The best kids’ movies to stream right now

Just add snacks! These beautiful kids’ movies from 2023 and 2024 will make your next family movie night one to remember.

Kung Fu Panda 4 | First on Showmax | Stream now | Ages 10-12PG

The sixth biggest box office hit of 2024 (so far), Kung Fu Panda 4 returns comedy icon Jack Black to his role as Po, the world’s most unlikely kung fu master. When Po is tapped to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace, he needs to find and train a new Dragon Warrior, but a wicked sorceress plans to re-summon all the master villains whom Po has vanquished to the spirit realm. Po finds help in the form of crafty, quick-witted thief Zhen, a corsac fox who really gets under Po’s fur, but the comedic odd-couple duo will have to work together if they’re going to protect the Valley of Peace from Chameleon’s reptilian claws.

Golden Globe winner Awkwafina voices Zhen in a star-studded voice cast that includes Oscar winners Dustin Hoffman, Ke Huy Quan and Viola Davis.

Kung Fu Panda 4 was nominated for the 2024 Kids’ Choice Award for Favourite Animated Movie, with Jack Black and Awkwafina nominated for Favourite Voice from an Animated Movie – Male, and Female, respectively.

DreamWorks Animation’s beloved action-comedy franchise has now earned over $2 billion at the global box office. The first and third films are also on Showmax, with Kung Fu Panda 2 completing the box set on 30 December 2024.

Tabby McTat | Stream now | Ages PG

Adapted from the bestselling Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler picture book, Tabby McTat is about the warm and wonderful friendship between a musical cat and a talented busker called Fred. One day when chasing a thief, Fred falls and breaks his leg and is whisked away in an ambulance. What will become of the busker’s cat, left alone on the streets of London?

Directed by South Africans Sarah Scrimgeour and Jac Hamman (Superworm), Tabby McTat stars BAFTA nominees Rob Brydon (Gavin and Stacey) and Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísú (Gangs of London) as Fred and Tabby, with Critics Choice Super nominee Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who) as the narrator.

Produced by Magic Light Pictures (The Gruffalo, Snail and the Whale, Zog), Tabby McTat was one of the 10 most-watched shows on TV in England on Christmas Day 2023. It was the most-watched animated feature from UK broadcasters across the festive period, attracting over 8.6m viewers, with The Daily Telegraph hailing it as “pretty much purrfect.”

Tabby McTat won the 2024 International Emmy for Kids: Animation as well as the Preschool category at the BANFF World Media Festival and the Audience Award at the New York International Children’s Film Festival. It’s also nominated for a Rose d’Or Award in December 2024 and a Kidscreen Award in February 2025.

All 11 Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler adaptations will be available to binge on Showmax before Christmas, with The Smeds and the Smoos, Zog 1-2, The Gruffalo 1-2, The Snail and The Whale, Superworm and The Highway Rat available to binge now.

Wonka | First on Showmax | Stream now | Ages PG V

Inspired by Roald Dahl’s classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Wonka stars Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet (Dune) as the young Willy Wonka, chock-full of ideas and determined to change the world one delectable bite at a time.

From Paul King (writer-director of the Paddington films) and Harry Potter producer David Heyman, the magical musical comedy was the seventh biggest blockbuster of 2023.

Chalamet won the Kids’ Choice Award for Favourite Movie Actor, while Calah Lane was nominated for a Critics Choice Award, Keegan-Michael Key for a Kids’ Choice Favourite Villain Award, and Olivia Colman for a Critics Choice Super Award. Also look out for Hugh Grant as an Oompa Loompa.

Wonka has an 82% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with The Guardian hailing the family film as “spectacular, imaginative, sweet-natured and funny.”

IF | Stream now | Ages 7-9 PG

The #20 biggest box office hit of 2024 so far, IF is about a girl who discovers that she can see everyone’s imaginary friends (aka IFs) and embarks on a magical adventure to reconnect forgotten IFs with their kids.

Directed and co-written by John Krasinski (A Quiet Place), IF stars Cailey Fleming (Judith Grimes in The Walking Dead) as Bea and Emmy winner Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) as Cal, a role that’s already earned him a 2024 Kids’ Choice Award nomination for Favourite Movie Actor.

The all-star voice cast is led by Steve Carell as Blue, Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Blossom, and the late Louis Gossett Jr as Lewis, with Awkwafina as Bubble, and John Krasinski as Marshmallow. Also see if you can spot the voices of Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Blake Lively, Bradley Cooper, Emily Blunt, George Clooney, Jon Stewart, Matt Damon, Matthew Rhys and Sam Rockwell.

In their 4/5-star review, Common Sense Media recommends IF for ages 6+, hailing the film as “a mind-bending, eye-popping, musical extravaganza that’s truly unforgettable.”

Classics on the couch

This is just a taster of the kids content on Showmax, which also includes family favourites like:

• All the Harry Potter films
• The Lord of the Rings trilogy
• E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, the Steven Spielberg classic which won four Oscars
• Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
• The blockbuster young adult franchise The Hunger Games, starring Jennifer Lawrence