10 Good Movies For 9-12 Year Olds [Updated 2023]

• Director: Robert Stevenson
• Stars: Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, Glynis Johns, David Tomlinson
• Runtime: 2h 19m
• IMDb Rating: 7.8

Mary Poppins is an American musical fantasy film released on August 27, 1964, to critical acclaim. Stevenson directed the movie with songs composed by the Sherman Brothers.

The film combines live-action and animations and stars English actress Julie Andrews in her feature film debut as the title character.

Mary Poppins is about a magical and loving nanny (Andrews) who employs music and adventure to help two neglected kids become closer to their father.

The movie attained commercial success and became the highest-grossing film of 1964. Moreover, it was Disney's highest-grossing film ever at the time of its release. 

The story of the movie is timeless, and can still resonate with children today. It has relevant themes such as the power of imagination, the importance of family, and the value of hard work.

You can watch this classic movie on various streaming services, including Disney Plus, Prime Video, Apple TV, Vudu, and Redbox.

• Director: Chris Columbus
• Stars: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O'Hara, John Heard
• Runtime: 1h 43m
• IMDb Rating: 7.7

Home Alone is an American Christmas comedy film that grossed $476.7 million worldwide, making Culkin a child star.

The film stars Culkin as Kevin McCallister, an eight-year-old boy who defends his suburban home from robbers after his family unintentionally leaves him on their Christmas vacation to Paris.

American filmmaker John Hughes conceived the film while preparing to go on vacation. As he was making a list of everything he didn't want to forget, he thought what if he left his 10-year-old son at home?

He then wrote eight pages of notes that soon turned into the screenplay. The title holds an approval rating of 67% based on 61 reviews on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. 

Viewers have praised the movie for its cast, comedic approach, slapstick humor, dialogue, quotable phrases, morals, and traps. First in the Home Alone franchise, it gradually became a Christmas classic.

You can watch the movie on Disney+. You can easily gain classic Disney, Marvel, Pixar, National Geographic, and Star Wars content for only $7.99 per month on Disney+.

• Director: Chris Columbus
• Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, John Cleese
• Runtime: 2h 32m
• IMDb Rating: 7.6

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was released in the United States, the Philippines, and India as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

The fantasy film is based on the 1997 novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It marks the first installment in the Harry Potter film series. In 1999, Warner Bros. Pictures bought the film rights to the novel.

Its plot shows the title character as a first-year student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardly. As the story goes on, Harry learns he is a famous wizard and starts his formal wizarding education.

The film grossed $974 million box office worldwide during its initial run, becoming a critical and commercial success. It became the highest-grossing film of that year.

Viewers have praised the movie for its set design, cinematography, effects, principal cast, and iconic chess scene. 

You can watch this exemplary movie on ROW8, Peacock TV, Prime Video, Vudu, Apple TV, or Redbox.

• Director: Robert Rodriguez
• Stars: Alexa PenaVega, Daryl Sabara, Danny Trejo, Carla Gugino, Antonio Banderas, Alan Cumming, Cheech Marin
• Runtime: 1h 28m
• IMDb Rating: 5.6

Sky Kids is an American spy action comedy film co-produced by Elizabeth Avellan. The film grossed $147 million worldwide and has an average approval rating of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The comedy film received a nomination for Best Fantasy Film at the 28th Saturn Awards in 2001 but lost to the fantasy adventure film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

The film was followed by three sequels: Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (2002), Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003), and Spy Kids: The Time in the World (2011).

Sky Kids follows two kids, Carmen and Juni, as they save their reactivated OSS top spy parents, Gregorio and Ingrid Cortez, taken by Floop's "Thumb-Thumbs," robots whose legs, arms, and heads resemble oversized thumbs.

It is a kinetic and fun movie that's sure to thrill kids of all ages. Viewers call it an intelligent, happy, inoffensive, upbeat, and rare combination in kid's movies.  

You can stream this fun movie by renting or purchasing it on Google Play, Amazon Instant Video, Vudu, and iTunes. It is also available on Netflix.

• Director: Andrew Stanton
• Stars (voices): Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe, Geoffrey Rush
• Runtime: 1h 40m
• IMDb Rating: 8.2

Finding Nemo is an American computer-animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures.

Bob Peterson and David Reynolds wrote the screenplay of the movie from a story by Andrew Stanton. The film was released on May 30, 2003, and received widespread acclaim from critics.

The film tells the story of an overprotective clownfish Marlin, who along with a regal blue tang Dory, searches for his missing son, the title character.

Finding Nemo became the highest-grossing computer-animated film upon its release at that time. It amassed a total of $871 million worldwide by the end of its theatrical run.

It received three Academy Awards nominations and won one for Best Animated Features. It is also the best-selling DVD title of all time, selling over 40 million copies as of 2006.

You can watch the movie on ROW8, Vudu, Apple TV, Disney Plus, or Prime Video.

• Director: Brad Bird
• Stars (voices): Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Jason Lee, Spencer Fox, Elizabeth Pena, Samuel L. Jackson 
• Runtime: 1h 55m
• IMDb Rating: 8.0

The Incredibles is another fan-favorite computer-animated superhero film released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film is set in a retro-futuristic version of the 1960s.

