Top 10 Kids’ Movies That Celebrate Family Bonding

In THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES, an animated science fiction comedy on Netflix, all Katie wants to do is get to film college, but her father decides the family should drive Katie to college and, along the way, the family finds themselves in the middle of a robot apocalypse. THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES is odd and quirky in a fun way, with great animation and strong morally uplifting, pro-family themes, but the story is a bit too longwinded.

THE UNBREAKABLE BOY tells the true story of a boy with brittle bones and autism, and how his relentless optimism changes everyone he meets. THE UNBREAKABLE BOY is a heartwarming true story with a wonderful script, excellent performances, and a strong Christian, morally uplifting worldview stressing faith, prayer, forgiveness, redemption, attending church, and talking to God, but the father has an alcohol problem because of all the stress he encounters, so caution for older children is advised.

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.

DESPICABLE ME is a very witty, heartfelt animated movie about an extremely sinful character transformed by the love of three little girls. The ending to DESPICABLE ME is so uplifting and redemptive that it overshadows some of the action violence, slapstick comedy and light scatological references.

In PADDINGTON 2, Paddington the Bear is falsely accused of stealing, so the Brown family has to solve the mystery and fight to get him out of jail. PADDINGTON 2 is a funny, loveable, highly entertaining family movie with a strong moral worldview.

RATATOUILLE is a wonderful, savory concoction from the incredible Pixar team in an incredible, but delightful story about a country rat who pursues his dream of culinary greatness among the gourmet restaurants of Paris. Some of the cartoon violence skews toward older children and teenagers, and some moral points are ignored by the dramatic action, but RATATOUILLE has a brilliant light Christian worldview with strong moral elements and very strong sentiments favoring a capitalist meritocracy.

MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN is a heartrending, faith-affirming drama about the true story of a 12-year-old girl suffering from a very serious medical disorder. The cast and the filmmakers do a beautiful job making this story come alive.

The first totally computer animated movie is TOY STORY. It answers the question "What happens to my toys when I leave the room?" in a wonderful, moral, fantastic way. In the movie, Woody is a cowboy doll, voiced by Tom Hanks, who envies the new favorite toy in town, Buzz Lightyear, space ranger, voiced by Tim Allen. When their fighting gets Woody and Buzz left behind at a gas station, they have to start working together to get home. TOY STORY is funny, clean, wholesome, and virtuous -- a classic beginning to a new genre and a masterpiece which is sure to capture the imaginations of young and old alike.

The very funny CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN stars Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt as parents of 12 children who must confront their priorities when their careers get in the way. CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN is highly entertaining. Although it is not the beloved original novel, it makes a tremendous number of positive, redemptive, and moral points including affirming the resurrection of Jesus Christ in the midst of messy situations.

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.