We could all do with a dose of happiness and distraction sometimes, so we asked Mykidstime parents to share their favourite feel-good, happy films to watch as a family. Here are 50 of the best feel-good family films to watch with the kids, to help keep spirits up!
When things feel a bit tough, or you just need cheering up, nothing beats settling in for a movie that leaves everyone smiling. Grab the popcorn, get comfy, and take your pick from our parent-recommended list below.
Watch our short video for more family movie night inspiration:
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Brilliant Feel-Good Family Films
The Never Ending Story
Bastian Balthazar Bux is shy and friendless but loves books. One day he hides in a bookstore, interrupting the grumpy bookseller, Mr Koreander. Bastian asks about one of the books he sees, but Mr Koreander is reluctant. Bastian takes the book anyway, leaving a note promising to return it, and hides in the school attic to read it.
There, he discovers a world of make-believe and magic through a portal within the antique book, meeting all sorts of characters along the way.
The Jungle Book
The Jungle Book is a classic Disney animated film based on Rudyard Kipling’s book. Mowgli is an abandoned child raised by wolves, but the return of the man-eating tiger Shere Khan threatens his life in the jungle.
Bagheera the panther agrees to help Mowgli return to the man village, but Mowgli stumbles into the carefree bear Baloo and refuses to leave.
Secondhand Lions
Fourteen-year-old Walter Caldwell’s irresponsible mother, Mae, sends him to live with his bachelor great-uncles, Hub and Garth, so she can go on yet another husband-hunting trip.
Flight of the Doves
After their mother dies, 13-year-old Finn and his 7-year-old sister Derval run away from home to escape their cruel uncle, who treats them harshly. They flee to Ireland hoping to find love and safety with their kindly grandmother.
Their uncle, a failed actor and master of disguise, pursues them for his own financial gain. The children must rely on their wits and the kindness of strangers to stay ahead of him.
E.T.
A young boy, Elliot, discovers and befriends a gentle alien stranded on Earth and brings him home. Elliot introduces E.T. to his brother and little sister, and the children decide to keep him a secret. But when E.T. falls ill, the government arrives, and Elliot must decide how to help his loveable friend.
“We watched E.T. last night and our two kids, aged 10 and 5, loved it.” – Eleanor
Star Wars
The original Star Wars movie (now known as Episode IV) follows Luke Skywalker, who discovers a recording of Princess Leia being held by Darth Vader and the dark forces trying to quell a rebellion against the Galactic Empire. This leads Luke to discover he is not who he thought he was.
He travels to rescue the princess with the help of Han Solo, captain of the Millennium Falcon, his hairy sidekick Chewbacca, and droid duo R2-D2 and C-3PO.
Home Alone
When bratty 8-year-old Kevin McCallister acts out the night before a family trip to Paris, his mother sends him to sleep in the attic. After the McCallisters accidentally leave for the airport without him, Kevin wakes to an empty house and assumes his wish to have no family has come true.
His excitement fades fast when he realises two con men are planning to rob the McCallister home – and he alone must protect it.
Trolls
Poppy and Branch discover six different troll tribes scattered across six different lands, each devoted to a different kind of music – funk, country, techno, classical, pop and rock.
When rockers Queen Barb and King Thrash set out to destroy the other music styles, Poppy and Branch embark on a daring mission to unite the trolls and save the diverse melodies from extinction.
Peter Rabbit
Peter Rabbit and his three sisters, Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-Tail, love spending their days in Mr McGregor’s vegetable garden. When one of McGregor’s relatives moves in, he’s less than thrilled to find a family of rabbits in his new home.
A battle of wills breaks out as the new owner schemes to get rid of Peter – a resourceful rabbit who proves a wily opponent.
From Up On Poppy Hill
Set in 1963 Yokohama, Japan, From Up on Poppy Hill tells the story of Umi Matsuzaki, a high school girl living in a boarding house, Coquelicot Manor.
When Umi meets Shun Kazama, a member of the school’s newspaper club, they decide to clean up the school’s clubhouse. However, the chairman of the local high school intends to demolish the building for redevelopment, and Umi and Shun must persuade him to reconsider.
“From Up On Poppy Hill is a Japanese anime film – both my kids adore it!” – Crysta
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Men in Black
After a government agency makes first contact with aliens in 1961, alien refugees live secretly on Earth by disguising themselves as humans in the New York metropolitan area.
Men in Black (MIB) is a secret agency that polices these aliens, protects Earth from extraterrestrial threats, and uses memory-erasing neuralyzers to keep it all quiet.
