Grab the "Pop"corn! 50 Dad-Friendly Movies to Watch With Your Old Man on Father's Day
When was the last time you had a movie date with your dad? How about the last time you sat on the couch with your Pops and watched a film together, just the two of you? If you're not sure how to celebrate Father's Day this year, a dad-themed movie marathon might just be the ticket.
So, "pop" the popcorn (get it?) and make yourselves comfy. We rounded up some of the best family-friendly films that are perfect to watch with your dad. In fact, each one of these movies is about a dad in some way or another, so be sure to check out our 50 best movies to watch with your dad for Father's Day.
50 best Father's Day movies about dads
Finding Nemo
Was there ever a father more determined to find his child? (Yes, and his name is Bryan Mills; scroll down to the very end.) Still, Marlin the clownfish is adorably anxious and relatable as he sets off on a journey well outside of his comfort zone in order to save his son, Nemo. And it's a total Disney-Pixar classic—from the "I speak whale" scene to the "all drains lead to the ocean" scene. It might just make you want to give your dad some fin!
Mrs. Doubtfire
Speaking of determined dads, Mrs. Doubtfire—a.k.a. Daniel Hillard—definitely takes the cake. In the wake of a not-so-docile divorce, Daniel Hillard (played by none other than Robin Williams) disguises himself as a female housekeeper in order to spend time with his children—time that his ex (Sally Field) and the court wouldn't give him. Be sure to yell "Hello, dear!" along with Williams after he smashes his face in the pie.
Related: 80 Best ’80s Movies, All Ranked
The Lion King
You'll be sure to remember who you are as you watch (and sob) alongside your dad while watching The Lion King. Side effects of watching this classic Disney animated movie include hugging your father a little tighter than before... and also, bursting into song.
The Descendants
Starring George Clooney and Shailene Woodley, The Descendants won an Oscar for its depiction of a unique father-daughter relationship. After his wife sustains a serious injury in a boating accident, Clooney's hapless dad is forced to take the reigns at home—and finds that keeping a family running smoothly is harder than he thought.
Related: History of Father's Day
Gifted
What makes a father? In this heartwarming (and also heartbreaking) film about a gifted child (Mckenna Grace), Chris Evans plays the adoptive uncle who, despite her mathematical genius, just wants her to live a normal life.
My Girl
You'll bawl your eyes out at this coming-of-age flick starring Macaulay Culkin and a pre-Veep Anna Chlumsky, but you'll also laugh, too. It's the ending of My Girl that we all seem to remember, but there's also a really great father-daughter relationship plot line between Chlumsky and Dan Aykroyd that's worth watching with your dad, too.
Life Is Beautiful
One of the most iconic father-son movies of all time is 1997's Life Is Beautiful, an Italian comedy-drama-romance with the original Italian title of La vita è bella. In this tear-jerker, a Jewish father (played by the movie's director and co-writer, Roberto Benigni, who won an Oscar for his performance) goes to the ends of the earth—or really, his own imagination—to protect his son from the harsh realities of the concentration camp they're forced to live in during the Holocaust.
Related: 55 Best Father’s Day Quotes
To Kill a Mockingbird
One of the smartest and wisest literary dads of all time is Atticus Finch, from To Kill a Mockingbird. A widowed father of young, curious children, Atticus (played in the film by Gregory Peck, who won an Oscar for his work here) is also a lawyer. When he decides to represent a black man accused of rape (Brock Peters) in court, he defends both his client and his children against prejudice.
Related: What to Write in a Father’s Day Card
Dad
Over the course of this tender tearjerker, three generations of men—grandfather (Jack Lemmon), father (Ted Danson), and son (Ethan Hawke)—come together to live under the same roof and finally establish a true connection, for both the first and last time.
On Golden Pond
In 1981's On GoldenPond, Norman (Henry Fonda) has—and has had—an estranged relationship with his daughter (played by Fonda's real-life daughter, Jane Fonda) for years. But when Chelsea brings a new man, a single father, into the picture, an unexpected relationship has the chance to blossom. Both Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn, playing his wife, won Oscars for their performances.
Onward
Even elves have fathers! In this adorable animated movie from Pixar, two elven brothers (voiced by Chris Pratt and Tom Holland) use magic to bring their dad back from the dead to see him one last time. Except things get a little complicated when only half of their dad—the bottom half—comes back!
Big Daddy
Adam Sandler is wonderful as an unlikely stand-in dad who learns a thing or two about parenting after fostering a child for all the wrong reasons.
Cheaper By the Dozen
Imagine having 12 kids?! Impossible! This hilarious comedy starring Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt is just as much about dads as it is about families—and all the lovable chaos that occurs when you have a dozen children.
Cheaper By the Dozen 2
If the original film is a family favorite, Cheaper By the Dozen 2 will hit just the same. Only in this sequel, you've got double the dads as two fathers (Martin and an always-hilarious Eugene Levy) face off during summer vacation to find out who's family is smarter, better, faster, stronger.
Jersey Girl
After his wife (Jennifer Lopez) unexpectedly passes away, a widower (Ben Affleck) rebuilds his life as a single father. Also starring Liv Tyler, this 2004 dad-centric movie written and directed by Kevin Smith is a classic.
Bedtime Stories
Father figures come in all shapes and sizes—even a wayward uncle in the shape of Sandler who tells crazy bedtime stories... that actually start coming true.
Related: The best 90s kids movies.
Grown Ups
Another father-friendly Sandler movie is Grown Ups. In this hilarious 2010 comedy, Sandler and his friends—Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider—play friends (and dads) who reunite for a holiday weekend after their childhood basketball coach passes away.