Travelling with your family? Here are some movies for the whole tribe to enjoy together.
Mufasa: The Lion King
Serving as both sequel and prequel to 2019’s The Lion King, itself based on the 1994 animated movie, this photorealistic CGI film plays out via a frame story and flashbacks, alternating between the present day and the past.
In the frame story, Rafiki (John Kani), the wise mandrill, tells young lion cub Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter), the daughter of Simba (Donald Glover) and Nala (Beyoncé Knowles-Carter), the story of her grandfather Mufasa (Aaron Pierre/Braelyn and Brielle Rankins). Timon the meerkat (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa the warthog (Seth Rogen) sit in to provide colour commentary.
Flashbacks reveal the story of Mufasa, an orphaned lion cub who meets the young prince Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr./Theo Somulu). Taka’s father, Obasi (Lennie James), rejects Mufasa, but Taka’s mother, Eshe (Thandiwe Newton), embraces him.
Mufasa and Taka very quickly form a brotherly bond. They befriend Sarabi (Tiffany Boone), a lioness who will eventually become the queen. Our heroes must face off against Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen), the ruthless leader of a pride of white lions called the Outsiders. The duo embark on a fateful path that will take them from being loving adopted brothers to sworn enemies, with Taka eventually taking the name ‘Scar’.
Barry Jenkins, director of the Oscar-winning films Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk, takes over the director’s seat from Jon Favreau, who helmed The Lion King. In the six years since the preceding movie’s release, animation technology has advanced even further, and Mufasa: The Lion King features vividly rendered natural scenery, its story taking place across a wide variety of environments. While some take issue with how the photorealistic design of the animals gets in the way of expressiveness and the movie’s original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda have received mixed reviews, the movie is still surprisingly emotionally resonant, conveying themes of brotherhood and destiny.
Explore the unlikely rise of the beloved king of the Pride Lands as Disney presents “Mufasa: The Lion King.” Follow Rafiki as he recounts the legend of Mufasa to young lion cub Kiara…
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Sonic the Hedgehog 3
The ‘video game movie curse’ is often mentioned in reference to years of sub-par Hollywood film adaptations of beloved games. The Sonic the Hedgehog film series seems to defy this trend, going from strength to strength.
Sonic the Hedgehog (Ben Schwartz), Knuckles the Echidna (Idris Elba), and Tails the fox (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) are celebrating the anniversary of Sonic’s arrival on Earth with their human guardians, Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpter) Wachowski. Director Rockwell (Krysten Ritter) of the Guardian Units of Nations (GUN) agency interrupts the celebration, recruiting Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails to help apprehend Shadow the Hedgehog (Keanu Reeves) in Tokyo.
This mysterious new foe with unforeseen powers has escaped from a 50-year-long stasis in a secret laboratory. Team Sonic soon learns of the link between Gerald Robotnik (Jim Carrey), grandfather of the supervillain Ivo Robotnik (also Carrey), and Shadow. As the Robotniks gain control of an orbiting weapon targeting Earth, our heroes must face their biggest battle yet.
“This third Sonic film is very much a love letter to [the 2001 game] Sonic Adventure 2 with a lot of those story points. We’re honouring what fans really loved about that game, but we never just do direct translations,” director Jeff Fowler tells Deadline. “Video games and movies are two different endeavours, and we also want to tell a story that people who are uninitiated will be invested in as well,” he adds.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 ramps up the comedy, action, and character moments, giving fans more of what they loved from the first two films, including a double dose of Carrey.
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Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails reunite against Shadow, a villain with powers unlike anything they have faced before. With their abilities outmatched, Team Sonic must seek out an unlikely alliance.
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Moana 2
As Moana (Auli‘i Cravalho) knows all too well, the ocean’s call is hard to resist. In this sequel set three years after the first movie’s events, Moana seeks out other island-dwelling communities for the people of Motunui to connect to. The spirit of Tautai Vasa (Gerald Ramsey), one of Moana’s wayfinding ancestors, reaches out to her with a mission. Moana must find the hidden island of Motufetu, which is under a curse by the god Nalo. Breaking this curse will help the disparate communities separated by the ocean find each other again.
