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.

Madagascar

1. Madagascar

Family Animation Adventure Comedy Family Animation
6.9
20051h 26min

Overview

Four animal friends get a taste of the wild life when they break out of captivity at the Central Park Zoo and wash ashore on the island of Madagascar.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Freedom vs captivity, Adaptation to wild environment, Hunger-driven aggression, Interspecies friendship, Survival under isolation

Available on

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

Overview

An orphaned cheetah becomes the best friend and pet of a young boy living in South Africa.

Themes

Caregiving under pressure, Displacement and belonging, Found kinship and family, Adventure with responsibility, Bonding with wildlife, Trust across strangers

Available on

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

Because of Winn-Dixie

3. Because of Winn-Dixie

Family Comedy Drama Animal Companion Family Family Drama
6.4
20051h 46min

Overview

A girl, abandoned by her mother when she was three, moves to a small town in Florida with her father. There, she adopts an orphaned dog she names Winn-Dixie. The bond between the girl and her special companion brings together the people in a small Florida town and heals her own troubled relationship with her father.

Themes

Community healing, Parental resilience, Animal companionship, Absence and longing, Small-town kindness, Friendship across divides

Available on

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

The Lion King 1½

4. The Lion King 1½

Family Animation Comedy Adventure Family Animation
6.5
20041h 17min

Overview

Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog are best pals and the unsung heroes of the African savanna. This prequel to the smash Disney animated adventure takes you back -- way back -- before Simba's adventure began. You'll find out all about Timon and Pumbaa and tag along as they search for the perfect home and attempt to raise a rambunctious lion cub.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Home seeking resilience, Shared philosophy formation, Belonging through friendship, Wise adviser guidance, Humor as resilience

Available on

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

Two Brothers

5. Two Brothers

Adventure Drama Family Adventure Epic Animal Companion Family
7.0
20041h 49min

Overview

Two tigers are separated as cubs and taken into captivity, only to be reunited years later as enemies by an explorer (Pearce) who inadvertently forces them to fight each other.

Themes

Deception and manipulation, Colonial exploitation and captivity, Sibling bonds under strain, Spectacle versus coercion, Mercy and restraint, Nature versus civilization

Available on

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

Brother Bear

6. Brother Bear

Adventure Animation Family Family Animation Coming-of-Age Adventure
6.9
20031h 25min

Overview

When an impulsive boy named Kenai is magically transformed into a bear, he must literally walk in another's footsteps until he learns some valuable life lessons. His courageous and often zany journey introduces him to a forest full of wildlife, including the lovable bear cub Koda, hilarious moose Rutt and Tuke, woolly mammoths and rambunctious rams.

Themes

Sibling relationship under strain, Transformation and belonging, Trust across unlikely friendship, Guidance from shaman, Loss and guilt, Salmon run dynamics

Available on

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

Barbie of Swan Lake

7. Barbie of Swan Lake

Animation Family Family Animation Animal Companion Family
6.5
20031h 23min

Overview

Barbie as Odette, the young daughter of a baker, follows a unicorn into the Enchanted Forest and is transformed into a swan by an evil wizard intent on defeating the Fairy Queen.

Themes

Duty vs desire, Arranged marriage pressure, Transformation and identity, Magic versus agency, Courage under peril, True love power

Available on

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

Finding Nemo

8. Finding Nemo

Animation Family Family Animation Animal Companion Family
8.2
20031h 40min

Overview

Nemo, an adventurous young clownfish, is unexpectedly taken from his Great Barrier Reef home to a dentist's office aquarium. It's up to his worrisome father Marlin and a friendly but forgetful fish Dory to bring Nemo home -- meeting vegetarian sharks, surfer dude turtles, hypnotic jellyfish, hungry seagulls, and more along the way.

Themes

Parent child relationship under pressure, Great barrier reef journey, Short-term memory loss, Fish tank captivity, Teamwork and trust, Harbor escape tension

Available on

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

Piglet's Big Movie

9. Piglet's Big Movie

Animation Family Family Animation Animal Companion Family
6.1
20031h 19min

Overview

When the gang from the Hundred Acre Wood begin a honey harvest, young Piglet is excluded and told that he is too small to help. Feeling inferior, Piglet disappears and his pals Eeyore, Rabbit, Tigger, Roo and Winnie the Pooh must use Piglet's scrapbook as a map to find him. In the process they discover that this very small animal has been a big hero in a lot of ways.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Belonging under exclusion, Heroism through small acts, Teamwork over misperception, Memory as navigation, Shared storytelling as guidance

Available on

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

Lilo & Stitch

10. Lilo & Stitch

Animation Family Comedy Family Animation Animal Companion Family
7.4
20021h 25min

Overview

As Stitch, a runaway genetic experiment from a faraway planet, wreaks havoc on the Hawaiian Islands, he becomes the mischievous adopted alien "puppy" of an independent little girl named Lilo and learns about loyalty, friendship, and ʻohana, the Hawaiian tradition of family.

Themes

Sibling caregiving, Alien integration, Exile and protection, Unconventional family, Guardian oversight, Loyalty through ordeal

Available on

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