Shubhabrata Dutta
Want to keep your kids from interrupting your Zoom meeting? Or do you want to just enjoy binge-watching with them on a Sunday afternoon or on any other day off? There are many movies that promise entertainment for kids, but it is also important to make sure that the content is appropriate.
With that in mind, we bring you a list of G/PG-rated movies that will surely bring your children immense joy and teach them morals about love, friendship, and life itself. Here are ten great movies that kids will enjoy that are available for streaming on Apple TV+. And of course, you can join them too and make for the perfect family time because deep inside, we are all kids or yearn to be so, don’t we?
11. Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin (2024)
Based on the ‘Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz, ‘Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin’ centers on Franklin Armstrong, the first Black character Schulz introduced. The film, directed by Raymond S. Persi, follows Franklin moving into town along with family. However, he has trouble making friends with Lucy, Pigpen, Linus, and Snoopy. It is Charlie Brown who befriends him, and the two take part in a soapbox derby. Maybe winning the race will help Franklin win over his new neighbors. But will he win it? Caleb Bellavance has voiced Franklin Armstrong, while the rest of the voice cast includes Etienne Kellici as Charlie Brown, Isabella Leo as Lucy, Lucien Duncan-Reid as Pigpen, Wyatt White as Linus, and Terry McGurrin as Snoopy. ‘Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin’ can be streamed here.
10. The Velveteen Rabbit (2023)
‘The Velveteen Rabbit’ is a live-action/CGI TV special directed by Jennifer Perrott and is based on the timeless British children’s 1922 book of the same name written by Margery Williams. In 1921, the story came out in the American women’s fashion magazine Harper’s Bazaar. It tells the story of 7-year-old William, who gets a velveteen rabbit as a Christmas gift. The kid eventually starts loving the rabbit, but once the kid falls sick, the rabbit and the other toys are taken away on the doctor’s orders, and the room has to be disinfected. Lonely and sad, the rabbit finds himself crying real tears, thanks to the boy’s real love. This is when a fairy arrives, takes him to a different magical world, and turns him into a real rabbit.
The following year, it returns to see William, who recognizes him and is glad to see him in the wild. A story of friendship and the magic that’s there in it, ‘The Velveteen Rabbit’ is a beautiful reminder that the significance of life lies in the connections we build more than anything else. You can watch the movie here. You can watch it here.
9. Blush (2021)
An animated sci-fi short directed by Joseph Mateo, ‘Blush’ follows a stranded astronaut on a small rock planet. He has crash-landed there, but fortunately, another spaceship crash-lands too, and from it comes a pink female alien who helps him grow plants and then turns them into trees using her powers. As the two live and grow together, we get a love story that literally transcends space and time and echoes the words of Anne Hathaway’s character Brand from ‘Interstellar,’ who said that maybe love is an artifact of a higher dimension, the only thing that we are capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space. Maybe we should trust love even if we cannot understand it. The film is inspired by the true story of Mateo, who lost his wife to Mary Ann to breast cancer, and their daughters became his air. You can watch the film here.
8. Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie (2023)
This is the fiftieth Peanuts TV special based on Charles M. Schulz’s timeless comic strip and follows Marcie, a kind, quiet, and introverted kid who likes to help her friends but runs away from the spotlight of notice and appreciation. This is why she struggles to perform what others believe she can do best when she is made the class president. Will she be able to come out of her shell, especially with her best friend Peppermint Patty needing her as her caddie for the upcoming golf championship? Directed by Raymond S. Persi, ‘Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie’ can be watched right here.
7. Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (1975)
Directed by Phil Roman, ‘Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown’ is a 25-minute TV Special wherein we see Charlie Brown desperately waiting to receive a valentine while the rest of the gang, including Linus, Sally, Lucy, Violet, and Schroeder, gear up for the special occasion. To find out if Charlie finds his valentine, you can watch this Emmy-nominated special right here.
6. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
Directed by Bill Melendez, ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ is a 25-minute TV special that follows Charlie Brown as he is depressed about the commercialization of Christmas; he is given the responsibility to direct the group’s annual Christmas play to divert his mind. Will he be able to pull off a Christmas that establishes its true significance? It’s a lot of work, and not everything can go his way. To find out what eventually happens, you can watch this film here.
5. Peanuts In Space: Secrets of Apollo 10 (2019)
The final Peanuts addition to this list, ‘Peanuts in Space,’ is a 10-minute short that follows Snoopy, who also seems to be a world-famous top secret astronaut. Featuring Ron Howard as himself as well as Jeff Goldblum, a NASA historian, the film brings together two things: the Apollo 10 mission, whose command module had the call sign “Charlie Brown,” and the lunar module had the call sign “Snoopy,” and Charles Schulz’s Peanuts characters. The Apollo 10, whose job was to test all components of the spacecraft and the processes before the descent, was like a “dress rehearsal” for the Apollo 11 moon landing. Directed by Morgan Neville, ‘Peanuts In Space: Secrets of Apollo 10’ can be watched right here.
4. Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth (2020)
Based on the New York Times Bestseller/ TIME Best Book of the Year by Oliver Jeffers, ‘Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth’ celebrates Earth Day and follows a precocious 7-year-old boy who learns about all the wonders that Earth has to offer. One lifetime isn’t enough to get to know this planet we call home, but we can start and not worry about the end. This is what the boy does, too, and he explores many things, thanks to a mysterious exhibit he finds at the Museum of Everything. Narrated by Meryl Streep and directed by Philip Hunt and Douglas Carrigan, ‘Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth’ is a must-watch, and you can watch it right here.
3. Luck (2022)
Luck is something that most of us have come to learn the hard way. But if you want to teach your kids about it, there is no better way than this animated movie. 18-year-old Sam Greenfield (voiced by Eva Noblezada) is unlucky in every sense of the word. Everything goes wrong with her until she finds a lucky penny. However, she loses it only to a magical talking cat named Bob (voiced by Simon Pegg), who teaches her the lesson of good luck and bad luck. But for it, she will have to go to the Land of Luck. The movie is highly entertaining and funny and has been directed by Peggy Holmes. You can watch ‘Luck’ here.
2. Wolfwalkers (2020)
We fear what we do not understand, and this is especially applicable to kids. ‘Wolfwalkers,’ directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart, centers on Robyn (Honor Kneafsey), a girl who accompanies her hunter father to Ireland to bring an end to the last wolf pack. But fate has other things in store for her as she comes face to face with young Mebh (Eva Whittaker), who is a wolf-walker (she can become a wolf at night). The two become friends, only for Robyn to realize how wrong she was about wolves. Will she be able to stop her father from killing her friend and the wolves? ‘Wolfwalkers’ got a Best Animated Feature nomination at the 2021 Academy Awards. You can stream ‘Wolfwalkers’ here.
1. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (2022)
This BAFTA and Academy Award-winning animated short film is based on Charlie Mackesy’s 2019 picture book of the same name. The book was the 2019 Barnes & Noble Book of the Year. It follows the four titular nameless characters as they look for the boy’s home while exploring themes of home, family, kindness, and life itself. The voice cast includes Jude Coward Nicoll (the boy), Tom Hollander (the mole), Idris Elba (the fox), and Gabriel Byrne (the horse). The 34-minute film is directed by Peter Baynton and Charlie Mackesy. You can watch it here.
Read More: Best Pixar Short Films
