Family & Kids Movies

Both a classic movie for kids and a remarkable portrait of childhood, E.T. is a sci-fi adventure that captures that strange moment in youth when the world is a place of mysterious possibilities (some wonderful, some awful), and the universe seems somehow separate from the one inhabited by grown-ups. Henry Thomas plays Elliott, a young boy living with his single mother (Dee Wallace), his older brother Michael (Robert MacNaughton), and his younger sister Gertie (Drew Barrymore). Elliott often seems lonely and out of sorts, lost in his own world. One day, while looking for something in the back yard, he senses something mysterious in the woods watching him. And he's right: an alien spacecraft on a scientific mission mistakenly left behind an aging botanist who isn't sure how to get home. Eventually Elliott puts his fears aside and makes contact with the "little squashy guy," perhaps the least threatening alien invader ever to hit a movie screen. As Elliott tries to keep the alien under wraps and help him figure out a way to get home, he discovers that the creature can communicate with him telepathically. Soon they begin to learn from each other, and Elliott becomes braver and less threatened by life. E.T. rigs up a communication device from junk he finds around the house, but no one knows if he'll be rescued before a group of government scientists gets hold of him. In 2002, Steven Spielberg re-released E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial in a revised edition, with several deleted scenes restored and digitally refurbished special effects. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Featuring four chapters - "Up & Down", "Ernie Says", "Making Cookies", and "Perfect Pair - the Sesame Street gang is as fun and educational as ever in this DVD. A bonus CD-Rom provides another hour's worth of interactive learning. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

An abandoned penguin hatchling named Scooter learns the true value of self confidence after being adopted by a family of silver penguins who encourage him on the road to self-discovery. Later, upon returning to the village where he was born, Scooter draws on his unusual strength and speed to avert a serious disaster. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A young boy teams up with a litter of adorable Golden Retriever pups to thwart a brazen bank robbery during the Christmas holiday. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The Wiggles encourage children to learn and get healthy at the same time through song and exercise. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

This direct-to-video, family-oriented inspirational drama takes place in a rural Iowan town of 5,000. Based on a true story, it concerns a group of boys who grow up together playing basketball in tournaments and driveways - and end up on opposite sides of the proverbial fence, playing for rival high schools. Then another twist occurs when each high school yields a championship team - pitting the two against one another in the finals and forcing the young men to learn the importance of family, friendship and a great deal more. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

The Pet Pals use teamwork and a little bit of magic to prevent the Evil Crow Witch from draining the canals of Venice. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Set sail for fun with this family-friendly Aardman Animations adventure following a bumbling, abundantly bearded scallywag who competes against his two biggest rivals for the title Pirate of the Year. Try as he might, the Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) just can't be taken seriously as a plunderer. But that might change if he could only manage to win the Pirate of the Year competition. As the event gets under way, the Pirate Captain makes it his mission to leave dreaded foes Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven) and Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek) sinking in his wake. Before that can happen, though, the determined Pirate Captain will have to seek out the help of a love-struck scientist (David Tennant) and defeat a malevolent queen (Imelda Staunton), who might just send him down to Davy Jones' Locker. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

In this animated story for the whole family, Disney brings A.A. Milne's classic characters from the Winnie the Pooh stories back to the big screen. Tigger is having a hard time finding anyone to play with him, so he decides to track down his family tree and find other Tiggers. Concerned that their friend feels sad, Winnie and his friends dress up like Tiggers so he won't feel so alone. But once Tigger finds out who they really are, it makes him even more determined to find his real family. As Tigger heads out in search of others like himself, he accidentally makes his way into a snowstorm, and Winnie and friends must find him before he gets lost in the cold. The Tigger Movie was originally produced for home video and then upgraded to a theatrical release. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A teenage girl abandons her dreams of becoming a world-renowned ballet dancer in favor of rescuing her best friend - a 5 ton elephant named Sheba - from the circus in this charming tale for the entire family. Sophie's (Brittany Bristow) parents own a small family-operated zoo. As a result, as Sophie grew up she developed an unusual rapport with all creatures great and small. But her closest friend was also her biggest; from the first time they met, Sophie and Sheba the elephant were inseparable. When her parents sell Sheba to a traveling circus in order to pay for Sophie's tuition fees at the American Ballet, the young girl joins the show in order to protect her friend from his new, heavy-handed trainer Magnus. Before long, however, Sophie has struck a deal with circus owner Alistair Winston (John Rhys-Davies) that will allow her to earn Sheba back by performing with her. Yet despite Sophie's determination to get Sheba back home to the family zoo, the teen begins having second thoughts about her plan when a reporter points out that the elephant might be happier back in Africa. Later, after striking up a romance with a kindhearted young trapeze artist named Blake, Sophie begins to realize that sometimes doing what is best for the ones we love requires making a substantial personal sacrifice. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Finding herself suddenly poor, a girl named Sarah realizes that true value comes from the inside in this adaptation of the classic story "A Little Princess". ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Dr. Seuss' classic, environmentally themed children's book comes to the big screen in this tale of a young boy who encounters a cantankerous forest creature after venturing outside of his artificial city in search of a tree. Ted (voice of Zac Efron) lives in a town where nothing is quite as it appears; everything is plastic, including the plants. Hopelessly smitten by the beautiful Audrey (voice of Taylor Swift), who dreams of one day seeing a real tree, Ted boldly leaves the city determined to find the flora and grant her wish. Along the way, the young adventurer crosses paths with the Lorax (voice of Danny DeVIto), a diminutive, mustached defender of nature who doesn't take kindly to human intruders. The better Ted gets to know the Lorax, however, the more he learns that his newfound friend has good reason for being a bit surly. Also featuring the voices of Betty White, Ed Helms, and Rob Riggle. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi