DHM Top Picks: Summer Movies for the Family

Everyone's favorite forgetful fish is making a comeback this summer!

Everyone's favorite forgetful fish is making a comeback this summer!

Summer in Washington means lots of great things: ice cream, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and humidity. The humidity, combined with a lack of school for the kids, means that you’re going to be on the hook for keeping everyone in comfortable temperatures and entertained. A great way to do both at once is to take your kids to the movies, where the air conditioning is so strong you may even need a jacket!

Summer is the best time to go to the movies, because all the major studios are dropping their exciting, big-budget movies that have great casts. This summer is no different, as a number of amazing movies will be in local theaters. Below, we’ve compiled a list of the movies we’re the most excited for this summer.

If your kids loved Finding Nemo, there’s a sequel coming up that focuses on everyone’s favorite forgetful fish. Pixar’s Finding Dory comes out on June 17th, and you bet we’re going to be in line with our snorkels to see what adventures she goes on next. Although it’s not yet rated, Finding Nemo was rated G meaning that the sequel will almost certainly be just as family-friendly as the first one. It looks to be a great option for the kids—multiple times over.

Then, avid fans of Roald Dahl are getting a huge surprise with the July 1 release of The BFG, or Big Friendly Giant. The BFG was adapted from one of Dahl’s most loved children’s books. A great way to incentivize reading for your kids is to let them see the movie (with a big box of candy) after they’ve finished reading the book. Plus, once they’re hooked on Dahl’s amazing writing, there are plenty more books and movies you can follow up with!

For older kids, a follow-up to the Ghostbusters trilogy is making a comeback in mid-July. This time, it features an all-star, all-female leading cast, which makes it especially great for young girls and women. It will also help make math and science seem cool—most of the women are academics!

If you have a favorite coming soon that we didn’t mention, leave it in the comments section!