24 of the Best Summer Movies for Kids (From ’90s Classics to New Releases!)

When you’re a kid, summertime is filled with some of the best things: swimming, summer camp, ice cream, no school, and, of course, longer days marked by endless possibilities. This season makes for great memories — and the setting for some of the best summer movies for kids! 

Putting on a perfectly themed film is an ideal way to spend a balmy evening as a family. I also find there’s a certain nostalgia to watching summer movies with my kids now — especially ones that take place at sleepaway camp, which is where I formed so many of my core memories while I was growing up.

Building your summer vacation watch list? These 24 summer movies for kids are ones the whole family will want to watch, from the classics you watched when you were little to new releases you’ll all be obsessed with.

• Where to watch: Disney+, Prime Video
• Runtime: 101 minutes
• Rating: PG

When the neighborhood boys invite new kid Scotty Smalls to play baseball at the nearby sandlot field, everything changes for him. This iconic film set in the ‘60s is all about facing childhood fears, making boyhood friends, and all that can happen in one magical summer. I can’t wait to watch this with my son so he’ll understand why I constantly say to him, “You’re killing me, Smalls.”

• Where to watch: Buy or Rent on Apple TV
• Runtime: 96 minutes
• Rating: PG-13

This coming-of-age story may be most relatable for slightly older kids, as it tells the story of four friends and the summer they turned 12. The girls solve their small town mystery, have big-time crushes, and find solace in each other as they transition from childhood to adolescence. The film flashes back and forth between the main characters as young girls in 1970 and adults in 1995, reuniting in their 30s. You’ll laugh and cry watching this classic film.

• Where to watch: Buy or Rent on Prime Video
• Runtime: 109 minutes
• Rating: PG

A group of kids who call themselves “The Goonies” go on a wild adventure after discovering a lost treasure map in this irreverent Steven Spielberg story. 

• Where to watch: HBO
• Runtime: 94 minutes
• Rating: G

The third film adaptation of the widely popular children’s book series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, this one is set after school gets out — and protagonist Greg is determined to keep his father from ruining his summer. Public pools, campgrounds, and other summertime spots are the film’s main settings for Greg’s mishaps.

• Where to watch: Disney+
• Runtime: 94 minutes
• Rating: G

My family loves a musical, and this one will have us singing all summer long. A young Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas star in this music-filled summer camp story.

• Where to watch: Disney+
• Runtime: 128 minutes
• Rating: PG

In this remake of the 1961 Hayley Mills film, Lindsay Lohan plays both leads in her first major feature role. She stars as identical twins separated at birth who unintentionally meet at sleepaway camp. There, they come up with a plan to reunite their divorced parents.

• Where to watch: Disney+
• Runtime: 96 minutes
• Rating: PG

This film is wish fulfillment for any kid! A group of thrill-seeking teens creates the sleepaway camp of their dreams: no adults, counselors, or rules. Hijinks ensue.

• Where to watch: Paramount+
• Runtime: 101 minutes
• Rating: PG

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen play two strangers — Amanda, a rough and tough girl who has been orphaned, and Alyssa, a privileged child with a widowed dad — who just happen to look exactly alike. After meeting at a summer camp in upstate New York, they decide to swap identities, forming a matchmaking scheme that could change their lives. 

• Where to watch: Rent or Buy on Prime Video
• Runtime: 93 minutes
• Rating: PG

This Daddy Day Care sequel follows the dads as they expand their childcare experience to create Camp Driftwood. Cuba Gooding Jr. and Paul Rae star in the summer camp venture, which weaves plenty of sweet father-son moments into the hilarity.  

• Where to watch: Netflix
• Runtime: 99 minutes
• Rating: PG

Part live-action, part animation, this film will have your kids in stitches. Woody the Woodpecker is a true menace, and after getting kicked out of the forest, he ends up at Camp Woo Hoo. The camp is facing shutdown and Woody must learn to work with the campers to help save his new home.

• Where to watch: Apple TV
• Runtime: 40 minutes
• Rating: G

Charlie Brown, Sally, and the rest of the Peanuts gang are off to summer camp in this animated musical special that all culminates in the big camp stage production. (This would be a great one to watch with your kids if they’re feeling nervous about going to camp!)

