The best kids movies on Hulu right now
It would be nice if Hulu gave its kids movies the same kind of attention that it lavishes on action, sci-fi, horror, drama, romance, and comedy films. But it seems like every streaming service has a weak category or two. This just happens to be one of Hulu’s weaknesses. The good news is that Disney has apparently loaned out some perennial Disney+ favorites like The Sandlot, George of the Jungle, and Holes to fill out the selection here. It’s only fair since Disney+ is using everything else from Hulu to hide its own shortcomings as a streamer.
The other new addition is The Croods, an animated flick from Disney rival DreamWorks Animation. That means The Croods will only be sticking around for a limited time. But for now, it ranks among the best kids movies on Hulu. You can find that film and all of our selections below.
We’ve also rounded up the best kids movies on Netflix, the best kids movies on Amazon Prime Video, and the best kids movies on Disney+ if you don’t find what you’re looking for on Hulu.
Holes (2003) [New]
Metacritic: 71%
IMDb: 7.0/10
Rated: PG
Duration: 117m
Genre: Adventure, Family, Drama, Comedy
Stars: Shia LaBeouf, Khleo Thomas, Sigourney Weaver
Directed by: Andrew Davis
Before Shia LaBeouf moved on to the bizarre stage of his career as an actor, he had the leading role in Holes, which is a very good adaptation of Louis Sachar’s beloved YA novel. It helps that Sachar wrote the screenplay for director Andrew Davis, and the film manages to condense the story in an effective way. The movie follows Stanley Yelnats IV (LaBeouf), a teenager who is unjustly arrested and convicted for stealing a pair of sneakers.
Stanley is sentenced to 18 months at a youth prison camp run by Louise Walker (Aliens star Sigourney Weaver), Mr. Sir (Jon Voight), and Dr. Pendanski (Tim Blake Nelson). While serving his time, Stanley and the other boys are constantly forced to dig holes in the desert. However, Stanley soon realizes that there’s something wrong about this camp, and the Warden’s actions may be illegal.
The Sandlot (1993) [New]
Metacritic: 55%
IMDb: 7.8/10
Rated: PG
Duration: 101m
Genre: Family, Comedy
Stars: Tom Guiry, Mike Vitar, Patrick Renna
Directed by: David Mickey Evans
The Sandlot is about as Disney as a movie can get without actually being made by Disney. All of those billions that Disney paid for Fox’s entertainment assets came with films like this one that naturally complement the former’s movie library. Among coming-of-age films, few are better than this one. In 1962, Scott “Scotty” Smalls (Tom Guiry) is the new kid in town, and he’s having trouble fitting in and making friends.
Benjamin Franklin “Benny” Rodriguez (Mike Vitar) eventually befriends Scotty and brings him into his team of baseball players who spend the summer having fun near the sandlot. As Scotty bonds with his teammates, he makes a huge mistake by using his stepfather’s Babe Ruth-autographed baseball in a game before subsequently losing it into a yard guarded by a dog they call “the Beast.” Getting that ball back may prove to be a transformative experience for Scotty.
George of the Jungle (1997) [New]
Metacritic: 53%
IMDb: 5.5/10
Rated: PG
Duration: 92m
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Romance
Stars: Brendan Fraser, Leslie Mann, Thomas Haden Church
Directed by: Sam Weisman
There probably aren’t many kids who have seen the George of the Jungle cartoon or even realize that it’s a parody of Tarzan. But thankfully, you don’t need to know any of that to enjoy Disney’s George of the Jungle live-action movie. The Whale‘s Brendan Fraser fully embraces his goofy side as George, a Tarzan-like man who was raised among the animals in Africa. He’s also incredibly klutzy and prone to swinging into trees.
When a tourist, Ursula Stanhope (Leslie Mann), is rescued by George, it’s practically love at first sight for both of them. This angers Ursula’s fiance, Lyle van de Groot (Thomas Haden Church), who is clearly jealous of George’s connection with her. Unfortunately for George, the demands of life in the jungle and the outside world may conspire to keep him apart from his newfound love.
The Croods (2013) [New]
Metacritic: 55%
IMDb: 7.1/10
Rated: PG
Duration: 98m
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Comedy, Action
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds
Directed by: Kirk DeMicco, Chris Sanders
DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods casts Nicolas Cage as the voice of a caveman named Grug Crood, the husband of Ugga (Catherine Keener), and the father of Eep (Poor Things star Emma Stone) and Thunk (Clark Duke). Grug’s kind of a dummy, but his overprotectiveness has kept his family alive through a series of natural disasters.
However, Grug is threatened by the arrival of Guy (Deadpool & Wolverine‘s Ryan Reynolds), a young man whose ideas and inventions outshine everything that the former can create. Grug is particularly upset that Eep is falling for Guy, and the family is turning to the newcomer for leadership. There’s only room for one patriarch among the Croods, and this rivalry may get both Guy and Grug killed.
Paddington (2014)
Metacritic: 77%
IMDb: 7.3/10
Rated: PG
Duration: 96m
Genre: Comedy, Adventure, Family
Stars: Ben Whishaw, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins
Directed by: Paul King
The reason that fans rave about the two Paddington films to date is that they are among the rare adaptations that don’t lose the charm of their source material. There’s nothing here to give Paddington Bear (Passages star Ben Whishaw) more of an edge, and that’s an acknowledgement that his character doesn’t require anything like that. He’s perfect as he is.
Paddington acts as an origin story for its lead character, who just happens to be an infallibly polite talking bear. Paddington comes to London in the hopes of finding a new home, and he finds what he’s looking for with Henry (Hugh Bonneville) and Mary Brown (Sally Hawkins), as well as the couple’s two children. Unfortunately for Paddington, he’s also inadvertently come to the attention of Millicent Clyde (Nicole Kidman), a malicious woman who wants to add him to her collection of stuffed animals
Curious George (2006)
Metacritic: 62%
IMDb: 6.5/10
Rated: G
Duration: 87m
Genre: Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family
Stars: Will Ferrell, Drew Barrymore, David Cross
Directed by: Matthew O'Callaghan
The beloved Curious George stories finally got a movie worthy of the name with this 2006 animated film. Veteran voice actor Frank Welker provides the sounds for George, a monkey whose curiosity gets him in trouble with other animals long before he meets the Man in the Yellow Hat, who is named Ted (Will Ferrell) in the film.
Ted encounters George while he is on an expedition to recover an idol that will keep his museum from being closed by the owner’s son, Junior (David Cross). Ted isn’t as instantly taken by George as the monkey is with him, but their bond only grows as George follows Ted back to New York City — and manages to get into even more trouble there than he did in the jungle.
The Secret Garden (2020)
Metacritic: 59%
IMDb: 5.6/10
Rated: PG
Duration: 99m
Genre: Family, Fantasy, Drama
Stars: Dixie Egerickx, Tommy Gene Surridge, Colin Firth
Directed by: Marc Munden
There have been so many film and TV adaptations of The Secret Garden that it’s easy to lose track of them. The 2020 adaptation is among the most recent, and it stars Dixie Egerickx as Mary Lennox, a young girl who is orphaned during the partition of India in 1947. With no other family to turn to, Mary is sent to live with her emotionally distant uncle, Lord Archibald Craven (Colin Firth).
While exploring Lord Craven’s large English estate, Mary meets and befriends her bedridden cousin, Colin Craven (Edan Hayhurst). Mary also discovers the titular secret garden, which may provide the spark that she, Colin, and even Lord Craven himself need to find the happiness that they desire.
