10 Ultimate Anti-Bullying Movies on Netflix to Watch Today

Want to talk to your kids about bullying, but not sure how to open the conversation? Watch one of these good bullying movies with your family, then use them to launch the discussion!

There are many bullying movies on Netflix that deal with this topic and will help open up the conversation between you and your kids, whatever age they are.  Bullying is not like it used to be when you were in school.  These days technology plays a part and that brings its own special kind of damage.  It is a serious subject that warrants a discussion, so the lines of communication are open.  Here are a few of my suggestions for good family movies about bullying broken down for older kids and younger kids.

Essential Anti Bullying Movies to Watch on Netflix

MOVIES FOR OLDER KIDS

  1. Bully

As far as bullying movies go, this is definitely one of the most heart-wrenching. This documentary follows about 4 kids in school and on the bus who are bullied.  It opens with a father talking about his son who committed suicide because he was bullied.   One of the principals is even caught on camera simply telling the kids to get to class when he witnessed bullying. Given the intense subject matter, I suggest watching this one with your older teenagers. It’s definitely too much for younger kids.

  1. The Fat Boy Chronicles

As if being overweight wasn’t enough, Jimmy Winterpock is a Freshman who is bullied, mostly by the football team.  Of course, there is a love interest in the story.  He befriends a girl, who he learns is cutting herself.  They soon start to go to church together.  He starts to run with dad, wanting to lose weight.  Still dealing with taunts because is 5’5” and 188 pounds, he starts to tutor the captain of the football team.

  1. Cyber Bully

This originally aired on ABC Family starring Emily Osment.  The creators of the film worked together with Seventeen magazine in hopes to ‘delete digital drama’.  Technology can be great, but it also allows people to hide behind their screen and say things they wouldn’t normally say to someone’s face.  Seventeen year old Taylor becomes of a victim of cyberbullying, and it often isn’t limited to the internet, what is said often spills over into the school.  Like too many kids try to do, Taylor makes a suicide attempt, only she can’t get the bottle open on the pills she is using to do it.  There is a happy ending, so just click play and watch.

  1. 13 Reasons Why

While this is a show rather than a quick movie, it’s definitely something you’ll want to watch together with your teens (versus just letting them watch it on its own). 13 Reasons Why has received extremely mixed reviews, with some experts calling it a great way to open the discussion about teenage suicide and others hailing it as dangerous. This is definitely one of those bullying movies that you really have to decide for yourself if your teen can handle it.

  1. A Girl Like Her

This is one of the newer bullying movies on Netflix. It focuses on the story a bullied girl who attempts suicide, and what her attempt does to her community. Her school was chosen to be part of a documentary of the top schools in the country, and when the cameras start rolling, the truth starts coming out.

Related  5 Important Cyber Bullying Tips for Teens


YOUNGER KIDS

  1. Hercules

The son of Zeus, he is born with tremendous strength.  Family drama unfolds, and it is revealed that in 18 years when the planets are in the right alignment, it will allow Hades (brother of Zeus) to locate and free the Titans (who have been imprisoned at the bottom of the ocean).  Only Hercules has the power to stop him.  Hades has him kidnapped and fed a formula that is meant to make him mortal, so he would lose the power to stop Hades.  Only the 2 who kidnapped him neglected to take away his superhuman power before he is found and adopted by a farmer family.  Now you have the background.  When Hercules becomes a teenager and goes to school with all the other kids, he is made fun of and becomes an outcast because of his strength.  And then begins the quest for where he came from.

  1. Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius

A boy inventor, he accidently starts a fire with one of his inventions and is sent to his room.  He decides to sneak out and meet his friends at the park without his parents knowing.  Meanwhile all the parents in town are being abducted by the Yolkians, an alien species from the planet Yolkus.  Jimmy (with help from his friends) saves the town’s parents from being abducted and taken away.  It shows how he rallied his friends and stood up to the alien bullies who took the parents away!

  1. Ant Bully

This is one of my favorite bullying movies on Netflix for younger kids. It does a great job of demonstrating the chain reaction that bullying can have. The main human character, Lucas, is having a rough time. He’s neglected by his family and bullied by a bigger kid. In turn, he takes out his frustrations on an ant hill, becoming the titular Ant Bully. When he’s magically turned into the same size as the ants, though, he learns not only how his actions hurt them, but also how to have more confidence in himself and stand up to his own bully.

