7 New Family Movies to Help You Escape the July Summer Heat
Movie Features
Audio By Carbonatix
By Michael Foust, Crosswalk.com
July is the heart of summer – that time of the year when stepping outside can feel like opening the door to an oven.
It’s the season for backyard cookouts, swimming pools, ice cream, and … air conditioning. (Seriously, how do our European neighbors survive without one of modern life’s greatest inventions?)
It’s also the perfect time for family movie night – gathering on the couch, escaping the summer heat, and enjoying a great film with the people you love.
The major streaming services have several excellent family-friendly options this month. Here are seven:
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Robert Daly
Project Hail Mary (Prime Video, Home Video)
A high school teacher is sent on a one-way mission into deep space to save Earth after the sun begins dying from a mysterious organism. Soon, though, that teacher – portrayed by Ryan Gosling – discovers he is not alone, and that the mysterious alien he encounters is just as friendly as he is. It’s a fun family film that’s filled with surprises – and even includes a few lessons about faith. Rated PG-13 for some thematic material and suggestive references. Coarse language: OMG (5).
Sheep Detectives (Prime Video, Home Video)
A flock of sheep sets out to solve the mysterious death of their beloved shepherd after the local police wrongly conclude he died of natural causes. Along the way, they uncover the truth while learning powerful lessons about friendship, grief, and remembering those we love. This live-action family film is packed with British charm – it’s set in the green pastures of England – while delivering plenty of laughs for both children and adults. Rated PG for thematic material, some violent content, and brief language.
Photo Credit: ©MGM
Little House on the Prairie (Netflix)
A pioneer family builds a new life on the 1860s frontier, where they face hardship, uncertainty, and the challenges of settling the American West. This new Netflix series is based on the classic stories by Laura Ingalls Wilder and includes everything that made the beloved 1970s and ‘80s adaptation so memorable: family, love, and a celebration of the simple pleasures of life. It inspired me to put down my screen and spend more time with the people I love. Rated TV-PG.
A Great Awakening (Wonder Project, Home Video)
Benjamin Franklin becomes unlikely friends with evangelist George Whitefield in this inspiring historical drama based on true events, which tells the story of the spark that ignited the First Great Awakening – the historic revival that swept the American colonies decades before the Revolution. Many historians believe it laid the spiritual and cultural foundation for America’s founding. Rated PG-13 for brief violence.
Photo Credit: ©Netflix
The Story of Everything (Home Video)
The origins of the universe are explored in this thought-provoking documentary that includes interviews with Stephen Meyer, John Lennox, and other scholars as it makes a simple case: Modern science points to an intelligent Designer. Filled with breathtaking visuals and presented without a narrator, the documentary challenges viewers to think more deeply about the relationship between faith and science. It’s one of the best documentaries on the subject I’ve seen.
Ordinary Angels (Netflix)
A hairdresser rallies an entire community around a widowed father and his two young daughters after learning one of the girls desperately needs an organ transplant. Based on an incredible true story, this Kingdom Story Company film follows her as she helps lift the family out of financial debt – and then overcomes impossible odds to get the young girl to the hospital through a blinding snowstorm. Hilary Swank and Alan Ritchson star in the lead roles. Rated PG for thematic content, brief bloody images, and smoking. July 21.
Liberty's Kids (Wonder Project, Prime Video)
America’s fight for independence comes alive through the eyes of three young journalists, who find themselves at the center of the Revolutionary War’s biggest moments in this excellent animated series. It originally aired on PBS in 2002 and won widespread praise for its historical accuracy. It featured the voice of legendary newscaster Walter Cronkite as Benjamin Franklin. Rated TV-Y7.
Photo Credit: ©Fathom