The film follows a couple of superheroes, Bob and Helen Parr, known as Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl. The couple hides their powers and attempts to live a simple life with their three kids.

It received widespread acclaim from critics and viewers, with praise for its screenplay, animation, humor, themes, music, appeal to different age groups, action, voice acting, and action sequences.

The Incredibles won the prestigious Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and became the first entirely animated film.

It further won two Academy Awards for Best Sound Sound Editing and Best Animated Feature and received two additional nominations for Best Sound Mixing and Best Original Screenplay.

A sequel to the film, Incredibles 2, was released in June 2018. Watch the movie on Prime Video, Vudu, Apple TV, or ROW8 on your Ruku device.

• Director: Brad Bird
• Stars (voices): Patton Oswalt, Lou Romano, Ian Holm, Brian Dennehy, Peter Sohn, Brad Garrett, Janeane Garofalo
• Runtime: 1h 51m
• IMDb Rating: 8.1

Ratatouille is also Pixar Animated Studios produced computer-animated comedy-drama film released by Warner Disney Pictures.

It is the eighth film produced by Pixar. The film title refers to the famous French dish ratatouille, which is served at the end of the movie. It also references the species of the main character -a rat.

Set in Paris, the film featured a rat named Remy who dreams of becoming a chef at a well-known restaurant and attempts to achieve his ambitions by forming an unlikely alliance with Alfred, the restaurant's garbage boy.

It grossed $623.7 million and became a critical and commercial success and the second highest-grossing animated film of the year after Shrek the Third.

Ratatouille won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and received several more nominations, including Best Original Screenplay. 

The animated film was dedicated to Dan Lee, a Canadian-American animator, who passed away from complications relating to his lung cancer in January 2005, two years before the film's release.

You can watch the movie on Prime Video, Disney Plus, or Vudu on your Roku device.

• Director: Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders
• Stars (voices): Jay Baruchel, Craig Ferguson, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jonah Hill, T.J. Miller, Kristen Wiig
• Runtime: 1h 38m
• IMDb Rating: 8.1

How to Train Your Dragon is a computer-animated fantasy film loosely based on the book of the same name by Cressida Cowell released in 2003.

The film is set in a mythical Viking village, Berk. The plot focuses on an undersized teen wanting to become a dragon slayer who injures a rare Night Fury dragon. However, the teen is unable to bring himself to kill it.

Instead, the boy helps and befriends the dragon. He soon learns that things aren't the same as they seem in the Viking-Dragon conflict.

How to Train Your Dragon was a commercial success, grossing nearly $500 million worldwide. The widely acclaimed film was praised for its voiceovers, writing, 3D sequences, musical score, and animation.

It amassed ten Annie Awards -one for Best Animated Feature- and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score and Best Animated Feature. It lost the awards to The Social Network and Toy Story 3.

Watch the film on ROW8, Prime Video, Peacock TV, or Apple TV on your Roku device.

• Director: Joe Cornish
• Stars: Louis Ashbourne Serkis, Dean Chaumoo, Rhianna Doris, Tom Taylor, Angus Imrie, Patrick Stewart, Rebecca Ferguson
• Runtime: 2h
• IMDb Rating: 6.1

The Kid Who Would Be King is a fantasy action-adventure film distributed by 20th Century Fox. 

The film is about a young boy who finds King Arthur's legendary sword. Now, he must use the sword to save the world from an ancient enchantress. His classmates (and former bullies) join him in the mission.

Despite receiving generally positive reviews, the film underperformed at the box office. The estimated losses for the studio ranged as high as $50 million.

On Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, the film has attained an average approval rating of 6.9/10, based on 191 reviews -1 certified fresh 90% rating. The website's critical consensus says that the film recalls classic all-ages adventures.

The movie is packed with inspiring positive messages and stunning visual effects, appealing to viewers aged 10 and over. It has great kid energy, real adventure, real stakes, and real danger.

Watch the movie on Vudu, Apple TV, Redbox, Disney Plus, Spectrum TV, or Prime Video.

• Director: Jon Favreau
• Stars (voices): Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Alfre Woodard, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Billy Eichner, John Oliver, Florence Kasymba 
• Runtime: 1h 58m
• IMDb Rating: 6.8

The Lion King is an American musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It is a remake of Disney's traditionally animated 1994 movie of the same name.

The story follows a young lion, Simba, who must embrace his role as the rightful king of his land following the killing of his beloved father, Mustafa, by his uncle, Scar.

It grossed over $1.6 billion worldwide during its theatrical run, becoming the seventh-highest-grossing film of all time. It is also the second-highest-grossing film of the release year (2019).

The film adds gorgeous new visual effects to a plot the audience knows by heart. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian found the film watchable and enjoyable but missed the simplicity and vividness of the original hand-drawn pictures.

The Lion King was nominated for Best Original Song and Best Animated Feature Film at the 25th Critics' Choice Awards and 77th Golden Globe Awards.

A prequel to the film, Mustafa: The Lion King, is set for release on July 5, 2024. The 2019 film is currently streaming on Disney+.