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Netflix has an absolutely massive catalog, so finding what you’re looking for can be hard from time to time. We’ve all been there, just mindlessly scrolling through tens of different titles, spending more time thinking of what movie to watch than actually watching the movie. Sound familiar? What makes it even worse is that Netflix is constantly removing titles and adding new content, so movies you mentally set aside for later can be gone in just a few days.
If you’re looking for a feel-good movie on Netflix, it might even be a little harder since “feel-good” isn’t exactly one of their promoted default genres. Luckily for you, we put together a list of the best feel-good movies on Netflix that will make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Some of these movies are great for the whole family, while a few are more tailored toward adults or other audiences. Here are our top picks that you should definitely check out.
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (2012)
Director: Chris Renaud
Voice Actors: Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, Zac Efron, Taylor Swift
Runtime: 1 hour 26 minutes
Dr. Seuss is one of the most famous children’s authors and has produced dozens of titles that are considered hallmark classics of children’s literature. The Lorax is certainly one of them and is often read to children by elementary school teachers to highlight the effects of pollution, deforestation, and greed. The 2012 animated film based on the book is a great example of adaptations done right and has a stellar voice cast to back it up.
The Lorax is voiced by the one and only Danny DeVito, while the main character, Ted Wiggins, is voiced by Zac Efron. Alongside those two, we find Taylor Swift as Audrey, Ted’s beau, and Ed Helms as the Once-ler. They even got Bett White to voice Ted’s grandma! The Lorax is a great movie to watch with your kids, but it’s still a great feel-good movie for adults looking to reminisce on a short story from their childhood.
Matilda (1996)
Director: Danny DeVito
Cast: Danny DeVito, Mara Wilson, Embeth Davidtz
Runtime: 1 hour 38 minutes
Another childhood classic, Matilda, is the quintessential feel-good movie that shows a young girl trying to persevere against a family that doesn’t want her and a principal that hates children. Matilda (Mara Wilson) is a young but extremely bright child born into a family where the father is a con artist running a used car dealership, the mother is extremely vain and nasty, and the son is following right along in their footsteps. She gets some solace when she finally can go to school, only to find out that the principal is a tyrant who hates children. She also has some telekinetic superpowers; interested yet?
Matilda is even more of a feel-good movie than most after you learn that Wilson’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer while they were filming and passed away before the theatrical release. DeVito was able to show her the final edit of the movie before she passed so that she could see her daughter in her first big movie as the star character. DeVito and his wife, Rhea Perlman, who also starred in the movie, would even take care of Wilson during filming. If that doesn’t bring a tear to your eye and make you feel fuzzy, then this isn’t the list for you.
The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
Director: Gabriele Muccino
Cast: Will Smith, Thandiwe Newton, Jaden Smith
Runtime: 1 hour 57 minutes
Based on the real-life story of Chris Gardner and his memoir of the same name, The Pursuit of Happyness is a heart-wrenching story of a father trying his hardest to build a future for his son in a world where the odds seem stacked against him. Will Smith’s performance as Chris has been hailed as emotional and compelling. The fact that his own son, Jaden, plays the son in the film adds to the dynamic relationship between the two.
Chris lives in a small apartment with his wife, Linda (Thandiwe Newton), and is a salesman, struggling to sell medical equipment that they invested their life savings into. Linda is working double shifts at an industrial laundromat to try and bring some money in, but they’re still falling behind on their rent and extremely poor. Chris enrolls in an extremely competitive unpaid internship program to become a stock broker but eventually winds up homeless, living on the streets of San Francisco with his son after his wife leaves him.
A Tourist’s Guide to Love (2023)
Director: Steven K. Tsuchida
Cast: Rachael Leigh Cook, Scott Ly, Missi Pyle
Runtime: 1 hour 36 minutes
A feel-good Netflix Original, A Tourist’s Guide to Love, is about a love triangle and a vacation. Sounds unoriginal, but trust us, this feel-good movie on Netflix takes a different approach than your usual love triangle rom-com. Amanda Riley (Rachael Leigh Cook) is a travel expert working for Tourista and gets sent to Vietnam to learn more about the tourism sector there and cut out the local tourist agencies.
Riley had just left a 5-year relationship with her ex, John (Ben Feldman), when she begins to start falling for her tour guide, Sinh Thach (Scott Ly). As Sinh shows her how to break out of her shell and try new experiences, she begins to question her heart and what she truly wants in life. This is made all the more complicated by the fact that she is supposed to be stealing Sinh’s business, essentially. A Tourist’s Guide to Love is poised as a rom-com with a new twist but is a feel-good movie at heart about finding yourself and trying new things.
Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Directors: John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
Voice Actors: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen
Runtime: 1 hour 32 minutes
The voice acting cast in Kung Fu Panda should pique your interest alone: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, James Hong, Michael Clarke Duncan, and more all voiced characters in this DreamWorks Animation film about a panda trying to learn kung fu. Just like how Bowser stole the show in the new Super Mario Bros. Movie, Po is an amazingly deep character for a family-friendly animated film.
Po is a panda working at a noodle shop with his father, Mr. Ping (James Hong), who is a goose. Po dreams of becoming part of the Furious Five, a group of kung fu masters in the nearby Jade Palace. After getting “accidentally” declared the Dragon Warrior by Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim), the leader of the Jade Palace, Po must learn kung fu and fulfill his destiny to defend the land from an approaching evil. Kung Fu Panda has themes of finding your true identity, perseverance, and becoming who you want to be.
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)
Director: David Dobkin
Cast: Will Ferell, Rachel McAdams, Dan Stevens
Runtime: 2 hours 3 minutes
If you’ve never heard of it, the Eurovision Song Contest is a pretty big deal in Europe, even though it also includes countries that aren’t in Europe, like Israel and Australia, but that’s neither here nor there. Anyways, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is peak Will Ferell comedy but is slightly different than what you might be used to if you’ve seen his previous films.
For one thing, Eurovision Song Contest is a musical and a comedy. For another, Rachael McAdams definitely steals the spotlight and, at times, is definitely better than Will Ferrell. The basic plot is that Lars Erickssong (Will Ferrell) dreams of winning Eurovision, but the only song anyone wants to hear from him and Sigrit Ericksdottir (Rachael McAdams) is a nonsense song that is a euphemism for a penis. Sigrit is Lars’s longtime friend and doesn’t care as much about winning Eurovision as she does about a romantic relationship with Lars.
Will Lars and Sigrit win Eurovision? Will Sigrit finally get the romantic attention from him that she wants? You’ll have to watch this feel-good movie on Netflix if you want to find out!
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)
Director: Susan Johnson
Cast: Lana Condor, Noan Centineo, Janel Parrish
Runtime: 1 hour 39 minutes
This one is part of a whole trilogy and a spin-off TV series, so if you like this feel-good movie on Netflix, there are a few more to watch. This is a teen rom-com, so if that’s not your thing, you’re probably not going to want to watch it. That said, it is definitely one of the better teen rom-coms to come out in recent years and was praised for its cast.
Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor) has a habit of writing letters to boys she likes but doesn’t send them out and instead keeps them in her closet. After all the letters somehow find their way to their intended recipients, Lara finds herself in a fake relationship with Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) but ultimately begins falling for him. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before has great messages about romance, forgiveness, and family. Definitely give it a watch if teen romance is your thing.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)
Director: Chiwetel Ejiofor
Cast: Maxwell Simba, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lily Banda
Runtime: 1 hour 53 minutes
Stories about people persevering against all odds make for some of the best feel-good movies out there, and ones that are true make for even better ones. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is just that and sees Chiwetel Ejiofor making his directorial debut, turning the story of a young Malawian boy who found a love for electronics and engineering.
William Kamkwamba (Maxwell Simba) finds himself in a tight spot after his poor farming family is unable to pay his tuition, and he’s kicked out of school. After blackmailing a teacher, he begins going to school again, only for a massive drought to kill his village’s crops and bring the threat of starvation to his doorstep. William must use his love of electronics and knowledge to save his family and his village.
