When it comes to watching children’s television, the options have come a long way since the days when Saturday-morning cartoons occupied the sweet spot on the antenna-powered dial. In today’s digital entertainment environment, there’s a long list of kid-focused channels to choose from — and with plentiful streaming options, a child’s show or movie can be selected at any given time, then watched in whole or in part, whichever best fits the household’s schedule for the day.
Parents might want to consider the following kid-friendly highlights that can be found in the libraries of some of the most popular streaming services available today:
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Netflix:
With nearly 150 million paid subscribers worldwide, Netflix is among the world’s largest streaming services, and it was one of the original video-on-demand services. The platform is home to a huge catalog of feature films, TV shows and originals with a large selection of kid-focused content. Examples of popular children’s movies on Netflix include the 2010 remake of “The Karate Kid” starring Jaden Smith, “The Rugrats Movie,” Disney’s 1999 animated version of “Tarzan,” Disney’s “Mary Poppins Returns” and Netflix original “Mowgli” (a deep dive into the story of The Jungle Book character). Available kids’ TV series include “Spirit Riding Free: Pony Tales,” children’s book-based “Archibald’s Next Big Thing,” “Mighty Little Bheem,” “Trolls: The Beat Goes On!” and “The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants.”
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Amazon Prime Video:
Offered as a free perk for Amazon Prime members, this streaming service delivers a long list of kid-appropriate movies and TV shows with familiar characters on tap including the Sesame Street gang, Spongebob, Daniel Tiger, Fireman Sam and Caillou. The children’s movie collection at Amazon Prime Video includes top-rated favorites like “Nut Job 2,” “Jack Frost,” classic “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” “Maya the Bee Movie” and “It’s a Wonderful Life,” while the award-winning kids’ originals include “Niko and the Sword of Light,” “Pete the Cat,” “The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle,” “Wishenpoof” and “Annedroids.”
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Hulu:
Offering live and on-demand TV shows and movies, subscription service Hulu gives viewers instant access to programming from every major U.S. network — and offers a wide range of kid-friendly content. Among the children’s TV shows available on Hulu are “Sesame Street,” train-centered “Chuggington,” “Sid the Science Kid,” music-powered “Ready, Steady, Wiggle!” and “Curious George.” And highlights among the kids’ movies on the platform include “A Boy Named Charlie Brown,” “Dr. Seuss: The Lorax,” animated film “Hercules,” “Curious George: Royal Monkey” and “Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman.”
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HBO NOW:
While the premium network HBO might be known for its suspenseful series geared toward an older crowd, its affiliated streaming service HBO NOW also offers plenty of quality children’s programming. Among the top kids’ movies available for streaming on the platform are “Pokemon Detective Pikachu,” “The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part,” “The Kid Who Would Be King,” “Paddington 2” and “Smallfoot.” And some of the popular children’s series found on the platform include “The Electric Company,” “Sesame Street,” “Classical Baby,” Esme & Roy” and “Pinky Dinky Doo.”
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Disney+:
The new kid on the block among the major streaming services, Disney+ made its debut in November 2019 to much fanfare. The streaming service offers an array of kid-friendly content that includes a large collection of Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic movies, shows and original series. Further, the platform allows subscribers to download content to the app for offline viewing later — a great perk for viewing on the go. A small sampling of the hit movies available on the platform includes a new live-action “Lady and the Tramp,” the “Toy Story” series, the “Star Wars” series, “Avengers: Endgame” and “Frozen.” And among the platform’s available series are popular offerings like new original series “The Mandalorian” (based on the Star Wars movie series), “The Simpsons” cartoon series, “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” “Forky Asks a Question” (based on the “Toy Story 4” character) and new National Geographic series “The World According to Jeff Goldblum.”
Ready to get your kids connected with some of the best in streaming entertainment? You’ll want to have a fast internet connection to get started — and FTC’s got you covered. Check out our high-speed internet plans and pricing at ftc.net. And thanks to watchTVeverywhere, streaming couldn’t be easier for subscribers to FTC Digital TV. Call 888-218-5050 to get your streaming started today!