Moana reunites with the mischievous, shapeshifting demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) to find Motufetu. First, she assembles her crew, comprising the mechanic Loto (Rose Matafeo), cantankerous farmer Kele (David Fane), and Maui fanboy Moni (Hualālai Chung). Along with Heihei (Alan Tudyk) the chicken and Pua the pig, Moana and her crew embark on a treacherous journey, encountering coconut-like pirates called the Kakamora and the wily underworld goddess Matangi (Awhimai Fraser). She must make it home safely to reunite with her father, Tui (Temuera Morrison), her mother, Sina (Nicole Scherzinger), and her little sister, Simea (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda).
The movie was originally developed as a series on Disney+ and was converted into a feature film relatively late in production. Surprisingly, the animation is as gorgeous as ever, and Moana 2 keeps its predecessor’s spirit of adventure alive. The story draws on rich Polynesian mythology to introduce more deities and creatures to the screen.
If Moana 2’s box office earnings are any proof, the plucky heroine and her boisterous demigod pal continue to capture the imagination of audiences young and old: the movie exceeded Moana’s US$687.2 million gross by reeling in more than US$1 billion.
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Walt Disney Animation Studios’ epic animated musical “Moana 2” reunites Moana (voice of Auli‘i Cravalho) and Maui (voice of Dwayne Johnson) three years later for an expansive new voyage…
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The Wild Robot
This warm, heartfelt, animated sci-fi movie is based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Peter Brown. The titular wild robot is ROZZUM unit 7134, or ‘Roz’ for short (Lupita Nyong’o). After a storm hits the Universal Dynamics cargo ship carrying Roz and other similar units, she washes ashore, becoming the only surviving robot. While escaping from the vicious grizzly bear Thorn (Mark Hamill), she accidentally crushes a goose’s nest, leaving one egg intact. The egg hatches, and Roz raises the orphaned gosling, who she names Brightbill (Kit Connor), as her own.
Roz befriends the animals on the island, including Fink (Pedro Pascal) the red fox, Pinktail (Catherine O’Hara) the Virginia opossum, Longneck (Bill Nighy) the Canada goose, and Thunderbolt (Ving Rhames) the peregrine falcon. While it takes a while for some of the animals to warm to her, they give Roz advice as she cares for Brightbill so he can learn to fly in time for the geese’s winter migration.
Director Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon, The Call of the Wild) crafts a heartfelt tale about overcoming adversity with the help of community. While this critically acclaimed movie is easy to understand for younger viewers, older viewers will appreciate its commentary on the balance between technology and nature, and their potential to exist in harmony.
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Rozzum 7134 (“Roz” for short), a futuristic robot, washes ashore on a deserted island. A tale of survival begins when she becomes the protector to an orphaned gosling, which she names Brightbill.
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Transformers One
Transformers fans all know Optimus Prime and Megatron, but who were they before they became the leaders of the Autobots and the Decepticons, respectively?
Set entirely on the planet Cybertron, Transformers One, the animated prequel movie to Transformers, tells the story of young mining robot Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and his best friend D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry). They do not have cogs in their chests and thus cannot transform. Together with Elita-1 (Scarlett Johansson) and B-127 (Keegan-Michael Key), they embark on an adventure and discover a shocking conspiracy that impacts their worldviews. These events put Orion Pax on the path to becoming Optimus Prime and D-16 on the path to becoming his nemesis, Megatron.
While Transformers One was initially met with scepticism upon its announcement, fans of the franchise came to embrace the movie. Despite its kid-friendly exterior, it is surprisingly layered, featuring a dramatic and even moving portrayal of how two best friends become sworn enemies.
Directed by Josh Cooley (Toy Story 4), the stunningly animated Transformers One features eye-catching sci-fi settings infused with an Art Deco sensibility. As an origin story, it is both accessible for newcomers and packed with enough references to the existing expansive Transformers mythology to be rewarding for longtime fans.
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The untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, better known as sworn enemies, but who once were friends bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever.
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Despicable Me 4
Despicable Me, the flagship franchise of animation studio Illumination, shows no signs of slowing down. Despicable Me 4, the fourth main entry in the series, earned more than US$950 million worldwide, making it the fourth-highest-grossing movie of 2024.
Despicable Me 4 reacquaints audiences with reformed supervillain Gru (Steve Carell), his wife Lucy (Kristen Wiig), and their daughters Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Madison Polan). They welcome a new family member, Gru Jr (Tara Strong), who proves himself to be a handful. A new threat rears its head in the form of Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell), Gru’s boarding school classmate who has long held a grudge since Gru overshadowed him at a talent competition. Maxime and his girlfriend/henchwoman Valentina (Sofía Vergara) plan to turn people into human-cockroach hybrids. Gru and family are forced to relocate and assume new identities to evade Maxime and Valentina, but their covers are quickly blown.
