What to Watch: Kids & Family Movies That Teach Empathy

INSIDE OUT is an animated comedy about a young girl who has a wonderful life, until her family moves to San Francisco and her emotions get out of control. INSIDE OUT is a well-made, delightful movie with a great plot line, excellent animation and a strong moral worldview.

SUMMARY: INSIDE OUT 2 is a sequel to the popular, acclaimed 2015 animated comedy from Pixar and Disney. Riley, the young girl of the first movie, turns 13 and a bunch of unruly teenage emotions, led by Anxiety, take over Riley’s psyche and banish Riley’s other emotions, including Joy. INSIDE OUT 2 is a delightful, inventive, heartwarming movie about “the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10c) and doing the right thing, controlling your emotions, caring for your friends, both old and new, and promoting kindness, friendship, repentance, and forgiveness.

UP, the new animated feature from Pixar and Disney, is about a 78-year-old widower and a young boy scout who find the adventure of a lifetime on a jungle plateau in Venezuela full of unknown dangers. UP is another heartfelt, family-friendly, utterly delightful animated classic from the wonderful team at Pixar and Disney.

WINNIE THE POOH feels like you are jumping right into the classic Winnie the Pooh book series. With a classic story line of all the distinct characters helping each other out no matter what the cost, WINNIE THE POOH is morally commendable and beautifully produced.

FINDING NEMO is a wonderful animated adventure about a small clownfish who goes in search of his son, who's been put into a fish tank by human beings. Every second of FINDING NEMO is beautifully animated, spectacularly directed and written with great heart and strong moral values.

LILO & STITCH is the story of two outcasts who find each other and, through many dangers and trials, change each other for the better and find love and “Ohana,” the Hawaiian name for family. Cartoon violence and two brief comical references to evolution and voodoo are the only things which mar the moral worldview of LILI & STITCH, which is appropriate for older children.

FINDING DORY, the animated sequel to the classic family movie FINDING NEMO, shows Dory suddenly remembering she has a mommy and a daddy and getting help from her friends, both old and new, to reunite with them. FINDING DORY is another heartwarming, funny, whimsical fish story from Pixar and Disney showing that family and friends make life worth living.