According to Collins English Dictionary, a ‘Feel-Good’ movie is one ‘which presents people and life in a way which makes those who watch it feel happy and optimistic’
Of course, one person’s feel-good picture could be another’s syrupy turn off.
I have yet to see The Sound of Music (dubbed by star Christopher Plummer as ‘The Sound of Mucus’), Frozen or ET, and have no plans to do so.
With this in mind, here’s my selection of movies that should keep the whole family watching together, with enough knowing humour or inadvertent yuks to engage the adults.
Stardust (2007) Amazon Rent/Buy
Matthew Vaughn’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s novel is a light-hearted romantic fantasy with a Princess Bride vibe that serves as an antidote to the likes of His Dark Materials and the epically turgid Wheel of Time.
When the King of Stormhold (Peter O’Toole) dies, his fratricidal sons compete to occupy the throne.
Meanwhile, likely lad Tristan (Charlie Cox) ventures across the border from the real world to bring back a falling star (Claire Danes) to prove his love to the flighty Victoria (Sienna Miller).
Many adventures ensue, including encounters with evil witch Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer) and a closeted cross-dressing homosexual sky-pirate Captain Shakespeare, played by Robert De Niro.
De Niro’s performance drew mixed reviews; Stephen Holden in the New York Times commenting:
“De Niro’s zany drag routine makes as much sense in “Stardust” as a squawking kazoo solo inserted into a Mozart string quartet. it makes movie-trivia sense if you think of it as a hip response to Johnny Depp’s fey, mascara-wearing “Pirates of the Caribbean” character, Jack Sparrow. In that case, this joke about a joke is either a piece of inspired madcap fun or an excruciating embarrassment.”
https://web.archive.org/web/20111130003918/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/10/movies/10star.html
Home Alone (1990) Disney+, Amazon Rent/Buy
Some have speculated that it wasn’t really an accident when the McCallisters ‘forget’ to take pesky 8-year-old son Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) on the family Christmas holiday in Paris.
As a pre-mobile phone picture, downed power lines mean that Kevin’s parents are unable to contact him.
Of course, they could have called a police department outside the immediate area, or the FBI, friends, and relatives etc, but really, why bother?
But it works out surprisingly well for the kid, as he gets to indulge his burgeoning sadistic urges on a hapless pair of burglars (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) eager to ransack the well-healed McCallister residence.
The home where the movie was shot is now available to rent – and apparently, you will even be greeted by actor David Rattray, who played Culkin’s mean older brother Buzz in the film.
Which may have been nice – except for the recent news that Rattray has been accused of trying to throttle his girlfriend, which presumably means he won’t be welcoming guests to the McCallister abode.
Disney+ recently released Home Sweet Home Alone, the sixth film in the franchise. Despite the presence of Ellie Kemper, Rob Delaney, Aisling Bea, and Kenan Thompson in the cast, reviews have been overwhelmingly negative.
The Swiss Family Robinson (1960) Disney+, Amazon Rent/Buy
The Swiss Family Robinson is the Zulu of family movies, as a shipwrecked family carve out a life for themselves on an uninhabited jungle island in what I presume is the Indian Ocean (we are not told).As a kid (and adult) I was a sucker for the ingenuity shown by the Robinsons in building their tree house and, later their cunning defences. I assumed the name Robinson was an allusion to Robinson Crusoe (they have no surnames in Johann David Wyss 1812 novel), as it’s not very Swiss.
The movie really hits its stride when villainous pirates attack the family, who employ a variety of booby traps and stratagems to drive the marauders off until help arrives.
All very un-PC, as in a revisionist remake the Robinsons would probably be depicted as colonial interlopers stealing the land of the freedom fighting buccaneer band. If you enjoyed The Swiss Family Robinson, I would also recommend Alexander Mackendrick’s excellent A High Wind in Jamaica (1965), a rather more sombre piratical adventure, starring James Coburn, Anthony Quinn, and a fifteen-year-old Martin Amis.
Pete’s Dragon (2016) Disney+, Amazon Rent/Buy
I really didn’t expect to enjoy this remake of the mediocre 1977 Disney flick, but I found it surprisingly moving. This is down to the presence of director David Lowery (The Green Knight) who steers the picture away from schmaltz to deliver a touching, poetic movie.
5-year-old Pete (Levi Alexander) survives a car crash that kills his parents in the Pacific Northwest. Wandering into the woods, Pete is pursued by a wolfpack, only to be saved by a green-furred, yellow-eyed dragon he names Elliot.
The orphan boy bonds with the creature, living for years in a tree house guarded by his pal until their blissful sojourn is interrupted by the arrival of a lumberjack crew. Oakes Fegley plays the 11-year-old Pete, who must find allies to rescue his friend, including oldster Meacham (Robert Redford) who himself had met Elliott as a lad.
