What To Watch
12 Summer Kids Movies That Make a Splash
School’s out, but popcorn and flicks are in.
By Ananda Dillon
June 11, 2026
12 Summer Kids Movies That Make a Splash - Netflix Tudum
Summer vacation is upon us, bringing longer days and endless amounts of free time. But when you need to let the kids cool off during a hot afternoon, cue up something for a sleepover, or take a breather between outdoor adventures, a movie can be just the thing. And there’s no reason you can’t keep the vacay vibes going.
Here’s a list of summertime kids movies that exude a sunshine state of mind, even if you’re inside. Take a (virtual) trip to a tropical island, go on a treasure hunt, head off to summer camp, and chill at the beach with no sand to clean up after. Whether you’re flopping on the couch between swim sessions or keeping the back seat happy on a road trip, these summer movies are sure to entertain.
Back to the Outback
Summer is perfect for trips to the zoo, and this film may have you appreciating the less cuddly-looking animals there. Maddie (Isla Fisher) is an inland taipan, the world’s deadliest snake, and a recent addition to the deadly creatures show at the wildlife park in Sydney. Nigel (Angus Imrie), a marbled scorpion; Frank (Guy Pearce), a funnel-web spider; and Zoe (Miranda Tapsell), a thorny devil, are also part of the show. Fed up with being portrayed as scary, they break out of the zoo and head out into the outback to find their families. The zoo’s star koala, Pretty Boy (Tim Minchin), reluctantly joins, complaining all the way, and a secret society of “ugly” animals guides them along their journey.
The Casagrandes Movie
From the world of The Loud House comes this spin-off story about Ronnie Anne (Izabella Alvarez), who hopes to spend her summer at a thrilling theme park now that she’s 12 and allowed inside the gates. Instead, her family whisks her away on a surprise trip to Mexico. There, against her mother’s wishes, Ronnie Anne rebelliously buys a necklace that contains the spirit of a preteen demigod, Punguari (Paulina Chávez), which she accidentally sets loose. Now she’ll have to prevent the apocalypse and rein in her own angsty attitude as she confronts the wrath of a defiant deity.
Finding ‘Ohana
Pili (Kea Peahu) is preparing for a fun summer of geocaching at summer camp when she and her family learn they must travel to Hawaii to care for her grandfather. Thirsty for adventure, Pili goes snooping in her grandfather’s art studio and finds an old diary written by a sailor. In it is information about a hidden treasure. Pili goes looking for the treasure with her older brother Ioane, aka “E” (Alex Aiono), her new friend Casper (Owen Vaccaro), and Hana (Lindsay Watson), a local teen E has a crush on. Together, they embark on a quest they’ll never forget.
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
The lovable monsters of Hotel Transylvania are used to ensuring their guests have a perfect vacation, but it's time they took one for themselves. Dracula (Adam Sandler) is lonely, but his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) mistakenly thinks he’s suffering from stress and takes the whole crew on a cruise where Drac immediately “zings” for the ship’s enchanting captain, Ericka Van Helsing (Kathryn Hahn). What he doesn’t know is that Ericka is the great-granddaughter of Drac’s longtime nemesis, Abraham Van Helsing (Jim Gaffigan), and that she’s vowed to kill Dracula. But when Drac unwittingly dodges Ericka’s attempts, she realizes he’s much more than a monster.
Jumanji
Board games and adventure are a perfect pairing for the summer, but here’s a roll of the dice with a supernatural twist. In 1969, sixth-grader Alan Parrish (Adam Hann-Byrd) finds an ancient, buried board game called Jumanji. When he and his friend Sarah (Laura Bell Bundy) start playing it, they discover Jumanji magically brings fantastical jungle beasts into the real world. Alan is sucked into the game. Twenty-six years later, orphaned siblings Judy (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter Shepherd (Bradley Pierce) move into Alan’s old house with their aunt. They find the game and begin to play, unintentionally unleashing chaos in the town and bringing Alan (Robin Williams), now a grown man, back to the real world. But to reverse the damage, they will have to keep playing until someone wins.
