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  • General Recommendations
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Who Saved Who?: Kids Films Featuring Amazing Animals!

Family films featuring human and animal (real, animated and mythical!) friendships! *A trigger warning: Sometimes the animals depicted in these movies are in danger or get hurt. I recommend checking out commonsensemedia.org for violence/scariness ratings before settling in to watch these with young kids.

User from Evanston Public Library

21 items

  • A Maine harbormaster witnesses the impact of a playful and appreciative seal on his hometown, his family and especially on his shy nine-year-old daughter. Rated: PG
    DVD, 2001Hollywood, California : Paramount, 2001. — JUV DVD Family Andre
  • A piglet destined for eventual butchering arrives at the farmyard, is adopted by an old sheep dog, and discovers a special secret to success. Rated: G
    DVD, 2003Universal City, CA : Universal Studios, [2003] — JUV DVD Family Babe
  • Faithfully based on Anne Sewell's classic novel, this beloved horse story is told by its hero, the gallant Beauty, whose joyous and heartbreaking life takes him from idyllic days on a country squire's estate to London's hard, cobblestoned streets,…
    DVD, 1999Burbank, CA : Warner Home Video, 1999. — JUV DVD Family Black
  • An adaptation of Walter Farley's classic children's novel, in which an American boy is rescued after a shipwreck off the coast of North Africa by a seemingly untamable wild horse. After surviving together, they develop a bond and begin training to…
    DVD, 2015[New York, N.Y.] : The Criterion Collection, [2015] — DVD Action Black
  • Chronicles the heartwarming adventure of Bella, a dog who embarks on an epic 400-mile journey home after she's separated from her beloved human. Rated: PG
    DVD, 2019Culver City, California : Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, [2019] — JUV DVD Family Dogs
  • Follows Aisholpan, a 13-year-old girl, as she trains to become the first female in twelve generations of her Kazakh family to become an eagle hunter, and rises to the pinnacle of a tradition that has been typically been handed down from father to…
    DVD, 2017Culver City, California : Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, [2017] — JUV DVD Family Eagle
  • While fulfilling her community service hours at a horse rescue ranch, Emma forms an unlikely bond with an abused show horse that won't let anyone ride him. Gaining new skills and confidence, Emma hatches a plan to redeem herself and ultimately save…
    DVD, 2016Culver City, CA : Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, [2016] — JUV DVD Family Emmas
  • When Sandy is sent to the Florida Keys to stay with his salty Uncle Porter, he never dreamed he'd become best mates with a feisty, orphaned dolphin whose life he saved. Sandy and Flipper get into some high seas antics and thrilling escapades,…
    DVD, 2003Universal City, CA : Universal Studios, [2003] — JUV DVD Family Flipper
  • A 13-year old girl and her estranged father learn what family is all about when they adopt an orphaned flock of geese and teach them how to fly. Rated: PG
    DVD, 2001Culver City, CA : Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment, 2001. — JUV DVD Family Fly
  • A story about the friendship that develops between a 12-year-old boy who knows what it's like to be without a family, and a whale confined in a too-small tank at an aquatic park. Rated: PG
    DVD, 2003Burbank, CA : Warner Home Video, [2003] — JUV DVD Family Free
  • Hachi

    a Dog's Tale

    A loyal dog named Hachi accompanies his human to the train station every day and returns each afternoon to greet him after work. After his master passes away, Hachi continues to return to the same spot at the station every day for the next nine…
    DVD, 2010Culver City, Calif. : Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 2010. — DVD Drama Hachi
  • Hiccup is a young Viking who defies convention when he befriends one of his deadliest foes, a ferocious dragon he calls Toothless. Together this unlikely pair must overcome many obstacles and one ultimate challenge in order to save both their…
    DVD, 2014[United States] : DreamWorks Animation, [2014] — JUV DVD Family How
  • Looks back at Jane Goodall's career as a primatologist, animal rights advocate, and environmental activist. Comprised of present-day interview segments with Goodall and archival footage of her work studying chimpanzees at Tanzania's Gombe National…
    DVD, 2017[Washington, D.C.] : National Geographic, [2017] — JUV DVD Family Jane
  • An epic adventure about Mowgli, a man-cub who's been raised by a family of wolves. Mowgli finds he is no longer welcome in the jungle when fearsome tiger Shere Khan, who bears the scars of Man, promises to eliminate what he sees as a threat. Urged…
    DVD, 2016[Los Angeles, California] : Disney, 2016. — JUV DVD Family Jungle
  • Hundreds of thousands of cats roam the metropolis of Istanbul freely. For thousands of years they've wandered in and out of people's lives, becoming an essential part of the communities that make the city so rich. Claiming no owners, these animals…
    DVD, 2017[Brooklyn, New York] : Oscilloscope Laboratories, [2017] — DVD 636.8 Kedi
  • Mia and the White Lion

    Quest for Freedom

    Mia's life is turned upside down when her family leaves their home in London to manage a lion farm in South Africa. When a beautiful white lion, Charlie, is born, Mia develops a close attachment to the wild cub. After three years, Mia's life is…
    DVD, 2018Los Angeles, CA : Shout! Factory, [2018] — JUV DVD Family Mia
  • For years, Mr. Meacham has told tales of the fierce dragon deep in the woods. To his daughter, Grace, these stories are little more than tall tales, until she meets Pete. Pete is a mysterious ten-year-old with no family who claims to live in the…
    DVD, 2016[Burbank, CA] : Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, 2016. — JUV DVD Family Petes
  • Meet Patriot, Potomac, Primrose, Poppet, and Phil--five spirited puppies who, from the moment they're born, begin an incredible journey to become guide dogs for the blind. It's a rigorous two-year process that will take the pups from the care of…
    DVD, 2018New York, NY : IFC Films, [2018] — JUV DVD Family Pick
  • A little girl finds a wounded reindeer in the woods and believes it is Prancer. Her efforts to nurse it back to health so she can return it to Santa bring about wonderful changes in the lives of everyone- her father, their neighbor, a grouchy vet, a…
    DVD, 2001Santa Monica, CA : MGM Home Entertainment, [2001] — JUV DVD Family Prancer
  • Sgt. Stubby

    An American Hero

    The incredible true story of a stray dog who became a hero of the First World War. For his keen instincts and fierce loyalty, Stubby is still recognized today as the most decorated canine in American history and the first promoted to the rank of…
    DVD, 2018Hollywood, California : Paramount, [2018] — JUV DVD Family Sgtstub