Amazon is an online marketplace, and Amazon Prime’s video service was built on that foundation. The good news is that almost any movie you can think of is available on Prime to rent or purchase digitally. The bad news is that the selection is particularly slim if you’re looking for kids movies that come with your Prime membership — almost all of the Disney and Pixar classics are readily available, but for a price. Finding kids titles that don’t require an additional fee can be a bit more of a challenge, but fortunately, we’ve already done the legwork for you, so you can rest assured that these are the best kids movies on Amazon Prime Video right now.
We’ve also rounded up the best kids movies on Hulu, the best kids movies on Netflix, and the best kids movies on Disney+ if you don’t find what you’re looking for on Amazon Prime.
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
If you’re looking for a great kids movie, it’s hard to go wrong with this Steven Spielberg classic. E.T. The Extra-terrestrial follows the friendship and bond between a stranded alien and a young boy named Elliott (Henry Thomas). Elliott’s siblings Gertie (Drew Barrymore) and Michael (Robert MacNaughton) are also in on the secret of E.T., as they try to hide the alien to keep it safe. However, E.T.’s rapidly declining health and a group of government agents out to capture the alien make it a race to the finish for not only E.T.’s life but for Elliott’s as well.
Rotten Tomatoes: 98%
Stars: Henry Thomas, Peter Coyote, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore
Director: Steven Spielberg
Rating: PG
Runtime: 114 minutes
The Addams Family (2019)
Critics didn’t exactly invite The Addams Family back into their lives, but audiences loved the animated return of the delightfully macabre clan. Plus, it was an inspired bit of casting to feature Oscar Isaac and Charlize Theron as Gomez and Morticia Addams. While the Addams have peacefully resided in New Jersey for years, a reality TV host named Margaux Needler (Allison Janney) wants to push the family out of town so she can gentrify it. However, Wednesday Addams (Chloë Grace Moretz) strikes up a friendship with Margaux’s daughter, Parker (Elsie Fisher), which ultimately challenges the views of both families.
Rotten Tomatoes: 44%
Stars: Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Finn Wolfhard, Nick Kroll
Director: Conrad Vernon, Greg Tiernan
Rating: PG
Runtime: 86 minutes
Steamboy (2004)
The name Steamboy implies that this anime film is a superhero story. And it is, after a fashion. But it’s primarily a steampunk alternative history adventure that revolves around the Steam family. For the English dub, Anna Paquin provides the voice of James Ray Steam, a young inventor whose father, Edward (Alfred Molina), was lost years before due to a botched experiment. James’ grandfather, Lloyd Steam (Patrick Stewart), re-enters his life with a warning about the technology that claimed Edward and the people who want to control it. Ultimately, James will be forced to choose whether he wants to follow his grandfather’s path, or embrace the way of his father in order to shape the future of the world and his family. Watch it fast, this title leaves Prime on March 31.
Rotten Tomatoes: 59%
Stars: Anna Paquin, Patrick Stewart, Alfred Molina
Director: Katsuhiro Otomo
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 126 minutes
Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown (1977)
There are a few Peanuts movies on Amazon Prime, but Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown is particularly notable for the way it pushes the kids out of their comfort zone. Charlie Brown (Duncan Watson), Lucy (Melanie Kohn), and Linus van Pelt (Liam Martin) head to summer camp with Snoopy (Bill Melendez) in tow. They also find themselves in an escalating situation with the camp bullies, especially in regards to the camp’s annual raft race. While Peppermint Patty (Stuart Brotman) leads the girl’s team, Charlie Brown discovers his confidence as he leads the boys on a wild adventure.
Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
Stars: Duncan Watson, Stuart Brotman, Gail Davis, Liam Martin, Melanie Kohn
Director: Bill Melendez, Phil Roman
Rating: G
Runtime: 75 minutes
Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000)
This may come as a shock, but Thomas and the Magic Railroad wasn’t exactly a hit with the critics. But it’s a children’s movie at its heart, and it’s based upon the beloved TV series, Thomas the Tank Engine. In his big-screen adventure, Thomas (Eddie Glen) and his friends try to protect Lady (Britt Allcroft) from the malevolent Diesel 10 (Neil Crone). Thomas also befriends Lily Stone (Mara Wilson), while Mr. Conductor (Alec Baldwin) faces a crisis of his own when his supply of magic gold dust is perilously low.
