Funny Movies to Celebrate National Humor Month
age 6+
Like its predecessor — the hit 2016 animated adventure Trolls — TROLLS WORLD TOUR stars the voices of Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake as Queen Poppy and her best friend/love interest, Branch. Their happy existence is threatened when Poppy gets an invitation to bring her “pop” string to a party with Queen Barb (Rachel Bloom) of Hard Rock. Ever the optimist, Poppy thinks the invite is in good faith. But then her father reveals that there are actually six Troll territories, each of which represents a different style of music: pop, funk, techno, classical, country, and rock. Each group has a magical string that’s the essence of their musical genre. Poppy, Branch, and friends set out to visit the various territories. They quickly discover that Barb and her father, King Thrash (Ozzy Osbourne), aren’t so much trying to unite the once-divided Trolls but rather to destroy any kind of music that’s not Rock.
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/video/modal/iva/6164832?height=420&iframe=1&width=660
age 6+
At the start of PADDINGTON, an English explorer discovers a family of bears in “Darkest Peru” and tells them to look him up if they ever get to London. Decades later, an earthquake destroys the bears’ village and kills a young bear’s uncle. His aunt stows him away on a boat with only his red hat (with a sandwich in it), a suitcase, and jars of marmalade. He meets the suspicious Mr. Brown, the kindhearted Mrs. Brown (Sally Hawkins), and their two kids at the Paddington train station. So they name him Paddington, and the daring search for the explorer begins. What they don’t know is that an evil taxidermist (Nicole Kidman) is after Paddington …
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/video/modal/iva/4978591?height=420&iframe=1&width=660
age 11+
JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL takes place the year following the events of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Spencer (Alex Wolff), Martha (Morgan Turner), Fridge (Ser’Darius Blain), and Bethany (Madison Iseman) are either in college or on gap years. When Spencer comes home for the holidays, he’s supposed to hang out with his Grandpa Eddie (Danny DeVito), who has moved in temporarily while recovering from hip surgery. On the day the Jumanji survivors are supposed to meet up for breakfast, Spencer is conspicuously missing, so the friends head to his house, where they discover the still-broken Jumanji video game in his basement. They figure that’s where he is and decide to follow. But something goes awry, and both Eddie and his estranged best friend, Milo (Danny Glover), are transported into the game, too. They end up as Dr. Bravestone (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) and Mouse Finbar (Kevin Hart), while Fridge is Professor Oberon (Jack Black), and Bethany is left behind altogether. Martha, at least, is still Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan). The reconstituted team must find Spencer and also play the game while accompanied by two seniors who are having trouble reconciling their circumstances — not to mention their new muscular bodies.
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/video/modal/iva/6136554?height=420&iframe=1&width=660
age 5+
MINIONS is a prequel to the wildly popular Despicable Me movies, chronicling how the little yellow creatures have always been drawn to follow the biggest villains surrounding them, from a T-rex to a caveman to a tyrant. For a long time, the Minions — distraught that their masters keep dying –stay hidden in an ice cave, with no one to follow and nothing to do. Then, bored and depressed, Kevin leads Bob and Stuart on a mission to find a new supervillain ruler and ends up in 1968 New York City. From there, the trio discovers that renowned international villain Scarlett Overkill (voiced by Sandra Bullock) is the one they want. They win her trust and accompany her to England, where they must prove their loyalty by stealing the queen’s crown jewels with the help of Scarlett’s weapons-specialist husband, Herb (Jon Hamm
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/video/modal/iva/5048101?height=420&iframe=1&width=660
