They’re furry. They’re friends. And they’re on your screens. Whether you and your littlest viewing companions want to learn about accepting yourself, sing a catchy song with a class pet, or just find out what’s really going on inside your cat’s brain, there’s something on Netflix for you. We’ve rounded up nine stories of adventure and discovery featuring animals of all sorts for the whole family — from tiny critters to the larger-than-life variety.
Imagine living in a zoo, with people pointing and staring at you all day long. It doesn’t sound like a great way to pass each and every day, does it? Now imagine they’re pointing, staring, and calling you a monster. Even worse. This is where venomous snake Maddie (Isla Fisher), spider Frank (Guy Pearce), thorny devil lizard Zoe (Miranda Tapsell), and scorpion Nigel (Angus Imrie) find themselves, as some of the most feared animals at the Sydney Zoo. After an incredibly misunderstood rescue attempt — one man’s “I saved your life” is another’s “she tried to eat me” — the best friends decide that it’s time to escape and head to where they belong: the outback. Naturally, a trip to the old natural habitat isn’t without its missteps, like kidnapping the zoo’s resident celebrity koala, Pretty Boy (Tim Minchin), along the way. It happens to the best of us. In this animated adventure, audiences will learn alongside the characters that beauty and goodness are more than just fur deep.
What is a chickenhare, you might ask? Well, it’s an animal that’s half chicken, half hare — and all hero. Chickenhare (Jordan Tartakow) aims to follow in his adoptive father’s footsteps and become an adventurer, continuing his dad’s quest to find the mythical Hamster of Darkness. Along the way, Chickenhare –– who’s tried his whole life to hide his chicken features and pass as a full-on hare –– encounters his evil uncle, ghost hamsters, and an attempted volcano sacrifice. He understands that to reach his full potential, he needs to embrace his unique self. Kids and adults will have a good time with this story that offers plenty of silliness and excitement.
Cats: The great enigma of our world. What are they thinking? Why did they jump all the way up there? What do they think they’ll find? Why are they staring at you like that? The documentary Inside the Mind of a Cat aims to do what it says on the box — give viewers scientific and behavioral explanations for the life and times of our most mysterious and judgy feline friends.
In this heartfelt animated musical comedy, a class pet lizard named Leo is having a midlife crisis. He’s approaching his 75th birthday, and is realizing that he hasn’t seen much beyond the four walls of his terrarium. As he prepares to break free and leave his cage for good, a turn of events leaves him in an unexpected role — acting as a therapist to the fifth grade students in his classroom. Adam Sandler stars in and co-wrote this film about navigating those awkward preteen years — only this time, it’s told from the perspective of a lizard.
Young orphan Peter (voiced by Noah Jupe) is searching for answers — and his long-lost younger sister. In this animated feature, the determined kid is told by a fortune teller that he must “follow the elephant” so he can be reunited with his family. Viewers will discover exactly which elephant she’s talking about when a magician conjures one in front of Peter during a performance. Peter is full of questions as he follows the elephant and his own belief that he can achieve the seemingly impossible. This story of a little one with a big dream is sure to delight and inspire.
Dogs have been called man’s best friend, but in this movie, they may also be the best heroes, too. Ruby is a hyperactive border collie mix who keeps being returned to the shelter after families struggle to train her. Daniel (Grant Gustin) is a young father who’s been repeatedly rejected from the K-9 search and rescue training program he dreams of joining. When the two discover one another and Dan begins training alongside Ruby in hopes of making it into the program, the two turn out to have more in common than you might expect. Based on a true story, this movie is a sweet example of the power of persistence and friendship, and that learning looks different for different people — and dogs. It also doesn’t hurt that Ruby is absolutely precious.
Monster hunter Jacob Holland (Karl Urban) sails the seas in search of the fearsome sea creature known as the Red Bluster, whose defeat will bring him a great reward. But a young stowaway on his ship named Maisie (Zaris-Angel Hator) changes everything, including Jacob’s mind about whether sea monsters are so monstrous after all. They may not be as cuddly as the household pets we’re used to, but as The Sea Beast shows us, that doesn’t mean they’re not worthy of love. They’re just maybe … a little misunderstood. This movie plays well with kids and adults alike and was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2023 Oscars, to boot.
Some people might say unicorns aren’t real, but this pony would beg to differ. Thelma is anything but small-time: she has big dreams of becoming a glamorous music star. In a glitter-filled twist of fate, Thelma (voiced by Grammy Award–winning artist Brittany Howard) is transformed into a sparkling pink unicorn who instantly rises to global stardom. But life at the top comes at a cost, and Thelma will have to decide if this is what she really wants. The animated comedy is based on the popular books by Aaron Blabey, and comes from directors Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite) and Lynn Wang (Unikitty!).
Get ready to learn a lot about kinkajous and to have some catchy tunes stuck in your head. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the songs for Vivo and voices the title character, the kinkajou in question. (A kinkajou is a rainforest marsupial who counts raccoons as cousins, for those not up on their cute creature terminology.) After Vivo’s human companion dies, Vivo wants to make sure his friend’s love song gets to the woman he loved. This means crossing an ocean and going on a big adventure as a little animal.
