As summer approaches, many parents stress over how they will entertain their children. Luckily, a timeless activity is still available: going to the movie theater as a family. Let’s take a look at family movies that are expected to hit the theaters and streaming services for the summer of 2025.
Starting off strong, “Lilo & Stitch” will make its debut in theaters on May 23, 2025. This film is rated PG and highlights the journey of Lilo, a Hawaiian orphan and her new alien friend Stitch. It is an action-packed musical that prioritizes the idea of forming your own family and having love for those who care for you most. It will be exciting to see how the film showcases Hawaiian culture, especially with its breakout star Maia Kealoha (Lilo), being from the Big Island of Hawaii. This is her first lead role at the age of 7. Hopefully many young girls, especially those in minority cultures will be inspired by Kealoha’s authenticity in the film. This heartfelt comedy should be fun for all ages as we explore how Stitch navigates his new home and family.
For many parents, the next film will resonate with them a lot because this legacy has been around since 1984. “Karate Kid: Legends” will premiere on May 30, 2025, and highlights the story of a young Li Fong who strives to protect himself and is mentored by Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso. Li Fong is played by Ben Wang, who is new to this franchise, but Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio take their roles once more to show how the underdog story is still iconic and needed in the film industry. The Karate Kid films are always filled with action, and it will be interesting to see how director Jonathan Entwistle used Wang’s skills in martial arts to bring the combat to life. This film will draw in many different age demographics because many will want to watch due to nostalgia and will want to introduce their children and grandkids to this timeless legacy.
Another movie being released this summer is based on Roald Dahl’s 1980 novel “The Twits.” This animated film can be enjoyed from home on Netflix starting on June 13, 2025. “The Twits” covers the journey of two unlikely hero orphans who attempt to take down the evil couple, Mr. Twit and Mrs. Twit who runs an amusement park called Twitlandia. This movie offers a lot of entertainment for children, with the orphans being main characters and magical animals helping to save the day. It could be a lot of fun for parents who read the novel as children to watch the film and enjoy its magic with their children.
“How to Train Your Dragon” is another well-known spin off that will focus on Hiccup’s first meeting with Toothless and how Hiccup breaks his Viking tradition and discovers a soft spot for dragons. Children will have the opportunity to see how unlikely individuals can become friends and how people can stand up against their family and community for change. It’s full of action and many children will probably enjoy this new angle on the original coming-of-age film. This film hits theaters on June 13, 2025.
“Elio” will premiere on June 20, 2025, and follows the journey of Elio, who is an 11-year-old boy mistakenly sent to space and believed to be an Earth ambassador on another planet. The film was nominated in the Golden Trailer Awards in 2024 for Best Animation/Family. It’s a movie that will inspire many children as Elio, who is played by Yonas Kibreab, who bonds with unlikely friends and discovers himself as he helps with an out of this world crisis. The film should be colorful and the animation should please many as the directors have experience in directing a short film called “Burrow” and movies like “Turning Red” and “Coco.” Another classic film has been reproduced with a new angel and will head to theaters on July 18, 2025. “Smurfs” will be an animated musical starring Rihanna as Smurfette. This film will especially resonate with young girls because Papa Smurf is taken by evil wizards and Smurfette leads the rest of the pack on a journey to save him. This film will introduce some new songs from Rihanna and have other iconic actors and actresses like John Goodman playing Papa Smurf. This comedy will have everyone in the family laughing and hopefully dancing and singing along as we see Smurfette take on this leadership role.
“The Bad Guys 2” will hit theaters on August 1, 2025. “The Bad Guys” film premiered in 2022 and raked in $24 million in its opening weekend in North America, so families are definitely excited for this sequel. After becoming good guys, they are trying to navigate their new lives, but an all-women criminal group threatens them to complete one more evil mission. Once again, young girls will be drawn to this film because who doesn’t love a film that provides women with a role outside of being the ones who need saving? Families should enjoy this action-packed comedy because Sam Rockwell (Mr. Fox), Marc Maron (Mr. Snake), Craig Robinson (Mr.
Shark), Anthony Ramos (Mr. Piranha) and Awkwafina (Ms. Tarantula) will be returning to their roles. The first film had much success, and it would be surprising if this film doesn’t have families traveling to theaters to enjoy how The Bad Guys will wiggle out of the pressure of this all-female group.
Lastly, another spin on a classic is coming to theaters on August 8, 2025. “Freaky Friday” stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan will return to their mother and daughter duo roles in “Freakier Friday”. Other notable stars who will be making their return to the big screen in their previous roles are Chad Michael Murray as Jake and Mark Harmon as Ryan. Anna (Lindsay Lohan) now has a daughter and soon to be stepdaughter. She is navigating her family expanding with the help of her mother, Tess. Of course, it wouldn’t be the “Freaky Friday” sequel without Anna and Tess swapping bodies and hilariously handling this complication all
over again. No one can deny the chemistry between Lohan and Curtis, so families should expect to laugh with one another as they learn to appreciate what being a family really means.
All these summer children’s films should provide a lot of laughs and lessons along the way, and I can’t wait to watch these with my family!
Akeana Rootes, DBC Intern
