Movies can be a helpful tool when you just need to have your kids preoccupied for 90 minutes. But, when you actually want to enjoy a movie with them, it’s nice to have options on family movies that both parents and kids can enjoy. Tubi TV has a healthy library of films to meet that need.
The free, ad-supported Tubi TV streaming service, as part of its thousands of hours of movies and TV shows available, features hundreds of family-friendly titles, including some that the parents may have grown up with and want to share with their kids, or newer titles that they can discover together.
Take a look at some of the best family movies that are currently available on Tubi TV.
The Black Stallion (1979)
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The Black Stallion is one of the greatest child adventure stories ever put to screen. The story centers on a boy, who after being shipwrecked on a deserted island, bonds with a wild horse. Then, after being rescued, the boy begins to train the horse to race. Both the scenes on the island and the final race are beautifully and thrilling constructed in the film.
Kelly Reno stars as the young boy, with Teri Garr and Mickey Rooney, who earned an Oscar nomination, also starring in support. Carroll Ballard directed, but Francis Ford Coppola, at the height of his prowess, was also onboard as an executive producer.
Corpse Bride (2005)
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Tim Burton has always had a ghoulish element to his films, but he was able to take it to another level with the stop-motion animated film Corpse Bride. Though Burton’s name is in front of A Nightmare Before Christmas (he produced it), Corpse Bride was actually the first full-length animated feature that the director took on.
With two of his stalwarts, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, in tow, Corpse Bride revolves around a shy groom who inadvertently ends up being wed to a deceased young woman instead. This Oscar-nominated animated feature also featured the voice work of Emily Watson, Tracey Ullman, Albert Finney, Richard E. Grant and Christopher Lee.
Free Willy (1993)
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Free Willy is a classic kids movie in a tricky spot these days, following the release of the 2013 documentary Blackfish. On the one hand, the film was indicative of many of the issues regarding the treatment of orca whales the documentary touches on and helped perpetuate them further. But on the other hand, the story revolves around getting the whale out of captivity and back into the wild. When looking at it just as a film though, it is a touching story about an orphaned boy who finds a kindred spirit in Willy and features one of the most iconic endings of the 1990s.
Jason James Richter, Lori Petty, Michael Madsen, Jayne Atkinson, August Schellenberg and Michael Ironside star.
Kung Fu Panda (2008)
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Featuring an all-star voice cast led by Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Lucy Liu and Jackie Chan, Kung Fu Panda is a hilarious entry into both the animation and martial arts genres.
Po is a panda with a love of kung fu, and when he is surprisingly identified as the legendary dragon warrior, he must prove that he is more than he appears to his skeptical new master Shifu and save his village from a jealous rival.
Kung Fu Panda is an entertaining way to help kids learn to believe in themselves.
The Land Before Time (1988)
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The Land Before Time series has grown to what at this point seems like an infinite number of films (OK, 14), but for those of a certain age (i.e. millennials), they’ll likely always have a soft spot in their hearts for the original film.
The Land Before Time sees an orphaned brontosaurus (his mother’s death scene is up there with Bambi for animated gut punches) team up with other young dinosaurs to travel to a far away valley where members of their family have gone to. Of course, bigger dinosaurs and other dangers stand in their way.
A marathon of The Land Before Time movies is not needed, but the original is definitely worth introducing to young kids today.
The Lord of the Rings (1978)
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Lord of the Rings fans that have become parents probably can’t wait to share Tolkien’s world with their kids, but they may want to hold off on the Peter Jackson movies until they’re a little bit older. In the meantime, they can use the 1978 animated adaptation to try and get them hooked on Lord of the Rings.
The Lord of the Rings takes a big swing trying to compress the entire trilogy of books into a single movie, but young viewers can get the cliffnotes. Kids and parents may also enjoy the mix of animation and live action tracing that gives the film a unique look, even by today’s standards.
Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (2019)
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Classic literary sleuth Nancy Drew got a modern day update in Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase. Sophia Lillis (It) takes on the title role as she tries to solve a mystery revolving around a supposedly haunted house in the town that she just moved to.
Osmosis Jones (2001)
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The Farrelly brothers had made a name for themselves in part from the gross-out humor in Dumb and Dumber and There’s Something About Mary, but they took that to another level when they went inside the human body for the animated comedy Osmosis Jones.
Chris Rock and David Hyde Pierce are a white blood cell and cold bill that team up to try and fight off a deadly virus from killing their host body, played in live action scenes by Bill Murray.
Paddington (2014)
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The literary bear named after the famous London train station made his big screen debut in 2014, and what a debut it was. Paddington follows a young Peruvian bear that loves marmalade and travels to London, finding a home with the kindly Brown family. Of course, antics ensue but overall the family welcomes their new member.
Paddington delivered a simple message about treating everyone with kindness. That message with the film’s earnestness made it a smash hit with audiences and critics (it earned two BAFTA nominations) and one of most successful kid movie franchises of the 21st century so far.
Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985)
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When Pee-Wee Herman’s beloved bike gets stolen, he goes on a cross country journey to retrieve it. The premise is simple, but for anybody who is familiar with Paul Reubens’ Pee-Wee Herman character or Tim Burton, making his feature film debut, it should come as little surprise that the film is not.
Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure is a wild and looney adventure that sees Pee-Wee come across tough bikers, rampage a Hollywood film studio and get a lift from Large Marge. Ride along with Pee-Wee with a rewatch on Tubi.
Troop Beverly Hills (1989)
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The fish-out-of-water comedy is a classic genre trope, and what’s more indicative of that than a Beverly Hills socialite trying to rough it in the woods? That’s what Shelly Long’s character has to do in the ‘80s comedy Troop Beverly Hills. Long is joined in the cast by Craig T. Nelson, Betty Thomas and Carla Gugino, among others.
