From enduring classics to Oscar-nominated animated features, we've got a wide range of titles that should delight young and old alike - and that you haven't already seen a million times. Explore the full collection of family movies at SBS On Demand.
Belle and Sebastian
PG
France, 2013
Genre: Adventure
Language: German, French
Director:
Starring: Tcheky Karyo
What's it about?
Belle and Sebastian is set high in the snowy Alps during the Second World War. The resourceful Sebastian is a lonely boy who tames and befriends a giant, wild mountain dog, Belle – even though the villagers believe her to be ‘the beast’ that has been killing their sheep.
Mosley
PG
China, New Zealand, 2019
Genre: Animation, Family, Adventure
Language: English
Director: Kirby Atkins
Starring: Lucy Lawless, John Rhys-Davies, Temuera Morrison, Rhys Darby, Kirby Atkins
What's it about?
The film tells the story of Mosley, a "thoriphant" who rebels against his life of servitude and embarks on a treacherous journey to find the fabled city of Uprights.
Dilili in Paris
PG
Germany, Belgium, France, 2018
Genre: Animation
Language: French
Director: Michel Ocelot
Starring: Prunelle Charles-Ambron, Enzo Ratsito, Natalie Dessay, Elisabeth Duda, Olivier Voisin
What's it about?
With the help of her delivery-boy friend, Dilili, a young Kanak, investigates a spate of mysterious kidnappings of young girls that is plaguing Belle Epoque Paris. In the course of her investigation she encounters a series of extraordinary characters, each of whom provides her with clues that will help her in her quest.
Bugsy Malone
G
UK, 1976
Genre: Musical, Comedy, Family
Language: English
Director: Alan Parker
Starring: Paul Murphy, Dexter Fletcher, Michael Jackson, Jodie Foster, Scott Baio
What's it about?
A pint-sized cast illuminates this musical that is unlike any other ever made. Set in 1929 New York City, Bugsy Malone captures a flashy world of would-be hoodlums, showgirls, and dreamers - all played by child actors! As Tallulah, the sassy girlfriend of the owner of Fat Sam's Grand Slam Speakeasy, future superstar Jodie Foster dances and sings her way into our hearts.
Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back
PG-13
China, 2017
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Action
Language: Chinese
Director: Tsui Hark
Starring: Kris Wu, Lin Gengxin, Yao Chen, Lin Yun, Yang Yiwei, Mengke Bateer, Wang Likun, Bao Bei Er, Wang Duo, Dong Chengpeng, Cheng Si-Han, Shu Qi
What's it about?
Tang Monk brings three disciples on a journey to the West. On the outside, everything seems harmonious. However, tension is present beneath the surface, and their hearts and minds are not in agreement. After a series of demon-capturing events, the monk and his disciples gain mutual understanding of each others' hardships and unease. Finally, they resolve their inner conflict and work together to become an all-conquering, demon-exorcising team.
Wildwitch
PG
Denmark, 2018
Genre: Family, Fantasy
Language: Danish
Director: Kaspar Munk
Starring: Gerda Lie Kaas, Sonja Richter, Signe Egholm Olsen, Vera Mi Fernandez Bachmann, Albert Werner Rønhard, May Simón Lifschitz, Henrik Mestad, Vera Torpp Larsson, Elvira Glahn, Marie Lund Asholt, Peder Holm Johansen, Kirsten Olesen, Martin Hylander Brücker, Emma Karla Munk Henriksen
What's it about?
12-year-old Clara is just like any other girl until one day a mysterious black cat scratches her. Clara soon discovers that she can communicate with the cat and that she belongs to a family of Wild Witches with a strong connection to nature and animals. It turns out that Clara is a very special Wild Witch and that her blood can set free the ancient and evil witch, Bravita Bloodyoung. Together with her mentor aunt Isa and her friends, Kahla and Oscar, Clara must face her destiny and embark on a dangerous journey in order to save herself and the Wild World.
Strings
PG
Denmark, Sweden, Norway, United Kingdom, 2004
Genre: Adventure, Animation, Drama, Fantasy
Language: English
Director: Anders Rønnow Klarlund
Starring: James McAvoy, Catherine McCormack, Julian Glover, Derek Jacobi, Ian Hart, Claire Skinner, David Harewood, Samantha Bond
What's it about?
Strings is a mythological story about the son of a king, Hal Tara, who sets out on a journey to avenge the death of his father. To his surprise he discovers the truth of his own people - and where he least expects it - he finds true love.
The Ash Lad: In the Hall of the Mountain King
PG
Czech Republic, Ireland, Norway, 2017
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Language:
Director: Mikkel Brænne Sandemose
Starring: Vebjørn Enger, Mads Sjøgård Pettersen, Elias Holmen Sørensen, Allan Hyde, Eili Harboe, Thorbjørn Harr, Gard B. Eidsvold, Synnøve Macody Lund, Robert Skjærstad, Arthur Berning, Antonio de la Cruz, Ida Ursin-Holm, Gisken Armand, Nasrin Khusrawi, Rune Hagerup
What's it about?
Espen “Ash Lad”, a poor farmer’s son, embarks on a dangerous quest with his brothers to save the princess from a vile troll known as the Mountain King – in order to collect a reward and save his family’s farm from ruin.
The White Balloon
G
Iran, 1995
Genre: Family, Drama
Language: Persian
Director: Jafar Panahi
Starring: Aida Mohammadkhani, Mohsen Kafili, Fereshteh Sadre Orafaiy, Anna Borkowska, Mohammad Shahani
What's it about?
