With the school holidays on the horizon, Liam Maguren highlights some of the great kids and family films streaming on Neon.
Whānau time is the most precious time, and for most families in Aotearoa New Zealand, they’ll be getting a heap of that during the school holidays. And what better way to cap off your days out than with good nights in watching movies?
For those on Neon, there’s an absolute trove of family films to browse through. To help you out, we’ve neatly sorted some of the best in their whānau-friendly library into four categories.
DC League of Super Pets
The biggest and newest
Fresh off the big screen, there’s an absolute smattering of all-ages blockbusters for the whole family to enjoy. DC League of Super Pets swoops in with a much lighter and goofier kind of superhero film, focusing on Superman and Batman’s canine companions Krypto (voiced by Dwayne Johnson) and Ace (voiced by Kevin Hart) who take on the embodiment of pure evil—Lulu the hamster (voiced by Kate McKinnon).
Live-action musical, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, puts some dancing shoes on the popular children’s book character and gifts him with the singing voice of Shawn Mendes. Struggling to find his place in school, a young boy befriends the talented Lyle. His parents, however, don’t instantly warm up to this apex predator.
DreamWorks Animation may have created the most enjoyable heist film of the last ten years with The Bad Guys. Featuring a band of five largely feared creatures—a wolf, snake, tarantula, shark, and pirana—these close-knit pals find joy in causing chaos within the society that rejects them. But all that mischief gets put in jeopardy when one of them gets called “a good boy.”
Speaking of chaos, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is ready and waiting on Neon. Powered by a bigger budget, more action set-pieces, that potent Jim Carrey energy, and the welcome inclusion of Tails and Knuckles, this is a must-watch for anyone who enjoyed the first film.
And Minions: The Rise of Gru needs no introduction, really. The latest in the box office-crushing, meme-generating, world-dominating franchise finds its way on the streaming service.
Marcel the Shell With Shoes On
Something a bit more serious
If you’re after a more story-driven film for the whole family, it doesn’t get much better than Marcel the Shell With Shoes On (arriving 8 July). Our 3rd favourite film from last year’s NZIFF, A24’s Oscar-nominated heart-inflator follows a talking mollusc who acquires a filmmaker to help him track down his missing family. It’s a soul-touching and contemplative film about loss and reconnection of whakapapa, while also providing wickedly funny observations on the modern human race.
Australian parable Blueback tells the story of a young woman’s mission to protect the oceans and the marine creatures within, depicting her journey through three periods of her life—childhood, teenagehood, and adulthood. An adaptation of the book by Western Australian author Tim Winton, this environmentalist film shows what’s achievable through compassion, education, and persistance.
For parents who constantly find themselves thinking, “They don’t make family films like they used to,” you’ll want to take note of The Railway Children Return. Set during World War II, the story follows a group of kids who find themselves far away from their evacuated home of Yorkshire village.
Storks
Just plain silly
Going to the other end of the silly-serious spectrum, you’ll find Warner Bros’ 2016 flick Storks. It’s completely dedicated to quick-fire comedy chaos, putting a corporate slant on the old idea of storks delivering babies. You won’t remember the moral of the story, but you will remember that birds can’t see glass thanks to one reoccurring gag.
That same year, DreamWorks released their own corporate baby delivery comedy with The Boss Baby. Not sure how that lined up, but the Oscar-nominated family film took a fairly straightforward picture book and powered it with some wonderfully absurd comedy—who’d’ve thought a baby gang car chase could be so fun?
Another Oscar nominee, this time for best song, The LEGO Movie builds upon the pure joy of the construction toy for this knockout block-buster. Written and directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, currently enjoying the success of their recently-produced mega-hit Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the film finds endlessly inventive ways to play around in its LEGO world, capped off with a fantastic ending that clicks right into place.
Red Dog: True Blue
Looking for a marathon?
You could watch all the films we’ve mentioned in succession and call it the Mighty Flicks Marathon. However, if you’re in the market for a franchised family movie marathon, there are some very good options. The entire eight-film Harry Potter saga is ready to be (re)watched in its entirety, and from June 5, Aussie family fave Red Dog releases side-by-side with its follow-up films True Blue and Koko: A Red Dog Story.
This final recommendation isn’t a film, but rather a hidden gem of a miniseries worth binging. Over the Garden Wall from Patrick McHale (Adventure Time, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio) tells a slightly spooky tale of two young brothers lost in the woods trying to find their way home. Delightfully eerie in a way that feels rare for family entertainment, this Emmy-winning fable deserves to be discovered and experienced by families—ideally in the middle of a moody night.
