10 Thanksgiving Movies for Families

1. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)

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Over the years, there have been hundreds of Thanksgiving cartoon specials featuring famous characters celebrating or learning about Thanksgiving. Kids have seen Garfield, the Berenstein Bears, the Care Bears, and even the cast of The Wizard of Oz learn about what Thanksgiving really means. Despite all the competition, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is the definitive Thanksgiving cartoon special. Maybe it’s because the plot (Peppermint Patty walking over Charlie Brown and inviting herself to Thanksgiving at the last minute, Charlie Brown being too shy to object) fits the Peanuts characters so well, which means the Thanksgiving plot doesn’t feel forced. Maybe it’s because like A Charlie Brown Christmas, it lets the characters be fickle and childish, yet loveable and willing to learn from their mistakes. Maybe it’s the fact that like the best Charlie Brown cartoons, it doesn't break the comic strip’s rules too much—the adults never talk in the comic, so the cartoon provides deliberately weird mumbling when Grandma talks on the phone. Whatever it is, the cartoon manages to be funnier, cleverer, and more poignant than anyone would expect from a holiday-themed cartoon.

Further Reading: Just Drop the Blanket: The Moment You Never Noticed in A Charlie Brown Christmas

Photo Credit: Amazon/Lee Mendelson Film Productions

2. Drive Thru History: Pilgrims Searching for Freedom (2009)

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Drive Thru History provides a fun look at various American history events, with host Dave Stott retelling the events, looking at important locations, and giving just enough tongue-in-cheek humor to keep things lively. In this episode, Stott visits important locations associated with the Pilgrims’ journeys as he describes the conflicts that led them away from England (and eventually away from Holland) to seek new opportunities in America. He not only summarizes the classic story but also includes some surprising details that most viewers won’t know (like the fact that the Pilgrims originally had another ship, the Speedwell, which appears to have been sabotaged by the crew). As with any Drive Thru History episode, Stott emphasizes the religious side of events. He overviews what motivated the Pilgrims to separate from the Church of England, and how their religious philosophy informs the America we know today.

This episode is available to stream on PureFlix (see link above) or as part of a DVD collection with other Drive Thru History episodes.

Further Reading: William Bradford and Plymouth Plantation

Photo Credit: Amazon/Coldwater Media/Focus on the Family

3. This is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers (1988)

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This is America, Charlie Brown (1988-1989) was an educational TV series with a twist: the Peanuts characters could make it funnier and cleverer than the standard children’s programs. The Mayflower Voyagers episode sees the Peanuts gang playing young Pilgrims traveling to the new world, coping with the hardships that kill off so many of the settlers, and then learning from Squanto how to live in their new home. A narrator fills in all the important details, but there are plenty of little scenes in between the narration where Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, and the rest of the gang get to say a funny line or two. The little scenes make this funnier and more interesting than most “cartoon characters teach you history” programs. Like A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, Charlie Brown's adventures turn out to be a natural fit for the story. His adventures always had a “sad, then funny, then sad, and then finally happy” plot, a formula that fit the Pilgrims’ story (their story was pretty sad until the feast came). Put all these elements together, and viewers get a fun yet educational Thanksgiving cartoon.

This episode is available either on Prime Video or in the deluxe DVD editions of The Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

Further Reading: Who Are the Pilgrims vs. the Puritans?

Photo Credit: Amazon/ Lee Mendelson Film Productions

4. A Winnie the Pooh Thanksgiving (1998)

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While A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is the definitive cartoon about animated characters celebrating Thanksgiving, there are a few other fun entries in that group worth watching every year. A Winnie the Pooh Thanksgiving (released on the DVD collection Winnie the Pooh: Season of Giving) is one of those few entries, because it has two clear advantages over most of the “cartoon characters having Thanksgiving” stories. First, the animation quality is pretty good. Second, the plot about Pooh and his pals trying to put on a Thanksgiving dinner and their mistakes along the way fits the characters perfectly. Thus, like the Charlie Brown cartoon, it's a holiday cartoon special that doesn’t feel forced, where the Thanksgiving angle fits the material. The story involves Pooh, Piglet, and their friends planning a Thanksgiving dinner, but Rabbit insists they have to do it properly. While he figures out decorations, the others follow his instructions to find cranberries, a pumpkin, and a turkey. Not surprisingly, things do not go as planned. Ultimately though, Rabbit and the rest learn about what really matters at Thanksgiving: giving thanks.

Further Reading: Timeless Winnie the Pooh Still Charms

Photo Credit: Amazon/Walt Disney Home Video

5. Desperate Crossing: The Untold Story of the Mayflower (2006)

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There are lots of documentaries or history TV that feature actors performing parts of the Thanksgiving story. However, as any elementary school teacher knows, the quality of these documentaries can be hit or miss: some are great, and many are cheesy. Desperate Crossing: The Untold Story of the Mayflower is one of the best ones, showing the Pilgrims’ story over three episodes, from their early conflicts in England to their agreement with the Native Americans. The three-episode structure (two hours and 15 minutes if you watch the entire program on the History Channel website) allows Desperate Crossing to tell the full story, not just the two big moments (getting off the Mayflower, eating the feast). The actors (the ones playing Pilgrims are from the Royal Shakespeare Company) all provide high-quality performances, and most of their dialogue is based on historical documents, which keeps things accurate. The narration (also based on historical documents) fits well with the dramatized scenes, which makes the whole program a step above many similar ones. Add all these elements together, and Desperate Crossing makes for not just a good Thanksgiving documentary, but a great one.

Further Reading: Why Did the Puritans Settle in America?

