Environmental movies for kids are a fun and easy way to kickstart a child’s interest in the natural world. Whether you’re sitting down for a family movie night, seeking out nature documentaries for kids, or your child is in search of a new film to obsess over, this curated list from the Rainforest Alliance team will help pick your next watch.
Some of our top picks may not seem overtly “environmental” on first glance, but if you look a little closer, you’ll find so many great ways to start the conversation. Some open gateways to more serious themes, like sustainability and climate change—and some just remind you to enjoy the beauty of the world around us!
Animated movies to captivate young kids
FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992) | Genre: fantasy, animation
If you were a child in the 1990s, chances are FernGully helped open your eyes to the magic of rainforests—and the threats they face. The film follows a curious young fairy named Crysta whose rainforest home is threatened when humans arrive to cut it down. Its timeless environmental message focuses on deforestation and the importance of protecting ecosystems.
Flow (2024) | Genre: adventure, animation | Original language: French
When a cat’s world is transformed by a devastating flood, it is forced to travel alongside animals of different species. With next to no dialogue, this film explores cooperation, vulnerability, survival, and the interconnectedness of living things.
The Lorax (2012) | Genre: adventure, comedy, animation
Based on the much-loved Dr. Seuss book, a boy learns about a once-thriving forest, destroyed by unsustainable industry. Through the Lorax, the guardian of the trees, the film teaches children about deforestation, consumerism, and environmental responsibility.
Disney and Pixar: WALL-E (2008), Hoppers (2026) | Genre: sci-fi, animation
Most parents don’t require any introduction to the Disney and Pixar canon, but just in case, we want to shout out Hoppers—in which a young girl uses technology to communicate with, and experience, the animal world. The story combines comedy and science fiction with themes of conservation, human-animal relationships, and the importance of understanding ecosystems. And, of course, there’s Wall-E, where the adventures of the titular waste-collecting robot on a garbage-covered Earth helps us explore challenging themes, including environmental collapse, consumerism, and losing our connection to nature.
Environmental movies for older kids and pre-teens
The Biggest Little Farm (2018) | Genre: documentary
The Biggest Little Farm chronicles a couple who leave Los Angeles to establish a sustainable farm and restore a damaged ecosystem. This documentary captures how biodiversity, patience, and cooperation with natural systems can form a more sustainable approach to agriculture.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019) | Genre: biography, drama
This powerful film tells the inspiring true story of William Kamkwamba, a Malawian teenager who builds a wind turbine from discarded materials to help his community survive a devastating famine.
Le peuple migrateur/Winged Migration (2001) | Genre: documentary | Original language: French
Winged Migration is a documentary that follows birds across continents as they undertake their seasonal migrations. Its immersive aerial photography emphasizes the beauty, danger, and extraordinary endurance of the natural world.
Strange World (2022) | Genre: adventure, comedy, animation
This overlooked Disney feature follows a family of explorers who venture into a mysterious underground ecosystem filled with unfamiliar life forms. Beyond the family fun, the film explores environmental interdependence and sustainable energy.
Arco (2025) | Genre: adventure, animation | Original language: French
In this French animated fantasy, a young boy from an idyllic, sustainable future travels back through time to an Earth on the brink of environmental collapse. His friendship with a girl he meets forms a gentle, imaginative story about connection, discovery, and the possibility of a better future.
The Wild Robot (2024) | Genre: adventure, animation
When Roz the robot becomes stranded on a remote island, she learns to survive by interacting with its wildlife. Her relationship with an orphaned gosling transforms her understanding of family, empathy, and what it means to belong in the natural world.
Check out our new Environmental Curriculum for schools
Calling all teachers and parents! Discover the Rainforest Alliance Environmental Curriculum for early learners to high schoolers (age 5-18). We have free, downloadable lesson plans—with videos, quizzes, worksheets, and math and art tie-ins—to inspire young students to understand and care for nature.
Environmental movies for young teens
Chasing Ice (2012) | Genre: documentary
It can be a challenge to find climate change movies for kids, but this one’s stunning visuals and gripping story make it a good choice. The documentary follows photograph James Balog’s efforts to record glaciers changing because of climate change.
The Territory (2022) | Genre: documentary | Original language: Portuguese
This powerful documentary is about the Uru-eu-wau-wau Indigenous people of the Brazilian Amazon and their struggle to protect their ancestral land from illegal deforestation.
The Young Ones: The Silent Echo | Genre: short film, drama | Original language: Nepali
This short film is a tender snapshot into the life of four kids from a remote mountain village, who spend their days making music together in an abandoned bus. Its director Suman Sen describes the film as an attempt to “listen to children growing up in a landscape where nature is both guardian and threat.”
Studio Ghibli: “Princess Mononoke (1997), Ponyo (2008), and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) | Genre: adventure, animation | Original language: Japanese
Studio Ghibli films often combine fantastical worlds with thoughtful explorations of nature, humanity, childhood, and responsibility. Princess Mononoke, Nausicaä, and Ponyo particularly emphasize the fragile relationship between people and the natural world while balancing environmental themes with wonder and adventure.
Thought-provoking themes for older teens
How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2022) | Genre: drama, thriller
A challenging movie suitable for older viewers, How to Blow Up a Pipeline explores the question of peaceful protest versus radical resistance. Following a group of young environmental activists taking direct action against fossil-fuel infrastructure, this film poses serious moral, political, and personal questions to its viewers.
Okja (2017) | Genre: adventure, sci-fi | Original language: English and Korean
Recommended for teenage viewers, Okja follows a young Korean girl who risks everything to rescue her beloved genetically engineered super-pig from a powerful corporation. This film is a sharp critique of industrial agriculture, corporate power, and the treatment of animals, blended with dark comedy and deep emotions.
Fire of Love (2022) | Genre: documentary | Original Language: English and French
The heartbreaking story of volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft, who devoted their lives to studying and filming volcanoes. Their scientific curiosity and romantic partnership pair with unbelievable footage of volcanic eruptions, creating a moving and awe-inspiring movie experience.
A Queda do Céu / The Falling Sky (2024) | Genre: documentary | Original language: Yanomami and Portuguese
A Queda do Céu shows the forest as it truly is: not just a resource or landscape, but a living world with deep connections to Indigenous peoples and traditional ways of life.
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