Top 10 Kids Movies That Weren't Afraid to Treat Their Audience Like Adults

The cinematic adaptation of Louis Sachar’s novel depicts teenage boys in the American incarceration system, a reality that’s not often explored in children’s media. It mainly follows Stanley Yelnats, whose story includes a wrongful conviction, a detention camp, and a corrupt warden. The film also incorporates difficult themes through its flashbacks, with the expectation that its audiences will understand their nuances and consequences. One of the storylines concerns the history of systemic racism in America and involves a hate crime. Another shows the origin of the curse on Stanley’s house, which could be representative of generational trauma.

Don Bluth’s directorial debut is based on a children’s novel by Robert C. O'Brien and concerns many complicated issues. Although it has a somewhat fantastical premise, it also tackles realistic topics like animal experimentation, single parenthood, and the ethics of need based theft. There’s a decent amount of violence and death in the story, which could be considered too scary for younger viewers. Despite its dark narrative and visuals, the animated film is generally praised by both critics and general audiences. Watching this film as a child might have given us nightmares, but it was so worth it.

Although adults weren’t the main target audience for this DreamWorks sequel, the quality of its narrative and animation has garnered the praise and attention of older viewers. The film’s premise concerns a topic that’s inherently more serious, that being the last of Puss’s nine lives. Over the course of the story, the adventurous cat confronts his own mortality and will to live, not to mention the incarnation of death. The movie has not only a surprisingly deep story, but also impressive visuals. It differs from previous installments of the “Shrek” franchise by using a more painterly animation style. Beautiful and interesting, there’s a lot for adults to appreciate in this flick that might go over little ones’ heads.

This animated film surprisingly holds its own among the plethora of live-action, PG-13 rated Spider-Man movies already out there. It makes this list for two reasons: it has top-tier animation and it incorporates death. When it comes to the visuals, they are styled to resemble a cartoon strip. It references the characters’ comic book origins, which is something adult viewers can appreciate. As for its mature theme, death affects many of the characters in this story. The main antagonist is motivated by the grief of losing his family, and Peter Parker’s murder plays a crucial role. While many recent children’s films have tackled the topic of death with respect and nuance, this one does it especially well.

This Pixar produced animated feature does a great job of tackling the issue of climate change in an entertaining and nuanced way. Compared to Bill Kroyer’s 1992 film, “FernGully: The Last Rainforest,” which blatantly addresses environmental destruction, “Wall-E’s” dystopian story takes a more obscure approach. Instead of depicting the beginning of a planetary crisis, it imagines a world already deemed uninhabitable. Although it has a hopeful message, the film’s premise is quite pessimistic, presenting the planet as a garbage-filled wasteland and the human race as helpless and obese. It may be a children’s film, but its central concern about Earth’s environmental future is something that adults are typically more invested in.

Works by the Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki usually have compelling narratives with some difficult themes. War often plays a role in his films, like it does in “Howl's Moving Castle,” but our pick, “Spirited Away,” leans more on the fantastical side. It centers on a brave and smart young protagonist as she navigates her way through the spirit realm. Although it was created by Miyazaki for ten-year old girls, the story is actually quite mature. It includes philosophical ideas, scary imagery, and high emotional stakes, as well as critiques of modern society, referencing pollution, consumerism, and greed. Overall, it is a sophisticated film with beautiful imagery.

Like many movies from the eighties, this flick depicts kids on a treacherous and unchaperoned adventure. The coming of age tale directed by Rob Reiner, based on Stephen King’s novella “The Body,” follows a group of boys on a mission to discover a dead body. On the way, they work through their own emotional baggage and have a couple dangerous encounters. Although they are children, the main characters have agency and operate independently of parents. They are treated like adults in many ways, as are the younger viewers watching them on screen. Through the eyes of Gordie and his pals, kids in the audience can grapple with tough topics like death and abuse.

This film’s approach to life and death also concerns lineage and legacy. It takes place on the Day of the Dead, so themes like culture and tradition are also incorporated. These topics are taken seriously in the film, which still manages to be whimsical and fun. “Coco” follows the twelve year old protagonist on an accidental journey to the Land of the Dead. There, he discovers his ancestral history, and the importance of keeping a loved one’s memory alive. While the story is cute for children, its generational approach speaks to older audience members.

This Pixar flick validates children’s feelings in a way that’s not common in the media. It demonstrates how emotions are complicated and often mix together, both for children and adults. While it doesn’t wrestle with matters of life and death, like many of the other films on our list, it does approach issues important to younger people with unprecedented respect and care. For example, one of the film’s most impactful moments relates to the main protagonist’s childhood imaginary friend, Bing Bong. It treats the kids in the audience as adults by giving nuanced narrative value to the things that are important to them.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

“Up” (2009)
Carl & Ellie’s Montage Makes Us Cry Every Time

“School of Rock” (2003)
Jack Black’s Performance Elevates This Family Film

“Zootopia” (2016)
An Animated Take on Segregation

“The Iron Giant” (1999)
The Titular Robot Is More Than Just a Weapon for Mass Destruction

The “Toy Story” Franchise (1995-2022)
Children’s Relationships With Their Toys Are Taken Seriously in This Series

This celebrated film is narratively heavy and visually dark. It doesn’t shy away from hard topics, the way other kids’ movies might. Alongside its slap humor and endearing songs, it depicts war, violence, and grief. Death plays an important role throughout the film. It burdens Geppetto and follows Pinocchio, whose immortality separates him from, quote, “real” boys. It wasn’t that surprising when the film won Best Animated Motion Picture at the 2023 Golden Globes. In his acceptance speech, Guillermo del Toro explained his view on animation as an artform. As for the movie, he said it wasn’t made for kids, although they are invited to watch.