Half-Term Viewing for the Whole Family

The October half-term means a week of short days, long evenings and at least one negotiation over what the whole family watches. Dates vary by council and nation, so check your school’s calendar; the listings below cover what is on the main UK services across the second half of October. Every title was checked against the platform’s own UK page or UK listing, with age ratings as those pages show them.

Disney+

Disney+ carries the newest family films on this list, and all five below are on their Disney+ UK title pages.

• Zootropolis 2 (6+, 2025, 1h 53m). Rookie cops Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde investigate a mystery after Gary De’Snake arrives in Zootropolis, going undercover in parts of town they do not know as their partnership is tested.
• Elio (6+, 2025, 1h 42m). Pixar’s story of a young space enthusiast who is beamed up to the Communiverse, an interplanetary organisation, and mistaken for Earth’s leader. He has to bond with alien life-forms, face an intergalactic crisis and work out where he belongs.
• Moana 2 (6+, 2024, 1h 43m). After a call from her ancestors, Moana sails with Maui into the far seas of Oceania.
• Lilo & Stitch (6+, 2025, 1h 51m). The live-action remake, which Disney describes as the story of a Hawaiian girl and the alien who helps mend her broken family.
• Hocus Pocus 2 (12+, 2022, 1h 47m). For older children, and on theme for Halloween: 29 years after the Black Flame Candle is lit, the Sanderson sisters return to Salem, and three secondary-school pupils have to stop them before dawn.

For teenagers who have already seen everything above, Marvel’s VisionQuest is mid-run on Disney+, with new episodes on Wednesday 28 October and the finale on 11 November.

Good for: a mixed-age sofa. Four of the five are rated 6+ on Disney+ UK.

Sky Cinema and NOW

Sky lists a run of family films among its October additions to Sky Cinema and NOW, without specific dates for each. They include:

• Casper, the friendly ghost.
• The Addams Family and Addams Family Values, the live-action pair.
• Monster House, the animated haunted-house adventure.
• The Rugrats Movie and Rugrats Go Wild, for younger viewers.
• It Takes Two, the 1995 family comedy.

Sky’s October slate also includes horror and adult titles, among them Scream 7, so parents may want to set a profile before handing over the remote.

Good for: a Halloween-week double bill without leaving the family-friendly end of the scale.

Netflix

Netflix‘s own UK “New on Netflix” list has three October additions for families:

• Unicorn Academy: Secrets Revealed (from 8 October). A new chapter in the animated Unicorn Academy franchise.
• Is It Cake? Halloween, season 2 (from 9 October). Netflix says six cake artists make Halloween-themed treats designed to fool the judges.
• Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Game (from 6 October). A game rather than a programme, playable through the Netflix app.

Good for: younger children, and anyone who likes a baking challenge.

BBC One and BBC iPlayer

Strictly Come Dancing marks Halloween on Saturday 31 October, with the celebrities and their professional partners performing Halloween-themed routines on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. It falls on the last Saturday of the half-term week for many schools, and the episode stays on BBC iPlayer afterwards for anyone in bed early.

Good for: the whole family, with a costume budget nobody at home can match.

How to plan the week

• Start with the age ratings. Disney+ UK shows a rating on every title page, and most of the films above are 6+. Hocus Pocus 2 is 12+.
• Use profiles. Disney+, Netflix and NOW all offer kids’ profiles, which hide the horror titles that arrive on the same services this month.
• Save the spooky ones for the end. Hocus Pocus 2, Casper, Monster House and Strictly‘s Halloween episode line up naturally with Saturday 31 October.

Quick picks by age

• Younger children: Unicorn Academy: Secrets Revealed on Netflix, The Rugrats Movie and Rugrats Go Wild on Sky Cinema and NOW.
• Primary school: Zootropolis 2, Elio, Moana 2 and Lilo & Stitch on Disney+, or Casper and Monster House on Sky Cinema and NOW.
• Older children and teens: Hocus Pocus 2 (12+) on Disney+ and the Addams Family films on Sky Cinema and NOW.
• Everyone at once: Strictly Come Dancing‘s Halloween week on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, Saturday 31 October.

Where to watch

• Zootropolis 2, Elio, Moana 2, Lilo & Stitch, Hocus Pocus 2: Disney+ · UK · Streaming now; VisionQuest new episodes 28 October
• Casper, The Addams Family, Addams Family Values, Monster House, The Rugrats Movie, Rugrats Go Wild, It Takes Two: Sky Cinema and NOW · UK · Added through October
• Unicorn Academy: Secrets Revealed, Is It Cake? Halloween S2, Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Game: Netflix · UK · From 6 to 9 October
• Strictly Come Dancing Halloween week: BBC One and BBC iPlayer · UK · Saturday 31 October

Sources

• Disney+ UK: Zootropolis 2 title page, accessed 10 Oct 2026
• Disney+ UK: Elio title page, accessed 10 Oct 2026
• Disney+ UK: Moana 2 title page, accessed 10 Oct 2026
• Disney+ UK: Lilo & Stitch title page, accessed 10 Oct 2026
• Disney+ UK: Hocus Pocus 2 title page, accessed 10 Oct 2026
• Disney+ UK: Marvel Television’s VisionQuest: release date, cast & trailer, accessed 10 Oct 2026
• Sky: New movies on Sky Cinema and NOW this month, accessed 10 Oct 2026
• Netflix: New on Netflix, United Kingdom, accessed 10 Oct 2026
• Netflix Tudum: What to Watch on Netflix: October 9, 2026
• BBC Media Centre: Halloween movies and TV on BBC iPlayer, 9 Oct 2026
• Amazon UK: What’s on Prime Video UK in October 2026, 25 Sept 2026