NORM OF THE NORTH - January 15
A polar bear of many words, Norm’s greatest gripe is simple: there is no room for tourists in the Arctic. But when a maniacal developer threatens to build luxury condos in his own backyard, Norm does what all normal polar bears would do…he heads to New York City to stop it. With a cast of ragtag lemmings at his side, Norm takes on the big apple, big business and a big identity crisis to save the day.
KUNG FU PANDA 3 - January 29
When Po's long-lost panda father suddenly reappears, the reunited duo travels to a secret panda paradise to meet scores of hilarious new panda characters. But when the supernatural villain Kai begins to sweep across China defeating all the kung fu masters, Po must do the impossible—learn to train a village full of his fun-loving, clumsy brethren to become the ultimate band of Kung Fu Pandas!
ZOOTOPIA - March 4
The modern mammal metropolis of Zootopia is a city like no other. Comprised of habitat neighborhoods like ritzy Sahara Square and frigid Tundratown, it’s a melting pot where animals from every environment live together—a place where no matter what you are, from the biggest elephant to the smallest shrew, you can be anything. But when optimistic Officer Judy Hopps arrives, she discovers that being the first bunny on a police force of big, tough animals isn’t so easy. Determined to prove herself, she jumps at the opportunity to crack a case, even if it means partnering with a fast-talking, scam-artist fox, Nick Wilde, to solve the mystery.
THE LITTLE PRINCE - March 18
The story centers around a young girl who befriends an eccentric old neighbor. The elderly man shares with her his tale of being a pilot who crash-landed in the Sahara desert and came across a little boy who says he is a prince fallen to Earth from his home on an asteroid. As the pilot repaired his plane, the little prince regales him with stories about his home and the foolish inhabitants of nearby asteroids.
THE JUNGLE BOOK - April 15
The Jungle Book is an all-new live-action epic adventure about Mowgli, a man-cub who’s been raised by a family of wolves. But Mowgli finds he is no longer welcome in the jungle when fearsome tiger Shere Khan, who bears the scars of Man, promises to eliminate what he sees as a threat. Urged to abandon the only home he’s ever known, Mowgli embarks on a captivating journey of self-discovery, guided by panther-turned-stern mentor Bagheera and the free-spirited bear Baloo. Along the way, Mowgli encounters jungle creatures who don’t exactly have his best interests at heart, including Kaa, a python whose seductive voice and gaze hypnotizes the man-cub, and the smooth-talking King Louie, who tries to coerce Mowgli into giving up the secret to the elusive and deadly red flower: fire.
RATCHET & CLANK - April 29
Ratchet & Clank tells the story of two unlikely heroes as they struggle to stop a vile alien named Chairman Drek from destroying every planet in the Solana Galaxy. Ratchet is the last of his kind -- a foolhardy "lombax" who has grown up alone on a backwater planet with no family of his own. Clank is a pint-sized robot with more brains than brawn. When the two stumble upon a dangerous weapon capable of destroying entire planets, they must join forces with a team of colorful heroes called The Galactic Rangers in order to save the galaxy. Along the way, they will learn about heroism, friendship, and the importance of discovering one's own identity.
ANGRY BIRDS - May 20
A feature-length movie based on the popular downloadable game in which birds try to attack pigs who stole their eggs.
ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS - May 27
In this sequel to Alice in Wonderland, Alice Kingsleigh has spent the past few years following in her father’s footsteps and sailing the high seas. Upon her return to London, she comes across a magical looking glass and returns to the fantastical realm of Underland and her friends the White Rabbit, Absolem, the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter (played by Johnny Depp), who is not himself. The Hatter has lost his Muchness, so Alice embarks on a quest to borrow the Chronosphere, a metallic globe inside the chamber of the Grand Clock which powers all time. Returning to the past, she comes across friends – and enemies – at different points in their lives, and embarks on a perilous race to save the Hatter before time runs out.
FINDING DORY - June 17
Finding Dory takes place about a year after the events that transpired in the Finding Nemo which won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Finding Dory addresses the one emotionally open-ended issue that remained from the first movie: Where is Dory’s family, and will this overly-optimistic fish with short-term memory loss ever be able to find them again? This movie's setting moves from the Australian backdrop of the first movie to to the California coastline in this one and features a that welcomes a host of new characters, including a few who will prove to be a very important part of Dory’s life.
BFG - July 1
The BFG, while a giant himself, is a Big Friendly Giant and nothing like the other inhabitants of Giant Country. Standing 24-feet tall with enormous ears and a keen sense of smell, he is endearingly dim-witted and keeps to himself for the most part. Giants like Bloodbottler and Fleshlumpeater on the other hand, are twice as big and at least twice as scary and have been known to eat humans, while the BFG prefers Snozzcumber and Frobscottle. Upon her arrival in Giant Country, Sophie, a precocious 10-year-old girl from London, is initially frightened of the mysterious giant who has brought her to his cave, but soon comes to realize that the BFG is actually quite gentle and charming, and, having never met a giant before, has many questions. The BFG brings Sophie to Dream Country where he collects dreams and sends them to children, teaching her all about the magic and mystery of dreams.