Enola Holmes (2020)
Director: Harry Bradbeer
Cast: Millie Bobby Brown, Sam Claflin, Henry Cavill, Helena Bonham Carter
Runtime: 2 hours 3 minutes
A feel-good mystery movie, Enola Holmes has a star-studded cast and is a great film for any fans of the Sherlock Holmes TV series or movies with Robert Downey Jr. Instead of focusing on Sherlock Holmes, Enola Holmes is about, well, Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown). Enola is attempting to find her mother, who went missing on her 16th birthday. She pairs up with a runaway lord named Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge) and goes down a rabbit hole that threatens all of England.
Enola Holmes is one of the most-watched Netflix originals and has a sequel if you enjoy the first one. Millie Bobby Brown gives an excellent performance, and watching her go down a similar path as her detective-god of a brother is heart-warming as she tries to save the day.
Hustle (2022)
Director: Jeremiah Zagar
Cast: Adam Sandler, Queen Latifah, Juancho Herangómez
Runtime: 1 hour 58 minutes
Two things: this isn’t your typical Adam Sandler comedy where he and his friends goof around for 2 hours, and this isn’t a feel-good movie to watch with the kids. After Uncut Gems, a lot of people began to realize that Adam Sandler can absolutely crush a more serious role when he feels like not playing a Billy Madison-esque character. Hustle is another serious role for Sandler and sees him play an NBA scout that discovers a prodigy basketball player in Spain.
One of the best parts about this movie is that Bo Cruz, the prodigal player, is played by an actual NBA star—Juancho Herangómez. Herangómez actually has a knack for acting, and alongside Sandler, they kill it on the big screen. This is another story about someone with raw talent going up against a deck stacked against them, as Sandler’s character isn’t exactly loved by his boss, and Bo has problems of his own. This is perhaps the best feel-good movie on Netflix about sports that you’ll find.
A Man Called Otto (2022)
Director: Marc Foster
Cast: Tom Hanks, Mariana Treviño, Rachel Keller
Runtime: 2 hours 6 minutes
Tom Hanks plays Otto Anderson, a 63-year-old widower who just recently lost his wife. Ready to end it all, Otto repeatedly tries to commit suicide but is constantly stopped by one person or another, unknowingly saving his life. Otto constantly has flashbacks to his life with his wife, Sonya (Rachel Keller), and becomes more and more involved in the lives of his neighbors and their 2 daughters. Otto eventually begins to realize that there might just be a reason to live, even with the love of his life and only family gone from this world.
A Man Called Otto is based on a Swedish book of a similar name (Ove instead of Otto) and was generally well-received upon its release. The film itself is a comedy-drama but has all those feel-good aspects you’re looking for in a movie. Tom Hanks has barely a bad movie in his filmography, and A Man Called Otto certainly isn’t one of them.
Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)
Director: Kyle Balda
Voice Actors: Steve Carell, Pierre Coffin, Taraji P. Henson
Runtime: 1 hour 27 minutes
Fun for the whole family and even adults looking to unwind to a feel-good movie on Netflix, Minions: The Rise of Gru is a prequel of sorts to the Despicable Me series. The film itself is a sequel to the 2015 Minions and focuses on Gru and his rising career as an international supervillain. Steve Carell is a riot as Gru and the minions though annoying when used by middle-aged moms as Facebook memes, are equally as funny.
The plot is what you would expect from a family-animated movie, but it still has its heartfelt moments as Gru grows as a person and the minions find themselves having to save their dear leader.
The Adam Project (2022)
Director: Shawn Levy
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Walker Scobell, Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldaña
Runtime: 1 hour 46 minutes
A sci-fi comedy Netflix original, The Adam Project is an 80s-inspired sci-fi movie with a dash of comedy and a sprinkle of action all in one. This movie has time travel, paradoxes, and Ryan Reynolds all in one. Adam Reed (Ryan Reynolds) is a fighter pilot in a dystopian future who time-travels back to 2018 in order to save his wife, Laura (Zoe Saldaña). There’s a mishap, however, and he winds up in 2022 and finds himself getting saved by his 12-year-old self.
Eventually, Adam and the younger Adam suddenly find themselves in a deadly fight with the leader of the dystopian world and her cronies. This movie has everything you need to feel good. It’s got redemption, a father figure that has passed away, and lost loved ones. Give it a shot if you enjoy sci-fi and you’re looking for a great feel-good movie on Netflix.
