Titles Available as of July 2022
This is a selective list of streaming video holdings in the American University Library. Streaming guides are created by doing multiple keyword searches in the library catalog to capture as many titles on a topic as possible. For complete up-to-date streaming holdings, please refer to our streaming catalog.
Stuart Pearson heads with his family to spend a summer vacation in Creek Landing, Michigan, with his brother Nathan Pearson and his sons and their mother Rose in an old lake house they had rented. When the television has trouble with the image, Stuart's son Tom and the arrogant boyfriend of his sister Ricky Dillman go to the attic and then to the roof, where Tom meets his cousin Jake and they find the antenna dish totally destroyed. Sooner they discover four alien invaders that are preparing an invasion of the Earth that use a mind control weapon that only affects adults and they lock the quartet in the attic. Now they need to a find a way to force the adults to leave the house and discover the vulnerability of the invaders to plot a defense plan to save our planet.
In a tree farm, three musically inclined chipmunks, Alvin, Simon and Theodore, find their tree cut down and sent to Los Angeles. Once there, they meet the frustrated songwriter David Seville, and despite a poor house wrecking first impression, they impress him with their singing talent. Seeing the opportunity for success, both human and chipmunks make a pact for them to sing his songs. While that ambition proves a frustrating struggle with the difficult trio, the dream does come true after all. However, that success presents its own trials as their unscrupulous record executive, Ian Hawke, plans to break up this family to exploit the boys. Can Dave and the Chipmunks discover what they really value amid the superficial glamor around them?
A magical musical filled with romance and adventure, ANASTASIA is a spectacular, full-length motion picture about the lost princess Anastasia. Remembering nothing about her royal heritage, and her only clue a music box key that says "together in Paris," the princess sets off for Paris to find her true identity and begin a new life. Along the way, Anastasia meets a charming con man, and is pursued by the evil Rasputin and his gang of ghostly minions, who'll stop at nothing to complete his curse against her family. At the end of her journey, she must choose between the life of a princess and her one true love.
In a dreary Florida beach resort village, luscious-limbed lifeguard Raymond is the main attraction for girls. Teenager buddies Claire and Hailey became experts on him by observation, but never dared actually approach him, and after this closing summer season will be separated as one's parents move to Australia. Then they find a storm washed up in a pool a sassy mermaid, who promises them a wish if they help her prove to Neptune love exists, and Raymond is the only creature resembling a love-god.
Based on the perennial best seller, a lonely young girl adopts an orphaned dog, Winn-Dixie (so named for the supermarket where she found him), who helps her make friends in the small Florida town. The bond between the girl and her special companion brings together the townspeople, and helps heal her own troubled relationship with her father.
The film is described as the journey of Manolo, a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart. Before choosing which path to follow, he embarks on an incredible adventure that spans three fantastical worlds, where he must face his greatest fears.
A successful small-town football coach and his wife lead a surprisingly idyllic -- if necessarily regimented -- life with their family of twelve children. When dad gets an offer he can't refuse to coach a Big Ten football team, they move to the city, his increasing workload, and his wife's book tour, turn the clan upside down.
To Greg Heffley, middle school is the dumbest idea ever invented. It's a place rigged with hundreds of social landmines, not the least of which are morons, wedgies, swirlies, bullies, lunchtime banishment to the cafeteria floor - and a festering piece of cheese with nuclear cooties. To survive the never-ending ordeal and attain the recognition and status he feels he so richly deserves, Greg devises an endless series of can't-miss schemes, all of which, of course, go awry. And he's getting it all down on paper, via a diary - "it's NOT a diary, it's a journal!" Greg insists, preferring the less-sissyfied designation - filled with his opinions, thoughts, tales of family trials and tribulations, and (would-be) schoolyard triumphs. "One day when I'm famous," writes Greg, "I'll have better things to do than answer peoples' stupid questions all day." So was born the Wimpy Kid's diary.
This time his challenge is to save the forest and the endangered Pacific Western Bear. But the species has no chance of surviving if the bear doesn't have a mate. Dr. Dolittle searches and finds Bruno, a big hearted, lovable performing bear with a fondness for fast food. Dolittle's challenge -- to reintegrate Bruno into the wild, help him make a love connection and save the forest. The trick -- he has only three weeks to do it.
Everyone's Hero
In EVERYONE'S HERO, a young boy (Jake T. Austin) finds himself at an extraordinary crossroads: He has a chance to be a hero - and make a difference against incredible odds - or he can play it safe. With faith in himself instilled by his family, he teams up with a sassy young girl (Raven-Symone) and some off-the-wall sidekicks and embarks on a sometimes perilous, often funny, cross-country quest. In the process, he restores his family's honor, befriends the world's biggest sports superstar, and reveals the hero within. Christopher Reeve was the original director on this computer-generated animated feature, the late actor-director's dream project.
