19 Ocean Movies for Kids Who Love Sea Animals

Ocean movies for kids are a great addition to an ocean theme, sea animal unit, or family movie night. These family-friendly preschool movies introduce preschoolers to marine life, underwater habitats, and ocean adventures through stories they’ll enjoy watching again and again.

From animated favorites featuring fish, dolphins, and sea turtles to inspiring movies based on real-life ocean animals, these ocean-themed films offer opportunities to learn more about the world beneath the waves. Whether you’re exploring an ocean theme at home or in the classroom, this collection includes age-appropriate options for young children.

Ocean movies for kids collage featuring Finding Dory, Dolphin Tale, A Turtle's Tale, and other sea animal films.

What are the best ocean movies for kids?

The best ocean movies for kids include Finding Nemo, Finding Dory, Dolphin Tale, Ponyo, and A Turtle’s Tale. These family-friendly films introduce children to ocean animals, marine habitats, and underwater adventures while keeping movie night age-appropriate.

Ocean Movies for Kids

Let’s give our preschoolers a chance to discover the wonders of the ocean world. Sit back, relax, and let these ocean-themed movies take you on an educational and entertaining journey. Don’t forget the popcorn!

Finding Nemo

Length: 1h 40 m

Plot: Nemo, a young clownfish is captured and taken to a dentist's office aquarium. It's up to Marlin, his father, and Dory, a friendly but forgetful regal blue tang fish, to make the epic journey to bring Nemo home from Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

Finding Dory

Length: 1 hour 37 minutes

Plot: Finding Dory follows the friendly blue tang fish from Finding Nemo as she sets out to find her family. With the help of old friends and new sea creatures, Dory travels across the ocean, overcoming challenges and discovering the importance of friendship, perseverance, and belonging.

Ponyo

Length: 1 hour 41 minutes

Plot: Ponyo tells the story of a curious goldfish who dreams of becoming human after befriending a young boy named Sosuke. As their friendship grows, Ponyo's magical transformation creates unexpected changes in the ocean and on land. This imaginative adventure highlights friendship, courage, and the connection between people and nature.

Dolphin Tale

Length: 1 hour 53 minutes

Plot: Dolphin Tale is inspired by the true story of Winter, a bottlenose dolphin rescued after becoming trapped in a crab trap line. With the help of a caring team of marine experts and a determined young boy, Winter learns to overcome her challenges. This uplifting family film emphasizes perseverance, compassion, and helping others.

A Turtle’s Tale

Length: 1 hour 28 minutes

Plot: A Turtle's Tale follows Sammy, a young sea turtle, as he journeys across the world's oceans searching for his childhood friend, Shelly. Along the way, he encounters a variety of sea creatures, explores different marine habitats, and learns valuable lessons about friendship, determination, and protecting the ocean.

Sharkbait

Length: 1 hour 17 minutes

Plot: Sharkbait is a heartwarming tale about a young fish named Pi who is separated from his family after a vicious shark attack. Determined to reunite with his loved ones, Pi embarks on an unforgettable adventure to find his way back home.

Wild Kratts: Creatures of the Deep Sea

Length: 50 minutes

Plot: Aboard Aviva's newly designed Deep Sea Explorer, the Wild Kratts team ventures to the last creature frontier -the Deep Sea. The challenges of the deep are many, and when ultimately they are forced to make a decision, the Wild Kratts must decide what is truly important.

Izzies Way Home

Length: 1h 17 min

Plot: A constantly picked-on aquarium fish escapes her home, unaware of the dangers that await her in the open ocean. With the help of other sea creatures, she learns how to be brave.

Disneynature Oceans

Length: 1h 24 m

Plot: Dive into OCEANS from Disneynature, the studio that brought you EARTH, for a spectacular story about remarkable creatures under the sea. Stunning images await as you journey into the depths of a wonderland filled with mystery, beauty and power.

Amazing Ocean

Length: 50 m

Plot: A fantastic journey through the magic of the deep blue sea.

The Reef

The Reef (2007)

Length: 1h 17m

Plot: In effort to save his home, one fish must find his destiny and save the love of his life.

The Reef 2

The Reef 2 (2012)

Length: 1h 20m

Plot: Trained in the skills of sea power, Pi the fish can fight a shark, sink a squid or batter any random predator that ever threatens his friends and neighbors on the reef.

Unfortunately, being the only hero in town can take its toll, especially when a group of sharks declares that the end of the reef is soon at hand.

Enchantimals Ocean Kingdom

Length: 40m

Plot: Bree Bunny, Felicity Fox and Danessa Deer travel to the Enchanted Ocean Kingdom with Maura Mermaid for Caring Coral Day, but when Felicity accidentally removes the heart of the kingdom, things begin to go awry! Together the girls must figure out how to fix it!

Nature Cat: Ocean Commotion

Length: 46m

Plot: Nature Cat and his pals go on an aquatic adventure to save Hal’s favorite chew toy. Along the way, they learn that all waterways are interconnected and meet up with a new special friend named Nature Dog who helps them navigate the oceans.

The Little Mermaid

Length: 1h 22m

Plot: Ariel, the fun-loving and mischievous mermaid, is enchanted with all things human. Disregarding her father's order to stay away from the world above the sea, she strikes a bargain with a devious sea witch to trade her beautiful voice for legs. But can she also win a prince's heart?

Deep

Length: 1h 32m

Plot: To keep his colony safe, a mischievous octopus takes a sassy shrimp and nervous anglerfish on an epic undersea odyssey to find help—and a little fun, too.

Shark Tale

Length: 1h 18m

Plot: A young fish's false reputation as a 'shark slayer' earns him fame…and gets him fitted for cement fins in this animated tale.

Seahorses

Length: 1h 21m

Plot: When a baby sea horse named Trigger gets lost during an ocean storm it's up to two little friendly fish to get her safely back home!

Moana

Length: 1h 47m

Plot: Moana sets sail on a daring mission to save her people. Along the way, she meets the once mighty demigod Maui–together they cross the ocean on a fun-filled, action-packed voyage.

Continue Your Ocean Theme

After watching one of these ocean movies, keep the learning going with hands-on ocean activities for preschoolers. Children often become curious about sea animals, underwater habitats, and ocean conservation after seeing these topics on screen.

Try pairing your family movie night with a few ocean-themed learning activities:

Practice counting with an ocean counting activity.
Explore sea creatures through books and storytelling.
Create an ocean sensory bin filled with shells, water beads, and toy sea animals.
Learn about sharks with shark-themed activities and books.
Discover ways to protect marine life with ocean conservation resources.

Combining movies with hands-on activities helps preschoolers make connections between what they see and what they learn. It also provides opportunities to practice early math, language, and fine motor skills while continuing your ocean theme.

Collage of family-friendly ocean movies and shows for preschoolers, featuring Finding Dory, A Turtle's Tale, Amazing Ocean, Wild Kratts, Nature Cat, and other sea animal adventures.

Whether your preschooler is fascinated by fish, dolphins, sea turtles, or underwater adventures, these ocean movies for kids offer a fun way to learn more about life beneath the waves. Add a few of these family-friendly films to your next ocean theme or movie night, then continue the learning with books, crafts, and hands-on ocean activities.

Tara

Tara is the brains behind Homeschool Preschool, where her journey from preschool and public school teacher to homeschooling mom of three fuels her passion for early childhood education. With a blend of expertise and firsthand experience, Tara’s writings offer practical tips and engaging resources to support families in creating meaningful learning adventures at home.