Valentine’s Day is so close. Are you spending it with your family? Up for a movie? Wondering what to watch this year? Maybe consider this list of romantic, family-friendly animated movies ranked in no particular order whatsoever. Here are 10 animated movies you can watch on valentine’s day with family.
Family Valentine’s Day Movies:
The Adams Family
Not an obvious choice for Valentine’s Day, is it? I agree. But if you’re looking for a night in with the family, it suddenly becomes apparent. Come along for another “neat, teat, and sweet” family adventure with the Adams. For those looking for a happily ever after and an iconic romantic pair, you don’t have to look further than the lovely Morticia and Gomez Adams.
Shrek
It goes without saying that Shrek is one of the most fantastic fairy tales ever told. This smelly, ugly yet charming ogre who lives peacefully in his swamp will bring you to tears and have you holding your belly as he and his posse of other well known and beloved characters from our childhood fairy-tales try to rescue a beautiful princess from a kingdom far, far away. Oh, and they fall in love along the way, obviously.
Frozen
Our heroine Elsa possesses the magical power of turning things into ice. But what melts our hearts about this one is not the sunshine that comes after a long, cold winter blizzard, but the love between two sisters. A love that reminds us that when our hearts get broken, the family has ways of mending them. It reminds us also about how the whole “prince charming” thing is clearly overrated. But we’ve already seen that in Shrek.
Also, Olaf. Olaf is why I’m here.
Corpse Bride
One might imagine that such a macabre title is given to a movie not suited for children nor the faint of heart. Nonsense! Says Tim Burton, giving us a lovely tale of a young man in search of love. Love, however, as we all know, has a way of finding us instead. In case you’re worried about the youngest in your home seeing this film, here’s what the Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Roger Ebert had to say:
So be advised. But I wouldn’t worry about it too much. “Everyone is relatively jolly”!
Tangled
Adventure? Love? Freedom? All these things get tangled up in this awesomely animated, fairytale ridden animated movie as goldy locks try to find out who she is and what she’s all about. It’s a love story for sure. But it’s also a story of a young girl fighting for who she is.
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
Another DreamWorks masterpiece, this is an amazing story about a wild stallion Spirit, fighting for his freedom and that of his family, roaming ever-free through the awe-inspiring wild west, overcoming obstacles along the way, to find his soulmate who, let’s say, slowly “tames” his restless heart.
It’s a Spirited movie about an even more spirited horse.
Lady and the Tramp
We’ve all seen that restaurant scene somewhere, somehow. You’re bound to enjoy the movie it’s from. Lady and the Tramp might romanticize New Orleans, but as pointed out by a critic, it’s a movie about talking dogs, after all. Be that as it may, it’s also a movie about love.
Beauty and the Beast
A classic. There’s no escaping it. Little can be said about this picture: the iconic Beauty and the Beast. Classics speak for themselves. Revisit this 1991 Disney adaptation of a centuries-old fairy tale in Beauty and the Beast, and find out what “true love” is really all about.
A Whisker Away
Miyo wants to find a way to spend time the way she wants to, and the only way she can achieve this, for now, is by using a magical Noh mask that turns her into a cat. Her journey is that of self-discovery and finding her lost faith and enthusiasm to confront life and love come what may.
It’s a very touching, human story. Even if it does involve supernatural elements inspired by Japanese folklore. For me, it only gets better with this next entry.
Your Name
It couldn’t be more straightforward in this beautifully animated movie—just a story of a boy and a girl. And yet, it couldn’t be more complicated. Your Name follows the story of the bond between Taki and Mitsuha. Things, however, get a bit more complicated when they try to meet each other. Your Name is also getting a live-action adaptation soon, so maybe wait for that if your family is not into anime. I’m warning you, though. This has to be the most masterful animation and the most touching romantic movie I have ever seen. Just putting it out there.