Malibu Rescue
Even on the last day of classes before summer, Tyler (Ricardo Hurtado) can’t help but land himself in trouble with the school’s security officer. To try to teach him some discipline, Tyler’s mother and stepfather send him to the Malibu Junior Rescue Program. He thinks it’s going to be all sunbathing and swimming in the ocean, so it comes as a shock when he discovers he has to participate in a rigorous program to become a junior lifeguard. But his competitive spirit wins out, and Tyler and his fellow trainees from the Valley set out to triumph over the stuffy Malibu kids.
The Mitchells vs. The Machines
There’s no better time for a road trip than in the summer, and the Mitchell family decides to do just that. Dad Rick (Danny McBride) wants to bond with his daughter, Katie (Abbi Jacobson), who’s leaving for college. So Rick, Katie, mom Linda (Maya Rudolph), and little brother Aaron (Mike Rianda) set out across the country to deliver Katie to film school in California. It’s when they reach Kansas that a global robot uprising begins, spurred on by a jilted virtual AI model, PAL (Olivia Colman). The robots set out to capture humans, but the Mitchell family band together — in their own dysfunctional way — to save the rest of humanity.
Paddington in Peru
Get inspired for some summer travel by joining the most lovable bear in London on a trip to South America. Paddington (Ben Whishaw) receives a letter from the Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman) in Peru, where his Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton) resides. The letter says that Aunt Lucy hasn’t been herself lately. Using this as the perfect excuse for a family trip, the Browns join Paddington in Peru. But when they arrive, Aunt Lucy is now missing, and all the clues indicate she’s taken off into the Amazon in search of the lost city of El Dorado. Paddington and the Browns take off into the jungle to find her, meeting both friends and foes along the way.
Rim of the World
Summer camp goes terribly wrong in this sci-fi action adventure. Alex (Jack Gore) is a social recluse and space exploration nerd who finds the Rim of the World summer camp to be quite outside his comfort zone. When he wanders away from the group to follow Zhen Zhen (Miya Cech), a silent but intriguing fellow camper, he’s confronted by bully Dariush (Benjamin Flores Jr.) and saved by non-camper Gabriel (Alessio Scalzotto). The four of them are distracted by an emergency alert on their phones, soon followed by an alien ship flyby. An astronaut crash-lands and gives them a key to stop the alien invasion — if they can make the treacherous journey to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The Sea Beast
An ocean breeze and sea spray in your face set a summer mood — but add in some gigantic ship-destroying sea beasts, and it’s a bit less calming. In this animated adventure, these giant sea creatures have threatened humans for centuries, so seafaring heroes must hunt and kill them. One such hunter is Jacob Holland (Karl Urban), whose livelihood is at risk when a new and far superior ship emerges. Jacob challenges the ship’s crew to a competition: Who can kill the Red Bluster beast first? Keeping him on his toes is stowaway Maisie Brumble (Zaris-Angel Hator), a young girl who dreams of becoming a hunter.
Swapped
School may be out, but a lesson in empathy is always worth learning. The ground-dwelling pookoo Ollie (Michael B. Jordan) and the flying javan Ivy (Juno Temple) are unable to understand one another, which makes their competition for the same food source even harder. When Ollie happens upon a magic pod, he’s transformed into a javan and soon meets Ivy, who accidentally turns into a pookoo. Forced to understand one another’s perspective, they may be able to unite their communities and stop the divisions that plague their world.
Thelma the Unicorn
Summers are for music festivals, and one with singing animals is all the more fun. Thelma (Brittany Howard) is a farm pony who loves to sing and dreams of her band, The Rusty Buckets, making it big. After an embarrassing audition for the SparklePalooza festival, Thelma tries to cheer herself up by putting a carrot on her head and pretending to be a unicorn. A truck drives by and accidentally spills pink paint and glitter all over her. Newly transformed, she gathers attention — people believe she’s a real unicorn, and she goes viral. Her newfound fame bolsters the band’s success, but is it worth it when Thelma has to pretend to be someone she isn’t?
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