10 Heart-Warming Family Films for a Cozy Movie Night

By Movieguide Contributor

Winter is the perfect time of year to snuggle up as a family and enjoy a movie together. It can be tricky, though, to find a crowd-pleaser that entertains us parents and is fun and safe for our children. Movieguide® has lined up ten flicks that are easy choices for you to watch with your family. From the important themes of finding joy in the midst of anxiety in INSIDE OUT 2 to the heroic story of persistence and defying the odds in OUT OF MY MIND, there is a movie to warm everyone’s heart this season.

INSIDE OUT 2

Quality:

****

Content:

+2 Moderately questionable elements.

SUMMARY: INSIDE OUT 2 is a sequel to the popular, acclaimed 2015 animated comedy from Pixar and Disney. Riley, the young girl of the first movie, turns 13 and a bunch of unruly teenage emotions, led by Anxiety, take over Riley’s psyche and banish Riley’s other emotions, including Joy. INSIDE OUT 2 is a delightful, inventive, heartwarming movie about “the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10c) and doing the right thing, controlling your emotions, caring for your friends, both old and new, and promoting kindness, friendship, repentance, and forgiveness.

Full Review ⇾

DESPICABLE ME 4

Quality:

****

Content:

+1 Moderately questionable elements. (Discernment required for young children.)

In DESPICABLE ME 4, Gru must hide his family from a new villain who’s escaped prison, but a young teenage girl living in their new neighborhood blackmails him, which results in exposing Gru’s family and endangering Gru’s infant son. DESPICABLE ME 4 is often hilarious, with a strong moral, pro-family worldview, but much of the humor focuses on the comical slapstick chaos of the minions, so MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for younger children.

Full Review ⇾

OUT OF MY MIND

Quality:

****

Content:

+3 Some minor questionable elements. (Media-wisdom is suggested to discuss.)

OUT OF MY MIND on Disney+ highlights the abilities of those with disabilities as a young girl with cerebral palsy proves she’s just as capable as a normal girl. OUT OF MY MIND is a wonderful, uplifting movie stressing the inherent value all humans have along with the importance of a strong family and includes some prayers and positive references to God.

Full Review ⇾

LEO

Quality:

****

Content:

+2 Moderately questionable elements.

Adam Sandler’s latest movie on Netflix, LEO, is a clean, clever, utterly wonderful animated musical comedy for all ages that follows a talking lizard named Leo who helps some students and their mean teacher with numerous life lessons. Leo has spent his entire 74 years of life in a glass-encased terrarium at an elementary school fifth-grade classroom alongside his best friend, Squirtle the Turtle, but now wants to see the world.

Full Review ⇾

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HAROLD AND THE PURPLE CRAYON

Quality:

***

Content:

+1 Moderately questionable elements. (Discernment required for young children.)

In HAROLD AND THE PURPLE CRAYON, Harold is all grown up living in the pages of a book and wants to know where he comes from, so he enters the “Real World” with his purple crayon, which can create anything he wants. HAROLD AND THE PURPLE CRAYON is a silly, entertaining movie with some funny and heartwarming moments and a moral worldview that shows a positive, loving main character who’s looking for his creator.

Full Review ⇾

SNOOPY PRESENTS: WELCOME HOME, FRANKLIN

Quality:

****

Content:

+2 Moderately questionable elements.

SNOOPY PRESENTS: WELCOME HOME, FRANKLIN is a wonderful 40-minute animated movie on Apple TV+ about a young boy named Franklin who moves to Charlie Brown’s hometown and searches for friends. SNOOPY PRESENTS: WELCOME HOME, FRANKLIN is a funny, delightful, well-made animated movie and has a strong moral, redemptive worldview about friendship, sacrifice and loving one another.

Full Review ⇾

DISENCHANTED

Quality:

***

Content:

+1 Moderately questionable elements. (Discernment required for young children.)

In DISENCHANTED on Disney Plus, Giselle questions the happiness she achieved 15 years ago in ENCHANTED and inadvertently turns the lives of her family upside down in the process. DISENCHANTED is a fun, wholesome musical parody, with a strong moral, redemptive worldview that extols family, love and sacrifice, but it drags in places and has some magic spells and violence, so caution is advised for younger children.

Full Review ⇾

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THE VELVETEEN RABBIT

Quality:

****

Content:

+3 Some minor questionable elements. (Media-wisdom is suggested to discuss.)

THE VELVETEEN RABBIT is a movie short on Apple TV+ about a stuffed rabbit who helps bring a shy, lonely boy out of his shell. Accompanied by the excellent storytelling of the original book by Margery Williams, THE VELVETEEN RABBIT is sheer artistic genius and shows that sacrificial love is the key that unlocks the door to the magic of self-discovery, purpose and life.

Full Review ⇾

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THE INCREDIBLES

Quality:

****

Content:

+2 Moderately questionable elements.

THE INCREDIBLES is another incredible animated movie from Pixar and Disney, about two retired superhero parents who must battle a villain targeting their family. Beautifully animated, THE INCREDIBLES is full of exciting energy, fantastic fun, and humorous hilarity, with a very strong redemptive, Christian worldview full of many positive moral messages.

Full Review ⇾

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THE MUPPETS

Quality:

****

Content:

+2 Moderately questionable elements.

THE MUPPETS is a widely entertaining adventure that brings back all our favorite Muppets as they try to get a new show together. Honoring wholesome clean fun, THE MUPPETS is well made with a strong moral worldview that the whole family can enjoy.

Full Review ⇾