The Most-Streamed Kids Movies in 2020

From Disney classics to new family favourites, hundreds, if not thousands, of kids’ films have streamed into our homes this year. But which movies proved the most popular? Find out below.

2009’s Up came out on top in our streaming popularity chart, proving that the heart-melting antics of Carl Fredericks and co continue to capture children’s imaginations. This modern Pixar classic received an average of 301,000 monthly searches in 2020, making it one of the most streamed feature films of the year.
Elsewhere on our list, Disney classics like Aladdin, The Lion King and Toy Story further proved that nostalgia sells, while Walt’s live-action remakes also got a look in, with Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast each earning a place in the top 20.
But 2020 wasn’t just dominated by Disney. Indeed, if our kids’ film picks show us anything, it’s that they have remarkably broad taste. From the timeless romp that is Macaulay Culkin’s Home Alone to Shrek, Sonic the Hedgehog, and High School Musical, youngsters binged on big-screen favourites from a huge range of genres – reflecting the quality and depth of kids’ entertainment in the present day.

The UK’s Favourite Kids Movies – Mapped!

OK, so we know which films kids watched in 2020, but where did they watch them? And were there any interesting regional differences in children’s streaming tastes around the UK? Take a look at our region-by-region map below to find out.

It seems that, in England at least, youngsters are big on Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Jack Black, with their film, Jumanji, proving the most-watched in seven local areas, including the South West, South East, Yorkshire, North East, North West, West Midlands and the East of England. Indeed, London and the East Midlands were the only English regions where this high-octane, big-budget remake didn’t come out on top.
Interestingly, things were a lot different in the devolved nations, with Shrek being the most-streamed kids flick in Scotland and Wales, and Sonic the Hedgehog blitzing to the top of the charts in Northern Ireland. We’re not sure why this is the case, but it does show that different regions around the UK are defined by more than just borders.

How Have Kids Movie Streaming Trends Changed Over Time?

Since streaming services hit the mainstream, hundreds of classic titles have beamed direct to people’s homes. But over the past three years, how have kids’ movie streaming trends changed?
Focusing on much-loved films of today, let’s see how their popularity has changed since 2017.

From the chart, you can see that among the most popular children’s movie streams, Up and The Lion King have proved consistently popular over the past three years. Jumanji, too, has seen just a small handful of peaks and troughs, in line with the release of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and Jumanji: The Next Level (2019).
One of the most interesting success stories highlighted by our chart is the streaming success of Shrek, a film which, despite being released in 2001, continues to attract a growing amount of interest each year. The same is true of 1995’s Toy Story, an iconic tale of friendship and loyalty viewed by many as one of the best animated films ever made.
So, there you have it, an in-depth look at some of the most popular kids’ films streamed into our homes in 2020. For more of the latest news and features from Bristol Aquarium, check out our blog.

Sadly however, during closure the difficult decision was taken by the vet and the Aquarium’s expert Zoological team to put Gloria, the Giant Pacific Octopus to sleep. Gloria had reached the final stage of her natural life cycle; laying eggs and spending her time tending to those eggs, forsaking herself in the process.
Mark Iwachiw, Zoological Manager commented: “The closure has seen our team here at the Aquarium go through lots of ups and downs. The extremely saddening euthanasia of Gloria was the hardest, she has been missed so much by us all since her passing.
“But we have also experienced some really exciting things like re-theming tanks, getting some new species such as the Garden Eels added to our collection and seeing new baby seahorses being born!
“Keeping all the pumps in good working order and maintaining good quality water in all our displays, as usual, has kept us occupied but with all the little extra things we’ve completed we just can’t wait for visitors and members to admire our work!” Mark added.
Bristol Aquarium is open daily 10am-5pm (last entry 4pm) and has full Covid-19 safety measures in place.
Tickets can be purchased online HERE and are valid any one date within 6months from purchase. If you have online tickets purchased during our closure, the ticket validity for these have been extended to one year so you will still be able to use them for your visit.
Any annual members are welcomed to get in touch with our friendly team to discuss your membership on bristoladmin@bristolaquarium.co.uk or simply speak to our team on your first visit back to the aquarium – we can’t wait to welcome you back on an underwater adventure!!

