10 Netflix Movies to Watch With Your Dad

It’s Father’s Day weekend, which means there’s no better time to kick back with your dad (and your family) with a good movie, and Netflix has tons. I’ve pulled together this list of father-centric family movies, ranging from comedies, dramas, comedy-dramas, animations, and even stand-up specials, that you can watch with your dad for some quality time.

And even if your dad nods off on the couch two minutes in, these Netflix picks are good family movies, too, so you can let the man sleep and still have a good time. Here, then, is our list of some of the best Netflix movies to watch with your dad on Father’s Day.

10

Ultraman: Rising

Ultraman: Rising is one of the best animated movies on Netflix released in 2024. This standalone film, based on the manga Ultraman, follows the same plot as its source material and the Ultraman series. This sci-fi, action-adventure film follows the story of pro baseball player Kenji Sato, whose father was once Ultraman, a superhero who kept kaiju (giant monsters) in check. Kenji has inherited the mantle of Ultraman, but is not representative of what the superhero is about. Things change when a baby kaiju imprints on him, forcing him to take it home and raise it. This triggers a chain of events where Kenji copes with his feelings about his father while being one to the kaiju himself.

Ultraman: Rising is an entertaining, comedic, and emotional watch with stellar animation and storytelling. The movie does justice to its source material and is a good watch if you’re craving some in-your-feelings action animation with a dose of cuteness.

9

The Adam Project

Directed by Shawn Levy (Free Guy, Deadpool & Wolverine), The Adam Project is a sci-fi comedy with a star-studded cast including Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, Catherine Keener, and Zoe Saldaña. The film is about Adam Reed (Reynolds), a fighter pilot who time-travels from 2050 to 2018 to save his wife. On this journey, he meets his younger self (played by Walker Scobell), who is coping with his demons. Adam’s older and younger selves team up to prevent a tragedy from happening, while fighting a villain from the future (Keener).

The Adam Project is, at its core, a story about family, love, and loss. In the first weekend of its release, over 3 million American households watched this movie. It has been streamed over 157 million times, making it the fourth most popular film on Netflix.

8

My Neighbors The Yamadas

If you and your family love animation, this nostalgic comedy film about the daily lives of the Yamada family is a must-watch. My Neighbors the Yamadas is Studio Ghibli’s first completely digital film, and unlike other Ghibli movies, follows a stylized comic strip aesthetic. This slice-of-life film is based on the weekly comic strip manga, Nono-chan. The Yamadas include parents Takashi and Matsuko, their son and daughter, Matsuko’s mother, and a dog.

The movie follows a curious format, with everyday events of the Yamadas being depicted in a series of vignettes. Each vignette deals with a different family-centric issue, such as the relationship between father and son, the role model responsibility of the father, and the wisdom of age. My Neighbors The Yamadas is a sweet and funny family watch that you will enjoy if you’re a fan of Studio Ghibli and comic strip stories.

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7

Fatherhood

Starring Kevin Hart, Fatherhood is an emotional comedy-drama that you will love if you’re big on family movies. The plot revolves around Matt, who loses his childhood sweetheart, Liz, after she gives birth to their daughter, Maddy. Faced with the newfound challenges of being a single father, Matt has to deal with raising Maddy and balancing his full-time job. With the help of his friends and other parents, Matt goes through the fatherhood journey. As Maddy grows up, Matt tries to move on with his love life and faces the hurdles of his daughter not having a mother figure in his life.

Fatherhood is based on the 2011 memoir, Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Loss and Love, by Mathew Logelin. This true story is a heartwarming and essential watch for any family movie night.

6

Instant Family

Instant Family is a comedy-drama partly based on director Sean Anders’ own experience. The film follows Pete and Ellie Wagner (Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne), a married couple who consider adoption after pressure from relatives to have children. They foster three siblings, Lizzie, Juan, and Lita, who bring their own set of problems to the Wagners’ house. Lizzie is a rebel teen who resists parenting from Pete and Ellie, Juan is fragile, and Lita throws a lot of tantrums. How the Wagners deal with these problems while trying to develop emotional bonds with the children makes up the rest of this movie.

Instant Family is a must-watch for its comedic take on adoption and fostering, and the film does a good job of keeping the character dynamics at the forefront despite tackling a serious subject.

5

The Mitchells vs The Machines

The Mitchells vs. The Machines is a sci-fi comedy animated film by Sony Pictures Imageworks. The film follows the Mitchells, a dysfunctional family with a daughter (Katie), her parents (Rick and Linda), and their family dog. Katie gets into film school in California, and her father insists on driving her to her college to patch up a fight they had. On their family road trip, things start going haywire when a large-scale uprising is staged by all the world’s electronics, leading to a bizarre road chase that the Mitchells must survive.

This humorous film comes with a healthy dose of emotional storytelling and a father-daughter-focused plot that will have you teary-eyed in no time. The Mitchells vs. The Machines became Netflix’s most-streamed animated work, with over 53 million households watching it within 28 days of release.

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4

Hustle

Adam Sandler stars in this sports-comedy film about Stanley, an international scout for the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers. His profession, however, has taken a toll on his relationship with his wife and daughter. While being down on his luck in his quest to find new players, Stanley comes across a talented player, Bo, from Spain, whose basketball dreams were foiled in the past. Stanley’s journey to get Bo, who is dealing with his own problems with his daughter, on the team are explored in the movie.

Upon the first week of its release on Netflix, Hustle was the most-streamed movie on the platform. The film received high praise for its grounded performances, especially from Sandler, who does a convincing job as a jaded scout.

3

The Week Of

The Week Of is another comedy film for fans of Adam Sandler, directed by Robert Smigel, starring (and co-written by) Sandler, Chris Rock, and Rachel Dratch. The film depicts the events leading up to a wedding, as the fathers of the bride and groom clash with their opposing personalities. From finance conflicts to wedding planning logistics, which are all laden with hilarious misunderstandings, the pre-wedding festivities involve a lot of drama and chaos orchestrated by the fathers. As the dads are forced to spend the week tolerating each other and keeping the mess under wraps, their bonds with their children unite them, too.

2

Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio

Guillermo Del Toro’s recreation of the story of Pinocchio (based on the Italian novel The Adventures of Pinocchio) is a thrilling celebration of animation that you will love if you’re a fan of modern retellings of classic stories. The dark fantasy musical, set in Fascist Italy, Pinocchio follows Geppetto, a woodcarver who lost his son in World War I. Geppetto carves Pinocchio, a wooden boy made of pine who causes trouble for his father. Geppetto gets to care for his new child while struggling with raising him, in the background of an unstable Italy that impacts everyone’s lives.

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio uses stop-motion animation that is captivating to watch. The film won many accolades, notably the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film in 2023.

1

Mike Birbiglia: The Good Life

If you’re not in the mood for a film but still want a family-centric (TV-PG) Netflix watch this weekend that you can all laugh along to, try this stand-up comedy special by comedian Mike Birbiglia. In The Good Life, Birbiglia talks about things like marriage and the insanity of kids’ parties. Most importantly, he talks about his relationship with his own father while being a father himself. Like much of Birbiglia’s previous specials (and especially with his riveting autobiographical 2012 film, Sleepwalk with Me), The Good Life is deeply personal and relatable. If you like The Good Life, you can also check out Birbiglia’s other Netflix comedy specials, notably Thank God for Jokes.

You can explore more family movies using the Netflix secret codes trick. When you type 783 in your Netflix search bar, you can filter child-friendly family movies. You can also use the code 51056 to explore more family content. Happy Father’s Day, dads.