Best Family Movies of 2004

Bob Parr has given up his superhero days to log in time as an insurance adjuster and raise his three children with his formerly heroic wife in suburbia. But when he receives a mysterious assignment, it's time to get back into costume.

Shrek, Fiona and Donkey set off to Far, Far Away to meet Fiona's mother and father. But not everyone is happy. Shrek and the King find it hard to get along, and there's tension in the marriage. The fairy godmother discovers that Shrek has married Fiona instead of her Son Prince Charming and sets about destroying their marriage.

There's trouble brewing in Bikini Bottom. Someone has stolen King Neptune's crown, and it looks like Mr. Krab, SpongeBob's boss, is the culprit. Though he's just been passed over for the promotion of his dreams, SpongeBob stands by his boss, and along with his best pal Patrick, sets out on a treacherous mission to Shell City to reclaim the crown and save Mr. Krab's life.

Three wealthy children's parents are killed in a fire. When they are sent to a distant relative, they find out that he is plotting to kill them and seize their fortune.

When a doubting young boy takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery that shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe.

Nine-year-old Frankie and his single mum Lizzie have been on the move ever since Frankie can remember, most recently arriving in a seaside Scottish town. Wanting to protect her deaf son from the truth that they've run away from his father, Lizzie has invented a story that he is away at sea on the HMS Accra. Every few weeks, Lizzie writes Frankie a make-believe letter from his father, telling of his adventures in exotic lands. As Frankie tracks the ship's progress around the globe, he discovers that it is due to dock in his hometown. With the real HMS Accra arriving in only a fortnight, Lizzie must choose between telling Frankie the truth or finding the perfect stranger to play Frankie's father for just one day...

Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog are best pals and the unsung heroes of the African savanna. This prequel to the smash Disney animated adventure takes you back -- way back -- before Simba's adventure began. You'll find out all about Timon and Pumbaa and tag along as they search for the perfect home and attempt to raise a rambunctious lion cub.

Two tigers are separated as cubs and taken into captivity, only to be reunited years later as enemies by an explorer (Pearce) who inadvertently forces them to fight each other.

Ella lives in a magical world in which each child, at the moment of their birth, is given a virtuous "gift" from a fairy godmother. Ella's so-called gift, however, is obedience. This birthright proves itself to be quite the curse once Ella finds herself in the hands of several unscrupulous characters whom she quite literally cannot disobey. Determined to gain control of her life and decisions, Ella sets off on a journey to find her fairy godmother who she hopes will lift the curse. The path, however, isn't easy -- Ella must outwit a slew of unpleasant obstacles including ogres, giants, wicked stepsisters, elves and Prince Charmont's evil uncle, who wants to take over the crown and rule the kingdom.

Princess Anneliese finds an unexpected friendship when she meets her humble look-alike, Erika.

Oscar is a small fish whose big aspirations often get him into trouble. Meanwhile, Lenny is a great white shark with a surprising secret that no sea creature would guess: He's a vegetarian. When a lie turns Oscar into an improbable hero and Lenny becomes an outcast, the two form an unlikely friendship.

Mia Thermopolis is now a college graduate and on her way to Genovia to take up her duties as princess. Her best friend Lilly also joins her for the summer. Mia continues her 'princess lessons'- riding horses side-saddle, archery, and other royal. But her complicated life is turned upside down once again when she not only learns that she is to take the crown as queen earlier than expected...

Routinely exploited by her wicked stepmother, the downtrodden Samantha Montgomery is excited about the prospect of meeting her Internet beau at the school's Halloween dance.

28 of the very best animated shorts starring the very wackiest Warner Bros. cartoon characters. It's an unprecedented animation celebration for cartoon lovers eager to relive the heady, hilarious, golden age of Warner Bros. animation.

Fa Mulan gets the surprise of her young life when her love, Captain Li Shang asks for her hand in marriage. Before the two can have their happily ever after, the Emperor assigns them a secret mission, to escort three princesses to Chang'an, China. Mushu is determined to drive a wedge between the couple after he learns that he will lose his guardian job if Mulan marries into the Li family.

Two boys, still grieving the death of their mother, find themselves the unwitting benefactors of a bag of bank robbery loot in the week before the United Kingdom switches its official currency to the Euro. What's a kid to do?

When a greedy outlaw schemes to take possession of the "Patch Of Heaven" dairy farm, three determined cows, a karate-kicking stallion and a colorful corral of critters join forces to save their home. The stakes are sky-high as this unlikely animal alliance risk their hides and match wits with a mysterious band of bad guys.

