Family Picks

The pups land on a mysterious dinosaur island, meet a stranded pal named Rex, and race to save the day when Humdinger's reckless mining sets off a volcano. This animated adventure is PG and pitched squarely at younger children, with plenty of rescue-mission excitement. It has the most screenings in this week's line-up, so it's the easiest to catch.

The Minions take on Hollywood, cause plenty of mayhem, and then band together to set things right in this animated comedy from Pierre Coffin, with voices including Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz and Jeff Bridges. It's PG and full of the slapstick silliness that plays well with a mixed-age crowd, though a few monster moments may suit slightly older kids best. It's screening at several cinemas this week.

This live-action telling follows Vaiana as she answers the ocean's call and sets off beyond her island with the demigod Maui, played by Dwayne Johnson, to restore her people's prosperity. Rated PG, it's a gentle voyage-and-discovery story that suits families with kids who can sit through a longer, 115-minute film. It has limited screenings this week, fewer than our top picks.