Rotten Tomatoes: 21%
Stars: Peter Fonda, Mara Wilson, Alec Baldwin, Didi Conn, Russell Means
Director: Britt Allcroft
Rating: G
Runtime: 85 minutes
The Gruffalo’s Child (2011)
Julia Donaldson and artist Axel Scheffler’s children’s novel, The Gruffalo’s Daughter, was adapted in 2011 as a short film. Helena Bonham Carter narrates the story of the Gruffalo’s Child (Shirley Henderson), who loses faith in her father (Robbie Coltrane). She ignores her father’s warnings to stay out of the woods in order to find the “big bad mouse” who scared the Gruffalo years before. Along the way, she encounters Fox (Tom Wilkinson), Owl (John Hurt), and Snake (Rob Brydon) before meeting the Mouse (James Corden) himself.
Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
Stars: Rob Brydon, Robbie Coltrane, James Corden, Shirley Henderson, John Hurt
Director: Johannes Weiland, Uwe Heidschötter
Rating: G
Runtime: 27 minutes
The Last Unicorn (1982)
Peter S. Beagle adapted his own novel, The Last Unicorn, as an animated feature film nearly four decades ago. Mia Farrow provides the voice of the last Unicorn, as she goes on a quest to find the rest of her kind. Angela Lansbury has a rare villainous turn as Mommy Fortuna, but the real threat to the unicorn is King Haggard (Christopher Lee). To protect the unicorn, the magician Schmendrick (Alan Arkin) transforms her into a human. But once she becomes a woman, the unicorn falls for Haggard’s son, Prince Lir (Jeff Bridges), and risks losing her innate magic forever.
Rotten Tomatoes: 73%
Stars: Alan Arkin, Jeff Bridges, Mia Farrow, Angela Lansbury, Christopher Lee
Director: Arthur Rankin Jr., Jules Bass
Rating: G
Runtime: 84 minutes
Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart (2014)
Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart is a French animated film that is visually striking, and if you’ll pardon the expression, it has a lot of heart. Mathias Malzieu voices Jack, a young boy who was born with a frozen heart. To save his life, Jack’s heart was replaced by a cuckoo-clock. This made Jack feel like an outcast, and he could never fall in love without jeopardizing his life. Regardless, Jack does fall for a girl called Miss Acacia (Olivia Ruiz). And even after they were separated for years, his heart still beats for her. But a bully from Jack’s past threatens to tear the two asunder before their love can truly begin.
Rotten Tomatoes: 77%
Stars: Mathias Malzieu, Olivia Ruiz, Grand Corps Malade, Jean Rochefort
Director: Stéphane Berla, Mathias Malzieu
Rating: PG
Runtime: 93 minutes
Santa and Pete (1999)
Santa and Pete offers an unusual Christmas fable about the origin of Santa Claus. In the present, Grandpa Nicholas (James Earl Jones) tells his grandson, Terence (Sedrathe Gillespie), the significance of Pete (Flex Alexander) to the Christmas legend. In flashbacks, Pete befriends St. Nicholas (Hume Cronyn) after he is unjustly imprisoned. Pete helps St. Nicholas escape, and they share a series of adventures that take them from Europe to the new world in America. Each step along the way gives St. Nicholas everything he needs to become Santa Claus while bringing peace and goodwill to all … and to all a good night!
Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
Stars: Hume Cronyn, Flex Alexander, Emily Mae Young, James Earl Jones
Director: Stéphane Berla, Mathias Malzieu
Rating: G
Runtime: 86 minutes
Gumby: The Movie (1995)
The legacy of Gumby goes all the way back to the ’50s on the TV show Howdy Doody. In 1995, Gumby’s creator, Art Clokey, returned to direct and co-star in Gumby: The Movie. In their big-screen debut, Gumby (Charles Farrington) and his talking horse, Pokey (Clokey), take on the Blockheads while trying to save some local farms. The Blockheads even create robotic clones of Gumby and his band in an attempt to get rich and finally defeat their longtime enemy. But Gumby’s purity of heart is impossible to overcome. He’s just too good and kind to ever be down for long, and no robot clone can stand in his way.
Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
Stars: Dal McKennon, Art Clokey, Gloria Clokey
Director: Art Clokey
Rating: G
Runtime: 88 minutes
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