Movies provide us a chance to escape from the reality outside and pump up the mood of bringing in a brand new year, from comedy films to martial arts blockbusters with these Chinese New Year Movies.
About Chinese New Year
Spring Festival or the Lunar New Year (because the dates of celebration follow the phases of the moon), is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar.
The annual 15-day festival in China and Chinese communities around the world begins with the new moon that occurs sometime between January 21 and February 20 according to Western calendars. Festivities last until the following full moon.
When is Chinese New Year?
Chinese New Year in 2023 is on Sunday, January 22. Keep reading for 2023: A Guide To Usher In The Year Of The Rabbit.
Since the mid-1990s people in China have been given seven consecutive days off work during the Chinese New Year. This week of relaxation has been designated Spring Festival, a term that is sometimes used to refer to the Chinese New Year in general.
Celebrations to usher out the old year and bring forth the luck and prosperity of the new one, therefore, often include firecrackers, fireworks, and red clothes and decorations. Another way to celebrate would be by watching Chinese New Year movies.
What is a Chinese New Year movie?
A Chinese New Year movie refers to films usually released during the Chinese New Year period. It is a film that varies in genre (fantasy, comedy, action, animation, and the like) but whose style is generally relaxed and humorous.
It is focused on the horoscope animal, theme, and other attributes for the upcoming year, taking these New Year ideas and presenting them in a modern and exciting way.
A recent tradition, it has become a popular way to celebrate the New Year. In recent years, attendance at screenings for such films has grown during the holiday.
- Stream Asian-made films – Even though Lunar New Year is one day out of the year, there are ways to support Asian culture all year round.
Personally, I love nothing more than a good movie night, and there’s not a shortage of incredible Asian American filmmakers in Hollywood. Gather your friends, buy some moon cakes from your locally owned Asian bakery, and put on The Farewell by Lulu Wang for some fun times.
Whether you’re looking for a way to celebrate Lunar New Year yourself or want to learn more about how others celebrate around the world, here are the best Chinese New Year movies you can stream right now.
Chinese New Year Movies – The Year Of The Rabbit
- Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
- Daisy Ridley, Rose Byrne, Domhnall Gleeson (Actors)
Peter Rabbit (2018)
Peter Rabbit and their family wreak havoc in hopes to win back the Manor House of Old McGregor and the affections of their neighbor, Bea.
- Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
- Elizabeth Debicki, Rose Byrne, Domhnall Gleeson (Actors)
Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (2021)
Peter Rabbit, the lovable rogue is back with all of his friends in a hilarious, all-new, out-of-the-garden adventure!
- Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
- John Hurt, Richard Briers, Michael Graham Cox (Actors)
Watership Down (2018)
In this celebrated adaptation of Richard Adams’s classic novel, an offshoot group of rabbits struggles to break from their failing, violent community to form a utopian society. With Watership Down, first-time director Martin Rosen and his team of animators created a dark, beautiful work that blends poetic mysticism and austere realism.
- Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
- Joe Alaskey, Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman (Actors)
Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
Our WB celluloid heroes embark on a hilarious adventure that takes them from Hollywood to Las Vegas, and in search of their missing father and the mythical Blue Monkey Diamond.
- Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
- Stuart Whitman, Janet Leigh, Rory Calhoun (Actors)
Night of the Lepus
A hormone intended to alter the breeding cycle of rabbits overrunning ranchlands instead turns them into flesh-eating, 150-pound monsters in Night of the Lepus.
- Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
- Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Charles Fleischer (Actors)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
It’s 1947 Hollywood, Eddie, a down-on-his-luck detective, is hired to find proof that Marvin Acme, gag factory mogul and owner of Toontown, is playing hanky-panky with femme fatale Jessica Rabbit, wife of Maroon Cartoon superstar Roger Rabbit.
- Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
- Jeff Bergman, Lebron James, Don Cheadle (Actors)
Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)
When LeBron James and his son are trapped in a digital space by a rogue A.I., it’s Tunes vs Goons in the highest‐stakes challenge of his life that will redefine the bond with his son.
Chineses New Year Movies for Kids
- Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
- Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba (Actors)
‘Zootopia’ (2016)
Disney presents an action-comedy adventure set in the all-animal city of Zootopia. Determined to prove herself, Officer Judy Hopps jumps at the chance to crack a case, even if it means partnering with fast-talking Nick Wilde to solve the mystery.
- Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
- Peter Sallis, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes (Actors)
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
Wallace and his loyal dog, Gromit, set out to discover the mystery behind the garden sabotage that plagues their village and threatens the annual giant vegetable growing contest.
- Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
- Jon Heder, Michael Clarke Duncan, Rebecca Black (Actors)
Legend of Kung Fu Rabbit
Fu is telepathically given the ultimate kung fu power after rescuing a martial arts master from a fatal attack with the promise that he would return the tablet to his daughter, Penny.
- Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
- Jim Cummings, Peter Cullen, John Fiedler (Actors)
Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year (2002)
Ring in the season with Winnie The Pooh in a holiday adventure.
- Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
- Kevin Hart, Harrison Ford, Patton Oswalt (Actors)
The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019)
The Secret Life of Pets 2 explores the bonds between pets and the families that love them, and answers the question: What are your pets doing when you’re not at home?
- Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
- Bobbie Stewart, Donald R. Dunagan, Hardie Albright (Actors)
‘Bambi’ (1942)
Now in the Walt Disney Signature Collection, Bambi sets off with his friends Thumper and Flower to explore the wonders of the woods – and fulfill his destiny as prince of the forest.
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