10 Father's Day Movies That Hit You Right in the Feels

Dads come in all forms — biological, chosen, reluctant, hilarious, heroic. And if there’s one thing movies have taught us, it’s that fatherhood is messy, heartbreaking, joyful, and occasionally animated. Whether you’re bonding with dad over movie night or just in the mood to feel something, here are ten picks that hit you right in the paternal feels. Some will make you cry. Others will make you call your dad. Or both.

1. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

Chris Gardner is broke, homeless, and barely hanging on but his unwavering love for his son becomes the fuel for a journey of resilience and hope.

Will Smith gives a deeply human performance in a film that wears its emotional rawness on its sleeve. There’s no glamorizing struggle here, just the harsh edges of systemic failure and a father’s quiet refusal to quit. This isn’t just a rags-to-riches tale; it’s about the invisible labor of love that goes into surviving, one day at a time.

2. Finding Nemo (2003)

When his son is taken from him, one overly cautious clownfish sets off across the ocean, learning how to hold on and when to let go.

Beneath the bright colours and ocean puns is a story about trust, fear, and growing up for both child and parent. Marlin’s arc from helicopter dad to reluctant believer is both hilarious and heartrending. It’s Pixar at its finest: a deceptively simple adventure that leaves you unexpectedly wrecked in the best way.

3. Interstellar (2014)

As Earth crumbles, one father’s mission to save the planet turns into a race to return to the daughter he left behind even if it takes decades.

Visually arresting and intellectually dense, Interstellar balances cosmic ambition with grounded emotional stakes. It’s a space odyssey powered not by rockets but by regret and love. Nolan turns astrophysics into poetry, and McConaughey gives us a performance so raw it collapses the boundary between science fiction and soul.

4. The Road (2009)

A father and son trek through a dying world, armed with nothing but a cart, a pistol, and each other.

Bleak but oddly beautiful, The Road is a film that strips parenthood down to its barest form: protect, provide, preserve hope. Mortensen's haunted portrayal evokes a man clinging to his last scraps of humanity for the sake of his child. It’s not an easy watch but it’s an essential one for understanding the cost of love in the harshest conditions.

5. Father of the Bride (1991 / 2022)

His daughter is getting married and he’s spiraling. In hilarious, overprotective, dad-of-the-year fashion.

Both versions capture the very specific emotional chaos of fatherhood at a transitional moment. There’s comedy in the neuroses, yes, but also vulnerability in the realization that parenting is a long series of goodbyes. What elevates it beyond fluff is its ability to balance heart and humor without ever mocking the sentiment.

6. Big Fish (2003)

With his father on his deathbed, a son revisits his dad’s legendary life stories, searching for truth between the tall tales.

Tim Burton crafts a mythic tale that feels both grand and intimate. As the son tries to decode fantasy from fact, he stumbles into something far more profound: the realization that storytelling is legacy. Big Fish reminds us that the most unbelievable parts of our parents might just be the most real.

7. The Lion King (1994)

After the loss of his father, a young lion must find his way back home, and to himself.

There’s a reason this film holds generational weight. At its core, The Lion King is a parable about grief, accountability, and the burden of inheritance. Mufasa’s ghost isn’t just a memory, he’s a moral compass in lion form. It’s Shakespearean, it’s Disney, and it still cuts deep.

8. Logan (2017)

A weary Wolverine reluctantly becomes protector to a violent, mysterious girl who just might be the closest thing he has to family.

Logan is as much elegy as it is action film. It strips the superhero genre of spectacle and delivers a searing character study of a man who’s spent his life running from connection, now faced with the responsibility of care. Jackman gives a performance soaked in weariness and reluctant love. It’s not just his goodbye, it’s a reckoning.

9. About Time (2013)

A young man with time-travel powers doesn’t try to change the world, he just wants a few more moments with the people he loves, especially his dad.

What begins as a charming time-travel rom-com reveals itself as one of the most poignant meditations on fatherhood in modern cinema. Bill Nighy brings an unassuming tenderness that anchors the entire film. It’s less about fixing mistakes and more about cherishing the quiet, ordinary things — walks, jokes, goodbyes.

10. Ang Nanay Kong Tatay (1978)

A gay man steps in to raise a child not biologically his, facing ridicule, love, and everything in between.

Lino Brocka’s subversive gem doesn’t just challenge traditional fatherhood, it dismantles it with grace and humour. Dolphy sheds his comedic armour for a role filled with dignity and compassion, giving us a portrait of chosen family that still feels revolutionary. It’s tender, political, and deeply human.