35 Best Toddler Movies for When You Need a Quiet Moment
Puffin Rock and the New Friends and A Goofy Fairytale are feel-good movies perfect for your little one.
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When it comes to finding the best movies for kids under 3, there's a lot to keep in mind. First, the content has to be appropriate, which is sometimes hard to find in our superhero-obsessed media landscape filled with action that can be too scary for the littlest cinephiles. Then, it has to be able to meet their attention spans — their short, short, short attention spans. And availability is key, too: When it's that pre-dinnertime witching hour and you just want to throw something on, you don't want to have to worry about whether the streaming service of the moment has shuffled off their favorite movies somewhere else.
With all that in mind, these are the best toddler movies to watch in 2024. The ratings are gentle. The run times are short — some are even animated specials that are longer than a TV show, but shorter than a full-length movie. Some feature characters they already love, and others are from filmmakers that the adults admire. Plus, they're currently available to stream on Netflix, Max, Amazon Prime Video and more. Throw one on the next time you're at a loss for a toddler activity, and you'll be all set — and keep an eye out for more great kids' movies coming out in 2024.
PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie (2023)
What's better than a team of pups? A team of pups with super powers! A meteor turns the PAW Patrol into Mighty Pups, but they have to face off against those who want to steal their powers. This is a follow-up to 2021's PAW Patrol: The Movie, which they might want to watch first if they haven't already seen it a million times.
Ponyo (2008)
Ponyo is a Little Mermaid-style story about a being that starts off as a sea creature and then has adventures on land. Only instead of a mermaid, she's more of a goldfish, and there's a child friendship at the center instead of a love story. Directed by legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki, this movie is full of fantastic creativity.
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Shaun the Sheep: The Movie (2015)
From the studio behind Wallace and Gromit and done in the same claymation style, Shaun the Sheep is a gentle movie about the hijinx of farm animals. When the farmer gets lost and loses his memory, it's up the the flock to get him back. The animals don't talk, so there isn't a lot of dialogue that can go over a toddler's head, making it easy for the littlest viewers to understand.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
While lots of other Disney movies have scary witches, dragons or monsters, this bear of very little brain only gets into the mildest of scrapes. And yet the gentle antics of everyone's favorite Pooh bear are still entertaining for young ones. Follow it up with 2011's Winnie the Pooh for more honey-filled adventures.
Puffin Rock and the New Friends (2024)
Fans of the Puffin Rock TV show and newbies alike will enjoy this film. A group of new animals moves onto the island — the new friends of the title — and they have to work together when an egg goes missing as a storm is blowing in. It comes from Cartoon Saloon, the Irish studio that also makes whimsical movies like The Secret of Kells for when they're a little older.
Blue's Big-City Adventure (2022)
Every era of Blues Clues devotees — from the OG Steve heads to the Joe fans to the newest followers — can find something to enjoy about this movie since all the stars make an appearance. The antics begin when Blue's Clues and You's Josh gets an audition for a Broadway show. He loses his Handy-Dandy Notebook, though, so he gets lost and needs to follow the "clues" to find where he's going again.
Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird (1985)
Parents may remember this one: When Big Bird is sent away to live with a family of dodos, he runs away and tries to head back to Sesame Street. He runs into mischief along the way home, and at the same time his friends try to look for him. Kids will be delighted to see characters like Kermit, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, Bert, Ernie, Elmo, Grover and others pop up along the way.
The Peanuts Movie (2015)
All the Peanuts movies are great because they don't condescend to kids, and they're often about how being a kid can be a real struggle at times. While that message might be lost on toddlers until later, they'll still enjoy Snoopy and Woodstock and get a kick out of the Peanuts children dancing. If you want to start with the classic feature films instead of the 2015 theatrical flick, A Boy Named Charlie Brown is first, followed by Snoopy Come Home. And the specials work, too, and they're even a little shorter, which is helpful for those small attention spans. The specials and older movies can only be found on Apple TV+, but the 2015 version is on Max.
Octonauts and the Ring of Fire (2021)
If you're unfamiliar with the Octonauts series (and, if you have a creature-loving toddler, that's unlikely), they're a crew of animal-loving adventurers who head to the rescue whenever there's danger, learning facts about the natural world along the way. For their movie-sized journey, they're faced with stopping a chain reaction that starts when volcanoes erupt on the ocean floor.
Chicken Run (2000)
This stop-motion animated movie is about a group of chickens who want to fly the coop and find freedom. That may seem like a complicated goal, but a bunch of claymation chickens running around is sure to get a giggle out of any toddler. A sequel, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, came out last year.
My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Another family-friendly film from Studio Ghibli's Miyazaki, this movie follows two sisters as they move into a new house where they meet strange and wonderful creatures (a couple of which may seem menacing at first, but they go away with little conflict). There are allusions to the fact that their mother is in the hospital, but nothing too sad happens. Instead, kids can delight as Totoro does things like listening to rain fall on an umbrella for the first time or riding a cat-shaped bus.
The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
It's The Muppets, so there's sure to be plenty of jokes aimed at adults that go over toddlers' heads (if you're lucky). But they'll be so enamored with the antics of Kermit and the gang they won't care. While all Muppet movies are great, this one about bringing a Muppet musical to Broadway has classic put-on-a-show energy.
Fun and Fancy Free (1947)
The best part about Fun and Fancy Free — which still holds up, even though it was made back in the '40s — is that it's an anthology of two Disney shorts with some connecting material, so you don't have to watch it from beginning to end every time. You can pick and choose the bits your toddler likes best. (We always skipped straight to "Mickey and the Beanstalk.")
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999)
In this movie, Elmo's lovey accidentally gets thrown away, and when he goes to retrieve it, he gets transported to Grouchland. But really, you had them at "Elmo."
Tinker Bell (2008)
To an adult, the Tinker Bell franchise will never hold a candle to the Disney classics. But to a toddler who's into fairies, mermaids and all things mystical, these movies have just the right balance of magic and friendship, with just a teeny splash of danger. If they like it, there's a whole series of movies that follow, including Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, Tinker Bell and The Great Fairy Rescue and more.
Curious George (2006)
This adorable primate gets into a lot of mischief, but it's always with a good heart. And parents will be relieved that the Man in the Yellow Hat is voiced by Will Ferrell, so there's something in it for them.
Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
You'll be hard-pressed to find a movie about a witch that's as delightful and not-scary as this one. This Studio Ghibli production is about a witch who uses her gift of flight to deliver packages. Jiji, her adorable cat, is also a perennial kid-fave — you might be inspired to get the plush.
Ratatouille (2007)
As far as Pixars go, most of the danger here comes in the form of a food critic (though there are a few people who try to catch Remy the rat in the kitchen), so it shouldn't be too frightening for little ones. And they'll enjoy the story of a rat who goes off to pursue his dream — or at least they'll get a kick out of the visual of a rat scurrying around the kitchen and cooking.
Cinderella (1950)
If it absolutely has to be princesses — and, with toddlers, sometimes it has to be princesses — then Cinderella is a best bet, because her foes, while mean, are the least terrifying of the princess villains. (Sorry, Lady Tremaine.)
Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! (2008)
Pretty much anything that comes out of the unique mind of Dr. Seuss will gel with the brain of a toddler, but this one also has a good message about protecting the little guy — something little kids might also relate to on a gut level.
Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; previously, she wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her toy-collecting husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found helping out her team at bar trivia or posting about movies on Twitter and Bluesky.
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