And, of course, Despicable Me 4 features what fans really look forward to: the return of Gru’s Minions. Dave, Mel, Gus, Tim, and Jerry are selected to become Mega Minions with superpowers, turning them into destructive forces.
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The most loveable criminal mastermind and his army of incomprehensible, yet adorable, yellow minions are back for a fourth instalment filled with outrageous adventures and family shenanigans.
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Turning Red
13-year-old Mei (Rosalie Chiang) doesn’t know this, but her family has a secret. Whenever the women in her family feel an overwhelming emotion, they transform into a giant red panda. She’s kept in the dark until the day she experiences it herself, turning into an eight-foot animal overnight. At first, she’s worried about how her friends might take to her secret, but their unwavering support helps calm her down, and she even learns to control her transformations.
Set against the backdrop of early 2000s Toronto, Turning Red contains a delightful serving of fun, especially in the form of youthful chaos — witness the girls going on a quest to see their favourite boy band. But it’s also a smart, heartfelt exploration of adolescence, the tender yet complicated dynamics between mothers and daughters, and the balancing act between family expectations and personal growth. It is, most of all, a joyous celebration of growing up — and loving every part of yourself, including your inner giant red panda.
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“Turning Red” introduces Mei Lee, a confident, dorky 13-year-old torn between staying her mother’s dutiful daughter and the chaos of adolescence...
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Elemental
People say opposites attract. And what greater opposites are there than fire and water? In Pixar’s rom-com Elemental, an unlikely relationship unfolds in Element City, where the Water, Earth, Air, and Fire people live together.
Ember Lumen (Leah Lewis) is a young woman and the child of immigrants Bernie (Ronnie del Carmen) and Cinder (Shila Ommi), who were both originally from Fire Land. Bernie runs a family business called The Fireplace, a shop and cafe where Ember works. The Fire people face suspicion from the other elements, so they mostly keep to themselves.
The pipes under the store burst, and Ember meets Wade Ripple (Mamoudou Athie), a mild-mannered Water person who works as a city inspector. As Ember and Wade begin to fall for each other, they must overcome the deeply ingrained societal attitudes — not to mention physics and chemistry — that keep them apart. Along the way, they come to question their respective purposes in life and what their future will look like if they want to be together.
Elemental was originally conceived as a straightforward superhero tale, in which characters with powers inspired by the elements would fight against villains. It eventually became a more personal project for director Peter Sohn, who was inspired by his own cross-cultural marriage and his Korean immigrant parents’ story. Boasting the high-quality animation that Pixar is known for, Elemental features a sweet, compelling love story wrapped in eye-catching visuals and imaginative world-building.
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Fiery Ember is tested when she meets go-with-the-flow Wade in Element City.
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Boonie Bears: Time Twist
Who says Hollywood has got all the popular animated kids programmes? Boonie Bears, a popular Chinese animated series that debuted in 2012, has gained a significant global fanbase in the past decade.
Created by Fantawild Animation Inc., the show revolves around the wacky, adventurous antics of two bears, Briar and Bramble, as they thwart the efforts of a bumbling logger named Vick, who is intent on destroying their woodland home.
Though the series is aimed at kids, it touches on serious real-life issues; it blends comedy and environmental themes, emphasising the importance of nature conservation and wildlife protection.
Known for its vibrant animation and engaging storylines, Boonie Bears has expanded beyond TV into merchandise and feature films, including 2024’s Boonie Bears: Time Twist. The 10th feature film in the franchise, Time Twist, shines the spotlight on Vick, who embarks on an adventure through space and time to save Briar and Bramble.
Vick's boss leads him to a client that offers Vick to restart his life as a simple logger. This choice threatens the lives of the bears and the forest, leading Vick on a journey to save them.
View DetailsImages: © 2025 Disney, © 2025 Paramount Pictures and Sega of America, Inc, © 2025 Disney Enterprises, Inc. / Pixar. All Rights Reserved, © 2025 DreamWorks Animation LLC. All Rights Reserved, © 2025 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved, © 2024 Paramount Animation, a Division of Paramount Pictures, © 2024 Project G Productions, LLC.