With the June school holidays upon us, Showmax has curated a timely watchlist of award-winning films and series for the whole family to enjoy, featuring the 2023 Kids’ Choice winners for Favourite Movie (Sonic the Hedgehog 2) and Favourite Animated Movie (Minions: The Rise of Gru), as well as the 2023 Annie Award winner for Best Animated Television Production for Children (Abominable And The Invisible City).
DC LEAGUE OF SUPER-PETS | Stream from Monday, 26 June
Sit! Stay! Save the world!
In DC League of Super-Pets, Krypto the Super-Dog and Superman are inseparable best friends, sharing the same superpowers and fighting crime in Metropolis side by side. When Superman and the rest of the Justice League are kidnapped, Krypto must convince a rag-tag shelter pack to master their own newfound powers and help him rescue the superheroes.
DC League of Super-Pets was nominated as Best Super-Hero Movie at the 2023 Critics Choice Super Awards and Favourite Animated Movie at the 2023 Kids’ Choice Awards, where Dwayne Johnson won the Favourite Voice From An Animated Movie Award as Krypto, beating out his co-star Kevin Hart as Ace.
Recommending the film for ages 6+, Common Sense Mediasays, “DC corrects their history of making superhero stories too dark, violent, and mature for kids with this animated tale focusing on the heroes’ crime-fighting furry friends… It’s definitely the funniest big-screen DC movie.”
The 23rd biggest box office hit of 2022 globally, DC League of Super-Pets also features the likes of Critics Choice Award winner Diego Luna (Andor) as Chip the squirrel and Natasha Lyonne (Poker Face) as PB the potbellied pig and Merton the turtle.
THE BAD GUYS | Stream from Thursday, 29 June
The 17th biggest blockbuster of 2022, The Bad Guys follows a gang of notorious animal criminals pretending to seek rehabilitation in a bid to avoid prison … only for their leader to secretly find that he genuinely wants to change his ways.
Directed by Annie Award winner Pierre Perifel (Kung Fu Panda 2), The Bad Guys has an 88% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the Guardian saying: “This is Tarantino for ankle-biters with a bit of Ocean’s 11 thrown in: funny, energetic and just smart enough.” Common Sense Media gives it a 4/5-star rating, recommending it for ages 6+ and saying it’s “so fun, it’s criminal.”
The Bad Guys won the 2023 Annie Award for Outstanding Character Design and was nominated for Favourite Animated Movie at the 2023 Kids’ Choice Awards. Zazie Beetz was nominated for a 2023 Black Reel Award for Outstanding Voice Performance (as Diane Foxington aka The Crimson Paw), while Awkwafina was up for Favourite Voice From an Animated Movie (as Tarantula) at the 2023 Kids’ Choice Awards, where the film was also up for Favourite Animated Movie.
Also listen out for the likes of Oscar winner Sam Rockwell (Jojo Rabbit), Emmy winner Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Emmy nominee Anthony Ramos (In the Heights, Hamilton), and Critics Choice nominee Marc Maron (Super Pets, GLOW).
MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU | Stream now
Minions assemble!
Minions: The Rise of Gru is the untold story of one kid’s dream to become the world’s greatest supervillain. Gru (Oscar nominee Steve Carell) is just a 12-year-old boy in 1970s suburbia, plotting to take over the world from his basement. It’s a lonely pursuit, until Gru crosses paths with Kevin, Stuart, Bob, and Otto, aka the Minions (voiced, as always, by Pierre Coffin, the Oscar-nominated director of the Despicable Me trilogy and Minions).
Recommended for ages 6+ by Common Sense Media, Minions: The Rise of Gru was named Favourite Animated Movie at the 2023 Kids’ Choice Awards, where Carell and Taraji P. Henson were both up for voice awards. The film was also nominated for three Annie Awards for its animation, among other accolades this year, and was the fifth biggest blockbuster globally in 2022.
From Illumination (The Secret Life of Pets, Sing), Minions: The Rise of Gru also features the voices of Oscar winners Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All At Once), Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine) and Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins), among others.
You can also watch the BAFTA-nominated Minions and the Oscar-nominated Despicable Me 2 on Showmax.
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 | Stream now
The world’s favourite blue hedgehog is back for a next-level adventure in Sonic The Hedgehog 2, named Favourite Movie at the 2023 Kids’ Choice Awards.
After settling in Green Hills, Sonic is eager to prove he has what it takes to be a true hero. His test comes when Dr. Robotnik returns, this time with a new partner, Knuckles, in search of an emerald that has the power to destroy civilisations. Sonic teams up with his own sidekick, Tails, and together they embark on a globe-trotting journey to find the emerald before it falls into the wrong hands.
Jim Carrey was nominated for a 2023 Kids Choice Awards as Dr. Robotnik, while Idris Elba was up for a 2023 Black Reel Award as the voice of Knuckles.
