The 10 Most Uplifting Movies of All Time, Ranked
Jeremy has more than 2900 published articles on Collider to his name, and has been writing for the site since February 2022. He's an omnivore when it comes to his movie-watching diet, so will gladly watch and write about almost anything, from old Godzilla films to gangster flicks to samurai movies to classic musicals to the French New Wave to the MCU... well, maybe not the Disney+ shows.
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Not everything will be uplifting to every single person, because this is an emotion being dealt with, and ranking anything to do with emotions always carries with it a bit more subjectivity than less emotion-focused topics might. So, if you’ve seen all the movies below, and you didn’t happen to find them inspiring or spirit-raising in one way or another, sorry about that. But it’s always possible.
This is an attempt to highlight some of the most uplifting movies of all time, partly because they're uplifting to the person who picked them, and then also partly because other people have, for the most part, seemed to find them moving as well. Also, to keep things interesting, there's a range of genres covered below, and also, not all of these movies are uplifting for the entirety of their runtimes, as some have harrowing or even confronting drama dealt with before an eventual ending that feels well-earned and, ultimately, uplifting/inspiring in nature.
10 'It's a Wonderful Life' (1946)
It’s a Wonderful Life is pretty much the definitive Christmas movie, and with that being a holiday that’s generally associated with warmth and generally good feelings (most of the time; it’s not going to be like that for everyone every year, and some Christmas movies are a little more cynical), it’s fitting that the movie is also ultimately quite inspiring. That being said, a decent chunk of It’s a Wonderful Life has life not really feeling all that wonderful for George Bailey.
There’s despair he grapples with, and he questions his worth, but after going through a lot, and being shown a certain truth about his existence through fantastical/supernatural means, purpose is found once more. It’s cheesy when you break it down that way, but in execution, It’s a Wonderful Life does make that emotional journey – and the overcoming of certain obstacles – undeniably stirring.
9 'Perfect Days' (2023)
There is absolutely nothing thrilling, action-focused, or even particularly dramatic to be found in Perfect Days, and so trying to describe the movie might make it sound very dull, but it manages to be very moving in unexpected ways. It can still be labeled a drama, and it has a lot to say about the human condition, but the drama is not explosive, and there also isn't much by way of genuine conflict, outside potentially what the main character is going through internally.
For the most part, this is a relaxing movie about finding purpose and peace in very little things.
That main character is a toilet cleaner living in Tokyo, and he has a very strict routine he adheres to that brings him peace and a level of relative comfort. There are other characters whose plights are a little sadder, and then one supporting character whose role in the story suggests that the protagonist of Perfect Days might be going through some things he doesn’t let on about, but for the most part, this is a relaxing movie about finding purpose and peace in very little things, and so there is an undeniable sense of comfort that one can feel from watching this.
8 'Inside Out' (2015)
Almost every Pixar movie worth a damn is emotional, but Inside Out, even if it’s not the most emotional (it’s a contender, for what it’s worth), is the first one literally about emotions. The main characters here are all emotions inside the mind of a young girl, and they find that effectively “running” said young girl is difficult because of some of the things she’s going through, and because the emotion of sadness (or "Sadness") keeps making things difficult.
Inside Out is about accepting sadness as a part of life, in essence, done in a way that will likely be genuinely helpful to younger viewers, and then also executed in a way that doesn’t feel cheap or overly simple if you're an older viewer watching Inside Out for the first time. It deals with some heavy stuff emotionally but in a very gentle way, and it’s incredibly moving and heartfelt (again, even more so than you might expect for a movie about emotions, made by a studio that’s put out so many emotional animated movies over the years).
7 'Paterson' (2016)
You can liken Paterson to Perfect Days in the sense that both were directed by filmmakers associated with the arthouse genre (Jim Jarmusch for Paterson and Wim Wenders for Perfect Days), and both are quite relaxed with their focus on men who live simple but emotionally fulfilling lives. The titular character in Paterson isn't quite as isolated, since he’s married and also has a dog he spends a lot of time with, but he goes about his life like the main character of Perfect Days.
And so you also don’t get a ton of conflict or anything close to heightened drama in Paterson, yet it does remain interesting and quietly moving in odd and unexpected ways. On paper, watching someone drive a bus and then do a few things during his time off might sound tedious, but Paterson really isn't tedious. You need to be aware it’s a slower movie going in, yet if you're open to that, there is a lot to be gained from getting on the film’s wavelength and appreciating both what it’s going for and what it says about life more generally.
