What to Watch: Movies Featuring Our Favorite Animated Dads

FINDING NEMO is a wonderful animated adventure about a small clownfish who goes in search of his son, who’s been put into a fish tank by human beings. Every second of FINDING NEMO is beautifully animated, spectacularly directed and written with great heart and strong moral values.

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.

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.

A magnificent example of Disney animation, THE LION KING is an heroic tale of good versus evil which embodies many Christian allegorical elements. The sinister usurper Scar plots to kill his brother and nephew so he can become King himself. While there are several minor areas which call for discernment in THE LION KING, the good far outweighs the bad, and the film conveys a clear message of hope, reconciliation and appreciation for the majesty of creation.

SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE is an animated comic book adventure where different incarnations of Spider-Man from other dimensions, including two females and a talking pig, team together to stop a ruthless crime boss from destroying reality by using a gigantic machine to bring back his dead wife and son. Playful and lively, SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE is an exciting, funny movie with lots of action, heart, and faith, but there’s plenty of intense action violence, so caution is advised for children.

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.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON is about the scrawny but brainy son of a Viking chieftain who helps the community end a 300-year feud with fire-breathing dragons. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON is funny, entertaining, exciting, and heart-warming family fun, with a redemptive message, but some of the action may be too scary for very young children.