TL;DR: The "Emotional Gym" Watchlist
Grief is heavy, but movies can act as a "controlled burn"—a safe way for kids to experience big, scary emotions from the safety of the couch with a bowl of popcorn. If you're looking for the best films to help navigate loss, here are the top picks:
- Best for Grandparent Loss: Coco
- Best for Sibling/Sudden Loss: Big Hero 6
- Best for Processing Childhood Trauma/Change: IF
- Best for Losing a Parent: Onward or The Lion King
- Best for Terminal Illness (Older Kids 10+): A Monster Calls
Ask our chatbot for more movies tailored to your child's specific age and situation
Grief is the one thing we desperately want to protect our kids from, but it’s also the one thing they’re guaranteed to encounter—whether it’s the death of a family pet, a grandparent, or even just the "grief" of moving to a new city and losing their friend group.
As parents, our instinct is often to change the channel when things get heavy. We want to keep things "light" because life is already stressful enough. But movies about healing aren't just "sad movies." They are tools. They provide a vocabulary for feelings that kids (and, let’s be honest, many adults) don't have the words for yet.
At Screenwise, we see the data: parents are increasingly searching for intentional media consumption that goes beyond "brain rot" entertainment. You want content that actually does something. When it comes to grief, these films do the heavy lifting so you don't have to start the conversation from scratch.
Psychologists often talk about "distancing." When a child watches a character like Simba or Miguel deal with loss, they aren't experiencing the trauma directly, but they are "practicing" the empathy and the recovery process. It’s like a flight simulator for the heart.
If your family is currently walking through a season of loss, watching these together isn't about "fixing" the sadness. It’s about showing them that healing isn't a straight line—it’s a messy, colorful, and eventually hopeful process.
Ages 6+ If you haven't seen Coco, prepare to weep, but in a way that feels like a warm hug. It’s arguably the most sophisticated look at death that Disney has ever produced.
- The Theme: It focuses on the "second death"—the idea that people only truly leave us when we stop telling their stories.
- Why it works: It reframes death from a scary "end" to a vibrant continuation of family legacy. For kids who have lost a grandparent, this movie is essential. It turns "missing someone" into "remembering someone."
Ages 8+ John Krasinski’s IF (short for Imaginary Friends) is a bit of a sleeper hit in the "healing" genre. It deals with a young girl, Bea, who is navigating the fear of losing her father while he’s in the hospital for surgery, all while processing the earlier death of her mother.
- The Theme: Using imagination as a coping mechanism for trauma.
- The Screenwise Take: Some critics found it a bit saccharine, but for a kid who feels like their world is unstable, the idea that our "imaginary" support systems are still there is powerful. It’s a great pick for kids dealing with "anticipatory grief" (the fear of someone dying).
Ages 5+ While not strictly about death, Inside Out is the gold standard for "emotional literacy." It teaches kids that Sadness is just as important as Joy.
- The Theme: The "loss" of childhood and the pain of growing up.
- Why it helps: Grief isn't always about a funeral. Sometimes it’s about moving houses or losing a best friend to a different social circle. This movie validates that "small" griefs are still real griefs.
Ages 7+ This is the "action movie" version of a grief counseling session. Hiro loses his older brother, Tadashi, in a tragic accident and spends much of the movie fueled by a mix of depression and revenge-fueled anger.
- The Theme: The stages of grief, specifically anger and the desire for "justice."
- The Screenwise Take: Big Hero 6 is excellent because it doesn't make Hiro a "perfect" griever. He’s messy. He makes bad choices. But through Baymax (the ultimate healthcare companion), he learns that his brother lives on through the things he created and the people he helped.
Ages 7+ Onward is specifically for the kids who are grieving someone they barely knew—or never knew at all. Two elf brothers go on a quest to spend one more day with their late father.
- The Theme: The "hole" left by an absent parent and finding closure.
- Why it works: The ending is a massive subversion of expectations that highlights how we often find the "father figures" (or mother figures) we need in the people who are already standing right next to us.
Ages 12+ (Middle School and up) Warning: This is not a "light" watch. It is a beautiful, dark, and visceral exploration of a boy coming to terms with his mother’s terminal illness.
- The Theme: The complexity of "complicated grief"—the guilt of wanting the pain to be over.
- Why it matters: It’s one of the few movies that acknowledges that grief isn't just "sad"; it can be terrifying and full of rage. If you have a teenager going through a major loss, this movie might resonate more than any "Disneyfied" version of healing.
Grief looks different at age 5 than it does at age 15.
- Preschool/Early Elementary: Stick to movies where the "healing" is clear and the ending is hopeful. The Lion King or even episodes of Bluey (check out the episode "Copycat") are great starting points.
- Upper Elementary (8-11): They can handle more nuance. They’ll understand the bittersweet nature of Coco or the emotional complexity of Inside Out.
- Middle/High School: They might roll their eyes at "kids' movies." Look for more grounded stories or high-concept films like A Monster Calls or even Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which is secretly a movie about processing the death of a mentor.
Learn more about how to choose movies based on your child's emotional maturity
You don't need a PhD in psychology to help your kid through a movie about loss. You just need to be present.
- Don't Pause for "Lessons": Nothing kills a moment like a parent pausing the movie to ask, "So, how do you think Simba feels right now?" Let them watch. Let them feel.
- Wait for the Credits: The best conversations happen in the car on the way home or while brushing teeth. Ask, "Which part was the hardest to watch?" or "What do you think [Character] will do next?"
- Be Honest About Your Own Feelings: If you’re crying (and you will be during Up), don’t hide it. Tell them, "That part was sad because it reminded me of [Grandpa/Our Old Dog]." You’re modeling that it’s okay to be a "grown-up" who still has big feelings.
- Check the "Wise Score": Before you hit play, check the Screenwise guide for parents to see if there are specific triggers (like jump scares or intense hospital scenes) that might be too much for your specific child.
We can't protect our kids from the reality of loss, but we can give them the "emotional software" to handle it. Movies like Coco, IF, and Big Hero 6 aren't just entertainment; they are bridges to deeper connection.
Sometimes, the best thing you can do for a grieving child isn't to give a speech—it’s to sit in the dark, share some popcorn, and cry together over a cartoon robot or a skeleton playing a guitar.
- Plan a Family Movie Night: Pick one of the titles above that fits your current family dynamic.
- Check the Community Data: See what other parents in your school district are watching by taking the Screenwise survey.
- Dig Deeper: If you're looking for books instead of movies, check out our guide on books about grief for kids.