• Where to watch: Prime Video
• Runtime: 100 minutes
• Rating: PG

After getting into some trouble stealing, teenage Noah finds himself on the run from two bumbling criminals. He winds up at Camp Deer Run, where he discovers a hideout, along with unexpected friendship and support. This movie has Home Alone vibes, but in a summer setting.

• Where to watch: Disney+
• Runtime: 94 minutes
• Rating: PG

Parents will appreciate comedy legends Steve Martin and Eugene Levy in the lead roles, and kids will love the laughs in this sequel about two rivals unexpectedly vacationing at the same lake town. 

• Where to watch: Disney+
• Runtime: 93 minutes
• Rating: G

Based on the hit Disney Channel series Even Stevens, this movie follows the Stevens family on a “dream vacation” that turns out to be an elaborate reality show stunt.

• Where to watch: Disney+
• Runtime: 111 minutes
• Rating: G

The students of East High spend summer break working at a luxury country club, where Sharpay is still determined to keep high school sweethearts Troy and Gabriella apart. Packed with catchy songs and big dance numbers, it’s just as fun as the first movie.

• Where to watch: Prime Video
• Runtime: 79 minutes
• Rating: PG

Only the best summer movies star an adorable golden retriever! Zeus, voiced by Mario Lopez, gets sent to obedience school after he accidentally destroys a baby shower, foiling the launch of his owner’s new party-planning business. Can he redeem himself by saving the day from a trio of clumsy jewel thieves?

• Where to watch: Prime Video
• Runtime: 129 minutes
• Rating: PG

Aspiring marine biologist and summer intern Sarah spends the summer working at a dolphin sanctuary in danger of closing. To help keep it open, she launches a live-streaming “Dolphin Discovery” to show people how to save it. 

• Where to watch: Tubi
• Runtime: 90 minutes
• Rating: PG

This over-the-top comedy will have your kids chuckling as they fall in love with Bingo, a runaway circus dog. Chuckie, a young boy struggling to fit in, and Bingo become instant best friends and are determined to stay together no matter what comes their way.

• Where to watch: Disney+
• Runtime: 95 minutes
• Rating: PG

Your kids may start asking for a summer trip to Italy after watching this beautifully animated Pixar film about a young sea monster who secretly explores the Italian Riviera while hiding his identity.

• Where to watch: Disney+
• Runtime: 85 minutes
• Rating: G

Set in sunny Hawaii during summer break, a lonely girl and an escaped alien experiment form an unlikely friendship built on ‘ohana, the Hawaiian word for family.

• Where to watch: Disney+
• Runtime: 48 minutes
• Rating: PG

It’s got LEGOs, Star Wars, and summer shenanigans — what young kid wouldn’t love it? The story follows Finn, the well-meaning but overanxious group planner, who organizes an all-expenses-paid summer trip to the galaxy’s premier vacation destination as a goodbye before the group goes their separate ways. When Jedi Master Rey gets separated from the group, the trip goes sideways.

• Where to watch: Disney+
• Runtime: 23 minutes
• Rating: TV-G

This animated special is in the style of the original hand-drawn cartoon from the 1930s, giving it a vintage feel. Mickey and his gang each share their mishaps and failures in an attempt to secure the best spot in the marina to see the Summer Fireworks Spectacular. With a 23-minute runtime, this slapstick comedy is short enough for those little attention spans.

• Where to watch: Buy or Rent on Apple TV
• Runtime: 97 minutes
• Rating: PG

The monsters of Hotel Transylvania leave the hotel for a luxury summer cruise. They are living it up until they discover that Drac (short for Dracula) has fallen for the captain, who holds a dangerous secret. The characters are voiced by some big names, like Andy Sandberg, Adam Sandler, and Selena Gomez. 

• Where to watch: Releasing in theaters on June 19, 2026
• Runtime: 102 minutes
• Rating: PG

My family has been eagerly awaiting this film, and the premise is beyond relatable: Woody and the gang fear for their existence as 8-year-old Bonnie increasingly replaces them with an electronic tablet named “Lily Pad.” Escape the summer heat and plan an air-conditioned movie day to see this one.