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Oscar nominations just rolled out yesterday. Hollywood is telling us what it thinks are the best movies of the year—not to mention the movies with the best sound, the best costumes, the best key grips and on and on.
But you know what gets lost in the shuffle? The movies that might not have smashing cinematography or outstanding music, but the movies that move us. The movies that inspire us. The movies that, just maybe, make us think about our relationship to the world, each other and our Creator.
And if we can sit down and watch a movie like that as a family? Hey, that’s all the better.
Every year, Plugged In does its part to fill that gap. After spending most of the year telling you what movies we didn’t like, this is our chance to tell you what we did. And while you should never take our nominees as flat-out Plugged In recommendations—every movie has problems, and only you can determine what’s right for you and your family—it’s as close as we get.
And as we roll out our nominations in four different categories (Best Movies for Kids, for Teens, for Adults and Best Christian Movies), we’d like for you to vote, as well. Tell us your favorite movie among our nominations on Facebook and Instagram and on this very blog. Think we missed one we should’ve included? Tell us that, too.
We’ll banter over the nominees—and select our own winners—on The Plugged In Show Feb. 27. And then, the following day, we’ll post a blog with both our selections and yours.
We kick off this whole effort today, with our nominations for the Best Movies for Kids. In this category, we select based on quality and quantity: the quality of the movie, the quality of its messages, and—hopefully—its non-quantity of content.
Oh, one last thing: You might feel like we made some incredibly glaring omissions. Don’t trot out the pitchforks just yet, because one or two of your favorites might show up in a category down the road.
On to the nominees! (Summaries are written by Paul Asay, Bret Eckelberry, Bob Hoose, Emily Tsiao and Kennedy Unthank.)
The Garfield Movie is a fun, new take on the lovable orange tabby (created by cartoonist Jim Davis) who hates Mondays and loves lasagna. In this tale, Garfield and his ever-loyal canine sidekick, Odie, are kidnapped by a street cat named Jinx. She uses the duo as bait to lure Garfield’s wayward dad, Vic, out of hiding. Back in the day, Jinx and Vic ran in the same crew, stealing milk from dairy farms. But then Vic abandoned Jinx the middle of a heist, allowing her to get sent to the pound. Jinx says she doesn’t want revenge, just compensation—one quart of milk for every day she was stuck behind bars. And she’s giving Vic 72 hours to make good … or else. Garfield doesn’t want anything to do with Vic. As far as he’s concerned, the guy abandoned him, only to show up years later and pull him into a life of crime. Unfortunately, Jinx’s threat extends to Garfield and Odie as well. So the father and son will have to put aside their differences and learn to work together. Families won’t find too much obvious content here besides a single use of the British profanity “bloody.” And two blink-and-you’ll-miss-them moments perhaps imply same-gender relationships. But overall, it’s a fun, new take on the funny feline, and one with a touching tale about a father and son reunited.
Growing up is hard to do. Just ask a now 13-year-old Riley, who’s prepping to go to a new school, participating in a prestigious hockey camp and—most importantly—dealing with a whole raft of new emotions. The most important new arrival? Anxiety, who wants to help ease Riley into adolescence through the beauty of stress. Joy, Sadness and the rest will have a difficult time keeping Riley safe … and sane. After a string of relative misfires, Inside Out 2 feels like a return to form for Disney/Pixar. Funny, sweet and a little sad, this film checks all the boxes. Sure, it’s not perfect. But there’s a reason why Inside Out 2 just walked away with an Oscar nomination (for Best Animated Picture) and became 2024’s biggest box-office success: People loved it, and they wanted to see it again and again.
Did you know that penguins have their own internal GPS system? These flightless birds can traverse hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles during their migration and feeding cycles and always swim their way back home. That special ability is front-and-center in this story about a wounded penguin that makes his human saviors—an island fisherman and his wife—his new family, returning to visit them season after season. My Penguin Friend is not a large, complicated adventure. It doesn’t compel you to think about the dark, difficult things of our broken world or challenge you to somehow fix those ills. Rather, this is a simple, sweet film based on a simple, sweet, true story. There are a few sad moments here. But this is the tale of someone who offers help and healing to a suffering animal and, in return, gains some important healing of his own.
Eccentric inventor Wallace and his loyal pooch, Gromit, have been adventuring together since 1989’s A Grand Day Out, and they’re still going strong more than 30 years on. In their most recent outing, the pair find themselves terrorized by an old enemy, Feathers McGraw. The criminally inclined penguin is out for revenge, and he’ll use Wallace’s newest invention—an automated garden gnome named Norbert—to get it. Once Feathers gets his hands (wings?) on Norbert, the friendly little gnome won’t be so helpful. In fact, it will become downright evil! Witty, silly and fun, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl will charm children and adults alike. And it even comes with an important message about technology: No matter how marvelous tech can be, it can’t (and shouldn’t) do everything for you. Parents should be aware that the film, while mostly clean, contains some crude humor and a brief glimpse of Wallace’s bare bum. But for most viewers, this animated adventure will be ever-so-much fun.
Despite society’s best attempts to rid themselves of the troublesome bird, Woody Woodpecker’s been causing problems since 1940. But when Park Ranger Walters kicks Woody out of his woods until the woodpecker learns how to care about others for a change, Woody is finally given the motivation he needs to become a team player. That’s why you’ll find him at Camp Woo Hoo, reforming himself and saving the camp from other nefarious troublemakers. In terms of camp bedbugs, some light violence appears, and a goth girl frequently references her obsession with death. On the sweeter side, we see a few messages about how others can encourage us to become better people. Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp stars a bird that has more than likely flown through the lives of multiple generations in your family, and this TV-G movie could be a nice way to introduce the character to your kids, too.