In Disney's take on the Alexander Dumas tale, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy want nothing more than to perform brave deeds on behalf of their queen (Minnie Mouse), but they're stymied by the head Musketeer, Pete. Pete secretly wants to get rid of the queen, so he appoints Mickey and his bumbling friends as guardians to Minnie, thinking such a maneuver will ensure his scheme's success. The score features songs based on familiar classical melodies.

Garfield, the fat, lazy, lasagna lover, has everything a cat could want. But when Jon, in an effort to impress the Liz - the vet and an old high-school crush - adopts a dog named Odie and brings him home, Garfield gets the one thing he doesn't want. Competition.

While the gang travel to Scotland to visit Daphne's cousin and witness the Highland Games, they find themselves terrorized by the legendary Loch Ness Monster.

When their only daughter Blair leaves the family nest, Luther and Nora Krank decide to book an island cruise to beat the yuletide blues and just skip the holidays. But their decision to boycott tradition has the whole neighborhood in an uproar, and when Blair calls on Christmas Eve to announce a surprise visit with her new fiancée, the Kranks have just twelve hours to perform a miracle and pull themselves and their neighbors together to throw the best celebration ever!

Santa Claus, Mickey Mouse and all his Disney pals star in an original movie about the importance of opening your heart to the true spirit of Christmas. Stubborn old Donald tries in vain to resist the joys of the season, and Mickey and Pluto learn a great lesson about the power of friendship.

As their first year of high school looms ahead, best friends Julie, Hannah, Yancy and Farrah have one last summer sleepover. Little do they know they're about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. Desperate to shed their nerdy status, they take part in a night-long scavenger hunt that pits them against their popular archrivals. Everything under the sun goes on -- from taking Yancy's father's car to sneaking into nightclubs!

Ray and Sal, two orphaned sisters, adopt and hide a Great Dane puppy from their two adopted parents living in a luxury downtown New York apartment that expressely forbids dogs.

Spring has sprung, and baby Roo is excited to get out and explore and make new friends. But Rabbit seems preoccupied with spring cleaning, instead of embracing his usual role of playing Easter Bunny. Leave it to Roo to show Rabbit -- through love -- that it's more important who you love and not who's in charge.

Balto and the other sled dogs are feeling dejected because the mail that used to be delivered by dogsled is now being delivered by airplanes. But when a mail plane crashes in the mountains, the dogs come to the rescue.

Athletic 12-year-old Maddy (Kristen Stewart) shares an enthusiasm for mountain climbing with her father, Tom (Sam Robards). Unfortunately, Tom suffers a spinal injury while scaling Mount Everest, and his family is unable to afford the surgery that can save him. Maddy decides to get the money for her father's operation by robbing a high-security bank. She relies on her climbing skills and help from her geeky friends (Max Thieriot, Corbin Bleu) to pull it off successfully.

Samantha MacKenzie, the daughter of the president of the United States, arrives at college with a group of Secret Service agents. Samantha, however, resents their presence and decides she wants to attend school just like a normal student. Her father agrees to recall the agents but secretly assigns James, an undercover agent, to pose as a student. They fall in love, but their romance is jeopardized when Samantha learns James' true identity.

Marnie Piper prepares to begin a new school year, she asks the Halloweentown Hot Witches' Council to work toward openness between Halloweentown and the mortal world. She proposes to bring a group of Halloweentown students to her own high school in the mortal world.

It was 1934 when the irascible Donald Duck came to life in a teeny bit of a part in "The Wise Little Hen" and proceeded to steal the show. From that point on nobody could hold him back, and the much loved cranky character went on to be the most prolific of Walt's "fabulous five." Now for the first time, you can enjoy the Donald in all of his solo starring shorts from "Donald And Pluto" in 1936 to "Chef Donald" in 1941. This volume also includes a loving tribute to the man who achieved immortality by inventing the voice of Donald Duck -- and performing as his alter ego for 50 years -- Clarence "Ducky" Nash. Featuring exclusive introductions by film historian Leonard Maltin, this is a timeless collection from generations past for generations to come.

Writer, producer, puppeteer, songwriter--America's Favorite Neighbor takes a thorough look at the career of legendary children's television host Fred Rogers. Produced for Pittsburgh's WQED, this informative documentary tracks his rise as floor manager for various NBC programs, such as Your Hit Parade, to the major awards he received later in life, such as the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Along the way, he's seen launching public TV programs The Children's Corner, which featured a soon-to-be-famous puppet named King Friday, and Canada's MisteRogers. The latter, naturally, was followed by Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, which made its national debut in 1968, and would eventually became the longest running program in PBS history. Hosted by fellow Pennsylvania native Michael Keaton (Batman), who worked on his show in the early days, America's Favorite Neighbor is suitable for all ages, but is geared more towards adults, particularly parents and educators.

