All the best family movies hitting our screens in 2023

Elemental

On Disney+

Set in Element City, where fire-, water-, land- and air-residents live together.

The story introduces Ember, a quick-witted and fiery young woman, whose friendship with a fun, go-with-the-flow guy named Wade challenges her beliefs about their world.

Wade is an empathetic 20-something water guy who isn’t afraid to show his emotions, Clod is a street-smart earth kid with a gentle heart and Gale is an air element with a big personality.

(Image: Disney)

Indiana Jones: Dial of Destiny 

On Disney+

Harrison Ford returns to the role of the legendary hero archaeologist for this fifth installment of the iconic Indiana Jones franchise.

Set in 1969 against the backdrop of the Space Race, we see Indiana Jones teaming up with his goddaughter (Phoebe Waller-Bridge of Fleabag) on a new quest.

(Image: Disney)

Barbie

In cinemas now, and streaming on Prime Video

The Barbie movie not only stars Australia’s own Margot Robbie, and Ryan Gosling, but a host of stars including Michael Cera, America Ferrera and Ncuti Gatwa.

The colourful characters, LOL comedy moments, eye-popping outfits, catchy songs, amazing dance moves and actor spotting is hugely entertaining. Adult themes are subtle and mostly hidden from younger audiences who are distacted by the flamboyance.

(Image: Warner Bros. Pictures)

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

On Paramount Plus

Fourteen years since the orginal Transformers film hit cinemas, the sequel will take audiences on a 90s globe-trotting adventure as it follows a group of humans and Transformers as they unite to stop a global threat from a new enemy faction known as the Terrorcons.

(Image: Paramount Pictures)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

On Disney+

Miles goes on an adventure with Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman across the multiverse where he meets a new team of Spider-People, known as the Spider-Force, but comes into conflict with them over handling a new threat.

(Image: Disney)

The Amazing Maurice

On Apple TV, Foxtel Now and Stan.

The story follows a streetwise cat named Maurice, who leads a group of intelligent rats in a scheme to scam humans by pretending to be a pied piper and ridding towns of their rat infestations.

However, their latest target, the town of Bad Blintz, has a dark secret, and the group soon finds themselves in the midst of a dangerous adventure.

(Image: Sky Cinema)

Peter Pan & Wendy

On Disney+

Another amazing live action adaptation of the classic story, following Peter Pan and Wendy as they journey to Neverland and battle Captain Hook.

The adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s classic novel Peter and Wendy tells the story of a young boy who never grows up and his adventures in the magical world of Neverland.

(Image: Disney)

The Haunted Mansion

On Disney+ August 31, 2023

Inspired by the classic theme park attraction – and a remake of an earlier movie – the film follows a single mum named Gabbie (Rosario Dawson) who hires a tour guide, a psychic, a priest, and a historian to help exorcise their newly bought mansion; after discovering it is inhabited by ghosts.

The star-studded cast includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Winona Ryder, Owen Wilson, Jared Leto and more.

(Image: Disney)

The Little Mermaid

On Disney+ September 6, 2023

After hitting cinemas in May, The Little Mermaid is coming to Disney+ on September 6, 2023.

The movie features a star-studded cast, with Halle Bailey playing Ariel, the young mermaid who dreams of exploring the human world.

The film features both new and classic songs from the original movie, including Under the Sea and Part of Your World.

(Image: Disney)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

In cinemas September 7, 2023

This upcoming reboot of the popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle franchise centres around a group of four turtles, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael (who we know and love) that mutated into humanoid superheroes and trained by a rat sensei to fight crime.

(Image: Paramount Pictures)

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

In cinemas September 14, 2023

Ruby Gillman is a sweet and awkward high school student who discovers she’s a direct descendant of the warrior kraken queens.

The kraken are sworn to protect the oceans of the world against the vain, power-hungry mermaids.

(Image: Universal Pictures)

PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie

In cinemas September 29, 2023

All of her life, Skye has felt like she has been unappreciated by her friends (Chase, Marshall, Rubble, Rocky, Zuma, and Liberty). Eager to prove she can be an asset to the team, Skye gets a chance when a magical meteor crash-lands in Adventure City, giving her and the others superpowers as they become the Mighty Pups. In order to steal the pups’ powers, Mayor Humdinger escapes from prison and teams up with a meteor expert named Victoria Vance to steal the pups’ crystals.

(Image: Paramount Pictures)

The Marvels

In cinemas November 9, 2023

Following the events of Ms. Marvel (2022), Carol Danvers, Kamala Khan, and Monica Rambeau begin swapping places with each other every time they use their powers, and must team up to determine why.

(Image: Disney)

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget

Streaming on Netflix from November 10, 2023

After successfully escaping from Tweedy’s farm in Chicken Run, Ginger and the flock have found a peaceful sanctuary on an island.

However, a new danger arises for all chickens on the mainland, prompting Ginger and her team to devise a plan to infiltrate and address the threat.

(Image: Netflix)

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

In cinemas November 16, 2023

Set in the world of Panem, 64 years before the events of the first Hunger Games book, the story follows a young Coriolanus Snow, a student at a prestigious school for the Capitol’s elite.

Snow is assigned to mentor a tribute from District 12 in the 10th Hunger Games, and he sees this as an opportunity to restore his family’s fortunes.

As Snow becomes more involved in the games, he begins to see the cruel reality of the Hunger Games and how they are used as a tool of oppression by the Capitol.

(Image: Lionsgate)

Leo

On Netflix from November 22, 2023

Leo, a lizard in his 70s, and his companion turtle make the decision to flee from the terrarium they’ve occupied for decades inside a Florida classroom.

(Image: Netflix)

Trolls Band Together

In cinemas November 30, 2023.

In the third instalment, we will see Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and Branch (Justin Timberlake), who are officially a couple, attempt to rescue Floyd (Sivan) while reuniting Branch’s brothers after the boyband phenomenon, BroZone, was disbanded.

(Image: Dreamworks)

Wonka 

In cinemas December 15, 2023

Wonka is a prequel to the beloved story, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and will follow Wonka’s early life before he became the eccentric candy maker we know and love.

(Image: Warner Bros. Pictures)

Illumination Migration

In cinemas December 26, 2023.

This wholesome film about a family of ducks that convince their overprotective father to go on a trip of a lifetime that takes them from New England through New York and onto the Bahamas.

We cannot wait for this heart-warming movie about the importance of family and sticking together through thick and thin.

(Image: Universal Pictures)