Orion and the Dark
Netflix’s animated Orion and the Dark may not be the streamer’s most memorable family film, and it isn’t one of the strongest adaptations of a children’s book, but its imagination can’t be ignored.
Family
Family Switch
The only real positive takeaway from Netflix’s dreadful yuletide family comedy Family Switch, other than the odd mild chuckle, is that it acts as a canary in the coal mine for body swap flicks.
Butterfly Tale
Finding a nice balance between fun and learning, Butterfly Tale chronicles the animated adventure of a flutter of monarch butterflies as they migrate to Mexico.
TIFF 2023: ‘Seagrass’
In Seagrass, writer/director Meredith Hama-Brown uses a tired-and-true formula of the “family getaway” to uncover new wrinkles in an, otherwise, ordinary unit.
Wylie Writes’ Two-On-One with Dominique Jolin and Raymond Lebrun
While the troublemaking cat-and-mouse duo Tom and Jerry run amok in the United States, their opposite (and far removed) distant cousins of the North, a confident mouse named Toopy and a mute kitty named Binoo, are teaching children wholesome lessons and having lighthearted fun.
About My Father
By: Danyal Somani In the semi-autobiographical comedy About My Father, co-writer/actor Sebastian Maniscalco portrays a fictionalized version of himself trying to win over his girlfriend’s family in hopes of proposing to her during a Fourth Of July trip. However, when his traditional father Salvo (Robert De Niro) tags along, challenges arise (including class clashes, more eccentric family members, and some interesting pets) making Sebastian’s mission more difficult.
Katak, The Brave Beluga
The French-Canadian produced animated movie Katak, The Brave Beluga is a copycat of other family flicks. But as far as knock-offs go, this is certainly one of the better ones.
Blue’s Big City Adventure
Blue’s Big City Adventure, the first feature-length outing for the problem-solving pooch, is a comfortable ride for fans of Nickelodeon’s long-running interactive franchise Blue’s Clues. The movie fits the traditional narrative flow of the program while also exploring a personal scope without calling attention to its own cleverness.
Easter Sunday
Filipino American comedian Jo Koy (known for his Netflix specials Live from Seattle and Comin’ In Hot) makes his debut as a leading man in Easter Sunday, a loosely autobiographical comedy that draws on cultural and family dynamics to conjure relatable situational comedy.