Toddlers can learn about life on the farm without having to leave their living room in this educational video from the Baby Einstein series. Baby MacDonald: A Day on the Farm features real-life farm animals, tractors and other agricultural equipment, and crops in the field to teach youngsters the goings-on of a typical day on the farm, and give them early lessons in the production of food and how to treat the animals who play and work with us. Baby Einstein: Baby MacDonald also features a score of classical melodies arranged to appeal to children and fit in with the barnyard themes.

It's a Halloween extravaganza when the monsters from Sesame Street get invited to a Tricks & Treats party. But when Mumford the Magician has some trouble with his magic wand, Elmo and friends get sidetracked on a wonderful hayride. Share in the surprises as they learn to carve pumpkins, make scarecrows, and discover that monsters don't really have to be scary! Features special guest star Caroline Rhea as Gilda the Great!

With all-new gadgets, high-flying action, exciting chases and a wisecracking new handler, Derek (Anthony Anderson), Cody has to retrieve the device before the world's leaders fall under the evil control of a diabolical villain.

Trina and her brother Dan think dad's dummies are pretty cool. Until one day they notice one of the dummy's hands is warm, humanly warm! Then they hear eerie voices coming from the attic. Could the dummies be leading lives of their own?

Nick Snowden is reluctantly taking over the family business and with only three days before the big night, one of Nick's younger reindeer is stolen from the North Pole and taken to a zoo.

Kindhearted Samantha Parkington's world starts to change the day Nellie O'Malley walks into her life. Nellie, her father, and her two little sisters have moved in next door to be servants for the Ryland family. Though they come from completely different backgrounds, Samantha and Nellie become fast friends. The girls turn to each other in happiness and sorrow, adventure and danger.

Brittany Aarons is one of the many girls who has a crush on popular singer and boy-toy Jordan Cahill. However, she is bored of living a suburban existence and seeks a little something more.

After the conclusion of the Battle City Tournament, deep below the sands of Egypt, an ancient evil has awakened. Anubis, who was defeated centuries ago by Yugi’s mysterious alter ego – the ancient Pharaoh – has returned for revenge. Wielding the power of the Eighth Millennium Item, Anubis is determined to destroy Yugi and take over the world.

Based on the true story of a Canadian soldier, enroute to World War I from Winnipeg, who adopts an orphaned bear cub at White River Ontario. It is namned Winnie (for Winnipeg) and eventually ends up at the London Zoo where it became the inspiration for A.A.Milne's Winnie The Pooh stories.

Mayhem reigns supreme in the animated kingdom as whiz kid Jimmy Neutron and Timmy from "The Fairly Oddparents" swap places in each other's worlds.

Jace Newfield has a problem. Besides being blind and being the new kid at school, his problem is that the kids at his new school thinks he's a jerk. Jace has to find a way to be accepted into his new school. Joining the wrestling team just might work.

Based on a true story, The Blue Butterfly tells the story of a terminally ill 10-year-old boy whose dream is to catch the most beautiful butterfly on Earth, the mythic and elusive Blue Morpho. His mother persuades a renowned entomologist to take them on a trip to the jungle to search for the butterfly, leading to an adventure that will transform their lives

Dangerous missions are the bread and butter of the Thunderbirds, a high-tech secret force employed by the government. Led by Jeff Tracy (Bill Paxton), the Thunderbirds are at the top of their game, but their nemesis, The Hood (Ben Kingsley), has landed on their island and is attempting a coup by using the team's rescue vehicles. He'll soon discover that the Thunderbirds won't go down.

Animated character Fat Albert emerges from his TV universe into the real world, accompanied by his friends Rudy, Mushmouth, Old Weird Harold and Dumb Donald. Though the gang is flabbergasted by the modern world, they make new friends, and Albert attempts to help young Doris become popular. But things get complicated when Albert falls for her older sister, Lauri, and must turn to creator Bill Cosby for advice.

A Psammead is 'It', an ancient, irritable, ugly sand fairy, which five children find one day in a gravel pit. As a reward for finding him, It grants the children one wish a day, the results of which will last until sunset.

A cat named Lorenzo is dismayed to discover that his tail has developed a personality of its own.

Gordon brags that he's the fastest engine, but gets a surprise when Thomas' cargo, a jet engine, is activated as it's loaded and causes him to shoot down the railway at higher speed than anything either has seen.

Eight-year-old Mac and his imaginary friend Blooregard Q. Kazoo (or "Bloo" for short) often get into fights with his 13-year-old brother Terrence. When Mac's mother tires of this behavior, she tells him that he has outgrown his age to have an imaginary friend and must get rid of him. Crushed by overhearing their argument, except for Terrence, who is rather pleased, Bloo later comes across a TV commercial for "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends"--"where good ideas are not forgotten," according to the motto.