Summer family movies: six of the best films for the holidays

The summer school holidays are underway in Britain, and while many families will be heading off on vacation, the long break can sometimes be hard to fill with activities, especially when the weather takes a turn for the worse.

If you're struggling to fill the hours, here are six thoroughly entertaining movies to help parents and children while away the downtime.

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This 3D animation film from Pixar studios tells the story of a little girl called Riley, growing up with five competing emotions inside her mind – joy, sadness, fear, anger and disgust. When Riley and her family have to move to a new city, Riley's emotions struggle to adjust, causing emotional turmoil. "This dizzyingly inventive psychological adventure is top-tier Pixar," says The Times. "It's a coming-of-age story, a mismatched buddy movie and a fantastical adventure," and the "brainiest cartoon ever".

Song of the Sea

This beautiful, traditionally animated Irish film by Tomm Moore was nominated for best animated feature at the Academy Awards earlier this year. It is a retelling of the Celtic legend of the Selkies, half-human, half-seal creatures who live on land but belong to the sea. Ben, a young Irish boy, and his sister Saoirse live in a lighthouse with their lonely father, after their mother disappears. One day, Saoirse discovers a coat that reveals her hidden ability to swim underwater, and an adventure awaits both children. The Guardian calls it a "magical, exquisite" film that uses "bravura design and storytelling to convey a subtle and meaningful story".

Minions

John Hamm and Michael Keaton voice these brightly-coloured simple creatures, which evolve throughout the ages in search of new and ever-more terrible masters to serve. Without a ruler, they fall into depression, until they discover Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock), a female super-villain. The surreal, often hilarious feature-length movie is a spin-off from the popular film Despicable Me. Variety says this "by-popular-demand detour" film shows that the Minions are "still the funniest cartoon characters in town, hitting that silly sweet spot capable of delighting everyone from toddlers to Kim Jong-un".

Jurassic World

Rebooting Stephen Spielberg's hit 1990s movie franchise, Jurassic World has become a monster box office success. It returns to the world of the dinosaur theme-park where a new breed of genetically modified super-killer, the vicious and intelligent Indominus rex, goes on the rampage. Dino handler Chris Pratt and love interest Bryce Dallas Howard must cope when one of the beasts escapes, setting off a chain reaction that causes the other dinos to run amok. Hollywood Reporter says Jurassic World is "closer to PG than R in its frights and gore", but "sufficiently toothsome to make audiences everywhere happy".

Ant-Man

Led by a winning performance by Paul Rudd, Ant-Man may not be the biggest Marvel film, but it makes up for its lack of stature with good-natured humour. Rudd plays an ex-burglar who stumbles upon a suit that shrinks him to insect size. He is called upon by a reclusive tech genius (Michael Douglas) to carry out a daring heist to prevent a militarised version of the suit falling into evil hands. Rudd is "laughably unheroic", and this is part of his charm, says the New Yorker. In an age of big shots, "we should welcome anything – a magic suit, or a good joke – that cuts them down to size".

Thomas and Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure

For lovers of the classic steam engine books and series, this CGI animation film brings Thomas the Tank Engine to the big screen in a 60-minute adventure. It features an all-star cast of voices including John Hurt as an evil pirate, Olivia Colman as steam shovel Marion and Eddie Redmayne as the new engine on the tracks, Ryan. Thomas fans will lap it up, says the Daily Telegraph, and thanks to "a slicker-than-normal script, parents won't find it as onerous as the rather earnest TV series".