Sharpen your pencils and open your minds, because we’re about to head back to school. 

The profound human experience of learning — whether inside a classroom or in a less conventional environment — is a rich topic for the big screen. So if you’re struggling to find your school spirit as the minutes tick away on the countdown to the first day, there’s a stream that can help you feel excited to hit the books once again. 

Try cueing up one of these family-friendly movie picks, including musicals, comedies, dramas, and animated films. These stories celebrate the good (kind teachers, great friends, and unforgettable experiences) as well as the bad (dismissive adults, cruel bullies, and difficult lessons). Check out the picks below for back-to-school movies for all ages, and remember to stay curious! 

Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical

Here’s a movie with a storied pedigree: Roald Dahl’s classic 1988 children’s novel inspired Danny DeVito’s beloved 1996 film, then became a musical in 2011 with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin and book by Dennis Kelly (winning seven Olivier Awards and five Tonys). Now, the stage show has its own screen adaptation with Matthew Warchus’s fantastical 2022 musical movie. Alisha Weir stars in the title role as a neglected young girl with extraordinary abilities who starts at a new school, where she runs afoul of the villainous headmistress Miss Trunchbull (Emma Thompson) but finds an ally in her teacher Miss Honey (Lashana Lynch). 

Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical

2h 2m   PG   2022

My List

Watch

Explore

Leo

Take in the classroom from an underrepresented point of view: inside the tank of the class pet. Adam Sandler is the voice of Leo the lizard, who watches a fifth-grade class from the terrarium he shares with Squirtle the turtle (voiced by Bill Burr), in this 2023 animated musical comedy by Robert Marianetti, Robert Smigel, and David Wachtenheim. Over an eventful year, the wise old reptile involves himself in the dramas of his class by revealing his secret ability to speak and offering advice whenever someone takes him home, all the while dreaming of making his escape to the Everglades. 

Leo

1h 46m   PG   2023

My List

Watch

Explore

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

Chiwetel Ejiofor made his directorial debut with this uplifting drama, which is based on William Kamkwamba’s memoir written with journalist Bryan Mealer, and had its premiere at Sundance in 2019. The acclaimed film takes place in Malawi in the early 2000s, when Kamkwamba (Maxwell Simba) was a young boy with an interest in science and a burgeoning talent for engineering. With his village on the brink of famine due to a relentless drought killing their crops, young William sets out to build a windmill that can power a broken water pump, even as his father (Ejiofor) expresses skepticism about the endeavor.   

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

1h 53m   TV-PG   2019

My List

Watch

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie

Hold on to your underpants, because you’re in for an epic ride. Based on Dav Pilkey’s book series, David Soren’s 2017 animated comedy tells its titular hero’s irreverent origin story. When two best friends (voiced by Kevin Hart and Thomas Middleditch) get caught playing a prank, their dour principal, Mr. Krupp (Ed Helms), threatens to separate them into different fourth-grade classes. To stay together, the boys hypnotize Mr. Krupp, turning him into a superhero of their own invention: Captain Underpants. When Professor Pee-Pee Diarrheastein Poopypants Esquire launches a sinister plot, there’s only one hero who can stop him.  

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie

1h 28m   PG   2017

Remind Me

The Karate Kid

With Pat Morita’s Mr. Miyagi, The Karate Kid introduced one of the most beloved teachers in pop culture history. John G. Avildsen’s 1984 coming-of-age classic stars Ralph Macchio as Daniel, a new kid in town who gets targeted by defending karate champ and bully Johnny (William Zabka). After learning karate from Mr. Miyagi — whose wisdom applies to life (and cars) as much as martial arts — Daniel finds the courage to face his fears. There’s no need to stop after the first lesson, either: Follow up the original with its 1986 and 1989 sequels, Harald Zwart’s 2010 remake starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, and six seasons of the 2018 sequel series Cobra Kai, in which Macchio and Zabka reprise their roles, this time as adults. 

The Karate Kid

2h 7m   PG

Remind Me

My Octopus Teacher

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed’s 2020 film is a moving reminder that great teachers come in all shapes — sometimes eight-tentacled shapes, even — and sizes. The doc follows filmmaker and naturalist Craig Foster as he starts free-diving off the coast of South Africa, filming what he sees, including a friendly young octopus. What he never expected to discover, though, was a powerful connection with the animal, which builds over time as she shows Foster her world, teaching him about her life underwater.  It’s a film with roots in science and a reach far beyond the classroom, revealing how life lessons and true friendship can be found in the most unexpected places.

My Octopus Teacher

1h 25m   TV-PG   2020

My List

Watch