All 12 Eddie Murphy Movies on Netflix [Ranked]
Eddie Murphy is a certified legend in the comedy genre. The actor has dozens of classic hit comedies behind him and probably more to come. Last week, a decade-old movie, Tower Heist, starring Murphy and Ben Stiller, arrived on the platform and swept the competition, climbing to the second spot on the most popular movies of the week, at least on Netflix US.
That got us thinking – what other awesome Eddie Muprhy films are on Netflix? Of course, we got the answer for you. Here’s a ranked list of all 12 Eddie Murphy movies on Netflix. Please note that the availability of some of these films depends on location, and not all of them are available in every country.
12. Shrek’s Swamp Stories (2010)
IMDb Rating: 6.5/10
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Shorts, Family, Horror, Music
Synopsis: “Shrek and his pals have a series of adventures.”
Why you should watch it: We all love Donkey from Shrek, voiced by Eddie Murphy, and he appears in all three episodes of this series of Shrek shorts.
My personal favorite is the first episode, Scared Shrekless, where Shrek challenges his fairy tale friends to come up with scary Halloween stories for a contest but fails to tell them that, in order to win, they have to spend a night in Lord Farquaad’s abandoned, haunted castle in Duloc.
Watch a clip from the episode here.
11. Shrek The Halls (2007)
IMDb Rating: 6.4/10
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Short
Synopsis: “In Shrek the Halls, it is seen and realized that Shrek has no idea about what Christmas is and makes it clear to Donkey that “Ogres don’t celebrate Christmas,” but in the end, he gives in and decides to prepare for Christmas in his own ” ogre” way. With the help of Fiona and their kids, he eventually gets ready for Christmas, but there is a twist in the story – but finally, everything turns out fine.”
Why you should watch it: It’s another short Shrek film featuring Donkey, Fiona, and other well-known Shrek characters. It’s a very funny take on the holiday genre, and although it’s quite short, it’ll certainly give you and the kids some laughs and get you into the Christmas spirit.
Watch the trailer here.
10. Shrek Forever After (2010)
IMDb Rating: 6.3/10
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Synopsis: “Rumpelstiltskin tricks a mid-life crisis burdened Shrek into allowing himself to be erased from existence and cast in a dark alternate timeline where Rumpelstiltskin rules supreme.”
Why you should watch it: Out of all the Shrek full-feature films, the fourth is probably the worst. Not to say it’s bad, but I didn’t particularly enjoy the premise of Shrek wanting to get rid of his life, wife, and kids. Still, Rumplestiltskin was a cool bad guy, and there were some epic Donkey moments in the films, so it’s definitely worth a watch with your kids.
Watch the trailer here.
9. Daddy Day Care (2003)
IMDb Rating: 5.6/10
Genre: Comedy, Family
Synopsis: “Two men named Charlie Hinton and Phil Ryerson lose their jobs in product development at a large food company and are forced to take their sons out of the exclusive Chapman Academy and become stay-at-home fathers.
With no job possibilities on the horizon, they open their own daycare center, call it “Daddy Day Care,” and employ some fairly unconventional and sidesplitting methods of caring for children. As it starts to catch on, it launches them into a highly comedic rivalry with Chapman Academy’s tough-as-nails director, Gwyneth Harridan, who has driven all previous competitors out of business.“
Why you should watch it: It’s not the greatest Eddie Murphy comedy ever, especially when you watch it as an adult, but I guarantee you that your children will love it and want to be in Daddy Day Care themselves. There are some great jokes, and Murphy is as funny as always, so it’s certainly worth a watch.
Watch the trailer here.
8. Eddie Murphy: Raw (1987)
IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
Genre: Documentary, Comedy, Stand-Up
Synopsis: “After achieving fame with Saturday Night Live and Beverly Hills Cop, Eddie Murphy released a film version of one of his live stand-up performances. He mainly focuses on the topics of divorce and relations between the sexes but also goes into some of the problems he’s encountered because of fame, including offended listeners and fans who continually greet him with his unprintable catchphrases.”
Why you should watch it: Raw is probably the most popular Eddie Murphy stand-up ever, and it still holds its own as one of the funniest I’ve ever watched. Murphy is brilliant, has corny but funny jokes, and his facial expressions will make you burst out in laughter. Unfortunately, this classic isn’t available in every country, but a simple VPN will solve that for you.
Watch the trailer here.
7. I Spy (2002)
IMDb Rating: 5.4/10
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
Synopsis: “When the Switchblade, the most sophisticated prototype stealth fighter created yet, is stolen from the U.S. government, one of the United States’ top spies, Alex Scott, is called to action. What he doesn’t expect is to get teamed up with a cocky civilian, World Class Boxing Champion Kelly Robinson, on a dangerous top secret espionage mission.
Their assignment: using equal parts skill and humor, catch Arnold Gundars, one of the world’s most successful illegal arms dealers, and foil his treacherous plans for the plane…”
Why you should watch it: Personally, I love Owen Wilson just as much as Eddie Murphy, so this particular team-up was quite amusing. Now, the story isn’t exactly too complicated – it’s a classic spy comedy with no particular weight to the plot – which makes it great after a hard day’s work to lay down, let your brain loose, and just enjoy some simple laughs.
Watch the trailer here.
