25 Great Thanksgiving Movies for Kids
This article is all about the 25 best Thanksgiving movies for kids!
If you’re ready to watch something after The Macy’s Day Parade has ended and the whistle is blown for your favorite Thanksgiving Day football game, you’ll probably want to watch a family movie and relax on the couch.
If you’re like me, you’ll hope to find a movie that the whole family can enjoy.
Use this list of Thanksgiving movies for kids to help you find some new and old favorites.
Keep a look out for a few Thanksgiving shows you might enjoy also!
Table of Contents
ToggleThanksgiving Movies for Kids
This list includes 25 Thanksgiving movies for kids (and a few shows) that you’ll love to watch on Thanksgiving day, plus where you should go to watch them.
These movies and episodes are especially perfect for Thanksgiving time, because they include themes like being thankful, friendship, gratitude, family and togetherness, the fall season, and, of course, Thanksgiving Day.
Related: 25+ Christmas Movies and Shows for Kids
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Thanksgiving Movies for Kids on YouTube
We’re starting off with six suggestions for Thanksgiving movies for kids you can watch on Thanksgiving Day with the whole family.
These movies are easy to find because they’re available on YouTube!
The movies YouTube offers take the top spot because most of these options are free or very affordable!
There are lots of kid-friendly movies and shows about Thanksgiving that TV networks, such as PBS Kids and Nick Jr., have been uploaded to their YouTube channels for free.
Thanksgiving Movies for Kids: Affordable and Wholesome
1. An Arthur Thanksgiving (2020)
Arthur and his family are getting ready for Thanksgiving and it couldn’t be busier! But when things start to go off course, Arthur and his friends must find a way to save the Thanksgiving celebration. 57 m
2. We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story
(1993)
Louie hides the dinosaurs by disguising them as Macy’s Parade floats/balloons to try and blend in as they travel to the American Museum of Natural History. Some iconic balloons from The Macy’s Day Parade are seen in this movie, such as Spider-Man, Snoopy, and Clifford the Big Red Dog. Buy or rent it on Youtube. 1 hr 11 m with a G rating.
Thanksgiving Movies for Kids: Free on YouTube
3. Wild Kratts- Happy Turkey Day! (2019)
The Wild Kratts are on a mission to defend the honor of the wild turkey and to stop Gourmand, who is hunting for the largest, fattest turkey in the forest. 28 m
4. Garfield’s Thanksgiving
(2020)
On Thanksgiving, according to Garfield, people “celebrate food by eating as much of it as possible. It’s a tradition, I love tradition.” But the bad news for Garfield: he must go on a diet. The good news for Jon: Liz, Garfield’s veterinarian, agrees to come to his house for Thanksgiving. 23 m
YT Channel
5. Paw Patrol
Pups Save Thanksgiving! (2023)
PAW Patrol Skye, Zuma, Chase, Marshall and more pups work together to rescue Mayor Humdinger, just in time for a Thanksgiving feast! Watch to see Thanksgiving get saved and if Mayor Humdinger says “thank you”! 30 m
6. Family Feast
with Bluey
(2023)
Kiddos, time to set the dinner table! It’s a family feast with the Heelers. Join Bluey, Bingo, Bandit and Chilli on all their adventures!🐾 34 m
Thanksgiving Movies for Kids to Stream
Next up, we’ve got eight of our favorite Thanksgiving movies for kids you can find by streaming, renting, or buying them.
You’ll love watching these movies with the whole family on Thanksgiving Day, as they have with themes of gratitude, friendship, thankfulness, and the importance of family.
Related: 15 Fall Crafts Your Kids Will LOVE!
Thanksgiving Movies for Kids About Animals
First up, a fan favorite: Thanksgiving movies for kids about animals!
Thanksgiving Movies for Kids: Turkeys and Birds 🦃
1. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1965)
Obvs this movie would be #1! It’s got it all: the Thanksgiving feast, football, and a focus on the importance of togetherness and kinship. 24 m with a G rating.
2. Chicken Run (2000)
A determined hen and a cocky rooster lead their feathered friends in a great escape from the farm to make sure they’re not turned into chicken pies. 1 hr 24 m with a G rating.
3. Turkey
Hollow (2015)
If you like movies like Fraggle Rock, you’ll love this movie! From the mind of Jim Henson, this movie begins with the Emmerson family heading to the quaint town of Turkey Hollow to visit Aunt Cly. Tim and Annie quickly grow bored without the Internet, and soon try to track the howling hoodoo, an elusive monster the locals dismiss as a legend. 1 hr 28 m with a TV-PG rating.
4. Free Birds (2013)
In this cute and silly movie, two turkeys from opposite sides of the tracks must put aside their differences and team up to travel back in time to change the course of history, and get turkeys off the Thanksgiving menu for good. 1 hr 13 m with a PG rating.