The 14th biggest box office hit of 2022 globally, Sonic The Hedgehog 2 is recommended for ages 8+ by Common Sense Media.
JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION | Stream now
The third-highest-grossing movie of 2022 globally, Jurassic World: Dominion is set four years after Isla Nublar was destroyed. Dinosaurs now live—and hunt—alongside humans all over the world. This fragile balance will reshape the future and determine, once and for all, whether human beings are to remain the apex predators on a planet they now share with history’s most fearsome creatures.
Dominion unites two generations of Jurassic stars for the first time: Teen Choice winners Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are joined by Oscar winner Laura Dern, Oscar nominee Jeff Goldblum and Emmy nominee Sam Neill.
From director Colin Trevorrow (who smashed seven Guinness World Records with Jurassic World) and Oscar-winning franchise creator and executive producer Steven Spielberg, Dominion was up for Favourite Movie and Actor (Pratt) at the 2023 Kids’ Choice Awards, as well as Visual Effects Society and Annie Awards this year.
Common Sense Media recommends Jurassic World: Dominion for ages 13+.
You can also watch the box office phenomenon Jurassic World on Showmax.
ABOMINABLE AND THE INVISIBLE CITY S1 | First on Showmax | Binge now
The winner of the 2023 Annie Award for Best Animated Television Production for Children’s Audience, Abominable and the Invisible City is a wild and woolly follow-up to DreamWorks Animation’s 2019 movie, Abominable.
Set in modern-day Shanghai, the animated series sees Yi, Jin, Peng and their lovable yeti friend, Everest, discover that there is a whole magical world out there – and it’s closer than they think, teeming with magical creatures who all seem to need the kids’ help, leading them to embark on extraordinary, hilarious and heartfelt adventures throughout their city and beyond.
Common Sense Media recommends the series for ages 5+, saying, “young viewers are in for a visually stunning experience with suspenseful scenes that will keep them engaged, excited, and eager for more of the fun crew that is helping in their community.”
The show’s voice cast includes Kids’ and Teen Choice Award nominee Chloe Bennet (Daisy ‘Skye’ Johnson from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Annie Award nominee Tenzing Norgay Trainor (Liv and Maddie’s Parker Rooney) reprising their roles as Yi and Jin from the movie, along with the likes of multiple-Emmy nominee Alan Cumming (The Good Wife, Schmigadoon!).
You can also watch the multi-award-winning original film, Abominable, on Showmax.
DRAGONS: THE NINE REALMS S1 | First on Showmax | Binge now
The future of dragons is here, with the Emmy-nominated Dragons: The Nine Realms.
Set 1 300 years after the events of DreamWorks Animation’s How To Train Your Dragon, dragons are now just a legend to the modern world. When a geological anomaly opens up an immense, miles-deep fissure in the Earth’s surface, scientists from all over the world gather at a new research facility to study the mysterious phenomenon. But it’s not long before a group of misfit kids uncovers the truth about dragons and where they’ve been hiding – a secret they must keep to themselves to protect what they’ve discovered.
Recommending the series for ages 8+, Common Sense Media gives Dragons: The Nine Realms a 4/5-star rating, saying, “super fun for kids and grown-ups alike… Dragons: The Nine Realms has a great mixture of awesome dragon scenes, teenage friendships, and scientific mystery,” and adding that, “Families who enjoyed the original movies will have a great time watching this series together.”
You can also watch the Oscar-nominated How To Train Your Dragon 2 on Showmax.
THE SMEDS AND THE SMOOS | First on Showmax | Stream now
South Africans Daniel Snaddon and Samantha Cutler direct The Smeds and the Smoos, which has already won the Audience Award for 3-6-year-olds at New York International Children’s Festival and best animation at the BANFF Rockie Awards. The Magic Light Productions short is adapted by South African Julia Smuts Louw (Star Wars Visions: Aau’s Song) from Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s bestselling picture-book of the same name.
Narrated by Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water), The Smeds and The Smoos tells the story of two warring families whose children, Bill and Janet, fall in love and run away together. Hotly pursued by their grandparents, Grandfather Smed (comedian Bill Bailey) and Grandmother Smoo (Adjoa Andoh from Bridgerton), the two young aliens (Ashna Rabheru from Sex Education and Daniel Ezra from All American) lead their families on a chase across space, giving them the opportunity to find out they have more in common than they think.
The Sunday Telegraph calls the 27-minute special an “entrancing animated adaptation” that “brims with light, laughter and good cheer”; The Daily Mail hails it as a “total delight to watch”; and Radio Times praises it as “truly out of this world”.
Snaddon was previously a director on the 2021 Annie Award winner The Snail and the Whale, 2020 International Emmy-winning Zog, and the BAFTA-nominated and Annecy-winning Stick Man – all of which are also available to stream on Showmax.
The post Relax with your kids these holidays with this timely watchlist appeared first on Entertainment SA - South African Entertainment News, Celebrity and Lifestyle Online Magazine & Entertainment.
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