10 Best Family-Friendly Sci-Fi Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes
Sci-Fi is a vast and complex genre using technology and science to answer the endless question that arises from the human condition. Meanwhile, most kids’ films are purposely simple and mind-numbing, primarily used for babysitting. While Sci-Fi doesn’t scream kid-friendly, certain movies have made the sometimes alienating genre palatable to children.
If that needed to be more complicated, a small percentage of these films are even liked by critics, which is no easy task for kid flicks. Sci-Fi films like Cloudy With Chance of Meatballs and E.T. combine these almost opposing genres to make something quite special that audiences and even critics can’t deny.
10 ‘Mr. Peabody & Sherman’ (2014)
Rotten Tomatoes Critic’s Score: 81%
This remake of a 60s cartoon about a time-traveling Dog who adopts a boy will bring adult viewers back to another time, no pun intended.
It’s no wonder critics love this film. Its dry, but witty humor will make fans forget they’re watching a talking dog scientist, thanks to brilliant voice work from Ty Burrell. Despite how ridiculous it looks, this movie is the epitome of Sci-Fi. Mr. Peabody uses things like chemistry and physics to escape from tight spots, giving an almost Star Trek vibe at times. Unlike most modern kid’s films, this movie teaches kids about history, including the French Revolution, George Washington, Ancient Egypt, and more. Its educational and fun tone has similarities to shows like The Magic School Bus, allowing exhausted parents to feel less guilty about letting the TV babysit their kids.
9 ‘Cloudy With A Chance Of Meat Balls’ (2009)
Rotten Tomatoes Critic’s Score: 86%
After being fired from the production, brought back, and almost fired again, Lord And Millar’s debut film shocked fans and Sony execs with how good it was.
This animation’s whacky and fun premise makes for some inventive scenes like ice cream snow days, Tornadoes made of spaghetti, and a sentient hurricane made of food. In classic Lord and Millar fashion, the comedy is cleverly done for kids and adults, which is underappreciated in films like these. However, like any good Sci-Fi, behind all the technology and humor, there’s a more prominent theme of searching for acceptance. This is particularly true when it comes to Flint and his father, which makes this film relatable to fans of all ages.
8 ‘Big Hero 6’ (2014)
Rotten Tomatoes Critic’s Score: 90%
While comic book films aren’t always known for being deep, this animated film based on a Marvel Comic pleasantly shocked everyone by being more than just kid’s jokes.
Big Hero Six’s use of fantastical technology and top-notch fight scenes rival any live-action, Marvel. This is thanks to the villain’s terrifying nanotechnology, and Hiro advanced super suits. However, behind the innovative technology, Hiro and Baymax’s relationship makes this film unique. After losing his brother, viewers watch him hilariously find a surrogate sibling in an inflatable robot, helping him overcome his brother’s death and making this unofficially one of the best Marvel movies released.
7 ‘Bumblebee’ (2018)
Rotten Tomatoes Critic’s Score: 91%
After five installments filled with “Bayham,” fans had given up hope on a Transformers movie with substance until this shockingly heartfelt prequel.
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Bumblebee feels like a blast from the past. This isn’t just because of its endless assortment of 80s hits that transports fans back to the decade. It’s because it focuses on the main character instead of non-stop action scenes. The film refreshingly takes its time telling the story, so the audience can get to know Charlie and Bumblebee and watch their relationship grow. That being said, the Deceptacons have never been more threatening, going as far as blowing humans to gelatin. The action is also well-directed and ruthless, making this the best Transformers film since the 1986 animated film.
6 ‘Honey, I Shrunk The Kids’ (1991)
Rotten Tomatoes Critic’s Score: 91%
This Rick Moranis led film about a scientist who accidentally shrinks his kids makes the most out of its fun Sci-Fi premise.
This film does one thing exceptionally well. It takes advantage of its novel Sci-Fi concept with action scenes that show how dangerous the world would be if people were the size of a flea. Between almost drowning in a bowl of cereal, being hunted by a scorpion, and running for their lives from a lawnmower, for many, this film will always be the ultimate 90 kids’ adventure film.
5 ‘Spy Kids’ (2001)
Rotten Tomatoes Critic’s Score: 93%
Robert RodRiguez’s cult classic about two kids who have to save their kidnapped parents, who are spies, intrigued critics by how balls to the wall ridiculous it was willing to get.
This film has all the craziness critics have come to expect with Rodriguez films but with children in the lead. This includes a crazy musical dream sequence with Alan Cumming, evil clones, and insane gadgets like electric machete gumballs or the hilarious electroshock bubbles. It also had kids leading giant action set-pieces, which was a novelty making this film almost infamous at the time.
4 ‘WALL-E’ (2008)
Rotten Tomatoes Critic’s Score: 95%
This 2008 animated film stole critics’ hearts with its innovative storytelling that recalls another time in cinema.
This Pixar classic has very little dialogue with its main characters, mostly communicating through body language, drawing back to the days of silent films. Despite being an animated kids’ film, Wall-E is as Sci-Fi as it gets. In this world, humans are so technologically advanced they don’t have to leave their chairs to do anything, causing them to be so overweight they can no longer move around independently. Meanwhile, the interactions between the robots feel more human than any of the people in the movie. This raises the question if technology is causing people to lose their humanity. These thought-provoking questions make this movie one of Pixar’s best.
3 ‘The Iron Giant’ (1999)
Rotten Tomatoes Critic’s Score: 96%
This box office flop about a boy who befriends an alien Robot became Iconic for its powerful storytelling.
This movie’s beautiful 2d pastel-looking style is breathtaking while the Iron Giant’s CGI still holds up. The film discusses a myriad of issues, highlighting how fearful everyone was during the Red Scare, shown in the warmongering General Rogard. It also speaks to humanity’s potential as Hogarth teaches a killer robot the value of life and that you are who you choose to be, culminating in the Robot sacrificing his to save others.
2 ‘Into The Spider-Verse’ (2018)
Rotten Tomatoes Critic’s Score: 97%
This Oscar-winning film may have initially been unsuccessful at the box office, but it won over critics and fans by balancing hardcore science fiction with emotion.
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This animated Sci-Fi is the first comic-book film to delve into the multiverse and arguably the best. Fans get multiple Spider-Mans without the film ever feeling convoluted. It executes its complex premise while making it understandable to fans of all ages. It also has more drama than any live-action Spider-Man, with Miles’s beloved uncle being one of his enemies and multiple characters dying, giving the film stakes that make it feel dangerous. It’s no surprise the sequel has become the box office behemoth it has.
1 ‘E.T.’ (1982)
Rotten Tomatoes Critic’s Score: 99%
Stephan Spielberg’s iconic film about a boy who befriends an alien took the world by storm with its intimate portrait of friendship and family.
This film is timeless because of the wonder the characters and the viewers have at seeing E.T. Breathtaking animatronics give him real emotions and expressive body language, making fans believe they’re watching an actual alien in a way CGi never can. More importantly, this film is a personal story about loneliness and family. Most viewers can relate to being a child and feeling unseen and forgotten. By the end of the film, when Elliot has to say goodbye to the one person that made him feel seen, even adult viewers are left blubbering, making E.T. one of the most incredible children’s films ever made.
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