Best family movies of 2026 (so far)

Those boisterous Italian plumbers return in a sequel to 2023’s smash-hit animation that also made a motza but mislays some of the hectic charm of the first film. This time, Mario and Luigi – voiced again by Chris Pratt and Charlie Day – are up against the ankle-biting menace of Bowser Jr after his evil dad gets downsized. This one replicates the intergalactic adventures of the Super Mario Galaxy platform game (ie it slightly rips off Star Wars) as the drain-clearing duo team up with Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and cute dino Yoshi (Donald Glover). Zippy and colourful, it’ll keep the younger kids transfixed without giving the oldies a headache.

Pixar are usually the ones coming up with the bold new ideas, but who’s going to grumble when they tiptoe into James Cameron’s lab and borrow his Avatar body-swap McGuffin for a wildlife caper with slight shades of A Bug’s Life. Instead of a US Marine, it’s a tenacious six-year-old who plugs herself a sci-fi device. The impassioned kid, Mabel, has her consciousness transplanted to a robot beaver to try to save the critters of a picturesque glade threatened by Jon Hamm’s beltway-building mayor. With an eco-positive message that everyone needs to hear, it’s a fun and thoughtful animal adventure with loads of memorable characters. 

The coolest way to get your kids into Shakespeare, Scarlet adds a gender-swapped, dark fantasy twist to Hamlet reimagining the Bard’s tragedy from the POV of the titular princess who is trapped in a psychedelic afterlife. As Scarlet seeks vengeance for her father King Amleth’s murder, she traverses other-worldly dimensions and discovers herself along the way. Armed with a sword and aided by an empathetic nurse, this 16th century heroine makes for quite the role model for young anime watchers. And with some fast-paced one-on-one combat thrown in the mix, it adds an extra edge to this fresh take on a play that has been otherwise adapted to death.

The Aussie outback near Alice Springs provides the awe-inspiring backdrop for the story of a TV weatherman Chris Masterman (Ryan Corr), whose smug urbanite outlook comes out second best in an encounter with an adorable marsupial. Kangaroo is firmly from the same lineage of ‘country folk teaching the city big-shot a thing or two about life’ movies – Doc Hollywood, Sullivan’s Travels et al – but it’s deftly done, and has a big heart and a pouch’s worth of charm. Newcomer Lily Whiteley is delightful as 12-year-old Indigenous girl Charlie, who helps Chris find meaning in rescuing orphaned joeys. It’s all based on a true story, too. 

One of those family films that plays very differently to children and adults. For smaller people, it’s a charming little story of a girl discovering all the wonders and curiosities around her, animated in beautiful, candy-coloured imagery. To older viewers, it’s a layered story of the complication of the world and how our fate is often out of our hands.

Long delayed and more than worth the wait, this Who Framed Roger Rabbit-esque live-action/animation hybrid has cartoon Wile E Coyote suing Acme, manufacturer of ludicrous contraptions, for causing him innumerable injuries. It’s smart, funny, surprisingly emotional and, for any Looney Tunes devotees, absolutely packed with delightful easter eggs. 

A whole generation of children got a solid grounding in horror movie lore this year, with Monsters & Minions and this Aardman creature feature both nodding affectionately to James Whale, Bela Lugosi, HP Lovecraft and the like. This time, it’s Shaun who becomes a mad scientist and accidentally unleashes a giant beastie on the unsuspecting inhabitants of Mossingham. The British stop-motion animation heroes do what they do best: weaving a stream of brilliant sight gags, silent comedy pratfalls and monster movie plot twists in a lavishly realised world of quaint charm and endless fun details. Suitable for all ages, it’s not even as scary as The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

This Pixar fifthquel was a ginormous hit with cinema-goers and will be huge again when it hits Disney+ on September 23. WALL·E and Finding Nemo director Andrew Stanton tackles his first Toy Story outing with panache. He and co-writer and former storyboard artist McKenna Harris center Jessie (voiced by Joan Cusack) in the story this time, letting Woody and Buzz save their energy for another classic Toy Story rescue-mission finale, and introduce a very relatable antagonist: an AI tablet. It won’t rip your heart out like the end of Toy Story 3, but it’s another wonderfully wistful and funny yarn that feels almost as fresh as 30 years ago.