Schools out, sunny days are here again, and it’s time to get all your trusty boredom busters on speed dial. Here are all the sizzling blockbuster family films your tweens and teens don’t want to miss this summer.
New Summer 2021 films for tweens and teens
June 18 – In the Heights – At the cinema
In the Heights is from Lin-Manuel Miranda, the superstar writer and star of Hamilton and Jon M. Chu, director of Crazy Rich Asians.
The film version of Miranda’s Broadway show has a bit of a West Side Story vibe, set in Washington Heights, and is about a Dominican community working towards their dreams.
If your thing is performers cast for their triple-threat abilities (dancing/singing/acting) rather than their star status, this is the film for you. This is High School Musical set in the street, and although it’s short on grit, it’s full of super sunny optimism and high energy choreography. It’s a perfect film for tween families this summer.
Catch In the Heights on the big screen.
June 18 – Luca – Disney Plus (included in subscription)
What more perfect for a family of growing teens and tweens than a Pixar coming-of-age story? Luca is a sea monster/boy who discovers life above the water in Porto Russo on the Italian Riviera in the 1950s and 60s.
He and his newfound fellow sea monster friend must hide the dark secret of what they are from the townspeople. They want to run away together on a Vespa, and the story works to explore friendship, family bonds, and trying to fit into a society that is afraid of you.
The animation is gorgeous, the narrative is hilarious, and the setting will make your family want to zip off to Italy on a Vespa while stuffing your face with pasta.
Watch it on Disney Plus (subscription, no additional fee).
July 2 – Boss Baby: Family Business – At the cinema
In the mood for a straight-out comedy? If your tween or teen liked the original, Boss Baby: Family Business is a no-brainer. The Templeton brothers are back for more, except they are middle-aged and have drifted apart. A new boss baby has a plan to turn them back into babies and foil a plot to make all of the babies in the world ‘bad.’ It sounds mad but is a totally delightful escape for the summer.
See Boss Baby: Family Business in the cinema.
July 9 – Marvel’s Black Widow – At the cinema and on Disney Plus (£19.99, or free on October 6)
Action movies are just better in the summer. Marvel’s Black Widow has Scarlett Johansson unravelling secrets and confronting her dark past in the events that happened before her Black Widow character joined the Avengers.
Expect explosions, breathtaking fight scenes, ruthless villains and a soaring score. Take your kids to see it on the big screen or on Disney Plus (premiu
July 16 – Space Jam: A New Legacy – At the cinema or on HBO Max in the USA
This cartoon/live-action/CGI sequel to Space Jam stars basketballer LeBron James opposite Don Cheadle (Avengers/Falcon and the Winter Soldier). James must team up with the Looney Toons gang (Bugs Bunny et all) to play an epic game of basketball against the Goon Squad. If he loses, he will also lose his son to the computer vortex and all of the Toons will be deleted.
July 21 – Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans – Netflix
Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro brings us Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans, a feature-length finale to his hugely popular Arcadia series.
In Rise of Titans, we’ll see our heroes team up from all three series of Trollhunters, 3Below and Wizards in a cataclysmic battle to save the world and the magic that binds us all.
With quirky, misfit trolls, aliens and robots, Titans is the perfect film for cool tweens and teens who enjoy the fantasy genre with originality, intelligence and plenty of jokes. Catch it on Netflix.
July 30 – Jungle Cruise – At the cinema and on Disney Plus (Premium £19.99)
Boat skipper Dwayne Johnson takes Emily Blunt on an adventure through the lushest of jungles to find a mystical healing tree with healing powers. The Jungle Cruise movie is very loosely based on the Disney theme park ride, promising danger, deadly animals and confrontations with the Germans in the early 1900s.
This film is perfect for summer escapism. And teens and tweens will enjoy Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as an Indiana Jones-style swashbuckling hero. It’s a rollicking ride down the Amazon that you can see either in the cinema or on Disney Plus (Premium is £19.99).
From cinema to Netflix to Disney Plus, never has there been more ways to see brand new summer films with your tweens and teens. If you enjoyed this, you might also like our printable list of 60+ family films and when to watch them.