Babe
Farmer Arthur Hoggett wins a piglet named Babe at a county fair. When he decides to show Babe at the next fair (thereby avoiding being Christmas dinner), Babe befriends motherly border collie Fly and discovers he too can herd sheep.
But will the other farm animals, including Fly’s jealous husband Rex, accept a pig who doesn’t conform?
Stardust
To win the heart of his beloved, a young man named Tristan ventures into the realm of fairies to retrieve a fallen star. What he finds instead is a woman named Yvaine, who is in great danger – the king’s sons need her powers to secure the throne, and an evil witch wants to use her to gain eternal youth and beauty.
“We absolutely love Stardust – there’s a stellar cast, plenty of laugh-out-loud bits and a great story.” – Emily
The Little Rascals
Mischievous youngsters Spanky and Buckwheat lead an anti-girl club, and pick their buddy Alfalfa to represent them in an important soapbox car rally. When the boys find their driver canoodling with schoolmate Darla, they decide to break up the couple – but while they’re busy meddling, their prized race car is stolen by two young toughs.
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
When kids sneak into inventor Wayne Szalinski’s upstairs lab to retrieve an errant baseball, his experimental shrink ray miniaturises them. Thinking his invention has failed, Szalinski destroys it and throws it out – with the kids still shrunk inside.
Now a quarter-inch tall, the four children must survive the journey back to the house through a yard where sprinklers bring treacherous storms and garden-variety ants stampede like elephants.
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Pete’s Dragon
Pete Healy, an orphan, travels with Grace, a ranger, to find his friend Elliot, a green dragon with wings, after he disappears from the forest.
Mary Poppins
When Jane and Michael, children of the wealthy and uptight Banks family, are faced with the prospect of a new nanny, they are pleasantly surprised by the arrival of the magical Mary Poppins, played by Julie Andrews.
They embark on a series of fantastical adventures with Mary and her Cockney performer friend Bert (played by Dick Van Dyke).
Grown Ups
A single man who drinks too much. A father with three daughters he rarely sees. A guy who is overweight and unemployed. A hen-pecked house-husband. A successful Hollywood agent married to a fashion designer. What do these five men have in common? They used to play on the same basketball team at school.
Now their former coach has died, and they’re reunited at his funeral. Will the group rediscover their old bonds? A funny one for tweens and teens.
“Grown Ups 1 & 2 are both hilarious – we watch them again and again, and always laugh!” – Pamela
Moana
An epic adventure about the spirited daughter of chief Tui, who sets sail on a daring mission to prove herself a master wayfinder and fulfil her ancestors’ unfinished quest. She must return the heart of the goddess Te Fiti from Maui, a demigod, after the plants and fish on her island start dying.
During her journey, Moana meets the once-mighty demigod Maui (voiced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), and together they cross the ocean on a fun-filled, action-packed voyage.
The Muppet Movie
Kermit the Frog sets off on a cross-country trip from Florida to California, pursuing his dream of becoming a movie star. Along the way, he meets and befriends Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, and rock musicians Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.
When Kermit is offered a job advertising fried frog legs at a restaurant chain, he turns the offer down. What happens at the final showdown?
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Rise of the Guardians
Generation after generation, immortal Guardians like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy protect the world’s children from darkness and despair. But an evil boogeyman named Pitch Black schemes to overthrow the Guardians by destroying children’s belief in them.
It falls to winter sprite Jack Frost to thwart Pitch’s plans and save the Guardians.
Two by Two
Finny, a Nestrian, and his new friend Leah must band together to survive the elements and predators after they fall off Noah’s Ark.
Madagascar
Alex the lion is the king of the urban jungle, the main attraction at New York’s Central Park Zoo. He and his best friends – Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe, and Gloria the hippo – have spent their whole lives in blissful captivity, until Marty’s curiosity gets the better of him and he escapes with the help of some prodigious penguins to explore the world.
Ballerina
Best friends Félicie and Victor hatch a plan to escape their rural orphanage in 19th-century France. Félicie dreams of becoming a ballerina, while Victor wants to use his brainpower to invent things.
After busting out, Félicie makes her way to the Paris Opera, where she joins a class of highly trained dancers auditioning for the lead in a production of The Nutcracker.
Annie
An orphan in a facility run by the mean Miss Hannigan, Annie believes her parents left her there by mistake. When rich businessman Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks decides to let an orphan live at his home to boost his public image, Annie is selected.
While she gets used to life in Warbucks’ mansion, Annie still longs to meet her parents – so Warbucks announces a search and a reward, which brings out plenty of frauds.
