Fireworks, freedom, fun — for kids, the Fourth of July is one of the most dazzling holidays that’s wrapped up in core summer memories. It’s an opportunity to talk about America’s history (and how America can do better!). But one of my favorite things to do with my family (after we eat hot dogs by the pool and light sparklers, of course) is settle down with a patriotic movie.
From action movies like Independence Day — literally named after this holiday — to more feel-good films like A League of Their Own, there are so many choices for holiday streaming. Even younger kids can enjoy movies like An American Tail or Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front. And if you want your Fourth of July movie marathon to be educational there’s no better choice than America’s Heart & Soul or Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism In America.
Show your kids movie and TV worlds that are as diverse as the world around them. https://t.co/3ah8Wb7Uvo
— SheKnows (@SheKnows) March 10, 2023
Then, of course, there’s the quintessential Fourth of July film about the inaugural holiday, told through amazing hip-hop music in the musical Hamilton. It’s a great refresher on our Founding Fathers, including one immigrant who had a huge impact on our nation’s treasury.
Pop some popcorn, put on your best red, white, and blue, and get ready for a fun, family-friendly movie night this Independence Day! It just might become your new favorite family tradition. To learn more about the aforementioned movies and others that are great for streaming with young kids and teens this Fourth of July, read on.
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‘Hidden Figures’
Image Credit: ©Fox 2000 Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection. Going to space is one of America’s biggest achievements, and will teach your kids all about the brilliant Black women mathematicians who made it possible for astronaut John Glenn to do so. The SAG award-winning movie has a superstar cast including Octavia Spencer, Taraji P. Henson, Janelle Monáe, Kristen Dunst, Kevin Costner, Glen Powell, Jim Parsons, and more.
Stream on Disney+. Rated PG.
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’42’
Image Credit: ©Warner Bros. Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection. Football may be America’s favorite pastime today, but that honor originally belonged to baseball. Starring the late Chadwick Boseman and Harrison Ford, tells the inspirational story of Jackie Robinson, one of America’s greatest professional baseball players — and the first Black man to play in the Major Baseball League.
Stream on Apple TV+. Rated PG-13.
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‘First Daughter’
Image Credit: (c)20th Century Fox Film Corp/Courtesy Everett Collection. Katie Holmes stars as Samantha Mackenzie, daughter of the President of the United States, who yearns for a normal college experience despite her dad’s title. Constantly trailed by Secret Service agents and unwanted attention from her peers, Samantha tries to find freedom from her parents and her status as First Daughter in this coming-of-age tale.
Stream on Apple TV+. Rated PG.
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‘Miracle’
Especially fitting for viewing this year due to the upcoming Olympics, tells the inspirational true story of Coach Herb Brooks (played by Kurt Russell) leading the US hockey team to an unlikely gold medal victory during the 1980 Winter Olympics.
Stream on Disney+. Rated PG.
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‘The Sandlot’
Image Credit: ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection. Baseball is America’s pastime, which makes a perfect film to stream with your littles this Fourth of July. When a new kid named Scotty Smalls tries to impress the neighborhood kids with his dad’s signed Babe Ruth baseball, things go south quickly in this coming-of-age drama about friendships, fear, and growing up. Plus, your kids will finally get the joke when you tell them, “You’re killing me, Smalls!”
Stream on Disney+. Rated PG.
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‘Independence Day’
Image Credit: ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection. It’s not the Fourth of July without watching , starring Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, and Bill Pullman. They must work together to save the Earth from alien invaders in this 1996 classic film.
Stream on Disney+. Rated PG-13.
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‘Hamilton’
Image Credit: Disney. Learn about America’s birth and the first Independence Day with , Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit musical sensation that was recorded live. Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, George Washington, the Schuyler Sisters, and other notable historical figures recount the inaugural holiday with tales of the Founding Fathers told through hip-hop.
Stream on Disney+. Rated PG-13.
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‘Captain America: The First Avenger’
Image Credit: ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection. Chris Evans stars in , the origin story of America’s most patriotic superhero. In 1941, the military rejects Steve Rogers, so he signs up for an experimental program that turns him into a supersoldier called Captain America who leads a fight against the Nazis.
Stream on Disney+. Rated PG-13.
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‘A League of Their Own’
Image Credit: ©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection. tells the story of a group of women who overcome all odds to create a female baseball league at the start of World War II, proving the exciting game isn’t just for men. The 1992 cult classic film stars Geena Davis, Madonna, Rosie O’Donnell, and Tom Hanks.
Stream on Apple TV+. Rated PG.
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‘National Treasure’
Image Credit: ©Touchstone Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection. stars Nicolas Cage as Benjamin Franklin Gates, who is on a mission to steal the sacred Declaration of Independence and a clue to the Knights Templar Treasure before it falls into the wrong hands. It’s a fun thriller for all ages.
Stream on Disney+. Rated PG.
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‘Night at the Museum’
Image Credit: ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection. When a new night guard begins his job at the National History Museum, he quickly learns all the exhibits are actually real. This fun film contains tons of history lessons and stars Ben Stiller, Robin Williams (who plays President Theodore Roosevelt), Dick Van Dyke, and others.
Stream on Disney+. Rated PG.
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‘An American Tail’
Image Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection. Fievel Mousekewitz goes overboard when his family emigrates from Russia, and he ends up in New York alone. Luckily, friendly Italian and Irish mice and a kind cat help him find his way in this sweet cartoon.
Stream on Apple TV+. Rated G.
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‘Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark’
Image Credit: ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection. Harrison Ford stars in This adventure film holds up more than 40 years after its release, with archaeologist Indiana Jones racing against Nazis in 1936 to find the Ark of the Covenant before they can obtain it to make their army invincible.
Stream on Disney+. Rated PG.
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‘Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism In America’
Image Credit: ©Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection. Freedom isn’t free unless it includes everyone — something explains so well. This mix of lecture and archival film follows civil rights lawyer Jeffery Robinson as he chronicles the centuries-long timeline of anti-Black racism in the United States. It may not be fun viewing, but it’s vitally important.
Stream on Prime Video. Rated PG-13.
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‘Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front’
Image Credit: YouTube Movies & TV. Based on the American Girl doll Molly McIntire, is a wholesome family movie about a 9-year-old girl whose doctor father is stationed with the U.S. Army in London in 1944, during WWII. Her mother (played by Molly Ringwald) works for the Red Cross, and Molly helps a 10-year-old refugee feel at home.
Stream on Prime Video. Not Rated.
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‘America’s Heart & Soul’
Image Credit: Disney Movies On Demand. You’ll feel proud to be an American after watching , a 2004 documentary that tells the story of many amazing Americans, including a Vermont dairy farmer, a blind mountain climber, father and son marathon runners, and more. It’s what our country is all about!
Stream on Disney+. Rated PG.
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‘Tom & Huck’
Image Credit: ©Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection. is a 1995 Disney movie that tells the story of two kids who get into crazy adventures and mischief — and witness a murder. Fair warning: there will be some conversation-starting points with your kids in this movie (including racism toward Native Americans).
Stream on Disney+. Rated PG.