Redford must have enjoyed working with Lowery, as he went onto to make his final picture as actor with him in 2018 (The Old Man & The Gun). The movie’s ending will have you reaching for your hankie. Guaranteed. Kids will enjoy the sight of Dad attempting (and failing) to hold back the tears.
Mrs Doubtfire (1993) Disney+ Amazon Rent/Buy
For me, the late Robin Williams was a performer that I could take or leave; he could be good on occasion (Insomnia, The Birdcage), but his tendency to crowd-pleasing comic mawkishness (Jakob the Liar, Patch Adams, Jack) and manipulative heartstring pulling (Awakenings, Bicentennial Man, What Dreams May Come) could be a real turn off.
Thankfully, he’s on top form in Mrs Doubtfire, the odd story of unreliable Daniel Hillard, a voice actor who poses as a Scottish nanny to get back into the lives of his divorced wife Miranda (Sally Field) and children. As you do.
My favourite scenes? Doubtfire’s cruel treatment of Miranda’s new beau Stu, a very funny turn from Pierce Brosnan.
Author Anne Fine, who wrote the novel on which the movie was based (Madame Doubtfire, 1987) was apparently keen on Warren Beatty playing Daniel/Doubtfire. An interesting idea if nothing else.
The studio wanted the Hillards to get back together at the end of the film; thankfully, common sense prevailed; the couple remained divorced, but with a more responsible Daniel back in the lives of his ex-wife and shared offspring.
School of Rock (2003) Netflix, Amazon Rent/Buy
Usually a favourite for parents to plonk the kids and their friends in front of, School of Rock has the virtue of having inspired children to take up music (not so great if their choice is the drums though).
The oafish Jack Black is Dewey Finn, a stage-hogging guitar player in a small-town band who cons his way into a short-term gig as a music teacher at a prestigious prep school. And that’s as far as I will go, other than to say that the kids are better than average actors, thanks to Richard Linklater’s (Boyhood) talent for directing younger cast members.
Linklater is currently filming his adaptation of the late Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along, which will be filmed over the course of the next 20 years, as the cast age in accordance with the storyline.
So, remember to book your tickets for 2041.
Elf (2003) Amazon Rent/Buy
Jon Favreau’s Elf is the near-perfect Yuletide movie, one which established itself as a seasonal favourite soon after its release 18 years ago.
A genuinely sweet-natured comedy, but one that rarely lapses into mawkishness (and that can be forgiven) featuring strong performances all round, with Will Ferrell (Buddy the adopted Elf) and James Caan (as his long-lost father Walter Hobbs) especially good.
The fact that Caan plays his role straight makes the movie even more fun, especially when first confronted by Buddy in his full Elf regalia.
The late Ed Asner plays Santa, with Bob Newhart as Papa Elf, Ferrell’s adopted Elf-father; both excellent, as are Mary Steenburgen (Walter’s wife Emily) and Zooey Deschanel as Jovie, who stirs up very un-Elflike feelings in Buddy.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) Amazon Rent/Buy
Concerned parents may have to shield younger children’s ears or press ‘mute’ when Chevy Chase’s Clark W Griswold Jr launches into a foul-mouthed tirade about the Holiday Season.
But aside from that, Christmas Vacation provides plenty of family-friendly laughs, making it the second best of the four Vacation pictures, with 1983’s first movie leading the field.
US sitcom fans will recognise Johnny Galecki (Big Bang Theory) and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep/Seinfeld) amongst the cast.
The Princess Bride (1987) Amazon Prime, Rent/Buy
Although beloved by many, I have never really got the appeal of Rob Reiner’s fairytale yarn, although I can understand why others like it, and they’re a decent number of enjoyable scenes.
A chum of mine was an extra (typecast as a serf) in the scenes shot in Haddon Hall in Derbyshire; the cast (including Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, and Mandy Patinkin) were apparently having a good time under Reiner’s actor-friendly direction.
This is evident in the performances, with everyone entering into the spirit of the piece, which echoes the comic operas of Gilbert & Sullivan with pirates, foundlings, and pompous nobles.
The Princess Bride’s framing as part of a story told by Grandpa (Peter Falk) to his grandson (Fred Savage) was spoofed by Ryan Reynolds in Once Upon a Deadpool (2018), with a now much older Fred Savage joining in the fun.
Dougal and the Blue Cat (1970)
A personal favourite of mine, this feature length animated Magic Roundabout tale is a psychedelic treat, with a frankly bonkers plot that sees Dougal pitched against the evil titular mouser. The joy of the movie, and series, was always Eric Thompson’s (father of Emma) wonderful narration, which he adapted from the French original whose ironic undertones did not escape older viewers.
Thompson is joined in the picture by the late Fenella Fielding as Blue Voice (a.k.a. Madam Blue), who plots to turn the entire Roundabout-verse to shades of navy.
A wretched computer animated Magic Roundabout movie was released in 2005; pub singer Robbie Williams voiced Dougal in the English language version. Avoid.
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