Published: April 22, 2024
10 Inspiring Movies for Kids on the Spectrum
By Movieguide® Contributor
Parents of children on the spectrum know how sensitive their kids can be. Whether it’s a movie that helps them understand their emotions, like INSIDE OUT, or a flick that teaches the importance of friendship, like THE PEANUTS MOVIE, this curated list features films that will inspire and entertain kids with challenges. From gentle stories about feeling different, like PIGLET’S BIG MOVIE, to exciting films about acceptance, like MEGAMIND, sensory kids will love these films.
LUCA
Pixar’s new animated comedy, LUCA, is about a young teenage boy who visits a beautiful seaside Italian town with his newfound friend, but all their fun is threated by a deep secret: they are both sea monsters from another world just below the ocean’s surface. Streaming on Disney Plus, LUCA isn’t as spectacular a production as the best of Pixar’s animated classics, but it’s a delightful, heartwarming, funny family movie with appealing characters where friendship overcomes prejudice and sinful pride.
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THE PEANUTS MOVIE
THE PEANUTS MOVIE is a wonderful animated movie based on the beloved comic strip created by Charles Schulz, wherein Charlie Brown falls for the new girl in town and tries to make a good first impression, despite his poor reputation. THE PEANUTS MOVIE is a lovable, funny, entertaining animated movie for all ages that teaches positive lessons of compassion, honesty, and selflessness, with only some slapstick and minor perilous scenes that might scary sensitive, very young children.
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MEGAMIND
MEGAMIND features the title character super villain battling his archenemy super hero Metro Man, only to find that he himself might make a good hero. A very entertaining movie with a redemptive heart, MEGAMIND has slapstick violence and some edgy elements requiring caution for young children.
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PIGLET'S BIG MOVIE
PIGLET'S BIG MOVIE is an absolutely adorable, highly moral and redemptive animated movie about Winnie the Pooh and his friends, who find out how important a role small little Piglet plays in their lives.
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LILO & STITCH
LILO & STITCH is the story of two outcasts who find each other and, through many dangers and trials, change each other for the better and find love and “Ohana,” the Hawaiian name for family. Cartoon violence and two brief comical references to evolution and voodoo are the only things which mar the moral worldview of LILI & STITCH, which is appropriate for older children.
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INSIDE OUT
INSIDE OUT is an animated comedy about a young girl who has a wonderful life, until her family moves to San Francisco and her emotions get out of control. INSIDE OUT is a well-made, delightful movie with a great plot line, excellent animation and a strong moral worldview.
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THE TIGGER MOVIE
In THE TIGGER MOVIE, Winnie the Pooh and his friends try to help Tigger, the boisterous, bouncy feline, find other tiggers to go bouncing with him. THE TIGGER MOVIE is a fun picture with strong characters whose message of caring friendship and sacrificial love will delight media-wise parents everywhere.
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WONDER
WONDER is a family drama about Auggie, a young boy with a facial deformity who’s entering school for the first time after being homeschooled by his mother. The movie looks at Auggie’s first year in school from his perspective and the perspective of those around him. WONDER is a terrifically empathetic, uplifting movie that will bring tears of joy, but there’s brief, mostly light foul language.
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WALL-E
WALL*E, the latest animated feature from Pixar and Walt Disney Pictures, is about a lonely, lovelorn robot who has the key to the future of the human race and earth. If you’ve been waiting for entertainment that would lift you up, carry you to the outer reaches of imagination, inspire you, fill you with love, joy and happiness, and leave you with a great fantastic crescendo, you might want to see WALL*E.
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ENCANTO
ENCANTO is a lively animated musical about a girl living in an isolated magical village in Colombia where everyone in her family has a magical gift but her, but she becomes the only one who can save her family from losing its magic. Beautifully produced, funny and heartwarming, ENCANTO sounds like it could be filled with witchcraft, but the movie explicitly states that family is the real magic and contains overt Christian references, themes, images, and symbolism, which form the backdrop to the story and plot.
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