Photo Credit: The History Channel/IMDb

6. American Experience: The Pilgrims (2016)

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The first Thanksgiving feast was a redemptive event, but it was part of a larger, more complex story. Many Pilgrims suffered even before the Mayflower reached the new world, and over half of them died from sickness and starvation once they arrived. The Pilgrims’ friendship with Squanto and the Wampanoag tribe was peaceful for a moment, but eventually, their relations with Native Americans soured. It's important to recognize both the harshness and the redemptiveness in the Thanksgiving story, especially as viewers age and become better at handling complexity. The Pilgrims is a great documentary to watch a few years after seeing Desperate Crossing, one that dives more into the hardships that the Pilgrims experienced. Neither the newcomers nor the natives fit stereotypes. Several historians interviewed observe how important it is to understand the national mythology that Americans have created from the Pilgrims. They don’t treat that mythology as something to totally throw away, but as something to consider, to wonder how it developed, and what gets overlooked. As a result, the documentary doesn’t give a cynical view of the Pilgrims but doesn't whitewash them either. These elements make it an engaging, honest look at a crucial American event.

Further Reading: What Happened on the First Thanksgiving?

Photo Credit: PBS

7. An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving (2008)

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For many of us, the holidays are a time for heartwarming holiday films. An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving is a great place to start before viewers dive into Hallmark’s better-known Christmas collection. The plot is based on a short story by Louisa May Alcott (Little Women, Little Men, Jo’s Boys) takes place in 1880s America, and follows Mary Bassett, a widow with three children. Mary’s mother Isabella, a high society New York resident, could help but the two women haven't spoken in years. When Thanksgiving comes and the Bassetts can’t even afford a special meal, Mary’s daughter Tilly contacts Isabella. When Isabella arrives, she discovers Tilly’s letter wasn't quite accurate, but the Bassetts do need help... help that Mary won't accept. Meanwhile, Tilly navigates her feelings for Gad Hopkins, whose wealthy mother may not approve of such a union. The story fits solidly into the Hallmark style, making it cozy and predictable, which is exactly what fans look for. Its story about a family reconciling, talking about their past, finding forgiveness and a healthier path for the future, pairs well with the Thanksgiving feast featured in the plot.

Further Reading: 5 Surprising Lessons from Little Women

Photo Credit: Hallmark

8. The New World (2005)

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While not about the Plymouth colony, and certainly a long film that takes some patience to get used to, The New World is worth watching during the Thanksgiving season for several reasons. First, it plays on the mythologized that John Smith and Pocahantas had a romance, but makes it into something more complicated and interesting. Second, it emphasizes the clash between the Native Americans and the European colonists without leaning too far into clichés. It's a Terrence Malick film, which means nature's beauty and the need to respect nature is going to be very important to the story. Since the Native Americans clearly respect nature more than the newcomers, it’s not hard to tell what will happen in the far future. However, the movie doesn’t make things so black-and-white that the colonists are villains and the locals pure heroes, or vice versa. The New World captures the wonder and strangeness that happened every time one of the European colonist groups arrived in America, whether it was Smith’s group meeting the Powhatan tribe or Bradford’s group meeting the last remaining Patuxet tribesman. The New World captures so many of the great themes of the Thanksgiving story, even as it talks about other colonists in another part of the country.

Further Reading: Christianity in Jamestown

Photo Credit: New Line Cinema/Sunflower Productions/Sarah Green Film/First Foot Films/The Virginia Company LLC/IMDb

9. Saints & Strangers (2015)

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This two-part TV movie produced by National Geographic covers similar ground to American Experience: The Pilgrims, but as a historical drama instead of a documentary. The story has a huge cast, but highlights Pilgrim leader William Bradford and his clashes with the less-than-reputable Mayflower captain who doesn't care for the religious fundamentalists he’s been hired to transport. As the story moves onto the land, it highlights the brutal ordeal the Pilgrims went through during their first winter, and their concerns about potentially hostile natives. Some reviewers criticized the action elements in the later parts where the Pilgrims interact with the Wompanoag tribe, perhaps added to make this show more of an adventure story. Other reviewers noted that the Wompanoag characters are some of the movie’s most developed characters, which is a pleasant change from so many Thanksgiving retellings where they come across as stereotypes. Even if Saints & Strangers leans too hard into action-adventure territory, it’s a well-made piece of holiday entertainment that avoids making the Pilgrims’ story too cute, cutting past tired tropes to recognize their struggles and conflicts.

Further Reading: What the Pilgrims Can Teach You about Thanksgiving

Photo Credit: National Geographic/IMDb

10. Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)

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The comedy (in one scene) becomes a little too crass and the language (in one scene) becomes too foul for kids. Despite these few moments that make it a film for grownups (or one to watch with the kids and a remote handy), 35 years on, Planes, Trains and Automobiles is still a hilarious road trip movie filled with great slapstick. Like many of the movies that John Hughes wrote or directed (Home Alone, Beethoven, the remake of Miracle on 34th Street), this film doesn’t sugarcoat how selfish and fickle people can be, yet it leads to an uplifting ending that logically flows from the material. Neal Page is an uptight businessman who has become so wrapped up in providing for his family that he isn’t spending any time with them. Del Griffiths is everything that Neal isn’t—disorganized, boisterous, working in a job with few benefits or promotion possibilities—yet seems full of life. As the two men are forced to travel together, Del’s humanity starts to rub off on Neal, reminding him what Thanksgiving is about: family and friendship.

Further Reading: The Meaning of Thanksgiving Day

Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures

If you enjoyed this article, check out these other articles about holiday films:

10 Fun, Family-Friendly Scary Movies for Halloween

10 Holiday Movies Christians Need to Know About

10 Movies to Watch This Easter

11 Best Christian Movies for Kids