6. Shrek The Third (2007)
IMDb Rating: 6.1/10
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Synopsis: “When King Harold (John Cleese) of Far, Far Away dies, the clumsy Shrek (Mike Myers) becomes the immediate successor of the throne. However, Shrek decides to find the legitimate heir Artie (Justin Timberlake) in a distant kingdom with his friends Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) to be able to return to his beloved house in the swamp with the pregnant Fiona (Cameron Diaz).
Meanwhile, the envious and ambitious Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) joins the villains of the fairytales plotting a coup d’état to become the new King.”
Why you should watch it: The first three Shrek movies were removed from Netflix in many countries, but you can still find them on the platform in others. Shrek the Third is the lowest-rated of the bunch, but I actually found it quite amusing. The dynamic between Donkey and Puss is my favorite thing about the film. It’s worth a watch, with or without kids.
Watch the trailer here.
5. Shrek 2 (2004)
IMDb Rating: 7.3/10
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Synopsis: “Shrek and Fiona travel to the Kingdom of Far Far Away, where Fiona’s parents are King and Queen, to celebrate their marriage. When they arrive, they find they are not as welcome as they thought they would be.”
Why you should watch it: The second Shrek film is still my favorite, and it’s probable the one with the most “adult” humor. Shrek meets his mother and father-in-law, who are not so keen on him and their daughter being Ogres. Murphy’s Donkey shines in all his glory, being a big nuisance and an incredible friend throughout the film, especially after becoming a stallion!
Watch the trailer here.
4. Tower Heist (2011)
IMDb Rating: 6.2/10
Genre: Action, Crime, Comedy
Synopsis: “When a group of hard-working guys finds out they’ve fallen victim to their wealthy employer’s Ponzi scheme, they conspire to rob his high-rise residence.”
Why you should watch it: The movie is over a decade old, yet when it arrived on Netflix this month, it swept the competition and rose to the second spot of the most popular movies on Netflix in the US.
The comedy starring Murphy, Ben Stiller, Casey Affleck, Matthew Broderick, and Michael Pena will certainly make you laugh, and it’s worth a watch despite not being the best Eddie Murphy comedy ever. Fun fact: The producers wanted to shoot one extra final scene with Stiller and Murphy, but Eddie said he’d do it only for an extra $500K, so the scene was dropped.
Watch the trailer here.
3. Shrek (2001)
IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Synopsis: “When a green ogre named Shrek discovers his swamp has been ‘swamped’ with all sorts of fairytale creatures by the scheming Lord Farquaad, Shrek sets out with a very loud donkey by his side to ‘persuade’ Farquaad to give Shrek his swamp back. Instead, a deal is made.
Farquaad, who wants to become the King, sends Shrek to rescue Princess Fiona, who is awaiting her true love in a tower guarded by a fire-breathing dragon. But once they head back with Fiona, it starts to become apparent that not only does Shrek, an ugly ogre, begin to fall in love with the lovely princess, but Fiona is also hiding a huge secret.”
Why you should watch it: If you haven’t watched Shrek already, what are you even doing in life? It’s a fairytale that mocks all fairytales in a hilarious, crude, PG-13 style that’s just as funny today as it was 20-ish years ago. A lot of credit should go to Mike Myers (Shrek) and Eddie Murphy (Donkey) for bringing such life and enthusiasm to their characters.
Watch the trailer here.
2. Coming To America (1988)
IMDb Rating: 7.1/10
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Synopsis: “Immersed in luxury and riches, courteous Prince Akeem, the refined heir apparent to Africa’s prosperous kingdom of Zamunda, summons up the courage to reject an arranged marriage proposal on his twenty-first birthday. As a result, bent on finding true love, the young blue blood finds himself in the strange urban jungle of New York City’s Queens.
Now, to mask his regal descent, Akeem, and his trusted valet, Semmi, have to pose as humble exchange students, doing their best to mingle with their neighbors. But, more than anything in the world, the noble bachelor yearns to be loved for who he is and not for his title. Is Prince Akeem destined to find his soulmate in America’s bustling Big Apple?”
Why you should watch it: Coming To America is an absolute classic. I remember watching it on repeat as a kid, three or four times in a row, and I’d burst out in laughter at the same jokes over and over again. Watching it today, I realize some of the jokes might not be as child-appropriate as my parents thought, but hey, I turned out okay, I think.
The film has been available on Netflix US since July 21st, 2022. There’s also a sequel, Coming 2 America (2021), but it won’t ever be on Netflix since it’s an Amazin Prime Video Original. It’s not even a good movie, so you won’t miss out on a lot if you don’t watch it.
Watch the trailer here.
1. Dolemite Is My Name (2019)
IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Synopsis: “Eddie Murphy portrays real-life legend Rudy Ray Moore, a comedy and rap pioneer who proved naysayers wrong when his hilarious, obscene, kung-fu fighting alter ego, Dolemite, became a 1970s Blaxploitation phenomenon.”
Why you should watch it: There’s a reason why the film is rated R, but the humor is absolutely awesome. Murphy killed the role of the real-life legend, Rudy Ray Moore, and the film genuinely deserved all the high praises and awards.
It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, and I thought it wouldn’t be mine either when I saw the Netflix Original. I gave it a shot solely because I’m a Murphy fan – and it didn’t disappoint. Dolemite’s my name…
Watch the trailer here.
