75 Fun Family Movies For Kids Ages 12-16

Family time is so important. One of our favorite ways to spend time together is watching fun movies while eating yummy snacks and snuggling on the couch. Sometimes, it’s hard to find movies that are appropriate for our kids, so we compiled an incredible list of fun family movies to watch with kids ages 12-16! Below, you will find 75 movies perfect for your family movie night. Scroll through all the different categories with your kids and ask them which ones sound like great choices! Then grab some fun snacks and drinks and have a fun movie night together!

75 Fun Family Movies for Kids Ages 12-16:

Action & Adventure:

1. Jumanji (1995): Kids trapped in a magical board game with wild animals and jungle adventures.
2. Moana (2016): A brave Polynesian princess sails the ocean to save her people from a mythical curse.
3. The Princess Bride (1987): A classic fairy tale filled with sword fights, romance, and hilarious pirates.
4. The Mummy (1999): Brendan Fraser battles an ancient Egyptian priest resurrected from the dead.
5. Spy Kids (2001): Two kids join their parents’ secret spy agency for an outrageous family adventure.
6. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003): A blacksmith joins forces with a cursed pirate captain to rescue his kidnapped love.
7. The Goonies (1985): A group of kids embark on a treasure hunt to save their homes from greedy developers.
8. Back to the Future (1985): A teenager accidentally travels back in time to 1955 and interferes with his parents’ meeting.
9. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981): The iconic archaeologist searches for the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can get their hands on it.
10. The Maze Runner (2014): A teenager wakes up in a mysterious elevator with no memory and joins a group of boys trapped in a deadly maze.

Comedy & Humorous:

11. 21 Jump Street (2012): Two undercover cops pose as high school students to bust a drug ring.
12. Clueless (1995): A Beverly Hills teen takes on a makeover project with hilarious results.
13. Napoleon Dynamite (2004): An awkward teenager navigates high school while dealing with his eccentric family.
14. The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021): A quirky family road trip takes a turn for the worse when robots attack Earth.
15. Hot Fuzz (2007): A dedicated London cop tries to adjust to life in a sleepy English village.
16. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975): Absurdly funny adventures of King Arthur and his knights in search of the Holy Grail.
17. The Emperor’s New Groove (2000): A spoiled emperor is transformed into a llama and must rely on a peasant to get back to his throne.
18. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014): A quirky concierge and his employees embark on a wild adventure after a priceless artifact is stolen.
19. Ghostbusters (1984): Three parapsychologists start a ghost-catching business in New York City.
20. RV (2006): A workaholic executive and his dysfunctional family rent an RV for a road trip to the Colorado Rockies.

Animation & Fantasy:

21. How to Train Your Dragon (2010): A Viking teenager befriends a dragon and challenges his village’s traditions.
22. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018): Miles Morales becomes Spider-Man in an animated multiverse adventure.
23. Spirited Away (2001): A young girl enters the spirit world and works in a bathhouse for witches.
24. Coco (2017): A young musician travels to the Land of the Dead to uncover his family’s history.
25. WALL-E (2008): A lonely robot on a deserted Earth befriends a cockroach and embarks on a space adventure.
26. Princess Mononoke (1997): A brave princess fights to protect the forest from humans and spirits.
27. Kubo and the Two Strings (2016): A one-eyed boy with magical powers battles an evil moon king.
28. Ponyo (2008): A goldfish princess transforms into a human girl and befriends a young boy.
29. The Iron Giant (1999): A boy befriends a giant robot and protects him from the government.
30. Coraline (2009): A curious girl discovers a dark secret behind a seemingly perfect parallel world.

Sports & Inspiration:

31. Friday Night Lights (2004): A high school football team in Texas unites their town during a challenging season.
32. Rudy (1993): An undersized football player defies the odds to achieve his dream of playing for Notre Dame.
33. Vision Quest (1985): High school wrestler Louden Swain feels he must do something significant in his life shortly after turning 18. Despite vehement advice against it from his father and coach, he decides to try to lose over 20 pounds in a very short time in an attempt to take on the defending state champion of a lower weight class.

