+ Despicable Me 4, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
TIDDLER | Stream now on Showmax
Adapted from the bestselling picture book by Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler, Tiddler tells the story of a little fish with a big imagination who gets lost in the deep, wide ocean – until he’s saved by his own storytelling.
From the BBC and multi-Oscar-nominated producers Magic Light Pictures, Tiddler is co-directed by South African Alex Bain and narrated by Emmy winner Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso’s Rebecca Welton).
Tiddler was the 9th most watched title on BBC on Christmas Day, attracting over three million live
viewers. Daily Telegraph gave it five stars, calling it “a prize catch … precision-tooled to enchant children.”
Tiddler recently won the Audience Award, ages 3-6, at New York International Children’s Film Festival.
FPB rating: A
Watch the trailer:
THE FAMOUS FIVE S1 | Binge now on Showmax
Nominated as Best Live-Action Series at the 2025 Kidscreen Awards, The Famous Five is based on Enid Blyton’s iconic children’s stories.
Created and executive produced by BAFTA nominee Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive), The Famous
Five follows Julian, Dick, Anne, George, and their loyal dog, Timmy, as the daring young explorers encounter treacherous, action-packed adventures, remarkable mysteries, unparalleled danger and astounding secrets.
As The Spectator says, “The Famous Five is that very rare and special thing: a TV show that both children and adults can thoroughly enjoy.”
FPB rating: PG
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DESPICABLE ME 4 | Stream now on Showmax
The fourth biggest box office hit of 2024, Despicable Me 4sees Gru, Lucy and the girls welcome a new member to the family: Gru Jr, who is intent on tormenting his dad.
The family is forced to go on the run when Gru faces a new nemesis: Maxime Le Mal and his femme fatale girlfriend, Valentina.
The all-star voice cast includes Oscar nominee Steve Carrell and Kristen Wiig as Gru and Lucy, with Emmy winner Will Ferrell as Maxime Le Mal and Emmy nominee Sofia Vergara as Valentina.
Fun fact: the screenplay is co-written by Mike White, Emmy-winning creator of Showmax favourite The White Lotus – which is definitely not for children.
FPB rating: 7-9 PG
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THE WILD ROBOT | Stream from Sunday, 13 April on Showmax
The Wild Robot, based on Peter Brown’s bestseller, tells the story of Roz, a robot shipwrecked on an uninhabited island, who must learn to adapt to the harsh surroundings. Gradually, Roz builds relationships with the animals on the island, becoming the adoptive parent of an orphaned gosling.
Rotten Tomatoes’ best animated movie of 2024, The Wild Robot was nominated for three Oscars, including Best Animated Feature Film, having won the category at the Annie and Critics Choice Awards.
Kenyan Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o voices Roz, leading a stacked cast that includes Emmy nominees Pedro Pascal and Ving Rhames, Emmy winners Mark Hamill, Catherine O’Hara and Kit Connor, Oscar nominees Bill Nighy and Stephanie Hsu, and BAFTA winner Matt Berry.
FPB rating: 7-9 PG V
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HAROLD AND THE PURPLE CRAYON | Stream now on Showmax
Harold can make anything come to life simply by drawing it.
After he grows up and draws himself off his book’s pages and into the physical world, Harold finds he has a lot to learn about real life – and that his trusty purple crayon may set off more hilarious hijinks than he thought possible.
The first feature film adaptation of Crockett Johnson’s children’s classic, Harold and the Purple Crayon stars Critics Choice nominee and Teen Choice winner Zachary Levi (aka Shazam and Chuck, and the voice of Flynn Rider in Tangled).
MTV Movie Award winner Lil Rel Howery (Get Out) co-stars alongside Emmy nominees Zooey Deschanel (New Girl, and the voice of Bridget in the Trolls movies), Alfred Molina (Spider-Man’s Doc Ock and the voice of Agnarr in Frozen II), and Jemaine Clement (who voiced Moana’s Tamatoa), with Oscar-nominated Ice Age director Carlos Saldanha at the helm in his live-action/animation feature debut.
FPB rating: 10-12 PG
TRANSFORMERS ONE | Stream from Sunday, 20 April on Showmax
Transformers One is the untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron. Now known as sworn enemies, they were once friends, bonded like brothers, who changed the fate of Cybertron forever.
The first-ever fully CG-animated Transformers movie, the #1 box office hit features a star-studded voice cast, including People’s Choice winner Chris Hemsworth (aka Thor), Oscar nominees Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson and Laurence Fisburne, and Emmy winners Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi and Jon Hamm. Henry’s been nominated for Black Reel and Annie Awards as Megatron.
Directed by Josh Cooly, who won an Oscar for Toy Story 4, Transformers One has an 89% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was nominated for Best Animated Film at the 2025 Saturn Awards,
run by The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films.
FPB rating: 10-12 PG V
Watch the trailer:
STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS S1-2 | Binge now on Showmax
A prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, Strange New Worlds follows Star Trek: Discovery fan-favourites Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Science Officer Spock (Ethan Peck), and Number One (Rebecca Romijn) as they explore new worlds around the galaxy aboard the USS Enterprise.
Strange New Worlds was nominated for Best Drama Series at last year’s Critics Choice Awards, as well as for an Emmy, two Hugos, and three Critics Choice Super Awards, where the show was up for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Series, Actor (Mount) and Actress (Celia Rose Gooding).
Strange New Worlds has a 98% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes – the highest in the franchise. Rotten Tomatoespraises the series for “recapturing the sense of boundless discovery that defined the franchise’s roots.”
FPB rating: 13 L V
Watch the trailer:
THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES | Stream now on Showmax
The Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is set 64 years before Katniss Everdeen volunteered as tribute. Decades before he would become the tyrannical president of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird, the girls’ tribute from impoverished District 12. But Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favour.
Led by Tom Blyth (Billy the Kid) as Snow and Golden Globe winner Rachel Zegler (Snow White) as Lucy, the film’s cast includes Oscar winner Viola Davis (The Woman King), four-time Emmy winner Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), Hunter Schafer (Euphoria), and Jason Schwartzman (Asteroid City). Also look out for Kenyan-born newcomer Eike Onyambu as Tam Amber.
The fifth instalment in a multi-award-winning mega-franchise that’s grossed over $3 billion worldwide, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes was hailed by USA Today as “the best Hunger Games movie of them all” and named The Action Movie of the Year at the 2024 People’s Choice Awards, where Zegler won Action Movie Star of the Year.
You can also binge the first four movies on Showmax.
FPB rating: 16 V
Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxW_X4kzeus
CLASSICS ON THE COUCH
Showmax also hosts a host of kids’ classics, including all the Harry Potter films and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, as well as recent blockbusters like Kung Fu Panda 4, The Garfield Movie, and IF.
Enhance your streaming entertainment experience byadding Showmax to you your DStv subscription at a discounted rate. Download the MyDStv App or visit www.dstv.com to sign up.
