In need of a pick-me-up? Few things are as whole-body comforting as a great feel-good movie. Sometimes self-care requires only a Netflix subscription, as the streamer has an incredible collection of films that'll make you feel all warmy and fuzzy inside.
In the mood for a crush-worthy teen romance? How about a musical alive with jams and wild physical comedy? Maybe some family-focused hijinks? Some eye-popping animated adventures? Or perhaps you just want some quality time with the world's most lovable bear? Whatever your pick, you're sure to be smiling in short order.
Here are the 16 best feel-good movies now streaming on Netflix.
1. Dumplin’
Dumplin’ is the definition of sweet. While this coming-of-age story has a small-town Texas girl (Danielle Macdonald) entering the local pageant to spite her beauty queen mother, she learns a few important lessons about self-worth along the way. The movie is full of character and has a few key elements that make almost anything better, including Jennifer Aniston, glitzy costumes, and Dolly Parton songs. Its heart and warmth make it worthy of a crown. —Brooke Bajgrowicz, Entertainment Fellow
Where to watch: Dumplin’ is streaming on Netflix.
2. Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Taika Waititi’s 2016 charmer stars Deadpool 2’s Julian Dennison and Jurassic Park’s Sam Neill as an unlikely family unit, bonded by loss and life on the run. Ricky (Dennison) is a juvenile delinquent sent to live with Hector (Neill) and his wife Bella, but the caring Bella suddenly passes away, leaving the de facto father and son to butt heads. Ricky runs away from home with Hec hot on his heels, and they agree on one thing: To live in the New Zealand bush and never go back to society. That decision goes over badly with literally everyone else, especially the government, which tracks Hector and Ricky through the wilderness and threatens to separate them for good. Look out for a signature cameo from the writer/director and Thor: Ragnarok’s Rachel House, as well as that unapologetically Kiwi humor that is Waititi’s sweet spot. —Proma Khosla, Entertainment Reporter*
Where to watch: Hunt for the Wilderpeople is streaming on Netflix.
3. Jingle Jangle
Shut up and embrace the magic of Christmas with Jingle Jangle, a delightful, original musical about family, toys, and inheritable mechanical ingenuity. Forest Whitaker stars as Jeronicus Jangle, a formerly genius toymaker who thinks he’s lost everything. But his daughter Jessica (literal Disney princess Anika Noni Rose) and granddaughter Journey (newcomer Madalen Mills) come back into his life to reignite the spark that makes their family special. Ricky Martin, Phylicia Rashad, and Keegan-Michael Key also star in unforgettable roles that play together to make Jingle Jangle an instant holiday classic. —Alexis Nedd, Senior Entertainment Reporter*
Where to watch: Jingle Jangle is streaming on Netflix.
4. The Forty-Year-Old Version
Get to know the hugely relatable voice of Radha Blank in the first-time writer/director's semi-autobiographical comedy, in which she also stars and raps like freakin' badass. A story about a middle-aged playwright facing an artistic crisis, The Forty-Year-Old Version tackles its daunting themes of ambition, identity, racism, and aging with the irreverent tenacity demanded of its bold auteur. You'll laugh as Blank tosses away searingly clever lines with ease, and you'll be deeply moved by her more private moments of self-reflection. —Alison Foreman, Entertainment Reporter
Where to watch: The Forty-Year-Old Version is streaming on Netflix.
5. Kiss the Ground
It’s hard to imagine a documentary about the general health of our planet being uplifting. But despite human-led climate change, damaging factory-scale farming practices, and the deterioration of our food-bearing soils, Kiss the Ground shows that we haven’t crossed a point of no return. Smaller-scale farming, regenerative agriculture, and the restoration of nutrient- and microbe-deficient soil is not only a possible path toward rehabilitating the planet, it’s a path that many people are already taking. Featuring farmers, experts, eco-minded celebrities, and activists, Kiss the Ground lays out both the issues affecting the ground beneath us and the myriad ways people can buck these trends to make the soil richer, the plants healthier, and the planet better off as a whole. —Kellen Beck, Science Reporter
Where to watch: Kiss the Ground is streaming on Netflix.
