Minions, right?). By a stroke of luck, if you loved the Madagascar movies, all three are now on Netflix.
Madagascar centers on a group of animals from a New York City zoo who find themselves transported to Madagascar and content with living in the wild for the first time. The 2005 movie launched an entire franchise that includes sequels Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) and Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (2012), which are both on Netflix.
Netflix also has the 2014 spinoff film Penguins of Madagascar: The Movie available to stream, making for a potential four-movie marathon. The best news is that there’s still a potential fourth movie in the original franchise in the works, but there’s no word yet on when it could be headed to the big screen. Until then, we’ll have to savor the four movies we already have!
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