The best kids movies on Hulu right now

By Blair Marnell Updated December 9, 2024

Kids movies are a rare breed on Hulu, which seems content with having its corporate sibling, Disney+, handle that category rather than building up an extensive library of such titles of its own. That’s why there simply aren’t a lot of kids movies to choose from on Hulu. Since our last update, the only title on this list that’s still on Hulu is Curious George.

To freshen things up, we’ve added Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Princess Diaries, Dr. Doolittle, Labyrinth, and A Dog’s Way Home to the list. For more info about each movie, scroll down for our breakdown of the best kids movies on Hulu right now.

The bestselling children’s book Diary of a Wimpy Kid got its first shot at big-screen stardom with Zachary Gordon in the leading role as Greg Heffley. Greg is convinced that he’s meant to do big things in life — if he could only get through middle school and entice people to like him. So far, the only real friend that Greg has is his pal Rowley Jefferson (Robert Capron). But in Greg’s endless attempts to be popular, he neglects his bond with Rowley, which may turn his best friend into his worst enemy. That’s no way to make more friends at school.

Anne Hathaway cemented herself as a Disney princess in The Princess Diaries, but life isn’t a fairy tale for her character, Mia Thermopolis. Mia’s a gawky teenager and not particularly popular among her peers. Her life changes in an instant when Mia discovers that her grandmother is Clarisse Renaldi (Julie Andrews), the queen regent of Genovia, which means Mia is the heir to the throne.

In short order, Mia gets her princess makeover, which transforms her reputation at school. But the more time that Mia puts into her princess lessons, the more difficult it is for her to have an ordinary life and maintain her connections to her friends. Mia also has to decide whether she should accept her role as the heir or go back to being a commoner again.

Eddie Murphy was in his Nutty Professor phase when he starred in Doctor Dolittle, an updated version of the classic literary character. John Dolittle (Murphy) is a respected doctor who has forgotten or outgrown his ability to talk with animals as if they had human voices.

However, it all starts to come back to John when he nearly hits a dog with his car. The dog, whom John calls Lucky (Norm Macdonald), opens the floodgates for more animals to communicate with him. For the first time in years, John rediscovers his sense of wonder as he uses his medical expertise to treat animals. Unfortunately, John’s newfound devotion to animals causes his wife, Lisa (Kristen Wilson), and his colleagues to believe that he’s going mad.

Labyrinth was Jim Henson’s final film, and it wasn’t fully appreciated during his lifetime. But it’s a cult classic now, and it dives into darker themes than The Muppets ever could. Jennifer Connelly had a starmaking performance as Sarah, a teenage girl who is resentful over her infant half-brother, Tobey (Toby Froud), and her stepmother’s demand that she babysit him.

Sarah’s offhand remark about wishing the goblins would take Tobey away comes true when the goblin king Jareth (David Bowie) answers her unwitting invitation. While Sarah can’t take back her wish, Jareth gives her one chance to reclaim her half-brother: She must navigate through his magical labyrinth before Tobey turns into a goblin forever.

A Dog’s Way Home stars Bryce Dallas Howard as the voice of Bella, a loveable pitbull adopted by cats before she wound up in a loving home with her human, Lucas Ray (Jonah Hauer-King), and his mother, Terri (Ashley Judd).

Because a local animal control officer, Chuck Millits (John Cassini), is so anxious to impound Bella, Lucas sends his beloved dog away to family members for her own safety. Yet, Bella only wants to reunite with Lucas, and she’s willing to make the 400-mile journey in order to do so, even if it takes years.

The beloved Curious George stories finally got a movie worthy of the name with this 2006 animated film. Veteran voice actor Frank Welker provides the sounds for George, a monkey whose curiosity gets him in trouble with other animals long before he meets the Man in the Yellow Hat, who is named Ted (Will Ferrell) in the film.

Ted encounters George while he is on an expedition to recover an idol that will keep his museum from being closed by the owner’s son, Junior (David Cross). Ted isn’t as instantly taken by George as the monkey is with him, but their bond only grows as George follows Ted back to New York City — and manages to get into even more trouble there than he did in the jungle.