Cownose Rays are named so because they have an enlarged head, which resembles the nose of a cow! They have a poisonous sting barb; however they are quite timid creatures so will only use this weapon if they feel threatened.
Mark Iwachiw, Assistant Curator at Bristol Aquarium commented: “We are really pleased to work alongside fellow zoos and aquariums to provide suitable homes for animals, it’s one of the rewarding parts of my job.
“The rays look beautiful in the tank, spending most of their time gracefully swimming around. They are quite different to our other species, and it’s great to be able to offer another species for visitors to admire.” He added.

 

 
The Cownose Rays at Bristol Aquarium are currently around 30 – 40cm from fin tip to fin tip. They are each one to two years old and will continue to grow until maturity around 5years when they can reach up to 1.2metres. Cownose Rays are known to live until around 16 – 18 years in total.
Found in the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and parts of the Caribbean, they are classed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List (International Union for Conservation of Nature) as they are often a caught as a by-catch by fishermen as they regularly swim close to the surface of the water.
Bristol Aquarium is home to thousands of animals, native to waters across the World. The tropical display houses many different colourful shoaling fish species, alongside eels, sharks, pufferfish and now rays too! The display can be seen from many different view points including an underwater tunnel and an immersive floor to ceiling window for visitors to enjoy.

The fishes miss you!

Our team of expert aquarists continue to work hard behind the scenes, making sure that every animal gets the highest standard in care. They also give the animals extra attention where possible to make up for the lack of visitors. The daily list of jobs for an aquarium keeper includes the daily food preparation, feeding, tank cleaning, maintenance and record keeping. Even with all of that to do, they are still making time to watch and interact with the animals and create enrichment.
On a normal day the animals pay little attention back to the aquarists as they watch them, so there has been a definite increase in the time they spend watching the team since lockdown began. It is especially noticeable for the bigger characters including the three Atlantic Wreckfish and Sheila the Giant grouper.
The Bristol Aquarium team (both staff and animals!) are looking forward to welcoming visitors back! 

Could you tell us about your role at Bristol Aquarium? What does your typical day-to-day look like, and what are your responsibilities?

My role at Bristol Aquarium is an Aquarist. This means it’s my job to look after all the animals and their tanks, feeding them, keeping them clean, and ensuring all the animals are happy and cared for as part of the zoological team.
The first thing we do every day is go around the whole aquarium and check that all the equipment for each tank is working and that all the fish are nice and healthy.
Next, we prepare the day’s food for each fish according to a strict diet plan, sometimes adding extra vitamins or creating enrichment by placing food inside things or on things for the animals to find and graze on. Each tank, or sometimes even specific fish, has a labelled pot their food goes into.
Throughout the day, we then work on a variety of tasks like scrubbing algae off of the inside of tanks, feeding the fish, educating visitors and answering their questions, doing some maintenance on the tank equipment, and checking and testing the water quality.

What qualifications and skills are required to become an aquarist?

It’s helpful to have a BSc in Marine Biology or a biological science, however, it’s not a requirement if you can show relevant experience.
What is essential, however, is experience in working (or volunteering) in an aquarium, fish shop, hatchery or anywhere that keeps fish. If you keep fish tanks at home that is also really good experience, but I would recommend also getting experience from elsewhere.
Useful skills to have include organisation, record-keeping, creativity, an eye for detail and to be a practical person who enjoys working with their hands. It is also very important to be a caring individual.

What three pieces of advice would you give to someone pursuing a career as an aquarist?

First, start volunteering as soon as you can! If you can’t volunteer in an aquarium, then your local fish shop is a great alternative.
Next, it’s well worth keeping a fish tank at home. Not only will this give you experience of working with and caring for fish, but it also shows a genuine passion and interest in the job.
And on that note, I’d definitely say it’s a career for passionate people. The hours include regular weekend work and the occasional late night. People should also be aware that it’s not necessarily a high-earning career path; people do it for the love of the job over anything else.

From a career point of view, is there any extracurricular experience young people can gain which can supplement their efforts to becoming an aquarist?

