20 of the Best Movies for Boys That are Quasi-Educational

 We watch a lot of movies in our house.

Sometimes we watch them as part of schooling, sometimes we watch popular movies, and, as the boys get older, my husband and I often look for old favorite movies we watched as kids.

The boys all have their own ideas about what makes a movie great but for the purpose of this list it had to be something that all three of them enjoyed watching and, since I'm mainly a homeschooling blogger, they had to have some sort of educational value too.

There were many more movies we could have added to this list but here are 20 of our favorite family movies:

1. Big Hero 6-- a great science based movie.  We loved the message behind the movie too and it was fun for the whole family to watch.  I found my boys were interested in all things robotic for a while after watching it too.

 
2. Rio & Rio 2-- We all enjoy this movie and it's so cute and colorful.  I loved it even more because it really set off my middle son's passion for learning all about Rio & Brazil.  

3. Night at the Museum Series-- All three movies were lots of fun and with them taking place inside the Smithsonian museums we were introduced to characters like Teddy Roosevelt & Amelia Earhart.  It was a great jumping off point for many history lessons. 

4. Harry Potter series-- As a follow up to reading the book series we loved these movies.  A bit dark at times and potentially scary for younger kids my boys just loved these movies and made endless comparisons to the books.  

5. Mr. Peabody & Sherman-- While lots of fun this movie was great for introducing various times in history and historical figures.  My kids actually asked to learn about the French Revolution and Marie Antoinette afterwards. 

6. Lego Movie-- We enjoyed the Lego Movie so much we often watch it whenever we're eating taco's; especially if it's on a Tuesday!  I do consider the movie somewhat educational since it peaked the boys interest in stop motion animation and gave them lots of ideas for Lego builds combining sets and pieces. 

7. Mr. Popper's Penguins-- Another movie we enjoyed comparing the book!  

8. Dolphin Tale and Dolphin Tale 2-- Based on the true story of Winter these movies were inspirational.  It didn't hurt that we followed them up with a "field trip" to Clearwater Aquarium! 

9. Flubber-- A wonderfully fun and silly science movie it's great to watch the movie and then follow up by making flubber! 

10. Hugo-- Another movie we enjoyed watching after reading the book.  

11. We Bought A Zoo--  I was surprised by how much my boys enjoyed this movie because I thought it might be a bit slow for them at times but they've watched it over and over.  I love the heartwarming story and the lesson of never giving up even in the face of adversity. 

12. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs series--  Another movie based on a book that we just loved to watch over and over.  

13. Wall-E-- a wonderful way to introduce the importance of taking care of our planet, my boys just loved the movie Wall-E. 

14. Lorax-- Another great movie about the importance of taking care of our planet.  It's one of my boys' favorite Dr. Seuss stories and we just had to watch this movie more than once.  

15. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure-- While mostly silly Bill and Ted do travel back in time collecting important historical figures for their history report.  Another great jumping off point for history lessons. 

16. Goonies-- While it might be a stretch to call Goonies educational my boys couldn't help but marvel at all of Dana's gadgets.  We also enjoyed the fact that they never gave up, worked together and find a lost treasure.  

17. Mulan-- Based on the real story of Mulan my boys loved learning about this Chinese historical figure.  

18. Cool Runnings-- The true story of the Jamaican bobsled team the boys just loved this movie.  

18. Percy Jackson-- Comparing the books to the movies we just loved the Percy Jackson movies.  It was a great way to follow up our Greek God study! 

19. DisneyNature films-- We've watched many of these documentaries and we've enjoyed them tremendously.  

20. Kung Fu Panda Trilogy-- We've watched them all and have learned a lot about ancient traditions and kung fu.  They're fun and the kind of movies my boys enjoy watching over and over again.