The best Thanksgiving movies for kids the whole family will love

True to the holiday itself, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving falls a distant third in the pantheon of Peanuts holiday specials, well behind It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and A Charlie Brown Christmas. But it still has everything you want from Charles Schulz’s precocious cartoon crew: a message about togetherness, a history lesson on the holiday and, of course, Charlie trying – and failing – to kick a football. Rated G.

In this ’90s take on our favorite spooky clan, we learn that the Addams family has actually expanded to include young baby Pubert. Wednesday and Pugsley are less than pleased with his arrival. That's when their new babysitter—who’s eyeing Uncle Fester's big bucks—decides to enroll the kiddos in summer camp. Obviously, it's not the children’s cup of poison. Camp Chippewa is the location of the famous Thanksgiving play scene that goes awry at Wednesday’s direction, giving Kill Bill a run for its (stage) blood-gushing money. You know we’re in for trouble the minute Wednesday, who stars as Pocahontas says, “Wait. We cannot break bread with you.” Rated PG-13. 

In this animated adventure, Owen Wilson voices Reggie, a turkey who’s probably a bit too smart for his own good. He knows why his flock is getting fattened up, and he’s determined to halt their terrible fate – by, uh, going back in time to the first Thanksgiving and getting his species off the menu. It’s something like an American version of Chicken Run, and while not quite as good, Wilson plus Woody Harrelson as Reggie’s rebellious best friend Jake make for a fun vocal tandem. Rated PG.

Forced to spend Thanksgiving at their kooky aunt’s house in the country, young Tim and Annie decide to fill the time without internet investigating a local legend, bringing them into contact with a gaggle of amiable monsters straight out of a kid-friendly ’80s creature feature. (In fact, the puppets were designed by the late Jim Henson himself for a cancelled version of the same project.) Expectedly, the little beasties are the highlight of this new addition to the holiday canon – and also Ludacris, who narrates the tale while wearing a very handsome sweater. Rated PG. 

Family dysfunction is as essential to Thanksgiving as pumpkin pie and gravy (not together, though). This Jodie Foster-directed comedy brings all the light squabbling to the table, with an ensemble featuring Robert Downey Jr, Holly Hunter, Claire Danes and Anne Bancroft delivering laughs and heart in tale about a middle-class Thanksgiving reunion. The drama, innuendo and profanity mean that this is best enjoyed by older kids, but consider it a good middle ground between kiddie fare and the R-rated delights of Planes, Trains & Automobiles.

For everyone’s favourite lasagna-loving feline, there’s no good time to go on a diet, but having him start one on Thanksgiving of all holidays seems especially cruel. Of course, knowing Garfield, he won’t take this travesty lying down – bad news for his already hapless owner Jon Arbuckle, but good news for every tyke who enjoys their turkey with a side of mischief. Not Rated.

When a boy from a poor neighborhood is taken in by a wealthy Tennessee woman, life changes for both of them. Thanks to Leigh Anne Touhy (Sandra Bullock) and her family, Michael “Big Mike” Oher (Quinton Aaron) is given an opportunity to put his athleticism and protective instincts to use on the football field, eventually becoming a first-round NFL draft pick. The movie plays hard and fast with the truth and leans a bit heavily into the white-savior tropes, but a Thanksgiving Day scene when Big Mike causes the family to pause and appreciate their meal and one another is particularly touching—one that might even convince your family to flick off the game for a while next year. Rated PG-13.

A group of four supersmart dinosaurs—a tyrannosaurus rex, a triceratops, a hadrosaur and a pterodactyl±are brought forward in time to New York City and set out for the Museum of Natural History. A bot named Louise agrees to help them get there. The problem? They're dinosaurs, and it's hard to hide in Manhattan. That is, unless it's Thanksgiving and there's a parade of gigantic creatures making its way down the streets. Rated G. 

Think you can handle Alvin, Simon and Theodore’s super high-pitched voices for a little over an hour? If you're up to the challenge—and let’s face, it, you'll do anything for those kiddos of yours—you might stream this animated gem (and hey, it's not the live-action Squeakquel). Believe it or not, Dave is getting married in Alvin’s Thanksgiving Celebration, and it’s not working out as planned. With the Chipmunks, when does it ever? Not rated. 

This direct-to-video flick is worth unearthing when the season of pumpkin pie is near. Go on an adventure in the Hundred Acre Wood with Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and the rest of the gang as they sleuth for Thanksgiving dinner ingredients to see if they can find everything they need to make the day perfect. Not Rated. 

Make the holiday extra memorable this season by tuning in as Dora swoops in to help—with some guidance from your little sidekicks. Our leading lady is ready to enjoy the Thanksgiving parade, but when the Pirate Piggies accidentally float away, it's go time. Will she be able to save Turkey Day from a disaster? The short film is best paired with a dessert viewing of the live-action adventure released in 2019. Not rated. 

Sure, it’s a Christmas film first and foremost but Thanksgiving can make a claim to it, too, because it captures something essential about the spirit of the holiday: that family means nothing without the old man there to make terrible dad jokes and get in trouble for cheating at Scrabble. (It’s possible we’ve misread Frank Capra evergreen classic.) Regardless, this story of one ordinary Joe’s fall and rise is full of goodwill and joy for all ages. It’s the perfect way to close out Turkey Day – and get the kids excited for Santa. Rated G.