Several people try to take advantage of a little girl's innocence to hustle money her mom gave to her to buy a goldfish with.
Zarafa
PG
Belgium, France, 2012
Genre: Family, Animation
Language: German, French, Czech
Director: Rémi Bezançon, Jean-Christophe Lie
Starring: Max Renaudin, Simon Abkarian, Vernon Dobtcheff, Roger Dumas, Ronit Elkabetz, Mohamed Fellag, Deborah Francois, Thierry Frémont, Philippe Morier-Genoud, Mostéfa Stiti, François-Xavier Demaison
What's it about?
Inspired by the true story of the first giraffe to visit France, Zarafa is a sumptuously animated and stirring adventure, and a throwback to a bygone era of hand-drawn animation and epic storytelling set among sweeping CinemaScope vistas of parched desert, wind-swept mountains and open skies. Under the cover of darkness a small boy, Maki, loosens the shackles that bind him and escapes into the desert night. Pursued by slavers across the moon-lit savannah, Maki meets Zarafa, a baby giraffe – and an orphan, just like him – as well as the nomad Hassan, Prince of the Desert. Hassan takes them to Alexandria for an audience with the Pasha of Egypt, who orders him to deliver the exotic animal as a gift to King Charles of France.
The Secret of Moonacre
PG
United Kingdom, 2009
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Family
Language: [language]
Director: Gabor Csupo
Starring: Tamás Tóth, Dakota Blue Richards, Natascha McElhone, Juliet Stevenson, Tim Curry
What's it about?
When 13 year old Maria Merryweather's father dies, leaving her orphaned and homeless, she is forced to leave her luxurious London life to go and live with Sir Benjamin, an eccentric uncle she didn't know she had, at the mysterious Moonacre Manor. Soon Maria finds herself in a crumbling moonlit world torn apart by the hatred of an ancient feud with the dark and sinister De Noir family. Maria discovers that she is the last Moon Princess and, guided by an unlikely mix of allies, she must overcome her family's pride in order to unearth the secrets of the past before the 5000th moon rises and Moonacre disappears into the sea forever.
CJ7
PG
Hong Kong, 2008
Genre: Comedy, Science Fiction, Family
Language: Cantonese
Director: Stephen Chow
Starring: Stephen Chow, Xu Jiao, Kitty Zhang, Lam Tze-chung, Lee Sheung-Ching
What's it about?
Ti (Chow), a really poor construction worker that struggles to keep his son, Dicky (Jiao), in private school, mistakes an orb he finds in a junkjard for a toy which proves to be much, much more once the young boy starts to play with it. From multitalented Hong Kong superstar Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer).
Ernest & Célestine
G
France, 2012
Genre: Animation
Language: French
Director: Benjamin Renner, Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar
Voice Cast: Pauline Brunner, Lambert Wilson
What's it about?
In the conventional world of bears, it is not the done thing to become friends with a mouse. Nevertheless, Ernest (Wilson), a big bear, who happens to also be a clown and musician, takes in Celestine (Brunner), an orphan who has fled the underground world of rodents. These two solitary creatures help and comfort each other, and in doing so, disrupt the established order. A 2014 Oscar nominee for Best Animated Feature.
Amazonia
G
Brazil, France, 2013
Genre: Family, Adventure
Language: Portuguese, International
Director: Thierry Ragobert
Starring: Lúcio Mauro Filho, Isabelle Drummond, Martin Sheen
What's it about?
Amazonia is an adventure in 3D inside the largest rainforest on the planet: the Amazon rainforest. Chestnut is a Capuchin monkey domesticated who survives a plane crash and finds himself alone in the dense forest. The monkey needs to learn to live in freedom, in a new world where animals of all kinds: Jaguars, alligators, snakes, tapirs, hawks. Gradually, Brown learns to live in the forest, making new friends, especially the monkey Gaia, their fellow species.
Paper Moon
PG
USA, 1973
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Language: English
Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Starring: Ryan O'Neal, Tatum O'Neal, Madeline Kahn, Randy Quaid
What's it about?
Played by real-life father and daughter Ryan and Tatum O'Neal (who won an Oscar for her performance, making her the youngest ever winner in any category), a bible salesman and a 9-year-old orphan girl team up to form a money-making con team in Depression-era Kansas.
Mary and Max
PG
Australia, 2009
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Animation
Language: English
Director: Adam Elliot
Voice Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Toni Collette, Eric Bana, Barry Humphries
What's it about?
A tale of friendship between two unlikely pen pals: Mary (voiced by Collette), a lonely, eight-year-old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max (voiced by Hoffman), a forty-four-year old, severely obese man living in New York. From Adam Elliot, creator of the Oscar-winning 2003 short Harvie Krumpet, and nominated for Best Film at the 2009 AFI Awards.
[link title="Mary and Max Review: An achingly beautiful character study of an enduring friendship" url="node/4565"]
The Red Turtle
G
Japan, France, 2016
Genre: Drama, Animation
Language: [no dialogue]
Director: Michael Dudok de Wit
What's it about?
Gorgeously animated, this wordless feature from Studio Ghibli (best known for producing Hayao Miyazaki films such as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke) about a stranded castaway pays tribute to what's most important in life: companionship, love, family, and the stewardship of nature. A 2017 Academy Award nominee for Best Animated Feature.
Interview: The Red Turtle director Michael de Wit, on being backed by Studio Ghibli[link title="The Red Turtle review: Studio Ghibli's new animation a gorgeous island myth" url="node/87810"]
