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In the thick of summer, parents can rely on our list of the best kids movies on Netflix right now to help keep youngsters entertained with a classic kids movie or an original choose-your-own-adventure story.
Nick Perry is a freelance writer who bounced from Hollywood to Silicon Beach to pajama pants. His work has been featured on Digital Trends, Good Morning America, Entrepreneur, Mashable, and more media outlets.
Michael Bizzaco has been writing about and working with consumer tech for well over a decade, writing about everything from A/V components and smart home devices to encryption software, cloud backup platforms, search engine tools, and more. He has written for Digital Trends for over three years, covering entertainment content, A/V, and smart home devices.
Netflix is all about All American this week. As things currently stand, Cobra Kai is the only scripted series ahead of All American on the list of the most popular shows on Netflix. That's because the sixth season of this hit teen drama has finally arrived on Netflix, which was already streaming the first five seasons of All American.
Among the other new arrivals this week, we suspect that The Decameron could be a breakout series for Netflix as well. This black comedy takes place in the Dark Ages, but it has a very modern spin and Drunk History fans should be right at home with this one. These are just two of the best shows on Netflix right now, and you can find all of our other picks below.
In case you're wondering why Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is suddenly on top of the most popular movies on Netflix, there are two things that you should know. First is that every new movie that Sony debuts in 2024 will stream on Netflix, and the other reason is that people just love the Ghostbusters even when the sequels don't quite measure up to the originals. Nostalgia is almost always the king on Netflix, and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is an even better example of that.
But if you're looking for something fresh, one of this week's other new movies, Find Me Falling, is a Netflix original rom-com. You can find those films, and 48 more among our picks for the best movies on Netflix right now. And the great thing about Netflix is that it's always adding new films, which is why we update this list every Friday.
Try not to act too shocked when Deadpool & Wolverine sets a new record for an R-rated film's opening weekend. That's been evident for a while now, and it's no mystery as to why. Getting Hugh Jackman on board to co-headline the sequel with Ryan Reynolds was a coup in of itself, but far from the only thing that's going to give this film great repeat business. It's too soon to say that this will snap Marvel out of its recent slump since Deadpool and Wolverine came with two established superstars. The real test of Marvel's resurgence won't be until its next movie, Captain America: Brave New World, hits theaters in February 2025.
In the meantime, expect Marvel's latest film to suck all of the air out of the box office this weekend, even though Twisters, Inside Out 2, Despicable Me 4, and Bad Boys: Ride or Die have established themselves as hits. Maybe the problems with this summer's grosses really were Furious and The Fall Guy all along. Regardless, there are still a lot of films coming this year, and our roundup of the best new movies coming to theaters in 2024 is your guide to staying on top of them.
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I grew up imitating Sandler's silly voices, hiding his comedy cassettes from my parents, and rewatching Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison over and over until I had them committed to memory. That said, my hopes for Leo were rock-bottom.
The trailers I'd seen, which center on a pair of crotchety class pets griping about the youth, didn't inspire confidence. Admittedly, Sandler has enjoyed critical successes recently with films like the anxiety-driven thriller Uncut Gems, the sports drama Hustle, and the coming-of-age comedy You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah. But I haven't been excited to see a Sandler movie in years. Blame the stint of dreadful comedies, ranging from the soph-moronic I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry to the dismal Pixels and The Ridiculous 6, a Western that has a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes.
While the promos for Leo feel like they're playing to the same lowest common denominator as the comedian's most tedious works, there's sweetness and surprises in store that won over this Sandler cynic.
Robert Smigel, the visionary comic writer behind Saturday Night Live's delightfully bonkers cartoon sketches Saturday TV Funhouse, co-wrote the script for Leo alongside Sandler and Sandy Wexler scribe Paul Sado. Smigel reunited with TV Funhouse animators Robert Marianetti and David Wachtenheim to share directing duties. Smigel's irreverent edge (he's responsible for Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, after all) plays well with Sandler's zany, juvenile schtick, making for a movie that's both salty and sweet.
Sandler lends his voice to the titular lizard, who at 74 years old worries he's wasted his life in the terrarium of a fifth-grade classroom. So, when a cranky substitute (Cecily Strong) proposes the students learn responsibility by caring for a classroom pet over the weekend, Leo begins to plot his escape.
