Chef isn’t just one of my all-time favorite movies about fatherhood — if I ever get around to making a list of best food films, it’ll land there too without question.

After wrapping up his blockbuster duties with Iron Man, Jon Favreau switched gears and cooked up something smaller, more personal, and surprisingly heartwarming. Chef is a laid-back, feel-good comedy about a professional chef who walks away from a high-end restaurant to start a food truck.

What really makes this film stand out is the relationship at its core. It’s a dad trying to reconnect with his son, using food - and the road trip that comes with slinging sandwiches - as the bridge.

And if you end up craving more (food or Favreau), there’s a follow-up of sorts on Netflix called The Chef Show, where Favreau teams up with real-life chef Roy Choi and guests like Robert Rodriguez to cook, chat, and geek out over good meals. It’s part cooking tutorial, part hangout session, and all charm.

Alright dad, this one’s a tough watch - but in the best way. Life is Beautiful is a movie about a dad who turns the absolute worst thing in human history into a game, just to protect his son’s spirit. It's set during the Holocaust, but somehow, somehow, it’s funny. Not haha funny, not your favourite meme funny - but warm, human, laugh-through-the-tears funny.

The takeaway? Humor doesn’t fix horror, but it can soften the edges. It can turn fear into play, sadness into strength. And if a dad pretending a concentration camp is just a big competition isn’t love - I don’t know what is.

Pixar has never been afraid to tackle grown-up themes - they just happen to wrap them in colorful animation, heartfelt storytelling, and characters that make both kids and adults lean in. These aren't just cartoons; they’re beautifully crafted pieces of art that sneak wisdom and emotion into places you’d least expect.

Take this one, for example - a story about fatherhood at its core. A dad, cautious and caring, quite literally swims across the entire ocean to find his lost son. It’s funny, moving, and surprisingly deep (pun intended). It captures what being a parent often feels like: leaving the comfort of your little pond to dive headfirst into the unknown for your child.

It’s quintessential dad-ness, animated.

Aftersun isn’t wrapped in Pixar colors or talking fish - it’s quiet, raw, and stays with you after the credits roll. It doesn’t spell things out, and that’s exactly what makes it hit so hard.

At its heart, it’s a film about fatherhood - not the heroic, ocean-crossing kind, but the delicate, in-between moments. A dad on vacation with his daughter, trying his best to hold it together, to be present, to make memories - even as something inside him quietly unravels.

It’s about how kids remember things differently. How the smallest gestures - a dance, a joke, a glance - can echo years later. And how sometimes, what’s not said says the most.

Aftersun is like looking at an old photo: warm, familiar, a little out of focus and full of things you didn’t notice the first time.

The Road is fatherhood stripped to its bare, brutal core. No fun, no cozy moments, no clever jokes - just a man and his son trudging through a world that’s already ended, trying to survive one more day.

It’s not about teaching your kid to ride a bike or making pancakes on Sunday morning. It’s about carrying the fire - that tiny flicker of hope, love, and decency — through the ashes of everything else. A father doing whatever it takes to keep his boy alive, even when there's nothing left to live for.

It’s a powerful reminder that even when the world is gone to ruin, the bond between a father and his child can still be sacred.

No hope. No sunshine. The world ended. There is only love, worn down to the bone.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople was my first introduction to Taika Waititi — before Jojo Rabbit, before Thor: Ragnarok.

It’s the story of a kid who’s not exactly easy - a defiant, city-raised foster boy - and a gruff, reluctant father figure who never signed up for any of this. The two end up on the run in the New Zealand bush, dodging authorities, surviving the wilderness, and slowly, awkwardly, becoming something like family.

It’s classic Taika: stupid (but only on a surface) humor, quirky characters and emotional gut-punches hidden beneath one-liners. The film is hilarious and heartfelt in equal measure - a coming-of-age story, a reluctant dad tale, and a wilderness adventure all rolled into one. And yes, it’s laugh-out-loud funny. With wild boars. And haikus.

Kramer vs. Kramer was one of the first films to really challenge the old idea that parenting is a mother’s job by default. It’s a powerful reminder that fathers aren’t just secondary characters in their kids’ lives - they’re just as essential, and in some situations, they might be the most important presence a child has.

The movie tells the story of a man who’s suddenly left to raise his son alone after his wife walks out. At first, he’s lost - juggling work, school drop-offs, burnt French toast, and emotional meltdowns. But slowly, clumsily, he grows into the role. He learns how to be there, how to show up, how to love in the daily, unglamorous ways that matter most.

And then, just as he finds his footing, he’s faced with a legal battle to keep custody of the boy he’s fought so hard to raise.

Kramer vs. Kramer makes one thing clear: fatherhood isn’t backup parenting. It’s real and it’s just as vital as motherhood — sometimes even more so, especially when a child needs someone who’s willing to fight to stay in their life, no matter what.

And in the end, he even figured out how to make French toast.

The Descendants, directed by Alexander Payne, is a movie set against the postcard backdrop of Hawaii, but dealing with anything but a vacation.

At its center is a father blindsided by betrayal. His wife is in a coma after a boating accident, and while trying to hold the family together, he discovers she’d been having an affair. What follows isn’t rage or revenge, but a messy, human journey of trying to piece together what’s left - for his daughters, for himself, and for a future that no longer looks the way he imagined.

It’s a story about grief, forgiveness, and what it means to be a parent when everything feels like it’s slipping through your hands. Clooney plays it with a kind of weary tenderness - a dad trying to lead, even when he’s just barely staying afloat.

P.S. Also, be sure to check out Payne's Sideways and The Holdovers.

Viggo Mortensen plays a dad raising his six kids off the grid - deep in the forest, far from screens, schools, and society’s noise. He teaches them philosophy, survival skills, music, and honesty. It’s radical, idealistic, sometimes uncomfortable - but you can’t help but admire the commitment.

Watching it, I found myself understanding exactly why he wanted to escape. The world out there can be so loud, shallow, and ugly-ugly, very ugly. His choice to unplug, to protect his kids from all that, hits home in a way that’s both inspiring and a little heartbreaking.

But the film doesn’t let him off easy. It’s not just a celebration of rebellion - it’s a reflection on balance. How far is too far? What happens when your ideals clash with your kids’ need to grow in their own way?

Captain Fantastic is about fatherhood as a wild experiment - sometimes brilliant, sometimes flawed, but always fueled by love and conviction. It's not a manual, but it is a mirror. And maybe a small nudge to take your kids camping - if not forever, then at least for the weekend.

The Boys Are Back is one of those hidden gems that quietly sneaks up on you - a fatherhood story told with tenderness, messiness, and real emotional weight.

It follows a sports journalist, recently widowed, who suddenly finds himself solely responsible for raising his young son. Then, to complicate things further, his older son from a previous marriage comes to live with them. No manuals, no game plan - just one dad, two boys, and a whole lot of figuring it out as they go.

What makes it so good is how honest it is. There’s grief, confusion, the occasional food fight, and moments where everything feels like it’s falling apart. But there’s also love, quiet growth, and the slow, imperfect forming of a new kind of family.

It’s a film that understands parenting isn’t about doing it right — it’s about showing up, especially when life completely knocks the wind out of you. And as someone watching from the outside (and maybe living parts of it in real life), I couldn’t help but admire how this dad stumbled forward.