Comprehensive List of Animated Films for Kids

If you are looking for some kid-friendly family entertainment, you can never go wrong with an hour or two of a movie time! Watching an animated film with your little one is one of the best ways to spend time together. With the myriad options available, arguing over what’s appropriate to watch just spoils the fun. So here, we compiled animated films you can watch that get the seal of approval from us (underlined are our personal favorites).  

We included the synopsis of each film to give you a glimpse of what to expect.

(Note: We already watched all the animated films listed below, and we will continuously update this draft as we go through our own checklist and weed out those we think are inappropriate for ages 7 years old and below.)

Favorite Classic Movies

The Land Before Time

An orphaned brontosaurus teams up with other young dinosaurs in order to reunite with their families in a valley.

My Neighbor is Totoro

When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.

Ponyo

Ponyo is a 2008 Japanese animated fantasy comedy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is about a five-year-old boy who developed a relationship with Ponyo, a goldfish princess who longs to become a human after falling in love with him.

Films with Lots of Singing and Dancing

Trolls

After the Bergens invade Troll Village, Poppy, the happiest Troll ever born, and the curmudgeonly Branch set off on a journey to rescue her friends.

Frozen

When the newly crowned Queen Elsa accidentally uses her power to turn things into ice to curse her home in infinite winter, her sister, Anna, teams up with a mountain man, his playful reindeer, and a snowman to change the weather condition.

Sing

In a city of humanoid animals, a hustling theater impresario’s attempt to save his theater with a singing competition becomes grander than he anticipates even as its finalists’ find that their lives will never be the same.

Mulan

To save her father from death in the army, a young maiden secretly goes in his place and becomes one of China’s greatest heroines in the process.

Alladin

When a street urchin vies for the love of a beautiful princess, he uses a genie’s magic power to make himself off as a prince in order to marry her.

Madagascar

Spoiled by their upbringing and unaware of what wildlife really is, four animals from the New York Central Zoo escape, unwittingly assisted by four absconding penguins, and find themselves in Madagascar.

Moana

In Ancient Polynesia, when a terrible curse incurred by the Demigod Maui reaches Moana’s island, she answers the Ocean’s call to seek out the Demigod to set things right.

Anything Prehistoric & Futuristic (Dragons, Dinosaurs, & Robots included)

Ice Age Movie Collection (5 films)

An American media franchise centering on a group of mammals surviving the Paleolithic ice age.

The Good Dinosaur

In a world where dinosaurs and humans live side-by-side, an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend.

Pete’s Dragon

The adventures of an orphaned boy named Pete and his best friend Elliot, who just so happens to be a dragon.

How to Train Your Dragon

A hapless young Viking who aspires to hunt dragons becomes the unlikely friend of a young dragon himself, and learns there may be more to the creatures than he assumed.

Wall-E

In the distant future, a small waste-collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.

Big Hero 6

The special bond that develops between plus-sized inflatable robot Baymax, and prodigy Hiro Hamada, who team up with a group of friends to form a band of high-tech heroes.

Family-Oriented

The Croods

After their cave is destroyed, a caveman family must trek through an unfamiliar fantastical world with the help of an inventive boy.

Brave

Determined to make her own path in life, Princess Merida defies a custom that brings chaos to her kingdom. Granted one wish, Merida must rely on her bravery and her archery skills to undo a beastly curse.

Inside Out

After young Riley is uprooted from her Midwest life and moved to San Francisco, her emotions – Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness – conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house, and school.

Storks

Storks have moved on from delivering babies to packages. But when an order for a baby appears, the best delivery stork must scramble to fix the error by delivering the baby.

Baby Boss

A suit-wearing, briefcase-carrying baby pairs up with his 7-year old brother to stop the dastardly plot of the CEO of Puppy Co.

The Lion King

Lion cub and future king Simba searches for his identity. His eagerness to please others and penchant for testing his boundaries sometimes gets him into trouble.

Finding Nemo

After his son is captured in the Great Barrier Reef and taken to Sydney, a timid clownfish sets out on a journey to bring him home.

Finding Dory

The friendly but forgetful blue tang fish, Dory, begins a search for her long-lost parents, and everyone learns a few things about the real meaning of family along the way.

About Friendship and Socialization

Monster’s Incorporated 

In order to power the city, monsters have to scare children so that they scream. However, the children are toxic to the monsters, and after a child gets through, 2 monsters realize things may not be what they think.

Up

Carl Fredricksen as a boy wanted to explore South America and find the forbidden Paradise Falls. About 64 years later he gets to begin his journey along with a Boy Scout named Russel with help from 500 balloons. On their journey they discover many new friends including a talking dog and Carl and Russel figure out that someone evil plans. Carl soon realizes that this evildoer is his childhood idol. Will they be able to defeat him and will they find Paradise Falls?

The Secret Life of Pets

Taking place in a Manhattan apartment building, Max’s life as a favorite pet is turned upside down, when his owner brings home a sloppy mongrel named Duke. They have to put their quarrels behind when they find out that an adorable white bunny named Snowball is building an army of lost pets determined to take revenge.

Adventure Films

The Secret World of Arrietty

The Clock family are four-inch-tall people who live anonymously in another family’s residence, borrowing simple items to make their home. Life changes for the Clocks when their daughter, Arrietty, is discovered.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

A local scientist is often regarded as a failure until he invents a machine that can make food fall from the sky. But little does he know, that things are about to take a turn for the worst.

 

** Do you want to add your favorite kiddie film in this list, too? Please leave a message in the comment box below. 

(All synopsis were taken from IMDB site)

Thank you for dropping by!

• For more virtual and interactive live updates, you can check our INSTAGRAM PAGE or follow us in TWITTER.
• Be part of Love. Eat. Wander. Facebook Community Page for more updates on travel and parenting tips, or if you want to share your trip/parenting experiences with others. You can also visit our YouTube Channel for videos.

Love,

Missy of 

********

Should you want to add/dispute something in this article, or if you have questions please leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you!