TOP 10 – Easter movies

Watching Easter movies can be a great way to celebrate the Easter season and connect with the holiday’s themes of faith, hope, and renewal. They can help you reflect on the meaning of Easter and can be a fun and festive way to celebrate. Here are the top 10 movies we would recommend including family movies you can watch with the kids.

1. The Passion of the Christ (2004)

Directed by Mel Gibson, this film depicts the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ’s life including his arrest, trial, and crucifixion. It’s a spectacularly filmed movie with lots of actors and epic scenes. It must have been an enormous challenge to play the role of Jesus. The actor who played Jesus, Jim Caviezel, suffered numerous injuries during the filming, including a dislocated shoulder, hypothermia, and lung infections. He also reportedly had a lightning strike near him during the Sermon on the Mount scene.

2. It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (1974)

This animated classic from the Peanuts gang features Snoopy and Woodstock preparing for Easter, while the rest of the gang gets ready for a big egg hunt. This was the twelfth animated Peanuts special, and the fourth to be centered around a holiday. It was also the first Peanuts special to feature the character of Franklin.

3. Ben-Hur (1959)

The epic film features Charlton Heston as the titular character, a prince who becomes a slave and eventually encounters Jesus Christ. The film climaxes with a chariot race and the crucifixion of Jesus. The chariot race scene took five weeks to film and cost over $1 million to produce. The film won eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The film’s massive sets were built on the backlot of the Cinecittà studios in Rome, and included a replica of the Roman Circus Maximus. The chariot race scene used over 15,000 extras and 78 horses.

4. Hop (2011)

This family-friendly comedy follows the Easter Bunny’s son, E.B., as he tries to become a rock star instead of taking over the family business. Along the way, he meets Fred, an out-of-work slacker who helps him pursue his dreams and save Easter. The film was produced by Illumination Entertainment, the same studio behind the Despicable Me and Minions franchises. The film’s Easter Island set was actually built on the backlot of Universal Studios in Hollywood. The set was inspired by the real-life Moai statues on Easter Island.

5. The Miracle Maker (2000)

This animated film tells the story of Jesus Christ’s life through the eyes of a young girl named Tamar. It uses a combination of stop-motion and hand-drawn animation to tell the story. The film was a joint production between the UK, Russia, and the United States. Its soundtrack includes songs by contemporary artists such as Neneh Cherry and Seal, as well as traditional hymns. Ralph Fiennes provides the voice of Jesus, while Ian Holm plays the role of Pontius Pilate.

6. Rise of the Guardians (2012)

Although not specifically an Easter film, this animated adventure features the Easter Bunny as one of the guardians protecting the children of the world. The film follows Jack Frost as he joins the guardians to stop the evil Pitch from plunging the world into darkness. In addition to the Easter Bunny, the film features other mythical characters such as Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and Sandman. The voice cast includes Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, and Hugh Jackman who voices Bunnymund, an Easter-obsessed Australian rabbit.

7. Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (2021)

This family film features Peter Rabbit and his friends on an adventure in the city, trying to stay out of trouble. When Peter’s mischievous ways get him into trouble, he must rely on his friends to help clear his name. The film is a sequel to the 2018 film Peter Rabbit, which was based on the classic children’s book by Beatrix Potter. The voice cast includes James Corden, Margot Robbie, and Elizabeth Debicki.

8. The Robe (1953)

This historical drama follows a Roman soldier who is tasked with crucifying Jesus Christ, and the events that follow. Marcellus wins Jesus’ robe in a game of dice and becomes haunted by the memory of his crime, leading him to seek redemption. The film’s costume designer, Charles LeMaire, won an Academy Award for his work on the film. The film was also notable for being the first to use the new stereo sound format known as “Cinemascope 55.”

9. The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)

This epic film covers the life and death of Jesus Christ, from his birth in Bethlehem to his resurrection. The film features an all-star cast, including Charlton Heston as John the Baptist, Sidney Poitier as Simon of Cyrene, and John Wayne as the centurion at the crucifixion. The film has a cameo appearance by director George Stevens, who plays a man in a crowd during the crucifixion scene. The film’s score was composed by legendary composer Alfred Newman.

10. The Prince of Egypt (1998)

This animated movie tells the story of the Book of Exodus in a very entertaining way. It follows Moses’s life and depicts the first Passover, a holiday which regularly overlaps with Easter. Moses’s deliverance of the Israelites out of slavery is often considered a biblical foreshadowing that parallels Jesus’s death and resurrection, making this movie a great pick for the Easter weekend.