When the world looks a little bleak, sometimes there’s nothing better than watching some fun, uplifting, and feel-good movies to raise your spirits. Although some of the films listed below do have a few sad moments, they all have one thing in common: a blissfully happy ending. So sit back, relax, and let these films inject some sunshine into your life.
1. Legally Blonde
Reese Witherspoon delights in this story about a bright but blonde coed who defeats the naysayers who think she isn’t smart enough to make it as a law student.
2. Pitch Perfect
This tale of a collegiate a cappella team of made up of quirky underdogs will have you cheering and dancing along with each rousing musical mashup they sing in their quest to win the national championships.
3. The Sound of Music
Hands down, one of the best musicals of all-time.
Source: ShutterstockThis classic film shows the triumphs of one family who rediscovers what love is just as World War II threatens to tear them apart.
4. The Truman Show
Jim Carrey gives one of his best performances in this tale about a man who suspects something isn’t right in the world around him. As he investigates more, he discovers a way to take charge of his own destiny.
5. A League of Their Own
Although there’s no crying in baseball, it will be hard not to shed a few tears as you watch this Penny Marshall film. It’s about the first professional baseball league for women set in the 1940s. Tom Hanks and Geena Davis lead this hilarious and inspiring film about following your dreams.
6. Frozen
Most Disney movies would qualify for this feel-good movies list, but Frozen is one that we particularly love. We dare you not to belt out “Let It Go” in this story about sisterly love and self-acceptance.
7. The Holiday
Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz star in this sweet film. It’s about two lovelorn women on opposite sides of the world who traded houses in an attempt to shake up their lives.
8. The Sandlot
A group of boys get together to play baseball and experience a summer they’ll never forget. When they lose a treasured baseball after an unlikely home run, they’ll go through many hijinks to retrieve it from a mythical and terrifying dog known simply as “The Beast.”
9. 13 Going on 30
Jennifer Garner nails this role as a girl who wakes up one day in the body of a fully-grown woman. As she fumbles around trying to figure out what happened, she must also figure out how to become the person she’d always thought she’d be.
10. You’ve Got Mail
Source: ShutterstockTom Hanks and Meg Ryan pair perfectly together in this tale of two competing bookstore owners in New York who loathe each other. But when they unknowingly fall in love over the internet, what happens next?
11. Rudy
This moving true tale of an underdog who wants nothing more than to play Notre Dame football will leave you with a tear in your eye and a soaring spirit by the time the credits roll.
12. Waitress
Small-town waitress Jenna finds herself unexpectedly pregnant while trying to leave her unhappy marriage. In the process, she starts an unlikely new relationship while baking up some of her signature mouth-watering pies.
13. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Watch and laugh as Matthew Broderick fully inhabits the mischievous Ferris Bueller. He’s a Chicago high school student who’ll do anything to get himself and his friends out of class for the day.
14. Elf
This is one of the many feel-good movies that you’d watch several times. It isn’t just for the holidays! Will Ferrell will make you laugh until you cry all year long as Buddy, a human who was raised as an elf in the North Pole. When he travels to New York City to find his real father, he’s introduced to an entirely new world.
15. My Cousin Vinny
An inexperienced lawyer from New York finds himself defending his cousin in a murder trial in the deep South. As he does, he discovers he’s woefully unprepared for both the courtroom and small-town life. Marisa Tomei steals the spotlight as his weary and whip-smart fiancée.
16. Enchanted
Amy Adams shines in this spoof on storybook fairytale romances. Starting out as an animated princess set to marry her Prince Charming, she is soon thrust into the real world.
Source: ShutterstockShe discovers that sometimes your happy ending looks a little different than you thought it would.
17. About Time
From director Richard Curtis, this film is about a man who can travel back in time and changes his past. It’s a real tear-jerker. But it will also make you appreciate even the small moments in your everyday life.
18. Hidden Figures
Three women won’t let segregation stifle their dreams of rising through the ranks at NASA in this heartwarming tale that teaches you to shoot for the moon.
19. Return to Me
Sweet as candy, this film follows a widower and a waitress who fall in love until unlikely circumstances threaten their budding relationship. A cast of lively characters helps them realize they need to follow their hearts.
20. Singin’ in the Rain
Gene Kelly charms as he memorably dances his way through the title song. But the rest of this movie about the transition from silent films to “talkies” is positively delightful as well. This Hollywood classic has impressed for decades and lives up to its reputation even in the modern age.
21. The Shawshank Redemption
Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman star as two men trying to survive in a brutal penitentiary during the 1940s. Spanning 20 years, they rely on each other and their undying spirits to emerge victorious after a long life on the inside.
22. How to Train Your Dragon
Hiccup is part of a Viking village that is known dragon-slayers. But when he creates a special bond with a rare and elusive Night Fury dragon, he must do everything he can to prove that they can all live in harmony.
Source: Shutterstock23. The Proposal
Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds show their great chemistry as a demanding boss and her beleaguered assistant whom she ropes into marriage so she can stay in the country. Betty White provides additional comic relief in this movie that wasn’t short on laughs to begin with.
24. The Karate Kid
Everyone knows this tale of a New Jersey teen who learns to fight back against his bullies while also learning valuable life lessons from his sage neighbor, Mr. Miyagi. Revisit this classic again to feel your heart soar as he beats the odds to emerge as a champion.
25. Billy Elliott
This poignant tale of an 11-year old boy who discovers a love for ballet will dance its way into your heart. Billy conceals his lessons from his coal-miner father who disapproves of his son’s choice of pastimes, but his talents soon prove to be too much to hide.
Next time you’re feeling a bit down, it’s good to know that a pick-me-up is only as far away as a few clicks on your remote. Take some time to watch a few of these feel-good flicks and let your troubles melt away for a few hours.
