Animal Companion Family backdrop

Animal Companion Family movies

Family movies where a pet is central, driven by loyalty, caretaking, home life, and the human-animal bond.

Hachi: A Dog's Tale

1. Hachi: A Dog's Tale

Drama Family Family Drama Animal Companion Family
8.1
20091h 33min

Overview

A drama based on the true story of a college professor's bond with the abandoned dog he takes into his home.

Themes

Human-animal bond, Loyalty across loss, Routine devotion under strain, Communal compassion and memory, Life after absence, Waiting as meaning

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
fuboTV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Marley & Me

2. Marley & Me

Comedy Family Animal Companion Family
7.0
20081h 55min

Overview

A newly married couple, in the process of starting a family, learn many of life's important lessons from their trouble-loving retriever, Marley. Packed with plenty of laughs to lighten the load, the film explores the highs and lows of marriage, maturity and confronting one's own mortality, as seen through the lens of family life with a dog.

Themes

Human-animal bond, Marriage under pressure, Career vs family balance, Parenthood and loss, Humor amid chaos, Responsibility and caregiving

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Horton Hears a Who!

3. Horton Hears a Who!

Animation Comedy Family Adventure Fantasy
6.8
20081h 26min

Overview

An imaginative elephant named Horton hears a faint cry for help coming from a tiny speck of dust floating through the air. Horton suspects there may be life on that speck and despite a surrounding community, who thinks he has lost his mind, he is determined to save the tiny particle.

Themes

Duty to protect, Belief vs skepticism, Mob dynamics, Small world cosmos, Voice reveals presence, Communication across scales

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Ratatouille

4. Ratatouille

Animation Comedy Family Fantasy Family Animation
8.1
20071h 51min

Overview

Remy, a resident of Paris, has quite a sophisticated palate. He would love to become a chef so he can create and enjoy culinary masterpieces to his heart's delight. The only problem is, Remy is a rat. When he winds up in the sewer beneath one of Paris' finest restaurants, Remy finds himself ideally placed to realize his dream. He forms an unusual alliance with the restaurants rookie employee, and together they work through challenges stemming from Head Chef Skinner, Remy’s colony, and renowned food critic Anton Ego, who strikes fear in the hearts of chefs all throughout France.

Themes

Belonging under professional tension, Class inequality through gatekeeping, Creative merit vs status, Underdog ascent via skill, Founder's motto as legitimacy

Available on

Disney Plus
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Happy Feet

5. Happy Feet

Animation Comedy Family Family Animation Animal Companion Family
6.4
20061h 48min

Overview

Into the world of the Emperor Penguins, who find their soul mates through song, a penguin is born who cannot sing. But he can tap dance something fierce!

Themes

Ocean resource strain, Fish scarcity tension, Zoo confinement pressure, Antarctica isolation dynamics, Penguin identity through tap dancing, Family bonds under ridicule

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Flicka

6. Flicka

Family Drama Animal Companion Family Family Drama
6.0
20061h 35min

Overview

Katy McLaughlin desires to work on her family's mountainside horse ranch, although her father insists she finish boarding school. Katy finds a mustang in the hills near her ranch. The headstrong 16 year old then sets her mind to tame a mustang and prove to her father she can run the ranch. But when tragedy happens, it will take all the love and strength the family can muster to restore hope.

Themes

Mountainside horse ranch tradition, Mustang loyalty and responsibility, Boarding school resistance to authority, Private school vs family duty, Mountainside horse ranch power dynamics, Parental control vs autonomy

Available on

Disney Plus
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Open Season

7. Open Season

Animation Family Adventure Comedy Family Animation
6.1
20061h 26min

Overview

Boog, a domesticated 900lb. Grizzly bear finds himself stranded in the woods 3 days before Open Season. Forced to rely on Elliot, a fast-talking mule deer, the two form an unlikely friendship and must quickly rally other forest animals if they are to form a rag-tag army against the hunters.

Themes

Survival through alliance, Collective forest resistance, Loyalty vs deception, Adaptation to wilderness, Outsider belonging, Community over individual

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Ice Age: The Meltdown

8. Ice Age: The Meltdown

Animation Family Comedy Adventure Family Animation
6.8
20061h 31min

Overview

Diego, Manny and Sid return in this sequel to the hit animated movie Ice Age. This time around, the deep freeze is over, and the ice-covered earth is starting to melt, which will destroy the trio's cherished valley. The impending disaster prompts them to reunite and warn all the other beasts about the desperate situation.

Themes

Environmental threat and resilience, Interspecies cooperation, Adaptation to melting ice, Leadership through shared risk, Leaving the past behind, Rebuilding after disaster

Available on

Disney Plus
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Overview

In the Antarctic, after an expedition with Dr. Davis McClaren, the sled dog trainer Jerry Shepherd has to leave the polar base with his colleagues due to the proximity of a heavy snow storm. He ties his dogs to be rescued after, but the mission is called-off and the dogs are left alone at their own fortune. For six months, Jerry tries to find a sponsor for a rescue mission.

Themes

Leadership under pressure, Isolation endurance, Funding constraints, Loyalty and resilience, Survival improvisation, Harsh environment

Available on

Disney Plus
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch

10. Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch

Animation Family Comedy Science Fiction Family Animation
6.3
20051h 8min

Overview

Now, we find the rowdy extraterrestrial getting used to life with his new ʻohana. However, a malfunction in the ultimate creation of Dr. Jumba soon emerges, which reinstates his destructive programming and threatens to both ruin his friendship with Lilo and to short him out for good!

Themes

Found family bonds, Guardianship uncertainty, Protection through deception, Authority intervention, Outsider adaptation, Risk and rescue

Available on

Disney Plus
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.