If you’ve got more than enough drama in your life, you may be looking for the cinematic equivalent of a warm hug. Fortunately, Netflix has a lineup of feel-good movies that go a long way toward making viewers feel better. These flicks aren’t without drama or even a few thrills. But rest assured, none of our choices are dour or downbeat flicks that will leave you feeling miserable after having watched them. In these movies, everything works out in the end.
Our latest additions to the best feel-good movies on Netflix include The Edge of Seventeen, The Peanut Butter Falcon, Paddington, and a film celebrating its 40th anniversary this year: Moscow on the Hudson. For the rest of our selections, just keep scrolling down.
If this isn’t what you’re looking for, check out our other feel-good lists, including the best comedies on Netflix, the best stand-up comedy on Netflix, and the best romantic comedies on Netflix.
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Paddington2014
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Moscow on the Hudson1984
The Edge of Seventeen (2016)
77%
7.3/10Nadine Franklin (Hailee Steinfeld) faces a lot of inner and outer turmoil in The Edge of Seventeen, especially after her best friend, Krista (The White Lotus‘ Haley Lu Richardson), starts dating her brother, Darian Franklin (Blake Jenner). Nadine didn’t have the best relationship with her brother before this, and now she and Krista are barely speaking to each other.
Both Nadine and Darian are also dealing with their lingering grief over the death of their father. Nadine gets some guidance from her teacher, Max Bruner (Woody Harrelson), but she’s ultimately got to get her own answers about her life and how she can reconcile with her brother and her friend.
The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)
70%
7.6/10The most heartwarming thing about The Peanut Butter Falcon is the emotional bond that develops between two misfits: Tyler (Shia LaBeouf) and Zak (Zack Gottsagen), neither of whom knew each other before they both ran away from their lives in the hope of finding something better. Since Zak has Down Syndrome, Tyler becomes like an older brother to him. Tyler even tries to help Zak realize his ambition of becoming a professional wrestler.
Zak’s caregiver, Eleanor (Madame Web‘s Dakota Johnson), is supposed to bring him back to his assisted living facility. But because she actually does care about Zak’s well-being, Eleanor decides to stay with Tyler and see Zak’s dreams come to fruition.
Paddington (2014)
77%
7.3/10If you’re looking for a feel-good movie that will play especially well to children, then Paddington is an ideal choice. Even older viewers tend to be charmed by Paddington Bear (Ben Whishaw), a talking bear from Peru who is earnest, kind, and infallibly polite. All Paddington really wants is to find a new home in London and a family to love.
Henry (Hugh Bonneville) and Mary Brown (Sally Hawkins), and their children, Judy (Madeleine Harris) and Jonathan (Samuel Joslin), take Paddington in. But before Paddington officially becomes a member of the family, the Browns will have to protect him from Millicent Clyde (Nicole Kidman), a deranged woman who wants to have him stuffed.
Moscow on the Hudson (1984)
67%
6.5/10The late Robin Williams may not have had the most convincing Russian accent, but it’s hard not to feel for his character, Vladimir Ivanov, in Moscow on the Hudson. After impulsively defecting from Russia during a visit to the U.S., Vladimir is left with almost nothing except his newfound friends, Lucia Lombardo (María Conchita Alonso) and Lionel Witherspoon (Cleavant Derricks).
Despite having his freedom, Vladimir has some difficulties adjusting to life outside of the Soviet Union. And when both Lucia and Lionel go off in their own directions, Vladimir has to reconsider the course of his life and what he really wants out of it.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2022)
80%
7.7/10There’s something inspiring about the way that Dean Fleischer Camp and Jenny Slate turned their viral videos about Marcel the Shell with Shoes On into one of the rare independently produced animated films. Although this movie does have some live-action characters, including Fleischer Camp’s Dean, a filmmaker who moves into an Airbnb only to discover a childlike talking shell named Marcel (Slate) and his grandmother, Nana Connie (Isabella Rossellini).
Marcel and Dean quickly bond and the latter’s videos of Marcel make him famous in a very short period of time. That’s not something that Marcel is entirely on board with, but he does really want to reunite with his shell family after years of missing them. Now, Marcel will get a chance to have that reunion.
Love at First Sight (2023)
55%
6.8/10Do you believe in love at first sight? It’s hard enough to find any person who will return your love, much less make an instant connection. But it does make for some fun romantic comedies. Netflix’s Love At First Sight centers on Hadley Sullivan (The White Lotus‘ Haley Lu Richardson) and Oliver Jones (Ben Hardy), a pair of strangers who meet at an airport and spend time together before getting on a long flight to London.
Fate steps in to give the two a push towards love by moving Oliver into the vacant seat next to Hadley during the flight. From there, it’s pure love right until the duo lose track of each other in customs. Hadley realizes that they may have had something special, and the only question is simple: How far will she go to find Oliver again?
The Greatest Night in Pop (2024)
69%
7.9/10There’s something almost quaint about the idea of the biggest music stars in the world coming together to record a charity song to combat a famine in Africa. But it really happened in 1985 with the recording of We Are the World. Some of those superstars, including Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Ray Charles, Kenny Rogers, and Harry Belafonte, are no longer with us.
One of the best Netflix movies of 2024 so far, The Greatest Night in Pop features an intimate look at the chaotic recording session that brought all these acts into the same room. Some participants, including Bruce Springsteen and Lionel Richie, participate in new interviews as they share their memories of the night they spent together almost 40 years ago.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023)
The Speed Cubers (2020)
Your Place or Mine (2023)
The Redeem Team (2022)
76%
7.4/10Hustle (2022)
68%
7.3/10The Harder They Fall (2021)
68%
6.6/10Wine Country (2019)
56%
5.4/10The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)
68%
7.6/10The Half of It (2020)
74%
6.9/10Dumplin' (2018)
53%
6.5/10Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)
50%
6.5/10Concrete Cowboy (2020)
67%
6.3/10The Fundamentals of Caring (2016)
55%
7.3/10
Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
81%
7.8/10Set It Up (2018)
62%
6.5/10Work It (2020)
58%
6.1/10The Princess Switch (2018)
6/10Always Be My Maybe (2019)
64%
6.8/10To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018)
64%
7/10Editors' Recommendations
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