Strangely, Leo joins the ranks of Wonka and Mean Girls, movies that hide their musical numbers in their promotional materials. Admittedly, the first song in Leo is a bit rough, sung by the ensemble of fifth-graders who are all excited and anxious about the new school year. Their youthful voices are enthusiastic but a bit grating as they sing about their hopes, often off-key. But this is actually fitting, as it gives the adult audience a sense of Leo's exasperation with another year of this.
Some lessons are fairly straightforward, like urging the talker to learn to listen. Others make for hilarious musical numbers in which a rascally lizard tells one girl she and her keeping-up-with-the-Joneses family "are not that great." In another, he advises a child of divorce that crying "makes you look ugly and dumb." It's the kind of vintage advice that could make kids burst into tears or gentle parents blanch. But in the film, the kids find wisdom within Leo's frankness, sometimes rejecting his advice outright but valuing his loving intentions nevertheless.
While there are some vague jokes about sex and puberty, there's nothing here that is sure to spark an awkward conversation over the dinner table. Parents will get the winking references to bawdier humor, but kids will be chuckling over the animal antics; in addition to Leo and Squirtle, there's also a surly party pony, a pack of grumbling gators, and a harried bunny. However, everyone will enjoy the animated design of the kindergarteners, who are depicted as feral, balloon-headed beasts with bug eyes and endless energy that propels them around like Superballs.
Kristy Puchko is the Film Editor at Mashable. Based in New York City, she's an established film critic and entertainment reporter, who has traveled the world on assignment, covered a variety of film festivals, co-hosted movie-focused podcasts, interviewed a wide array of performers and filmmakers, and had her work published on RogerEbert.com, Vanity Fair, and The Guardian. A member of the Critics Choice Association and GALECA as well as a Top Critic on Rotten Tomatoes, Kristy's primary focus is movies. However, she's also been known to gush over television, podcasts, and board games. You can follow her on Twitter.
Choosing from the best family movies on Netflix isn't easy, even with a new addition here and there. Netflix's always losing licensed movies, giving us reasons to update this list to make sure it reflects the current options. Making matters worse, Netflix's Children & Family Movies section is packed with films of questionable quality, and it takes a lot of time to sift through all of them to find something that works for you and your crew.
We consider ratings from both Common Sense Media and Rotten Tomatoes, but neither is exactly the end-all-be-all for deciding what's truly one of the best family movies on Netflix. Trying to keep your kids away from inappropriate content? Check out our guide on how to set up Netflix parental controls.
True Spirit tells the true story of teenager Jessica Watson (Teagan Croft), who became the youngest person to sail around the world on her own. Watson sets out on the daring voyage at just 16 years old. Anna Paquin stars as her mother, who supports Jessica's ambitious dream despite its dangers, and Cliff Curtis gives a standout performance as the gruff but dedicated sailing mentor who trains Watson for the treacherous journey ahead. It's an uplifting story about never giving up, even when facing the impossible, that will likely resonate with the entire family or anyone who needs a little encouragement here and there.
Ruby Gillman (Lana Condor) is a 16-year-old kraken who desperately wants to fit in at school with her peers. But that's hard to do when you have an overprotective mom who won't let you in the water. When Ruby breaks her rules and figures out she's part of a line of powerful kraken queens and is next in line for the throne from her grandmother, her life if being an invisible nobody ends as she must face off against a group of evil mermaids set on taking over the world's oceans.
Marcel (Jenny Slate) is a tiny shell who lives with his grandmother, and yes, he has shoes on. The pair are the only ones who live in their town, though they once had a neighbor who mysteriously disappeared. After someone finds a film posted by the neighbor, the world discovers Marcel and millions fall in love with him and look to help him on his journey to reconnect with his long-lost family.
Leo (Adam Sandler) is an old lizard who still has a zest for life. After spending every day of his life as a class pet, eventually discovers his days are numbered, with just one year left to make his dreams of freedom from the school he lives in a reality. But when a notoriously mean substitute teacher takes over his class, Leo's escape plan takes an unexpected turn. He soon finds himself far away from his best friend and fellow school pet Squirtle (Bill Burr), in a new role where he acts as support and a confidant for frustrated students.
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