Current:Home > reviews10 streaming movies that will keep your kids entertained during the August doldrums -PrimeWealth Guides
10 streaming movies that will keep your kids entertained during the August doldrums
View
Date:2025-04-16 07:30:03
So your kids have gone to see "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem." Now what?
Many young film fans are still a couple of weeks out from going back to school, but once you get past "Turtles," the choices at the local movie theater – especially for those who aren't yet ready for living dolls with existential crises or the history of the atomic bomb – are pretty slim in the doldrums of August. Fortunately, streaming services have you covered with fun cartoons, coming-of-age stories and other movies that will keep everyone entertained in between last-minute summer reading lists and back-to-school shopping.
Here are 10 recent at-home options (of the PG- and G-rated variety) streaming now or coming soon for kids to watch:
'The Super Mario Bros. Movie'
The animated blockbuster made so much money ($1.4 billion worldwide!) that you may have already seen it. If you haven't, get in your go-kart and enjoy an action-packed outing with Mario (Chris Pratt), his bro Luigi (Charlie Day), new pal Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), bad guy Bowser (Jack Black) and more. Or watch it again and check out all the nifty Nintendo video game references sprinkled throughout the fantasy comedy you missed the first time.
Where to watch: Peacock
Game on!How Chris Pratt and 'Super Mario Bros.' freshen a Nintendo classic
'Nimona'
When knight Ballister Boldheart (voiced by Riz Ahmed) is framed for the murder of his queen, he befriends the rebellious shapeshifting teen Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz), they go on a wild mission to clear his name and Ballister discovers his new sidekick has quite the backstory. Gloriously subversive and featuring great queer characters, it's an inclusive alternative to the usual dull fantasy adventure.
Where to watch: Netflix
'The Slumber Party'
Your kids might not be old enough to watch "The Hangover" yet but they'll get the gist of it from this coming-of-age comedy. Three teens wake up from a birthday slumber party with their friend missing, so they head off on a chaotic mission to find her that involves an onion-eating contest, a gaggle of baby ducks, ticked-off marching band kids and a runaway hedgehog float.
Where to watch: Disney+
'The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse'
Little cinephiles-in-training will appreciate this beautiful Oscar-winning animated short film about a boy (voiced by Jude Coward Nicoll) lost in the snow-covered wilderness. He first bonds with a cake-obsessed mole (Tom Hollander), who saves a hungry fox (Idris Elba) from a snare trap, and the unlikely trio meets an outcast white horse (Gabriel Byrne) in a thoughtful narrative about kindness, friendship and empathy.
Where to watch:Apple TV+
'The Amazing Maurice'
Go have some lasagna, Garfield, because Hugh Laurie's title feline is the new coolest cat in this animated comedy based on a Terry Pratchett children's novel. Maurice, his piper friend Keith (Himesh Patel) and a crew of rats take their cash-grabbing rodent infestation schemes on the road, and while stopped at a poverty-stricken town, they help the mayor's quirky daughter (Emilia Clarke) tackle rampant food thievery and a seriously creepy villain.
Where to watch:Hulu
'World’s Best'
Assigned to craft an equation that defines him, 12-year-old math genius Prem (Manny Magnus) decides to seek out more about the late father (Utkarsh Ambudkar) he never really knew. Discovering his dad was a talented rapper sparks Prem's imagination, with father and son performing together in hip-hop fantasies, but the kid ultimately has to find his own identity in the heartwarming musical comedy.
Where to watch: Disney+
'Mummies'
Here's something your adventurous kiddos might dig: In this flick, an ancient world of living mummies exists underneath our own! When a royal wedding ring is stolen from the kingdom by an ambitious archaeologist, a chariot racer (voiced by Joe Thomas), his princess fiancée (Eleanor Tomlinson), his younger brother (Santiago Winder) and their crocodile buddy venture into 21st-century London to retrieve the jewelry and get into all sorts of fish-out-of-water high jinks.
Where to watch: Hulu
'Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir, the Movie'
If the superhero lovers in your household need something other than DC or Marvel, push play on this French action-adventure origin story. Given superpowers by magical baubles, Ladybug (voiced by Anouck Hautbois) and Cat Noir (Benjamin Bollen) are rival teen do-gooders in Paris who have to team up to defeat a mysterious supervillain and his creatures made of hate and evil. (And if the kids dig this, then check out five seasons of the "Ladybug & Cat Noir" cartoon streaming on Disney+.)
Where to watch: Netflix
'Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie'
While adults back in the day had to wait months to watch Charlie Brown specials on network TV – and we loved them! – youngsters can stream them to their hearts' content, including a new one spotlighting bespectacled introvert Marcie. Peppermint Patty's best friend and No. 1 caddie helpfully solves her peers' problems with school hallway traffic and pizza shortages, but Marcie gets thrown for a loop when she's unexpectedly elected class president.
Where to watch:Apple TV+ (premieres Aug. 18)
'The Monkey King'
In the animated action comedy inspired by an ancient Chinese tale, the extremely confident Monkey King (voiced by Jimmy O. Yang) has big dreams of glory but to accomplish that, he needs to defeat 100 demons. With his magical fighting stick and a young village girl sidekick, Monkey King goes on a quest of self-discovery that includes taking on the eccentric Dragon King (Bowen Yang).
Where to watch: Netflix (premieres Aug. 18)
From 'Evil Dead Rise' to 'Extraction 2':15 movies you need to stream right now
veryGood! (6)
Related
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul VIP fight package costs a whopping $2M. Here's who bought it.
- DWTS’ Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten Have the Best Reaction to Fans Hoping for a Romance
- To Protect the Ozone Layer and Slow Global Warming, Fertilizers Must Be Deployed More Efficiently, UN Says
- NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
- California researchers discover mysterious, gelatinous new sea slug
- Oklahoma school district adding anti-harassment policies after nonbinary teen’s death
- Darren Criss on why playing a robot in 'Maybe Happy Ending' makes him want to cry
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- Detroit-area police win appeal over liability in death of woman in custody
Ranking
- Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
- Kim Kardashian Says She's Raising Her and Kanye West's 4 Kids By Herself
- RHOP's Candiace Dillard Bassett Gives Birth, Shares First Photos of Baby Boy
- Flurry of contract deals come as railroads, unions see Trump’s election looming over talks
- Highlights from Trump’s interview with Time magazine
- Love Actually Secrets That Will Be Perfect to You
- Meet Mike Tyson's six children. Boxer says fatherhood has been a 'long journey'
- Dave Coulier Says He's OK If This Is the End Amid Stage 3 Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Battle
Recommendation
Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
Larry Hobbs, who guided AP’s coverage of Florida news for decades, has died at 83
Daniele Rustioni to become Metropolitan Opera’s principal guest conductor
Nicky Hilton Shares Her Christmas Plans With Paris, the Secret To Perfect Skin & More Holiday Gift Picks
DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
The View's Sara Haines Walks Off After Whoopi Goldberg's NSFW Confession
2025 NFL mock draft: QBs Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward crack top five
Inflation ticked up in October, CPI report shows. What happens next with interest rates?