16 Kids’ Movies That Parents Can Actually Watch Over And Over Without Losing Their Minds

When a hyper-talkative donkey is banished to the local ogre's swamp, the temperamental title character, Shrek, decides to make a visit to the king to request the donkey's banishment to be moved elsewhere. The king, Lord Farquaad, agrees, but only if they can successfully rescue Princess Fiona from the towering, dragon-guarded castle she currently resides in.

Shrek and Donkey succeed in their mission, but discover that Princess Fiona is under a curse. At night, she transforms into an ogre herself. The reversal of this spell can only be accomplished by "true love's kiss," which she hopes to get out of Lord Farquaad. When she and Shrek end up having a fling together, the objective switches to getting her out of his clutches. 

A Disney and Pixar collaboration of colorfully euphoric proportions, Finding Nemo is a beautifully 3D animated tale of exploring the Great Barrier Reef. Throughout the film, memorable, perpetual reminders of family and friendship come in the form of motivational mantras like Dory's "just keep swimming," and the shark clan's "fish are friends, not food."

When a scuba diver abducts the movie's title juvenile clownfish, Nemo, and takes him off to become a house pet, his father, Marlin, scours the ocean in search of him. Accompanied by a blue tang named Dory, Marlin adventures across Australia's blue depths, meeting an assortment of other aquatic wildlife along the way, including great white sharks, migrating sea turtles, and forests of jellyfish.

Disney's The Lion King is a '90s animated classic that takes its audience on a colorful journey through the grassy plains of Africa. The film is a full-on musical drama that follows a tragic lion cub, Simba, as he quests to return home to his pride. 

After his uncle's villainous overthrow of his father, Simba becomes an outcast, lost in the savanna and attempting to make his way in life among the other animals. Both new and old friends care for, inspire, and motivate the young lion until he grows up and is pushed to take his rightful place as king of the Pride Lands. With musical sequences like "The Circle of Life," "I Just Can't Wait to be King," and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," The Lion King curates a tale that's timeless through the decades.

In an ode to team spirit and companionship, The Sandlot takes its audience on an imaginative tour of growing up as an aspiring little leaguer in the '60s. From grassy, suburban backlots to full-fledged baseball fields, the kids that comprise the sandlot team of curveballers and home-run hitters make names for themselves as outstanding sports players. 

Through their adventures, one foe never ceases to haunt them. The lot sits next to the home of a dog that they've dubbed "the Beast," who chews up and spits out any ball that flies into its bounds. When one of the team members, Scotty, hits his stepdad's signed Babe Ruth ball into the Beast's lair, the team conspires to get it back - and an epic chase ensues. The team ends up befriending both the Beast and his owner, making the dog their mascot and upgrading the Babe Ruth ball to one signed by the entire 1927 New York Yankees team.

Homeward Bound is the epic story of a ragtag crew of housepets that have to find their way back home to their owners after becoming lost in the wilderness. The three lost and confused animals, which consist of Chance the pit bull, Shadow the Golden Retriever, and Sassy the Himalayan cat, trek across the treacherous peaks of the Sierra Nevada, finding themselves confronted by natural dangers like cliffs, bears, and waterfalls. 

Although they can telepathically talk to each other, their perils increase as they go deeper and deeper into the wilderness. As they find themselves increasingly separated from each other, the drama that ensues keeps the audience on the edge of their seat. 

Filled to the brim with ancient Viking folklore and mystical, scaly beasts, How to Train Your Dragon is both a visual and auditory rollercoaster for anyone who enjoys fantasy flicks. Downtrodden over his inability to slay dragons in battle, How to Train Your Dragon's main protagonist, Hiccup, uses a brains-over-brawn approach to his fighting skills. He uses his mechanical ingenuities to build a prosthetic fin for a rare dragon that he injured, which allows for Hiccup to gain its trust and befriend it. As opposed to slaying the dragons, Hiccup studies his new dragon friend, which he has named Toothless, and becomes a dragon expert.

For his final Viking exam, Hiccup must slay a dragon, which he is avidly opposed to. Together with Toothless, they must convince the other Vikings that dragons are friendly in order for them to live in harmony.