Thanksgiving Movies for Kids: Other Animals
5. Winnie the
Pooh: Seasons of Giving
(1999)
When Thanksgiving finally arrives, Winnie the Pooh and his friends bring food for the big dinner: honey, acorns, lemonade, biscuits, thistles and ice cream. 1 hr 10 m with a G rating.
6. Fantastic Mr.
Fox (2009)
Based on the book of the same name by Roald Dahl, this movie is about the suave Mr. Fox, who can’t resist returning to his farm-raiding ways and then must help his community survive the farmers’ retaliation. 1 hr 26 m with a PG rating.
Meaningful Thanksgiving Movies for Kids
7. Matilda (1996)
You may also want to check out the remake Matilda the Musical (2022).
Also based on a book by Roald Dahl, Matilda is fed up with mistreatment at home and at school. She is a gifted young girl who uses her newly discovered powers to stand up for herself and her fellow classmates. 1 hr 38 m with a PG rating.
8. It’s a
Wonderful Life (1946)
An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.2 hr 10 min with a PG rating.
Thanksgiving Movies for Older Kids and Adults
There are lots of Thanksgiving movies that we love that you might not invite your younger kids to watch.
We saved these eleven movies for last, just in case you want to put the little ones to bed first!
You’ll enjoy staying up and getting cozy under a blanket to watch these Thanksgiving movies that are full of adult humor, food, and silly moments. 🧡
Related: 15+ Cheap and Easy Ideas for Fall Sensory Bins
Thanksgiving Movies for Kids: The Classics
1. You’ve Got
Mail (1998)
Book superstore magnate Joe Fox and independent book shop owner Kathleen Kelly fall in love in the anonymity of the Internet, both blissfully unaware that he’s trying to put her out of business. 1 hr 59 m with a PG rating.
2. The Shop
Around the Corner (1940)
Did you know You’ve Got Mail is a remake of this movie? Similar to You’ve Got Mail, in this movie two employees at a gift shop can barely stand each other, without realizing that they are falling in love through the post as each other’s anonymous pen pal. 1 hr 39 m; unrated.
3. Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade
(2012)
Your classic Hallmark movie. An eager Thanksgiving parade coordinator is shocked when a wealthy consultant is hired to analyze its finances. Faced with teaching him that the parade means so much more to her than money, she finds herself reluctantly falling for him. 1 hr 24 m with a TV-G rating.
Thanksgiving Movies for Kids About Sports
4. Rudy
(1993)
In case you haven’t had enough football, try Rudy. Rudy has always been told that he was too small to play college football. But he is determined to overcome the odds and fulfill his dream of playing for Notre Dame. 1 hr 54 m with a PG rating.
5. Hoosiers
(1986)
Maybe you’ve had enough football, but you’re still wanting a feel-good sports movie? You should watch Hoosiers. A coach with a checkered past and a local drunk train a small-town high school basketball team to become a top contender for the state championship in 1950s Indiana. 1 hr 54 m with a PG rating.
6. Rocky
(1976)
Yes, the boxing movie! The first half of Rocky is centered around Thanksgiving, and there’s even a big scene where one of the characters takes a turkey out of the oven and throws it into the alleyway so he can help play Cupid for someone else. No spoilers 😝 1 hr 54 m with a PG rating.
Thanksgiving Movies for Kids About Family
7. Thanksgiving with the Carters (2019)
You can also check out the sequel Thanksgiving with the Carters 2: Second Helping (2021).
The tale of a family that believes the season of gratitude isn’t complete unless you surprise your family with something positive and unique. 1 hr 44 m with a PG-13 rating.
8. Dan in Real Life (2007)
A widower, played by Steve Carrell (!!) finds out the woman he fell in love with is his brother’s girlfriend. 1 hr 38 m with a PG-13 rating.
9. The Walton’s Thanksgiving (2022)
The Walton family enthusiastically prepares for the annual Harvest Festival Fair on Walton’s Mountain in 1934, but a young boy’s arrival dramatically changes their lives. 1 hr 30 m with a TV-PG rating.
10. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987)
An uptight businessman teams up with an irritating know-it-all blabbermouth to find any means possible to make it home for Thanksgiving when a major snowstorm strands them in the Mid-West. 1 hr 3r m with an R rating.
11. Friendsgiving (2020)
Molly and Abbey, along with their crew of close friends and acquaintances, host a dysfunctional, comical, and chaotic Thanksgiving dinner. 1 hr 35 m with an R rating.
Related: The 12 Days of Christmas Books for Kids
That’s All of the Best Thanksgiving Movies for Kids!
These Thanksgiving movies for kids are some of my favorite movies to watch with the whole family!
I hope you’ll love them, too!
Which Thanksgiving movie will you watch first? Comment below!
I look forward to talking with you in the comments!
For everything homeschool, we can PlanIt! ♥