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Based on the beloved Roald Dahl tale, this comedic and fantastical film follows young Charlie Bucket and his Grandpa Joe as they join a small group of contest winners touring the magical and mysterious factory of eccentric candy maker Willy Wonka.
Aided by his Oompa Loompa workers, Wonka has a hidden motivation for the tour – one he reveals only once the children show their true colours.
Mrs Doubtfire
Divorced father Daniel Hillard hatches an elaborate plan with the help of his brother Frank to dress as an older woman and convince his ex-wife, Miranda, to hire him as their children’s nanny.
“Mrs Doubtfire” wins over the children and helps Daniel become a better parent.
Missing Link
Tired of living a solitary life in the Pacific Northwest, Mr Link – 8 feet tall and covered in fur – recruits fearless explorer Sir Lionel Frost to guide him on a journey to find his long-lost relatives in the fabled valley of Shangri-La.
Along with adventurer Adelina Fortnight, the trio faces plenty of peril as they travel the far reaches of the world, learning along the way that family can be found in the most unexpected places.
Jumanji
Siblings Peter and Judy find a curious, jungle-themed game called Jumanji in the attic of an old mansion. When they start playing, they free Alan Parrish (played by Robin Williams), who has been stuck in the game for decades.
If they win Jumanji, the kids can free Alan for good – but that means braving giant bugs, stampeding rhinos and all sorts of other adventures.
Fly Away Home
Jeff Daniels and Anna Paquin star in Fly Away Home, about a 13-year-old who moves in with her father following her mother’s death in a car accident. She finds some abandoned goose eggs and cares for them – but winter is coming, and the geese don’t know how to find their way south.
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Toy Story
Meet the toys in Andy’s room, who come to life whenever they’re alone. In the first of the Toy Story series, Woody the Cowboy feels profoundly threatened and jealous when a new spaceman figure, Buzz, becomes Andy’s new favourite toy.
Expect plenty of laughs, clever one-liners and a truly creative storyline.
Bugsy Malone
A spoof of old gangster movies, with an entirely child cast singing and dancing their way around Prohibition-era sets, substituting toy guns and whipped cream for machine guns and bullets.
Labyrinth
Teenage Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) journeys through a maze to recover her baby brother from a goblin king (David Bowie). With the exception of Connelly and Bowie, most of the significant characters are played by puppets from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.
The Little Prince
The Aviator introduces a young girl to a world where she rediscovers her childhood, learning that it’s human connections that matter most, and that what is essential is invisible to the eye.
Shrek
Shrek is an ogre living in a swamp whose precious solitude is suddenly shattered by an invasion of fairy tale characters, banished from their kingdom by the evil Lord Farquaad.
Determined to save his home, Shrek cuts a deal with Farquaad to rescue Princess Fiona, Farquaad’s bride-to-be. But Princess Fiona has a secret…
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The Goonies
Two brothers discover they might lose their house and are desperate to find a way to keep it. While rummaging through an attic, they find an old treasure map, a 1632 doubloon, and a newspaper article about treasure hidden nearby by a famous pirate, “One-Eyed” Willy.
The Goonies set off looking for the treasure while trying to evade a group of bad guys who want it too.
“It’s my favourite, and now my kids love it too!” – Paula
Tangled
Beautiful princess Rapunzel has been locked away in a tower since she was captured as a baby by an old hag. Her magical long blonde hair holds the power of eternal youth, and the evil Gothel uses it to stay young.
At 18, Rapunzel becomes curious about the outside world, and when a “prince” uses her tower as a refuge, she asks him to help her escape. Prepare to sing along!
High School Musical
Troy Bolton, the star athlete at a small-town high school, falls for Gabriella Montez at a holiday karaoke party. When they return to campus, Troy and Gabriella audition for the upcoming school musical – while jealous Sharpay Evans conspires to squelch their chances.
Pitch Perfect
College student Beca doesn’t want to be part of a clique, but that’s exactly where she finds herself after joining an all-female a cappella group at her new school. Together, they take their singing out of its comfort zone and into a world of amazing harmonic combinations, fighting their way to the top of college music competitions.
School of Rock
Overly enthusiastic guitarist Dewey Finn gets thrown out of his band and finds himself in desperate need of work. Posing as a substitute music teacher at an elite private school, he exposes his students to the rock gods he idolises, much to the consternation of the uptight principal, as he prepares them for a local Battle of the Bands.
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The Parent Trap
In this update of the 1961 film, Lindsay Lohan plays twins Annie and Hallie, strangers until they meet at summer camp. Their divorced parents, Nick and Elizabeth, live on opposite sides of the Atlantic, each raising one daughter.
