Autumn, Halloween, and Thanksgiving Movies for the Whole Family

Create wholesome memories with your whole family this fall while watching these classic family-friendly movies, perfect for Autumn, Halloween, and Thanksgiving.

There are so many classic Christmas movies that you may need to start watching them in November, but don’t skip over these terrific family movies that are so much fun to watch in the autumn.

Don’t want your kids watching Hocus Pocus or other films that glorify witches and spells? Or maybe the trailers for the new Wednesday movie don’t really look very kid-friendly?

I have selected these family Autumn, Halloween, and Thanksgiving movies as appropriate for ages 7 and up (There are a few preschool movies, which are noted). Most are rated PG, either for a few curse words, or maybe an alcohol drink, or intense moments. Older movies from the 1980s with a PG rating may be more like a PG-13 rating from today’s standards.

Parents should preview any of these wholesome Fall movies that they feel is questionable for their children, however, as family preferences may differ. Kids in Mind and Parent Previews are the most helpful sources of movie reviews and IMBD has become more accurate than Common Sense Media (which I no longer recommend), especially for those “harder to find” movies.

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My family doesn’t do “scary” Halloween or horror movies. And then when we brought home our three youngest kids from foster care, they were absolutely terrified of scarecrows. We don’t know what they saw, or what happened, but we’ve had to be very careful of what we have in our house during the Autumnal season.

Full disclosure: Our three youngest kiddos are enjoying a screen-free childhood, so these are movies that our older kids have enjoyed.

Pop a gigantic bowl of popcorn and pour some fresh apple cider and settle in to enjoy these Autumn movies for families. No need to wait for the weekend!

Each section of movies are listed in order of appropriateness from younger to older kids.

Fall Family Movies

Pooh’s Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin 1997 G We used to have this on VHS tape and I think my oldest nearly wore it out watching it over and over (I’d never heard of a screen-free childhood at that point). The main plot is that Christopher Robin goes off to school for the first time, but his friends can’t really read his note that he left for them and they go on an adventure to find him. Preview for your youngest ones if they are frightened by dark places (they go inside a cave) or scary noises (that turn out to be Pooh’s tummy growling because he’s hungry).

Fly Away Home 1996 PG Super sweet story about a girl that takes care of a flock of orphaned goslings, but has to find a way to teach them how to migrate in the fall.

Remember the Titans PG 2000 It’s not fall without football, and this movie starring Denzel Washington does not disappoint. This movie is based on the true story of a football team that has just been racially integrated and has to bond together as a true team.

The Blind Side 2009 PG Another football movie, based on the story of Michael Green, a teenage homeless boy who was taken in by a couple and helped to find his true potential.

Back to the Future 1985 PG Marty McFly accidentally travels back in time to November 5 1955 and messes up his parents’ budding romance. A classic 80s film with a great plot, but there is some foul language, which you can edit out with a filtering service like ClearPlay.

October Sky 1999 PG A teenaged boy dreams of escaping his coal mining future and becoming a rocket scientist after seeing Sputnik fly across the sky in October 1957.

Halloween Family Movies

My family no longer does “scary” Halloween; we try to focus more on general silliness and fun.

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown 1966 G The classic cartoon that we all watched growing up.

Monsters, Inc. 2001 G This sweet animated movie featuring the voices of John Goodman and Billy Crystal is best for elementary aged kiddos and up since there are some scary monster moments that preschoolers might not understand. Check out this review to help you decide if it’s right for your kids.

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken 1966 G Don Knotts was so good at playing goofy characters, and this is one of his best roles. Spoiler alert: there’s no ghost. This is a fun comedy that my kids watch every single year the week of Halloween as one of our fall traditions.

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial 1982 PG I was a kid when this came out and I was scared by the scene with the men in biohazard suits, so if you have sensitive kiddos, you might want to fast-forward that short part.

