Photo: Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
Paramount+ is often a place that people go to catch up on shows from CBS, including current hits like Survivor and Ghosts, or to watch original hits like Mobland or Showtime originals like Dexter: Resurrection. The streaming service also has a dense rotating library of feature films, including, of course, family movies, many of which are exclusive to the streamer because of “big” Paramount and its ownership of Nickelodeon, one of the biggest names in kids’ entertainment. For example, this is the place to find hours of SpongeBob SquarePants, so much Dora the Explorer, and every Sonic the Hedgehog movie. All three of those franchises and more are represented below if you’re looking for something to keep your flock delighted (or just distracted). We’re here to help.
Critic Brian Tallerico watches and writes about movies and TV every day. To curate this list, he dives into the catalogue on Paramount+ to surface family-friendly titles both kids and adults can enjoy — using his taste and a lifetime of cinema study as his guide instead of whatever the algorithm happens to be pushing. After triple-checking to make sure they’re still available, he watches each and writes his recommendation. We highlight more than just the crowd-pleasers: Family movies may be intended for kids, but that doesn’t mean their artistry or ideas don’t have the potential to be just as interesting. Read on to find something to watch.
Year: 2018
Run time: 1h 53m
Director: Travis Knight
Rating: PG-13
Travis Knight of LAIKA fame (he directed the amazing Kubo and the Two Strings) directed the best Transformers movie in this unexpectedly joyous spinoff of the massive Hasbro series of films. It’s a movie with the same kind of family/adventure spirit as ’80s classics of the genre, buoyed by fun performances from Hailee Steinfeld and John Cena. The rest of the live-action Transformers flicks are also on Paramount+, but this one is truly more than meets the eye.
Year: 2019
Run time: 1h 42m
Director: James Bobin
Rating: PG
This live-action adaptation of the Nickelodeon cartoon has no right to be as funny and clever as it is. It helps that newcomer Isabela Merced is a charming lead as Dora, but there’s also a delightfully self-aware tongue-in-cheek tone to this film; it never never takes itself too seriously. It’s a sweet family adventure that works equally for parents and little ones. Bonus: You can get a sneak peek at a great young performance from Merced, an actress who is definitely having a moment in 2025 between The Last of Us and Superman.
Dora and the Lost City of Gold
Year: 2003
Run time: 1h 36m
Director: Jon Favreau
Rating: PG
It doesn’t have to be the holidays to watch one of Will Ferrell’s most joyous and lovable movies. Before Iron Man, Jon Favreau directed this fable about a human raised by Santa’s elves and the trouble he gets into on a trip to New York to find his biological father.
Year: 1997
Run time: 1h 35m
Director: Brian Robbins
Rating: PG
It’s kind of amazing how much Kenan Thompson has crossed generations, from his work on All That in the ’90s through to one of the longest runs in the history of Saturday Night Live. It’s also kind of amazing how much this film’s fan base has only grown — as the ’90s kids who grew up on it introduce it to their kids. Maybe you’re one of them.
Year: 1996
Run time: 1h 41m
Director: Bronwen Hughes
Rating: PG
Before she was Dawn on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, young audiences knew Michelle Trachtenberg as Harriet the Spy, the adventurous young lady who headlined this film based on the beloved books. It was actually the first film produced under the Nickelodeon Movies banner, bringing a generation’s favorite basic-cable network to theaters.
Year: 2024
Run time: 1h 44m
Director: John Krasinski
Rating: PG
Considered a bomb when critics tore it apart in summer 2024 (and audiences largely ignored the theatrical release), it feels like this is a family film that could find a loyal following as the years pass. IF has a big heart. Starring Cailey Fleming as a girl who sees everyone’s imaginary friends, this flick also features Ryan Reynolds and the voicework of Steve Carell. Is it an instant classic? No. Will kids be entertained? Absolutely.
