9 Back-to-School Movies to Watch with Your Family

What To Watch
Head Back to School with These 9 Family-Friendly Movies
Sharpen your pencils and settle in for a stream.
By Mary Sollosi
Aug. 17, 2026

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 in the countdown to the first day, there’s a stream that can help you feel excited to hit the books again.

Try watching one of these family-friendly 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 selection below for back-to-school movies for all ages, and remember to stay curious!

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13: The Musical

Growing up is a tuneful struggle in this adaptation of Jason Robert Brown’s musical. Evan Goldman (Eli Golden) and his mom (Debra Messing) move from the Big Apple to middle-of-nowhere Indiana. This happens just before Evan’s bar mitzvah, for which he’s studying with Josh Peck’s Rabbi Shapiro. The Broadway show’s early runs featured the likes of teenage Ariana Grande, Tinashe, and Elizabeth Gillies. This film version stars a crop of fresh faces navigating the choppy middle-school waters of popularity, loyalty, and learning to be yourself.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

Chiwetel Ejiofor made his directorial debut with this uplifting drama, based on William Kamkwamba’s memoir written with journalist Bryan Mealer. It takes place in Malawi in the early 2000s and introduces William (Maxwell Simba) as 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, 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

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Family Switch

Sending kids back to school is its own parental stressor; swapping bodies with your kids and going to school for them is something else entirely. This comedy movie stars Jennifer Garner and Ed Helms as a mom and dad who find themselves body-swapped with their kids (Emma Myers and Brady Noon). In order to return to their lives, the family must learn to truly relate to and understand one another — which isn’t easy on a busy day of college interviews, soccer tryouts, and other life-changing events.

Home Team

This charming sports comedy is based on the true story of former New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton. Kevin James portrays the coach, who’s been suspended from the NFL for a year. Rather than mope about it, he returns to his Texas hometown to his toughest coaching job yet — for his 12-year-old son’s team. Chloe Fineman, Taylor Lautner, and Rob Schneider are also in the movie, which includes a cameo by Payton himself. Come for the fun on the field, stay for James’s playbook of dad jokes.

The Karate Kid

Reunite with one of pop culture’s most beloved teachers. The 1984 coming-of-age classic centers on Daniel (Ralph Macchio), a new kid in town who gets bullied by karate champ Johnny (William Zabka). After learning karate from Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) — whose wisdom applies to life (and cars) as much as martial arts — Daniel finds the courage to face his fears. Make it a marathon with the 1986 and 1989 sequels, the 2010 remake with Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, and the six-season sequel series Cobra Kai.

The Karate Kid

2h 7m PG 1984

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Leo

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

My Octopus Teacher

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed’s film is a moving reminder that great teachers come in all sizes and shapes — sometimes even in eight-tentacled shapes. Filmmaker and naturalist Craig Foster free dives off the coast of South Africa and films what he sees, including a friendly young octopus. What he never expected to discover was a powerful connection with the animal, which builds over time as she shows Foster her world, teaching him about her life underwater.

My Octopus Teacher

1h 25m TV-PG 2020

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Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical

Catchy songs, a viral dance sequence, and little girls who overcome all odds to prevail. Based on the Olivier– and Tony-winning musical, the lavish adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic story introduces the brilliant but unappreciated Matilda (Alisha Weir). When she finds herself under the thumb of vile headmistress Miss Trunchbull (Emma Thompson), Matilda will need all her wits and intellect — and a few supernatural skills — to save her school. Fortunately, she’s helped by her classmates and her kind teacher Miss Honey (Lashana Lynch).

Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical

2h 2m PG 2022

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The School for Good and Evil

This fantasy flick takes place at a school created to educate future fairy-tale heroes (aka Evers) and villains (aka Nevers). Best friends and new students Agatha (Sofia Wylie) and Sophie (Sophia Anne Caruso) must figure out where they belong and if their friendship was meant to end in happily ever after. Directed by Paul Feig and based on Soman Chainani’s 2013 novel of the same name, the movie features an all-star supporting cast, including Kerry Washington, Charlize Theron, Michelle Yeoh, Laurence Fishburne, and Patti LuPone.