The weather is beginning to turn colder, and we’re looking at more time spent indoors. For me this means more time curled up under a blanket with a warm drink in comfy clothes watching my favorite comfort movies, movies that I could watch (and occasionally have) on repeat and never get sick of.
1. Big Hero 6
The movie that dethroned Beauty and the Beast as my favorite Disney movie. I love all things superhero, but I wasn’t especially excited for this movie when it was release as I had been mostly superhero’d out by Marvel movies at that point. By the time I did eventually get around to watching it, one of the biggest moments in the movie had already been spoiled for me: the brother dies.
I had expected it to be like when a family member dies in all the other Disney movies: within the first 10 minutes and without the character in question developing their own personality or relationships….that’s not what they did with Big Hero 6. Tadashi dies after we get to know him and his relationships with his friends and Hiro. More importantly, the rest of the movie is spent dealing with his death, it’s not something that’s brushed aside. The superhero antics are present but they’re the backdrop for Hiro learning to deal with his grief.
And I think that’s what makes this movie one of my favorite comfort movies, because you watch it and it’s like getting a warm hug after something bad happens.
2. Howl’s Moving Castle
I’ve talked about my love of this movie (and it’s soundtrack) before, so there’s not a whole lot more to say here. It’s relatively low stakes, despite the war going on in the background, and it’s about finding confidence in yourself, which is always a treat when looking for comfort.
And I cannot emphasize enough how calming and relaxing the soundtrack is…seriously, go give Merry Go Round of Life a listen.
3. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
I spent a solid month in high school watching this movie on repeat nearly every night while I did my homework. I’m not sure what switch flipped, because before that month I hadn’t really cared about The Chronicles of Narnia, aside from slight discomfort about childhood nightmares inspired by the animated version (check out this post for more info on that).
There’s just something comforting about watching the Pevensie siblings discovering a winter wonderland and enjoying it wholeheartedly (at least before the discovery of the witch) while outside your own door a midwestern blizzard rages.
4. The Mummy (1999) & The Mummy Returns
I saw The Mummy Returns before I saw The Mummy, which was probably a good thing considering how The Mummy skews more towards horror than its sequel (or at least, it tries to). Both movies have just the right amount of balance between action, humor, and, in the first movie’s case, horror.
And they have great characters on top of a fun and engaging plot (and also one of my favorite movie quotes, what can I say? I biased).
Also, the bloopers for The Mummy Returns will forever be my favorite movie bloopers and I could not pinpoint why even if I tried.
5. Free Willy
The first movie, according to my mother, I ever saw in theaters. It’s the reason my favorite animal has always been the Killer Whale. But I don’t go back to it for comfort just because of the whales. The older I got and the more I watched it, the more I came to appreciate the relationships the main character Jesse forms with not just the titular whale, but with his foster parents and other adults at the park.
You can find all of these movies and more in the library catalog. What are some of the movies you never get tired of watching?
~~Brittany, Youth Services
I love this list! Especially The Mummy, as it is also one of my favorites. Some of my favorite cold day movies are Ever After, How to Train Your Dragon (not only is it adorable and the animation beautiful, but the soundtrack makes me so happy every time I hear it), and the Lord of the Rings (to name just a few).