22 Survival and Preparedness Movies Your Kids Can Watch

This list is part of my eBook, Prepared Kids: A Parent’s Guide to Raising the Next Generation of Self-Reliant, Responsible Adults!

Looking for preparedness movies you can watch with your kids?  Do such things exist?  Yes, yes they do.  While many movies in the preparedness/survival genre aren’t appropriate for little viewers (ie. rated R), I’ve compiled a list that can actually be watched with kids in the room.  Keep in mind that some of the PG-13 movies may not be suitable for younger children.

Preparedness movies kids can actually watch.

Rated G:

• Far From Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog (G)–14 year old Angus and his yellow labrador fight to survive in the Canadian wilderness after their boat is capsized in the waters off the Pacific Northwest.
• My Side of the Mountain (G)–13-year-old Sam Gribley dreams of wilderness living inspired by Henry David Thoreau, so he packs up and leaves home to live his dream. He is able to feed himself, make a shelter, and live away from civilization.
• Seven Alone (G)–True story of the seven Sager children who continue west on the Oregon Trail after both their parents die on the journey.
• Swiss Family Robinson (G)–The heroic tale of the courageous exploits of the Robinson family after they are shipwrecked on a deserted island. Using teamwork and ingenuity, they overcome the obstacles of nature and transform their new home into a “civilized” community.
• The War of the Worlds (G)–1953 film chronicling the invasion of Earth by Martians.

Rated PG:

• Against the Sun (PG)–Three US Navy airmen crash land their torpedo bomber in the South Pacific and find themselves on a tiny life raft, surrounded by open ocean.
• Alaska (PG)–Two teenagers journey into the Alaskan wilderness to rescue their father, a bush pilot whose plane has crashed.
• City of Ember (PG)–Teens work to secure the future of a post-apocalyptic subterranean city when the supplies start to run out.
• White Fang (PG)–A young man tries to fulfill his father’s dying wish of finding gold in the Yukon valley. Adaptation of the Jack London classic.

Rated PG-13:

• Behind Enemy Lines (PG-13)–A Navy navigator is shot down over enemy territory and is pursued by a secret police enforcer and the opposing troops while his commanding officer goes against orders in an attempt to rescue him.
• Cast Away (PG-13)–A ruled-by-the-clock Fed-Ex employee is stranded alone on a remote island and struggles to stay alive and save himself.
• Contagion (PG-13)–“Contagion” follows the rapid progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days, as the worldwide medical community races to find a cure.
• Dances With Wolves (PG-13)–Lt. John Dunbar, exiled to a remote western Civil War outpost, befriends wolves and Indians.
• Dante’s Peak (PG-13)–Adventure about a long-dormant volcano about to erupt with devastating force in the town of Dante’s Peak.
• Deep Impact (PG-13)–An enormous comet is just a few days from colliding with the earth.
• Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay part 1 and 2 (PG-13)–In a dystopian future world, Katniss struggles save herself, her family, and rebuild society. Outdoor survival skills especially prevalent in The Hunger Games.
• Jeremiah Johnson (PG-13)–Powerful story of a man who turns his back on civilization and learns a new code of survival in a brutal land of isolated mountains and hostile Indians.
• Red Dawn (PG-13)–The outbreak of World War III has occurred, leaving a group of mid-western high school students turned refugees to slowly organize themselves into an effective guerilla force.
• The Day After Tomorrow (PG-13)–A climatologist tries to alert the US government on the dangerous long term effects of global warming, not realizing that those changes are going to happen in weeks, not in years, as originally predicted.
• The Postman (PG-13)–Set in a post-apocalyptic American West where a massive war has left most of the country in total disarray.
• The Way Back (PG-13)–Inspired by a true story, it begins in 1940 when seven prisoners attempt escape from a brutal Siberian gulag and begin a treacherous 4,500-mile trek to freedom across the world’s harshest landscapes.
• WaterWorld (PG-13)–In this futuristic thriller, Earth is covered with water and the human race struggles to survive on dilapidated boats and makeshift floating cities.

What movies would you add?  Let me know in the comments–I’m always looking for something useful the kids can watch!  Now, go pop some popcorn and enjoy a preparedness movie night!

For more great resources and ideas for raising prepared kids, check out my Prepared Kids eBook!

Keep preparing!
Angela