American Hallie and British-raised Annie engineer an identity swap, giving both a chance to spend time with the parent they’ve missed – but Nick is engaged, and his snobby fiancée is not thrilled about the prospect of a step-daughter, let alone two.
Matilda
Based on the Roald Dahl book, Matilda Wormwood is a gifted girl forced to put up with a crude, distant mother and father. Even worse, Miss Trunchbull, the terrifying principal at Matilda’s school, is a relentless bully.
When Matilda discovers she has the power of telekinesis, she begins to defend her friends from Trunchbull’s wrath and fight back against her unkind parents, with the help of her kind teacher, Miss Honey.
The Princess Bride
A young grandson is ill in bed, and his grandfather reads him a fairy tale about a beautiful young woman and her one true love. He must find her after a long separation and save her, and together they must battle the evils of the mythical kingdom of Florin to be reunited.
The Sound of Music
Another classic family movie, based on the true story of the Von Trapp Family singers, one of the world’s best-known concert groups in the era immediately preceding World War II.
Julie Andrews stars as Maria, the tomboyish postulant at an Austrian abbey who becomes a governess in the home of a widowed naval captain with seven children, bringing a new love of life and music into the household.
Beethoven
When the Newton family decides to adopt a cute St Bernard puppy, father George soon feels displaced by the dog. Before long, the adorable canine, dubbed Beethoven, has grown considerably, leading to household mishaps.
While George’s wife and kids dote on Beethoven, it takes him time to see the pooch’s finer qualities – and his life with the Newtons is jeopardised when a scheming vet tries to nab the dog for a deadly experiment.
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Ballet Shoes
Adopted by an eccentric explorer, three orphans – Pauline, Petrova and Posie – struggle to fulfil their ambitious dreams. Pauline longs to be an actress, Petrova yearns to be an aviator, and Posie seems born to be a ballerina. But when Great Uncle Matthew disappears, the money runs out, and the girls have a fight on their hands.
Charlotte’s Web
One spring, on her family farm, Fern Arable finds her father about to put down the runt of a litter of newborn pigs. She begs him to spare the piglet’s life, and he agrees, giving the piglet to Fern, who names him Wilbur.
When Wilbur grows a little, he’s sent to her uncle’s barnyard, where he’s befriended by Charlotte, a spider living above his sty. When the other animals reveal that Wilbur will be prepared for dinner in due time, Charlotte promises to hatch a plan to save his life.
Happy Feet
Son of Memphis and Norma, little penguin Mumble has a big problem: he can’t sing a single note. In a world where everyone needs a heart song to attract a soul mate, Mumble feels he doesn’t belong – but while he’s the worst singer in the world, he can tap dance brilliantly.
Hook
In Steven Spielberg’s take on Peter Pan, when the children of grown-up Peter Pan (Robin Williams) are abducted by Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman), Peter is forced to return to Neverland. With help from Tinkerbell (Julia Roberts) and the Lost Boys, he must battle his old foe to save his kids.
Sing
Dapper koala Buster Moon presides over a once-grand theatre that has fallen on hard times. An eternal optimist – and a bit of a scoundrel – he loves his theatre above all and will do anything to save it, taking one final chance to restore its former glory by producing the world’s greatest singing competition. Five contestants emerge: a mouse, a timid elephant, a pig, a gorilla and a punk-rock porcupine.
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Looking for more movie night ideas?
If you’ve made your way through this list, try our companion 50 of the Best Family Movies of All Time checklist – a handy way to track which ones you’ve watched and which are still on your family’s must-see list.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a film a good “feel-good” family movie?
A feel-good family film is one that leaves everyone smiling by the end – usually with warmth, humour, a satisfying story, and characters the whole family can root for. Many of the films above were chosen directly by Mykidstime parents for exactly this reason.
Are these films suitable for all ages?
The films on this list span a wide range of ages, from gentle animated stories suitable for younger children to films with more mature themes better suited to tweens and teens. It’s a good idea to check the age rating and a quick content summary before watching with younger children.
Where can I watch these films?
Availability changes regularly across different streaming services, so it’s worth checking your usual platforms (or your local library or DVD collection) closer to movie night to see what’s currently available.
How do I choose a film everyone in the family will enjoy?
Try picking a genre everyone likes, or take turns choosing so each family member gets a say. Reading a short summary together beforehand (like the ones above) can help you find one that suits the whole family’s mood.
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- 14 of the Best Irish Movies for Your Next Family Movie Night
- 50 of the Best Family Movies of All Time
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