Based on the beloved story by Roald Dahl, the film tells the tale of the noble, charming and fantastic Mr. Fox who uses his wits and cunning to outfox three dimwitted farmers who tire of sharing their chickens with the crafty creature.
THE GREATEST SHOWMAN is an original musical inspired by the life of P.T. Barnum, starring Hugh Jackman. Barnum was a visionary who rose from nothing to create the "Greatest Show on Earth," a spectacle and celebration of his larger-than-life imagination that captivated audiences around the globe. Also starring Michelle Williams, Zac Efron and Zendaya.
When eight-year-old Kevin McCallister's family rushes off on a holiday trip to Paris three days before Christmas, they accidentally leave the youngster behind to deck the halls with a barrage of booby traps to keep out a bumbling pair of burglars who have discovered that this tough little tyke is home alone.
One day, Horton the elephant hears a cry for help coming from a speck of dust. Even though he can't see anyone on the speck, he decides to help it. As it turns out, the speck of dust is home to the Whos, who live in their city of Whoville. Horton agrees to help protect the Whos and their home, but this gives him nothing but torment from his neighbours, who refuse to believe that anything could survive on the speck. Still, Horton stands by the motto that, "After all, a person is a person, no matter how small.
"Ice Age" is a digitally-animated feature film from Blue Sky Studios, a top computer graphics imagery/feature film animation studio and a division of Twentieth Century Fox Animation Studios. Set against the onslaught of the ice age -- and a world filled with wonder and danger -- the story revolves around three unforgettable characters: a woolly mammoth, a saber-toothed tiger, and a sloth, who unite to return a human baby to his tribe.
Scrat's epic pursuit of the elusive acorn catapults him into the universe where he accidentally sets off a series of cosmic events that transform and threaten the Ice Age World. To save themselves, Sid, Manny, Diego, and the rest of the herd must leave their home and embark on a quest full of comedy and adventure, traveling to exotic new lands and encountering a host of colorful new characters.
One of filmdom's most beloved trios - "Ice Age's" Manny, Diego, and Sid - embark upon their greatest adventure after cataclysm sets an entire continent adrift. Separated from the rest of the herd, they use an iceberg as a makeshift ship, which launches them on an epic seafaring quest. Manny and the gang are challenged like never before to become heroes and do the impossible, as they encounter exotic sea creatures, explore a brave new world, and battle ruthless pirates. And Scrat's reunion with his cursed nut catapults him to places no prehistoric squirrel has gone before.
Manny, Sid and Diego return in another incredible adventure. The Ice Age is coming to an end, and the animals are delighting in their new world: a melting paradise of water parks, geysers and tar pits. But when Manny, Sid and Diego discover that the miles of melted ice will flood their valley, they must warn everyone and somehow figure out a way to escape the coming deluge.
Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as a neglectful but well meaning father who promises his young son that he will deliver without fail the number one item on the boy's wish list. But it turns out to be the most sought-after toy in the country. Dad's Christmas Eve turns into a hilarious nightmare scramble across the city to obtain the virtually impossible-to-find toy.
Teen hip hop sensation, Lil' Bow Wow portrays 14-year-old orphan Calvin Cambridge, who dreams of being a famous professional basketball player. But his diminutive stature and limited ability make this goal a far-off fantasy. Or is it? When Calvin dons a pair of old sneakers, with the faded initials "M.J." inscribed inside, he displays amazing hoop skills, and leads a struggling NBA team to victory.
Paul Stephens is an inquisitive high-school student who wants to impress the world by building his own nuclear device! John Lithgow costars as a sympathetic nuclear scientist who comes to Paul's aid when he becomes the object of a ruthless government manhunt.
Marmaduke, the world's most lovable Great Dane, leaps from comic strip fame (appearing in 600 newspapers in over 20 countries) to big screen stardom. In this family comedy event, the super-sized, ultra-awkward lap dog is living the good life with the Winslow family, including beleaguered dad Phil, Phil's wife Debbie, their three children, and feline pal Carlos. But when Phil uproots the clan from Kansas to California, Marmaduke finds his life turned upside-down. He must navigate the volatile Mutts vs. Pedigrees turf wars, woo the purebred of his dreams, and overcome a fall from grace from his new four-legged friends and his much put-upon family.
After their wedding, newspaper writers John and Jennifer Grogan move to Florida. In an attempt to stall Jennifer's "biological clock", John gives her a puppy. While the puppy Marley grows into a 100 pound dog, he loses none of his puppy energy or rambunctiousness. Meanwhile, Marley gains no self-discipline. Marley's antics give John rich material for his newspaper column. As the Grogans mature and have children of their own, Marley continues to test everyone's patience by acting like the world's most impulsive dog.