Ernest Scared Stupid 1991 PG We actually have this one on DVD because my teen son and husband love it so much. It’s very much slap-stick comedy, and has some occasional foul language, but it’s mainly just goofy silliness of Ernest trying to defeat a troll. (The Amazon description says it’s about an “unleashed demon”, but it’s just a troll.)

Topper 1937 or Topper Returns 1941 Be sure you get the ones from 1937/1941. The one from the 1950s is a TV series. These don’t have ratings, but would probably be rated PG or even PG-13 by today’s standards because there is a murder, but it’s really more of a comedy than a murder mystery. These movies were produced by Hal Roach, who also produced the Laurel and Hardy comedy series. I think Topper Returns is better than the original; see what you think.

Rear Window 1954 PG-13 (by today’s standard due to the theme of murder) Starring James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter, and Raymond Burr, this is considered one of Hitchcock’s best films. A photographer breaks his leg, has to be confined to a wheelchair temporarily, and starts staring out his window at his neighbor. Many sitcoms, cartoons, and series have done spoofs of this thrilling plot, most notably, the Psych episode “Mr. Yin Presents”.

The Birds 1963 PG-13 (by today’s standards, not sure if it had a rating when it came out) My mom thinks this is the scariest movie she’s ever seen. (Actually, it probably is; she doesn’t willingly watch scary movies LOL) It’s one of the most famous psychological thrillers. This Hitchcock movie was made before CGI made special effects easy and is based on a true story of birds (poisoned by bad plankton) which crashed into houses on the Monterey coast.

Your kids may also be interested in learning about the History and Customs of Halloween with this free lapbook for elementary students from our sister site, Homeschool Helper Online.

Thanksgiving Family Movies

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving 1973 G If you get the DVD, it also includes The Mayflower Voyage (we bought the holiday set many years ago instead of trying to find it online every year).

Looney Toons Thanksgiving G Really just a bunch of silliness from the Warner Bros characters, but my husband really enjoyed sharing it with the kids.

Free Birds 2013 PG Featuring the voices of Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson, this cute movie pairs up two turkeys from opposite backgrounds to travel back in time to change the main Thanksgiving menu to not include turkeys.

An Arthur Thanksgiving G 1996 This is an old-school, hour-long Arthur holiday special (not the updated, new Arthur, which has a very different type of content)

Jim Henson’s Turkey Hollow 2015 PG Originally produced for Lifetime Television, this live-action plus Muppets film is a quirky and cute movie that everyone in the family will enjoy. There’s also a graphic novel with the same story.

An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving 2008 G Starring Jacqueline Bisset, this movie has a quaint, warm and cozy feeling with a tiny bit of romance. I think it was a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie (back before all Hallmark movies had the same plot). There’s a sequel, An Old Fashioned Christmas, but I couldn’t find it streaming anywhere.

Young Pocahontas 1997 This 30-minute short is different than the Disney musical Pocahontas, but is also based on the Native American’s relationship with Captain John Smith.

Your kids may also be interested in our Over the River mini unit study for Thanksgiving and our Thanksgiving Resources

Movies for Older Teens and Parents

We watched these movies with our high-school aged teens using a filtering service (like ClearPlay)

Princess Bride 1987 PG This really isn’t a “fall” movie, but our teens insisted upon watching it every year in October, preferably on our homemade outdoor screen. If you haven’t seen this movie, it’s a absolute must for all homeschoolers. It doesn’t have any parts that need to be filtered out, but it’s a bit too intense at times (like the R.O.U.S. scene) for younger kiddos.

Ghostbusters 1984 PG The original movie. The “Ghostbusters” are a team of scientists who’ve lost their jobs and end up having to save NYC from the evil Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man. (We used ClearPlay to filter out the one scene where a character is taken over by the “spirits” while in her bed. We didn’t even notice it had been removed!)

Clue: The Movie 2011 PG-13 This is a cult classic starring Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, and Christopher Lloyd. It’s PG-13 because of the many sexual innuendos and double entendres. If you want, you can filter those out.

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