Some kind of dive qualification is useful, but not essential, for jobs in some aquariums.
Public speaking skills can be beneficial, as the job often requires you to deliver talks or workshops. Of course, experience working with the public in a customer service-based job is also a really valuable asset – ensuring that you can provide the very best visitor experience when interacting with guests.

Are there any resources or organisations you’d recommend where people can find help and advice on entering the aquarist field?

Here are a few organisations and courses I’d recommend for anyone looking to pursue a career as an aquarist:

• DMZAA
• BIAZA
• E-Aquarist online course

What would you say is your favourite exhibit within the aquarium?

My favourite exhibit is our second largest tank – the Coral Seas. It’s a beautiful, tropical saltwater tank with four different viewing areas, which not only give you the chance to see our larger animals, including Sheila the giant grouper and our four honeycomb moray eels, but also the creatures that live in the crevices of the coral, including our smallest (but very important) fish, the cleaner wrasse.
First, you get to see it from above by walking over a bridge. Then, there’s a huge concave bubble which you can reach out into, providing a truly unique perspective. Next, you can go underneath it through an underwater tunnel, and lastly, there is a floor-to-ceiling window where you can sit and watch the fish.
 

Do you have a favourite species at the aquarium? And which animals are the most interesting to work with?

My favourite species is our pufferfish! I really enjoy working with them because they have such sweet faces and expressive eyes and are also super clever.
We have trained them to eat from a coloured floating hoop at the surface of the water. Marky, our starry puffer, eats from a blue hoop and Simon, our porcupine puffer, eats from a white hoop.
I personally find the animals that respond to animal training the most interesting to work with, for example, our groupers. We have two species of grouper that we have target trained. A giant grouper named Sheila that comes to a black cross on a white background for her food, and our three Atlantic wreckfish, which follow a blue ball as their target for food.

If you could introduce one animal into the aquarium, regardless of size and practicality, which species would it be and why?

I would have a pitch-black display to house UK ctenophores, which are bioluminescent!
The display could teach people about the deep sea and the creatures which create their own light.
 

In your view, what makes Bristol Aquarium special? And what tips and advice would you give to visitors on how to make the most of their experience?

The large native display is, in my opinion, one of the great assets of Bristol Aquarium. I think it’s important to show what amazing wildlife can be found here in the UK, right on our doorsteps.
For visitors, I would recommend going around in the morning, have lunch, and then go around again, because the animals move around and display different behaviours throughout the day.
For example, most shark species are nocturnal, and so become more active in the afternoon. I would also recommend asking our staff questions. Everyone in the aquarium, from our guest experience staff to our zoological team, will be able to share some amazing animal facts with you and your family.

Special thanks to Stacey for taking the time to fill us in on her role here at Bristol Aquarium. If you’d like to drop by and say hello to Stacey and our wonderful animals, visit the homepage for information on tickets and opening hours

– Day Tickets

Purchase day tickets online and they’re valid any one day within 6months from purchase. No need to select a date to visit. A great, hassle free, Christmas gift!
Purchase tickets online here: https://online1.venpos.net/site/ShowPage.aspx?LID=309&PID=5f4f65e1-cb14-446a-bb71-4346a31cd1da 
Take note of the unique booking reference starting BRI-COL
Simply write this booking reference into a Christmas card or download and complete our gift certificate online here: https://www.bristolaquarium.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Gift-Certificate-Colour-Version.pdf
That’s it! – All we need is the unique booking reference to redeem the tickets on arrival to the aquarium.

– Annual Membership

Buy a membership once and visit as many times as you like within 12months! A thoughtful gift for a young family – give them the gift of memories they’ll treasure for a lifetime.
You can either purchase the memberships online and get your membership via email or call our friendly team who will do everything over the telephone with you and post the membership out.
Purchase a membership online here: https://online1.venpos.net/site/ShowPage.aspx?LID=309&PID=2261c6d3-a6ee-431e-929c-3b7e0701cf47
Call our friendly team to purchase a membership over the phone on: 0117 929 8929

– Ocean inspired gifts

Our Bristol Aquarium gift shop is open daily from 10am to both aquarium visitors, and the general public. Peruse our aisles of plastic or wooden toys, cuddly ocean friends, accessories and stationary. There is something for every child – big or small!
Bristol Aquarium, Anchor Road, Bristol BS1 5TT