Having both been on their own in the world up until now, their affection for one another quickly grows. But Sophie’s presence in Giant Country has attracted the unwanted attention of the other giants, who have become increasingly more bothersome. Sophie and the BFG soon depart for London to see Queen Victoria and warn her of the precarious giant situation, but they must first convince the Queen that giants do indeed exist. Together, they come up with a plan to get rid of the giants once and for all.
Adapted from Roald Dahl's 1982 novel, which was illustrated by Quentin Blake this film marks Steven Spielberg’s first time directing a Disney-branded movie.
SECRET LIFE OF PETS - July 8
Set in a Manhattan apartment building, after the two-legged residents head for work and school, their pets gather to start their day, which consists of hanging out, trading humiliating stories about their owners, and helping each other work up adorable looks that will lead to more snacks. The head hound is a quick-witted terrier rescue, whose position at the epicenter of his master’s universe is suddenly threatened when she comes home with Duke, a sloppy mongrel with no polish. The two soon find themselves on the mean streets of New York, where they meet the adorable white bunny Snowball. It turns out that Snowball is the leader of an army of pets that were abandoned and are determined to get back at humanity and every owner-loving pet. The dogs must thwart this plot and make it back in time for dinner.
ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE - July 22
Scrat’s epic pursuit of the elusive acorn catapults him into the universe where he accidentally sets off a series of cosmic events that transform and threaten the Ice Age World. To save themselves, Sid, Manny, Diego, and the rest of the herd must leave their home and embark on a quest full of comedy and adventure, traveling to exotic new lands and encountering a host of colorful new characters.
KUBO & THE 2 STRINGS - August 19
Clever, kindhearted Kubo ekes out a humble living, telling stories to the people of his seaside town including Hosato, Hashi and Kamekichi. But his relatively quiet existence is shattered when he accidentally summons a spirit from his past which storms down from the heavens to enforce an age-old vendetta. Now on the run, Kubo joins forces with Monkey and Beetle, and sets out on a thrilling quest to save his family and solve the mystery of his fallen father, the greatest samurai warrior the world has ever known. With the help of his shamisen - a magical musical instrument - Kubo must battle gods and monsters, including the vengeful Moon King and the evil twin Sisters to unlock the secret of his legacy, reunite his family and fulfill his heroic destiny.
STORKS - September 23
Storks deliver babies…or at least they used to. Now they deliver packages for global internet giant Cornerstore.com. Junior, the company’s top delivery stork, is about to be promoted when he accidentally activates the Baby Making Machine, producing an adorable and wholly unauthorized baby girl. Desperate to deliver this bundle of trouble before the boss gets wise, Junior and his friend Tulip, the only human on Stork Mountain, race to make their first-ever baby drop – in a wild and revealing journey that could make more than one family whole and restore the storks’ true mission in the world.
TROLLS - November 4
Not much has been released about this animated movie yet except that it revolves around those creatures with the funky hair that old ladies keep as lucky charms while playing Bingo.
FANTASTIC BEASTS & WHERE TO FIND THEM - November 18
Set in New York roughly seven decades before Harry Potter’s saga starts, Fantastic Beasts is based on the Hogwarts textbook of the same name and follows the adventures of its author, Newt Scamander.
MOANA - November 23
In the ancient South Pacific world of Oceania, Moana, a born navigator, sets sail in search of a fabled island. During her incredible journey, she teams up with her hero, the legendary demi-god Maui, to traverse the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering enormous sea creatures, breathtaking underworlds and ancient folklore.
SING - December 21
Matthew McConaughey voices "Buster Moon," a dapper Koala who runs a once-great theater now fallen on hard times. Seeing the thing he loves most in his life coming to ruin, Buster connives to restore the theater’s fortunes by producing the world’s greatest singing competition.
The last few years the lineup of family friendly movies during the summer has really been ho-hum with most of the best films coming out during the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday season. 2016 could reverse that trend with what appears will be some of the year's best Kids Movies being released in June and July. My wife is really excited about going to see Finding Dory, in fact probably more excited than my kids are, and the two movies my 7 year old twins appear to be most excited to go see, Secret Life of Pets and Ice Age: Collision Course are coming out in July. Just like when Frozen, we don't know much about Disney's big animated feature Moana in advance of its release. People went into Frozen not necessarily knowing much about what it was about and fell in love with it. Could Moana have the same Disney magic? If so than the holiday season could again overtake the summer as the blockbuster time of year for kids movies. Also keep an eye out for Sing which comes out at the end of the year from the studio that brought you the Despicable Me and Minions movies. Moana, Trolls, Fantastic Beasts and Sing could make for some great end of the year movie watching if these films all live up to studio expectations.
So what kids movie is your family most looking forward to seeing this year?
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