Jim Carrey is Mr. Popper, in a family comedy about a driven businessman who is clueless when it comes to the important things in life -- until he inherits six penguins. While Popper's penguins turn his swank New York apartment into a snowy winter wonderland -- and the rest of his life upside-down -- they teach him valuable lessons about families... human or otherwise. MR. POPPER'S PENGUINS is a contemporary update of the award-winning book.
When unemployed dad Robin Williams loses custody of his three children, he transforms himself into an elderly British nanny so he can spend more time with them. As "Mrs. Doubtfire" Robin Williams becomes the perfect mate - until his ex-wife finds out.
Clifford Peache transfers from private to public school and becomes the victim of a "protection racket" run by the school thug. Looking for a bodyguard, Peache seeks out the huge Linderman and finds him to be a sensitive outcast. Tony Bill has created a warm, funny film about friendship and growing up.
NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM is an action-adventure-comedy that comes to life by night. Good-hearted dreamer Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), despite being perpetually down on his luck, thinks he's destined for something big. But even he could never have imagined how "big," when he accepts what appears to be a menial job as a graveyard-shift security guard at a museum of natural history. During Larry's watch, extraordinary things begin to occur: Mayans, Roman Gladiators, and cowboys emerge from their diorama to wage epic battles; in his quest for fire, a Neanderthal burns down his own display; Attila the Hun pillages his neighboring exhibits, and a T-Rex reminds everyone why he's history's fiercest predator. Amidst the chaos, the only person Larry can turn to for advice is a wax figure of President Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams), who helps our hero harness the bedlam, stop a nefarious plot, and save the museum.
A kindly grandfather sits down with his grandson and reads him a bedtime story. The story is one that has been passed down through from father to son for generations. As the grandfather reads the story, the action comes alive. The story is a classic tale of love and adventure as the beautiful Buttercup is kidnapped and held against her will in order to marry the odious Prince Humperdinck, and Westley (her childhood beau, now returned as the Dread Pirate Roberts) attempts to save her. On the way he meets an accomplished swordsman and a huge, super strong giant, both of whom become his companions in his quest to rescue Buttercup.
RIO is a 3-D animation feature from the makers of the "Ice Age" films. Set in the magnificent city of Rio de Janeiro and the lush rainforest of Brazil, the comedy-adventure centers on Blu, a rare macaw who thinks he is the last of his kind. When Blu discovers there's another - and that she's a she - he leaves the comforts of his cage in small town Minnesota and heads to Rio. But it's far from love at first sight between the domesticated and flight-challenged Blu and the fiercely independent, high-flying female, Jewel. Unexpectedly thrown together, they embark on an adventure of a lifetime, where they learn about friendship, love, courage, and being open to life's many wonders. RIO brings together a menagerie of vivid characters, a heart-warming story, colorful backdrops, energizing Latin and contemporary music, and family-friendly song and dance.
A gawky eleven-year-old sees his dream of playing baseball come true when he breaks his pitching arm. When it heals, he becomes an ace pitcher with an incredible fast ball. Drafted by Chicago, and befriended by a veteran pitcher, he learns about life and himself. Watch his magical pitching arm help bring a pennant to his beloved, long suffering Cubs.
"The Sandlot" is a comedy about a summer of friendship and adventure during which one boy becomes part of a team. Nine boys become best friends and their leader becomes a legend by confronting the terrifying mystery beyond the left field fence. Ruff! Ruff!
Maria had longed to be a nun since she was a young girl, yet when she became old enough discovered that it wasn't at all what she thought. Often in trouble and doing the wrong things, Maria is sent to the house of a retired naval captain, named Captain Von Trapp, to care for his children. Von Trapp was widowed several years before and was left to care for seven 'rowdy' children. The children have run off countless governesses. Maria soon learns that all these children need is a little love to change their attitudes. Maria teaches the children to sing, and through her, music is brought back into the hearts and home of the Von Trapp family. Unknowingly, Maria and Captain Von Trapp are falling helplessly in love, except there are two problems, the Captain is engaged, and Maria is a postulant!
Dwayne Johnson is "The Tooth Fairy," also known as Derek Thompson, a hard-charging minor league hockey player whose nickname comes from his habit of separating opposing players from their bicuspids. When Derek discourages a youngster's hopes, he's sentenced to one week's hard labor as a real tooth fairy, complete with the requisite wings, magic wand and frilly tutu. At first, Derek "can't handle the tooth" -- bumbling and stumbling as he tries to furtively wing his way through strangers' homes... doing what tooth fairies do. But as Derek slowly adapts to his new position, he begins to rediscover his own forgotten dreams.
Acclaimed filmmaker Cameron Crowe ("Jerry Maguire") directs a story about finding joy, the power of family, and the triumph of hope. A widowed father buys a dilapidated zoo in hopes of making a fresh start. While facing enormous odds to keep the zoo open, he must find the courage to recommit to his children and to their new life together. Based on a true story.