Fostering and adoption are amazing acts of kindness – and that means they make great movies! Whether you’re searching for heartwarming adoption or foster care movies there are plenty of stories to enjoy!
You and your family will love these inspirational tales of those who have risen out of the foster care system. Each of these movies about foster families is perfect for adding to your next movie night watch list.
15 Adoption and Foster Care Movies
When it comes to the best movies about foster kids, there are a variety of stories to stream at home.
From action-packed super hero movies to heartwarming tales of blended families, there’s something for everyone to enjoy on this big list of foster care movies.
1. Instant Family
Rated: PG-13
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne, Isabela Merced
When Pete and Ellie decide to start a family, they decide on foster care adoption, where they hope to adopt a single child. But when they meet three siblings, they find themselves diving into parenthood overnight. It’s a really sweet movie with a happy ending.
2. The Blind Side
Rated: PG-13
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Quinton Aaron, Tim McGraw
This movie is based on the true story of Baltimore Ravens’ Michael Oher.
When a homeless black teen is taken in by The Tuohy family, his life and theirs are instantly transformed.
Thanks to his tremendous size and protective instincts, he becomes a force to be reckoned with on the football field. And with the support of his new family, he soon realizes his potential as a student and football player.
3. Annie
Rated: PG
Starring: Aileen Quinn, Carol Burnett, Albert Finney
When a rich man decides to let an orphan live in his home to promote his image, a young girl named Annie is selected from the children at the orphanage. While Annie gets accustomed to the rich life, she still hopes to meet her parents, who she believes left her in the orphanage by mistake.
4. Angels in the Outfield
Rated: PG
Starring: Joseph Gordon Levitt, Danny Glover, Matthew McConaughey
Roger, a foster child, harbors an unyielding love for the Anaheim Angels, despite their dismal performance as the underdogs of the major leagues. With hopes of reuniting his fractured family, Roger makes a pact with his estranged father that if the Angels reach the World Series, they will reconcile. Turning to divine intervention, Roger fervently prays for his beloved team’s miraculous turnaround. To his astonishment, his prayers are answered when a genuine angel named Al materializes. The arrival of Al sparks a series of unexpected events, including a remarkable winning streak for the Angels, much to the disbelief of their skeptical coach.
5. The Great Gilly Hopkins
Rated: PG
Starring: Kathy Bates, Sophie Nelisse, Glenn Close
When Gilly Hopkins moves into her latest foster home, she immediately clashes with her new foster mother. So, she devises an outrageous plan to escape the home and reunite with her birth mother.
6. Secondhand Lions
Rated: PG
Starring: Michael Caine, Haley Joel Osment, Kyra Sedgwick
After a shy adolescent boy is unwittingly adopted by his hard-boiled – and reportedly wealthy — great-uncles, the two old men are immediately annoyed by the young boy’s presence. But the three soon begin to take to each other as the old men spend their days reliving their youth through stories of their past lives.
7. Meet the Robinsons
Rated: G
Starring: Tom Selleck, Jordan Frye, Wesley Singerman
When his latest invention is stolen, a genius foster kid gives up hope of ever seeing it again. But after a visit from a young time-traveler, he’s transported in his time machine to spend a day in the future with the time traveler’s eccentric family while also uncovering an amazing secret at the same time.
8. Shazam!
Rated: PG-13
Starring: Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Grace Caroline Curry
When a 14-year-old foster kid, Billy Batson, is granted the magical power of transforming into an adult super hero by uttering one word – Shazam – he must quickly learn to control his powers in order to save his newfound abilities and his family.
This superhero movie is such a sweet, action-packed option for kids and adults alike!
9. Martian Child
Rated: PG
Starring: John Cusack, Bobby Coleman, Joan Cusack
Longing to be a father, a man adopts a young boy. But the child quickly begins to have an unusual crisis of identity, telling his hew father that he is from the planet Mars. And after a while, the new father also begins to believe that the boy is actually an alien.
10. Anne of Green Gables
Rated: PG
Starring: Megan Follows, Jonathan Cromble, Colleen Dewhurst
When Matthew Cuthbert and his crotchety sister Marilla contact a local orphanage to request a child, they’re hoping for a young boy who could work as a farmhand on their estate. But they mistakenly receive young Anne instead.
11. The Book Thief
Rated: PG-13
Starring: Sophie Nelisse, Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson
After arriving at the home of her new foster parents, a young orphan girl learns to read and develops a love for books. And she’s able to share that love when the family secretly shelters a Jewish boy who is attempting to escape the Nazi’s grasp.
12. White Oleander
Rated: PG-13
Starring: Allison Lohman, Michelle Pfeiffer, Renee Zellweger
After her mother is given a life sentence, a teenage girl is forced to enter the foster care system. As she moves from one troubled foster home to another, she begins a journey of self discovery while trying to avoid the negative influence of her mother.
13. Hotel for Dogs
Rated: PG
Starring: Emma Roberts, Jake T. Austin, Don Cheadle
When a pair of siblings move into a foster home that doesn’t allow pets, they’re forced to find a home for their dog in a nearby abandoned hotel. Thanks to their amazing skills, the brother and sister pair turn the rundown hotel into a doggy resort for their pet and a number of strays.
14. Angel in the House(also known as Foster)
Rated: PG
Starring: Toni Collette, Maurice Cole, Richard E. Grant
After years of trying and failing to have a baby, the prayers of a couple are answered when a 7 year old boy miraculously arrives on their doorstep claiming to be from adoption agency.
15. Life as We Know It
Rated: PG-13
Starring: Katherine Heigl, Josh Duhamel, Josh Lucas
When a pair of godparents go on a date, the results are disastrous. But after a tragic accident, they unexpectedly become their goddaughter’s caretakers, and are forced to put aside their differences and learn to work together for the sake of the child.
If you’re looking for tv shows that feature adoptive families and foster children, you may enjoy the Disney classic, Jessie, as well as, The Fosters, Glee, and Sesame Street. If you don’t have younger kids watching, you may also like The is Us.
We hope this list of movies about adoption and foster care inspire you!
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