6. Paddington
Inspired by Michael Bond's beloved children's books, Paddington is a critically heralded romp that blends a crackerjack live-action cast (Hugh Bonneville! Sally Hawkins! Julie Walters! Peter Capaldi!) with an adorable CGI bear (voiced by Ben Whishaw), who wears a blue coat and cherishes marmalade. Traveling from the jungles of Peru to London, the titular bear is reluctantly taken in by the Brown family. But as cultures collide, Paddington's freedom —indeed, his very life! — are threatened by an overzealous taxidermist (a gamely over-the-top Nicole Kidman), who is ruthlessly determined to make him her next specimen! Full of whimsy, wit, and warmth, Paddington is a jolly delight that demands rewatching. —Kristy Puchko, Film Editor
Where to watch: Paddington is streaming on Netflix.
7. Over the Moon
You’ll basically get the same experience watching Over the Moon as you do when you watch a colorful bath bomb fizz: It’s comforting and pretty to look at. This Netflix animation has a Chinese girl named Fei Fei taking a journey through the stars to meet the moon goddess Chang’e after her mother’s death. In addition to featuring fanciful visuals, Over the Moon delivers a sweet and touching message about moving on. It’s hard not to feel a little lighter by the time the credits roll. —B.B.
Where to watch: Over the Moon is streaming on Netflix.
8. Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé
It's not often that we get to look behind the curtain when it comes to Beyoncé, and though Homecoming is tempered, it deeply satisfies that craving. The film follows the legendary singer as she performs at Coachella 2018, but the surprise gig also happens to be her biggest since giving birth to twins Rumi and Sir. Over two hours, you watch her ascend the stage like a phoenix rising, relishing the show's standout moments and audience energy at historically Black colleges across the country. In between, she opens up about the creative process, and we watch her vision come to life. It's the closest some of us will ever get to a Beyoncé concert, and we truly feel at home. —P.K.
Where to watch: Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé is streaming on Netflix.
9. Begin Again
Like most John Carney movies, Begin Again doesn't start out uplifting. Mark Ruffalo plays a down-on-his-luck music producer who hasn't been able to find a new voice in years, and Keira Knightley plays a brilliant songwriter whose dirtbag boyfriend (Adam Levine) got famous and left her in his dust. It's when these two sad sacks find each other and decide to make an album of live performances recorded on the streets of New York City that the power of music starts working its magic on their growing friendship and their lives. —A.N.
Where to watch: Begin Again is streaming on Netflix.
10. Dolemite Is My Name
Lightning struck for Netflix with Dolemite Is My Name. On the one hand, it’s a meaty starring role for Eddie Murphy, whose comeback is long overdue. Then there’s the role and the story itself, a hilarious biographical account of one Rudy Ray Moore. Learn how the famed comedian, singer, and actor first made his name as a stand-up comic and then went on to define some of the most well-known Blaxploitation epics of the ‘70s, starting with Dolemite. Fun, funny, and stacked with a staggeringly talented cast, this is one of the best movies you can watch on Netflix or anywhere else. —Adam Rosenberg, Senior Reporter and Editor
Where to watch: Dolemite Is My Name is streaming on Netflix.
11. Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
What isn’t feel-good about a movie where a struggling music duo is randomly selected to participate in the biggest music competition in all of Europe? Eurovision Song Contest is mad fun. There are glitzy sets, catchy songs, and memorably over-the-top performances by Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams. Did we mention Dan Stevens stars in a couple of fine onstage musical numbers as a campy Russian Eurovision idol? Come for the comedy, come back because you can’t get Jaja Ding Dong out of your head. —B.B.
Where to watch: Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is streaming on Netflix.
12. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
All Kabir (Abhay Deol) wants for his bachelor party in Spain is for his two best friends, Imran (Farhan Akhtar) and Arjun (Hrithik Roshan), to get along. But Arjun is obsessed with work as usual, while Imran hides his true agenda behind nonstop jokes. Years of history can't help pushing to the surface, along with old tensions and new secrets. Specific though it is, ZNMD is relatable to any friend group regardless of nationality or gender — thanks to the formidable sibling team of Farhan and Zoya Akhtar, co-writing with Reema Kagti, and Farhan on dialogues with Zoya in the director's chair. It also owes a lot to Farhan's Dil Chahta Hai from 2001, also on Netflix. —P.K.*
Where to watch: Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is streaming on Netflix.
13. A Knight's Tale
Heath Ledger brought every ounce of his inimitable charm to his starring role in A Knight's Tale, a historical fable based extremely loosely on the Chaucer story of the same name. Ledger plays Will Thatcher, a common squire whose knightly patron dies mid-tournament, leaving Will to don his armor and joust in his stead. Will and his friends Wat (Alan Tudyk), Roland (Mark Addy), and eventually Geoffrey Chaucer himself (Paul Bettany) team up to keep the ruse going as Will racks up victory after victory, only to risk it all when he falls in love with a noblewoman and starts to let his mask slip. It's quick, it's funny, it made a lot of money: A Knight's Tale! —A.N.
Where to watch: A Knight's Tale is streaming on Netflix.
14. To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Based on Jenny Han's YA novel of the same name, this teen rom-com centers on wistful wallflower Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor), who spends her school days steering clear of mean girls, then her nights dreaming of epic romances with various crushes. Her active imagination not only leads to whimsical fantasy sequences, but also to penning a series of love letters that she never intends to send. Naturally, the letters get out, leaving Lara Jean's most secret desires exposed! To dodge the reaction from one crush in particular, she conspires with kind-hearted jock Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) to be her pretend boyfriend. Amid shared scrunchies, love-dovey lock screens, yogurt drinks, and one steamy hot tub tryst, things get complicated as their fake romance sparks real feelings. And it's just the start to this charming trilogy! —K.P.*
Where to watch: To All the Boys I've Loved Before is streaming on Netflix.
15. The Breaker Upperers
This hidden gem comes from New Zealand, the fertile comedy ground that gave us Taika Waititi, Flight of the Conchords, and What We Do in the Shadows. Waititi collaborators Jackie van Beek, James Rolleston, and Jemaine Clement team up for a deeply quirky buddy comedy about two long-time besties with a bonkers — but brilliant — business model.
Need someone to dump your partner so you can avoid a messy confrontation? Call on Jen and Mel (co-writers/co-directors/co-leads van Beek and Madeleine Sami). For a reasonable fee, these fearless Breaker Upperers will impersonate police officers, play pregnant, or even fake your death to help you ghost an ex. Whatever the shenanigans, van Beek and Sami sparkle. Booming with wild humor and big heart, this comedy is guaranteed to leave you cackling. —K.P.*
Where to watch: The Breaker Upperers is streaming on Netflix.
16. The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Take your typical family road trip comedy, toss in a robot apocalypse, and top it all off with a heavy smattering of meme-worthy filters, doodles, and GIFs, and you might end up with something like The Mitchells vs. The Machines: a truly fun-for-the-whole-family feature that hinges on whether an artsy teen (voiced by Abbi Jacobson) and her Luddite dad (voiced by Danny McBride) can set aside their differences long enough to save all of humanity from being launched into space by Siri Pal.
Come for the jokes about our impending AI-led dystopia, stay for the heart-tugging moments of Mitchell family bonding. Director Michael Rianda crushed it. Seriously, we might never hear T.I. and Rihanna's "Live Your Life" without tearing up ever again.* —Angie Han, Deputy Entertainment Editor
How to watch: The Mitchells vs. The Machines is streaming on Netflix.
*This blurb previously appeared on another Mashable list.
UPDATE: Sep. 3, 2022, 5:00 a.m. EDT This list was originally published in Feb. 2021 and has been updated to reflect the current Netflix selection.