Year: 1981
Run time: 1h 55m
Director: Steven Spielberg
Rating: PG
Yes, some of the gnarly stuff at the end with the melting faces may not be 100 percent family friendly, but this is a great gateway to action movies. (Trust me — father-of-three here.) And you can watch the entire original arc, from Raiders through Crystal Skull, on Paramount+. You won’t have a better family-flick marathon on the service (sorry, Sonic fans).
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
Year: 1986
Run time: 1h 41m
Director: Jim Henson
Rating: PG
The legendary creator of the Muppets used his puppet prowess to direct this fantasy musical that enraptured a generation. David Bowie stars as Jareth, the Goblin King, who kidnaps the baby half-brother of a girl named Sarah, played by Jennifer Connelly. Some of it is undeniably a bit dated, but in that good way that reminds people when family films were allowed to be weird, too.
Year: 2011
Run time: 1h 47m
Director: Gore Verbinski
Rating: PG
Pirates of the Caribbean’s Verbinski directed this Oscar-winning movie featuring voicework by Johnny Depp (in the lead role) and some of the most inspired visuals in any animated film of the 2010s. Rango is a chameleon that stumbled into a town called Dirt, in an inventive riff on the western genre that plays equally to children and adults.
Year: 2020
Run time: 1h 38m
Director: Jeff Fowler
Rating: PG
After years of struggle to get off the ground, video-game speedy icon Sonic the Hedgehog finally got his blockbuster adaptation in this 2020 live-action/animated hybrid. Parents who are put off by hyperactive action should probably stay away, but there’s a charming go-for-broke attitude that’s admirable, particularly in the great voicework from Ben Schwartz as Sonic and remarkable overacting from Jim Carrey as the villain. Note: Both sequels, which are not half-bad, are also on Paramount+.
Year: 2004
Run time: 1h 27m
Director: Stephen Hillenburg
Rating: PG
Relatively early into the pop-culture dominance of SpongeBob SquarePants, Paramount turned SpongeBob’s underwater adventures into a feature film that starred most of the voice actors from the Nickelodeon show. Twenty years later, SpongeBob has been in two more films, with a third coming out this year. While kids don’t watch cable TV like they used to, SpongeBob has maintained his grip on animated culture for a quarter century, and he shows no signs of losing his delightful appeal.
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
Year: 2007
Run time: 2h 7m
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Rating: PG-13
The director of The Kingsman may not seem a fit for this guide, but his adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s novel is a charming romantic fantasy for all ages. Claire Danes, Charlie Cox, Sienna Miller, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, and many more familiar faces star in a film that’s modest but sweet and has developed a cult following since its release.
Year: 2018
Run time: 1h 24m
Directors: Peter Rida Michail, Aaron Horvath
Rating: PG
Teen Titans Go! is one of the smartest superhero cartoons of the modern era, and the feature-film debut is an underrated joy. The writers here joyfully satirize the world of superheroes, including cameos from many famous DC characters, while never losing the heart of their leading men and women. It’s very funny and clever, and it’s overdue for a reappraisal.
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies
Year: 2023
Run time: 1h 39m
Directors: Jeff Rowe, Kyler Spears
Rating: PG
Heavily inspired by the recent Spiderverse movies, the latest adventure for the pizza-loving ninja turtles is arguably the best yet. Working more from the comic books than the goofy previous films, it’s a story of brotherhood and how outsiders respond to their lot by becoming heroes or villains. There will almost certainly be a sequel to this one, and it might even be better.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Year: 2024
Run time: 1h 44m
Director: Josh Cooley
Rating: PG
Should the Transformers have always been animated? This 2024 animated hit wound up becoming one of the most acclaimed films in the long-running franchise based on the Hasbro toys — and a movie that completely shifted the future for our Autobot heroes. Well, maybe. It didn’t do great at the box office (in part because of a misleading trailer), so you should probably boost those viewer numbers on Paramount+ if you want to see a Transformers Two.