6 'Marcel the Shell with Shoes On' (2021)
Marcel is a shell, and he does wear shoes, so that counts for something. Beyond the title, though, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is about that shell searching for his family and his overall community after getting separated from them. He lives with his grandmother, and both have unique outlooks on life that are covered when they befriend a documentary filmmaker, with said filmmaker also helping them in the search to find those they’ve been separated from.
It’s not a ton of material to work with for a runtime of about 90 minutes, but there is just enough story here, and then there’s also a ton to appreciate beyond the central narrative of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. Feeling a wide range of emotions is inevitable here, to a potentially surprising extent, with the line between comedy and drama walked exceptionally well throughout, especially for something that does ultimately feel like a movie appropriate for most ages.
5 'When Harry Met Sally' (1989)
When Harry Met Sally is a rom-com that is inevitably honest about relationships and the ups and downs of falling for someone, albeit without sacrificing that feel-good quality so many rom-coms have. Calling it subversive or some kind of anti-rom-com isn't quite accurate, as a result, even if this is something you could show to someone who doesn’t really like rom-coms, and they'd be likely to like it (or maybe even love it).
That is the sign of an exceptional film, and it’s more touching than most romantic comedies because the sincerity is honest, and so there’s nothing here that really feels manufactured or at risk of ringing false. When Harry Met Sally is just that good, and is also very much irresistible as you’ve likely already heard it is (believe the hype that’s built up around this movie over the past 37 or so years, in other words).
4 'The Lion King' (1994)
Since it’s an animated Disney movie, The Lion King is technically family-friendly, but there is a genuinely despicable villain here in the form of Scar, and he proves to do a whole lot of damage before he’s bested. He murders his brother, who is the king, not to mention the father of the protagonist, Simba, and then Simba, as a child, is almost killed as well, and made to feel like he’s responsible for his father’s death.
As has been pointed out many times before, much of the premise is like Hamlet but with lions, though the second half is inevitably very different, and it should go without saying that The Lion King does not eventually end in the same manner that Hamlet does. It does put Simba through a lot before achieving some kind of victory and learning who he is, though, so it’s another movie worth mentioning for the fact that its ending is inspiring and exceptionally well-earned.
3 'The Shawshank Redemption' (1994)
For this not being in the number 1 spot, sorry. Maybe it should be. The Shawshank Redemption is basically impossible to dislike, after all, and even with so much of it being emotionally intense and grueling as a prison drama, the way it ends does ultimately make it inspiring and life-affirming. You do have to comprehend all the misery before you're able to appreciate how beautiful it all is at the end, with its positive ending well and truly earned.
That all makes it sound a little simple, as was the case with trying to summarize It’s a Wonderful Life and what makes that film so wonderful, but, even if it sounds like a bit of a lazy shortcut once more, it’s all in the execution. The Shawshank Redemption has flawless execution on its side. It does everything right for the entirety of its runtime (nearly 2.5 hours, all up), and makes it so that it’s impossible not to feel at least a little moved by the time the ending comes around.
2 '127 Hours' (2010)
It might seem like an odd pick here, because without a doubt, 127 Hours is a difficult watch, and then it’s further harrowing because it tells a true story, yet all the suffering here is covered in intense detail so that the eventual ending can prove even more triumphant. The true story in question focuses on a mountain climber named Aron Ralston, and what happens after he finds himself trapped, entirely on his own, after a boulder crushes/traps his arm.
You only have to know a little about Ralston and 127 Hours to have some idea of where it’s headed, and even if you didn’t know anything, you'd have to admit that ending on a complete downer note would be a strange choice. Thankfully, the real-life story is an eventually uplifting one, in a way, and what it has to say about human nature – and the willingness to persevere despite the harshest of odds – does make 127 Hours extremely inspiring.
1 'Singin' in the Rain' (1952)
One of the most approachable and broadly enjoyable of all the classic Hollywood musicals, Singin’ in the Rain is easy to recommend to just about anyone, even those individuals who might think they don’t like musicals. This is one that could well convert you, or help you see the light, so to speak, and it’s an undoubtedly feel-good movie, even though it’s also about a group of characters who do inevitably have quite a lot to overcome.
They're living and working in Hollywood around the time that the film industry was moving out of the silent era and into the talkie era (if that’s even an era? Probably not, since just about everything is a talkie now, and has been for centuries upon centuries). It’s still breezy and fun seeing them grapple with that, but those challenges are still there in any event, and then overcome by the time things come to a close. So, it’s fun throughout, and then it’s also inspiring in the sense that the eventual victories are well-earned, so it’s hard not to see Singin’ in the Rain as one of the most feel-good movies ever made, honestly.
Singin' in the Rain
- Release Date
- April 10, 1952
- Runtime
- 103 minutes
- Director
- Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen
- Writers
- Adolph Green
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