34. The Blind Side (2009): A homeless teenager is taken in by a wealthy family and becomes a star football player.
35. Miracle (2004): The true story of the U.S. hockey team’s unexpected victory at the 1980 Olympics.
36. Bend It Like Beckham (2002): A young Indian girl in England defies cultural expectations to pursue her dream of playing professional football.
37. Coach Carter (2003): A strict high school basketball coach challenges his players to succeed both on and off the court.
38. The Karate Kid (1984): A bullied teenager learns karate from a wise old Japanese man and stands up to his tormentors.
39. Rocky (1976): A down-and-out boxer gets a shot at the heavyweight championship.
40. Rush (2013): The rivalry between Formula One race car drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda.
41. The Sandlot (1993): A group of kids play baseball in an empty sandlot during the summer of 1962.
42. Remember the Titans (2000): A black coach integrates a segregated high school football team in Virginia in 1971.
43. Dangal (2016): A father trains his two daughters to become world-class wrestlers against societal expectations.
44. Invictus (2009): Nelson Mandela unites South Africa through rugby before the 1995 World Cup.
45. Creed (2015): The grandson of Apollo Creed tries to follow in his legacy and become a boxer.

Sci-Fi & Mystery:

41. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982): A young boy befriends an alien and helps him return home.
42. Jurassic Park (1993): Scientists bring dinosaurs back to life, but things quickly go wrong.
43. Ready Player One (2018): When the creator of a virtual reality called the OASIS dies, he makes a posthumous challenge to all OASIS users to find his Easter Egg, which will give the finder his fortune and control of his world.
44. Back to the Future (1985): A teenager accidentally travels back in time to 1955 and interferes with his parents’ meeting.
45. Ender’s Game (2014): Young Ender Wiggin is recruited by the International Military to lead the fight against the Formics, an insectoid alien race who had previously tried to invade Earth and had inflicted heavy losses on humankind.
46. Super 8 (2011): A group of kids in Ohio investigate a mysterious train crash during the summer of 1979.
47. The Martian (2015): An astronaut is stranded on Mars and must use his ingenuity to survive.
48. Arrival (2016): Linguists attempt to communicate with aliens who have arrived on Earth.
49. Artemis Fowl (2020): Artemis Fowl, a young criminal prodigy, hunts down a secret society of fairies to find his missing father.
50. The Golden Compass (2007): In a parallel universe, young Lyra Belacqua journeys to the far North to save her best friend and other kidnapped children from terrible experiments by a mysterious organization.

Drama & Coming-of-Age:

51. Dead Poets Society (1989): An inspirational teacher challenges his students at a strict boarding school.
52. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012): A shy freshman navigates high school with the help of two seniors.
53. The Fault in Our Stars (2014): Two teenagers with cancer fall in love and try to live life to the fullest.
54. The Outsiders (1983): A working-class greaser falls in love with a girl from a wealthy family, sparking a conflict between their rival gangs.
55. The Breakfast Club (1985): Five high school students from different social groups are forced to spend a Saturday in detention together.
56. Lady Bird (2017): A high school senior in Sacramento navigates life with her family, friends, and first love.
57. Superbad (2007): Two high school seniors try to score alcohol for a big party.
58. Juno (2007): A teenager deals with an unexpected pregnancy with wit and humor.
59. 16 Candles (1984): It stars Molly Ringwald as Samantha “Sam” Baker, a high school sophomore who is excited about her 16th birthday. However, her family forgets her birthday because her older sister is getting married the next day. 
60. The Secret Life of Bees (2008): A troubled teenager seeks refuge with a community of black beekeepers in South Carolina.
61. The Spectacular Now (2013): A high school senior falls in love with a popular girl who challenges him to live in the moment.
62. The Edge of Seventeen (2016): A high school junior navigates grief, friendship, and self-discovery after her father’s death.
63. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): A man is born with the physical appearance of an old man and ages in reverse.)
64. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018): A teenage girl’s secret love letters are mailed out, leading to romantic chaos.

Bonus Picks:     

66. Singin’ in the Rain (1952): A classic musical about the transition from silent films to sound.

67. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993): Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, decides to take over Christmas.

68. The Truman Show (1998): A man discovers his entire life is a reality TV show.

69. Paprika (2006): A team of scientists uses experimental technology to enter people’s dreams.

70. Amélie (2001): A quirky Parisian waitress sets out to improve the lives of those around her.

71. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986): A high school senior cuts class and takes his girlfriend and best friend on a wild adventure through Chicago.)
72. Big Fish (2003): A son learns about his larger-than-life father’s fantastical stories and the truth behind them.)
73. Groundhog Day (1993): A weatherman relives the same day over and over again.
74. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001): A dysfunctional family of geniuses reunites after years apart.)
75. Moulin Rouge! (2001): A young writer falls in love with a courtesan in a dazzling Parisian nightclub.)

Remember, the most important thing is to pick movies everyone will enjoy, so we hope you find many good choices here to have a fun family night together! Let us know if we are missing any movies for kids ages 12-16 that aren’t included, and we will surely add them to our next movie list! And if you’re looking for some great games to play with your kids on a family game night, we have fun ideas for you HERE and HERE!