If some of your family’s summer plans have been thwarted by COVID closures, why not take this opportunity to catch up on movies with great pro-life themes? Here’s just a few that I would encourage you to consider for your next in-home movie night.
Watch with the Children
Horton Hears a Who
This has to be one of my favorite “pro-life” movies of all time, even though it’s designed for children. “A person’s a person, no matter how small,” is a line your children will remember long after the movie has ended. (Mine have!) Horton is a fun-loving and kind elephant who discovers tiny lives and determines to save them. The movie is rated G and available free on Hulu with subscription.
Storks
My children really enjoyed this animated movie about a little boy who wants a sibling. Though you may have to answer the question, “Is that really where babies come from?””¦ you’ll enjoy the positive messages about family, adoption, and the blessings of children. The movie is rated PG for some mild action and thematic elements. It’s available for rent on Amazon.com and other streaming services.
Meet the Robinsons
My children loved this movie and I loved the positive themes surrounding adoption and adoptive parents. Meet the Robinsons features an orphan who is determined to meet his birth family. The child-genius creates a brilliant invention to accomplish this task but things get interesting when the machine doesn’t work as planned. The film is rated G and available free on Disney + with a subscription.
Watch With Older Children (ages 12 & up)
Amazing Grace
This amazing, historically-based film follows the life of William Wilberforce, the prominent parliamentarian in 18th century England who devoted his life to ending the British slave trade. The movie is rated PG and available for rent on most streaming services.
August Rush
A musically gifted boy runs away from his orphanage to search for his birth parents. Comedic great, Robin Williams, plays the Wizard – a homeless man who takes the young orphan under his wing. The orphan’s parents are also on a quest to find their lost son. The movie is an inspiring and artistic journey that may spark great conversations with older children. The movie is rated PG -there are a few words you may not prefer your youngest ears to here – and is available for rent on a number of streaming services.
The Drop Box
This is a moving, heart-wringing, movie about a South Korean pastor who goes to heroic means to protect babies who are unwanted. Even though it’s a little painful to see the toll this mission takes on his family, there’s so much hope and inspiration in this movie, you may want to watch it again. This movie is not rated and can be rented for a small fee on a number of streaming services including Amazon, Google Play, and You Tube.
Watch With Adults (or Older Teens) Only
Unplanned
If you haven’t seen last year’s release, Unplanned, now’s a great time. Abby Johnson, the youngest director in the history of Planned Parenthood, has a life-changing experience when she’s pregnant with her own child that leads her on a journey to pro-life advocacy. The movie is rated R for thematic elements (due to an abortion witnessed on an ultrasound screen). You can watch it for free with an Amazon Prime subscription.
Lion
Though there are some rough and mature thematic elements in this movie, this is the incredible story of a boy who gets lost 1500 kilometers from home and, because he doesn’t speak any language other than that of his native Indian village, can’t tell anyone where he’s from. The boy is placed for adoption and has a positive experience with a loving family in Australia, but still longs to reconnect with his birth family. This award-winning movie will have you on the edge of your seat, waiting, hoping, and wondering if Saroo will ever make it home again. It’s rated PG-13 for language, thematic elements, and some other mature, though non-graphic relationship scenes. You can watch it free on Vudu or rent on most streaming services.
Gosnell
This movie is undoubtedly disturbing, but it just may inspire you to keep supporting the pro-life movement in order to protect unborn babies from atrocities like those featured in this film. The movie tells the true story of the investigation and trial of infamous Philadelphia abortion doctor, Kermit Gosnell. The horrors uncovered here are difficult to watch but important to be aware of. The movie is rated PG-13 for mature thematic content including disturbing descriptions and images. It’s available for rent on Amazon prime.
A Quiet Place
This is a scary movie, plain and simple. Monsters without eyes, ravaging the earth, killing anything that makes a noise may not be a plot line everyone enjoys. But, real life husband and wife team-Emily Blunt and John Krasinski promote some blatantly pro-life themes (though, as far as I know, that was never one of the movie’s goals.) It’s rated PG-13 for terror and some bloody images. Available on Netflix for free with a subscription.
Bella
Bella is one of the most beautiful and moving movies I’ve ever seen. When a single waitress gets fired, she confides in a friend and rising soccer star that she is pregnant and considering an abortion. But the friend, haunted by a tragic memory from his past, tries to talk her out of it. This award-winning film is rated PG-13 for thematic elements and brief disturbing images. It’s available to rent on Amazon.
October Baby
When a young woman learns she’s the survivor of a failed abortion, she begins a quest to find her birth mother. Faith-based film directors Jon and Andrew Erwin (Moms’ Night Out, I Can Only Imagine and I Still Believe) are behind this movie, so you know you can expect great things. The movie is rated PG-13 for mature thematic material and available to watch on PureFlix with a subscription.