  1. Chicken Little

Another one of my favorite bullying movies! We’ve all heard the fable about the chicken who ran around yelling “the sky is falling!” Well, what if he was right? Chicken Little tells the story of a misunderstood (and often teased) little chicken who saw something that no one else saw. Now if he could just get them to believe him! This movie teaches kids that they shouldn’t be afraid to speak up, even if they think no one is listening.

  1. Billy Elliot

Billy Elliot is a great flick for older elementary school kids that are too mature for some of the other titles in this section yet not quite ready to watch bullying movies made for teens. The movie follows the journey of 11-year-old Billy, a boy who has to deal with the stereotypes of wanting to be a dancer. He has to deal with his father’s “manly man” attitude and his brother’s constant bullying. It teaches kids about acceptance of both others and themselves.

Aside from the bullying movies on this list, if you’re looking for other films that cover the topic that are perfect for younger kids, Disney movies are always a great place to start.  Almost every Disney movie has a villain (or bully) as well as a hero that outwits the villain through positive actions.

For your older kids, I highly suggest screening the movies in advance so you know what to expect and what topics to bring up after watching it together with your family.

Have you seen any great bullying movies on Netflix with your family?  What kinds of discussions have you had with your kids around this topic?  Tell us below!

23 thoughts on “10 Ultimate Anti-Bullying Movies on Netflix to Watch Today”

  1. Although I love Billy Elliot and think it is a great movie for teens, the swearing and British accent may make it unsuitable for elementary students.

  2. My daughter has been bullied since a very young age. My daughter has too big of a heart to stand up to the bully. She even said she takes it so the bully will leave others alone. I finally talked my daughter into standing up to this awful evil child, with encouragement from her amazing teachers. The schools hands are tied on how much they can actually do to stop these brats. I found this post and others while looking for more movies to encourage her, Although its not available on Netflix, the best movie i have seen for young girls is the AMERICAN GIRL CHRISSA ? movie. It shows what happens and how others get hurt when you dont stand up or speak up. Whether you play with dolls or not, the movie is amazing for kids and very family friendly. You can probably buy the dvd at walmart for $5 or check amazon prime.

  3. Bullying is an awful thing for any kid to go through and as parents it is our job to educate them as to how to tackle it and be brave enough to share should they feel they are being bullied.

  4. I am a high school teacher and think this would be a great resource to incorporate into my classroom. These would be a great conversation starter that I’m sure they would relate to!

  5. Billy Elliot was my all time favorite movie to watch when I was kid. This is great movie list for bully children for inspiration. I also watched chicken little and love it so much!

  6. arra carrasco-odeza

    The movies 7-10 are the ones I have already watched before and I can say that they have moral lessons. With the guidance of parents it could be a good movie to watch with kids and learn from them (in a good way)

  7. It’s so important that we teach children about bullying from a young age so they know why not to do it as well as how to handle it. I’m pleased you have included some for younger children too. As a primary school teacher I will definitely use them.

  8. I think these films are a great resource for parents to teach their children about bullying and for them to not commit the act of bully because it has serious consequences for people who are bullied.

  9. It was a wonderful idea to compile this list as social media and the internet has increased the platforms for bullying, especially online. Thank you for sharing :)

  10. Bullying is the sickness in our society! Learning how the victims committed suicide is a heartbroken. Watching movies about bullying is a great way to learn the kids and teenagers about bullying and its terrible impact on the victims life.

  11. I grew up in a really small town and I was bullied in high school. Eight years later my sister dealt with bullying and there were three suicides while she went to that high school! It’s really important to make sure teenagers understand the effects of bullying.

  12. this is a great list, I’m often searching for list of you tubers that use nice language to make sure i’m keeping my kids safe, great to know about that movie list

  13. Thats actually a really good idea to use movies as conversation starters and to think about bullying. Ive only seen a couple of these so I see a movie night with my daughter coming up!

  14. Thanks for the list. I’ve only watch Hercules and 13 Reasons Why. These are good eye opener, I really hate bullies, ’cause there are some people who can’t handle it.

  15. Thanks for your great movie suggestions. I hate having to even think that kids get bullied. I think the best way is to recognize aggressive behavior in kids and immediately address them so avoid having to hurt others.

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