The Best Feel-good Movies and TV Shows

What it's about: Framed in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Led by Woody, Andy's toys live happily in his room until Andy's birthday brings Buzz Lightyear onto the scene. Afraid of losing his place in Andy's heart, Woody plots against Buzz. But when circumstances separate Buzz and Woody from their owner, the duo eventually learns to put aside their differences.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Disney+) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events—in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do. But despite all he has achieved, his one true love eludes him.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Carl Fredricksen spent his entire life dreaming of exploring the globe and experiencing life to its fullest. But at age 78, life seems to have passed him by, until a twist of fate (and a persistent 8-year old Wilderness Explorer named Russell) gives him a new lease on life.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Disney+) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Prime Video & 3 others).

What it's about: Nemo, an adventurous young clownfish, is unexpectedly taken from his Great Barrier Reef home to a dentist's office aquarium. It's up to his worrisome father Marlin and a friendly but forgetful fish Dory to bring Nemo home -- meeting vegetarian sharks, surfer dude turtles, hypnotic jellyfish, hungry seagulls, and more along the way.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Disney+) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A true story of two men who should never have met – a quadriplegic aristocrat who was injured in a paragliding accident and a young man from the projects.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Plex) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 1 service (Vudu).

What it's about: Will Hunting has a genius-level IQ but chooses to work as a janitor at MIT. When he solves a difficult graduate-level math problem, his talents are discovered by Professor Gerald Lambeau, who decides to help the misguided youth reach his potential. When Will is arrested for attacking a police officer, Professor Lambeau makes a deal to get leniency for him if he will get treatment from therapist Sean Maguire.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: James Sullivan and Mike Wazowski are monsters, they earn their living scaring children and are the best in the business... even though they're more afraid of the children than they are of them. When a child accidentally enters their world, James and Mike suddenly find that kids are not to be afraid of and they uncover a conspiracy that could threaten all children across the world.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Disney+) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: In the tradition of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” comes this refreshing comedy about a rebellious prankster with a crafty mind and a heart of gold. Rascal. Joker. Dreamer. Genius... You've never met a college student quite like "Rancho." From the moment he arrives at India's most prestigious university, Rancho's outlandish schemes turn the campus upside down—along with the lives of his two newfound best friends. Together, they make life miserable for "Virus," the school’s uptight and heartless dean. But when Rancho catches the eye of the dean's sexy daughter, Virus sets his sights on flunking out the "3 idiots" once and for all.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Prime Video) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 1 service (iTunes).

What it's about: In the not so distant future, Theodore, a lonely writer purchases a newly developed operating system designed to meet the user's every needs. To Theodore's surprise, a romantic relationship develops between him and his operating system. This unconventional love story blends science fiction and romance in a sweet tale that explores the nature of love and the ways that technology isolates and connects us all.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Sundance Now) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A rat named Remy dreams of becoming a great French chef despite his family's wishes and the obvious problem of being a rat in a decidedly rodent-phobic profession. When fate places Remy in the sewers of Paris, he finds himself ideally situated beneath a restaurant made famous by his culinary hero, Auguste Gusteau. Despite the apparent dangers of being an unlikely - and certainly unwanted - visitor in the kitchen of a fine French restaurant, Remy's passion for cooking soon sets into motion a hilarious and exciting rat race that turns the culinary world of Paris upside down.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Disney+) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Follows the misadventures of four irreverent grade-schoolers in the quiet, dysfunctional town of South Park, Colorado.

Where to Watch: 39 episodes (12%) are available to watch free online (Comedy Central & South Park). 303 episodes (97%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX, Hulu, Philo & 1 other). 19 episodes (6%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (Comedy Central). 310 episodes (99%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A touching story of an Italian book seller of Jewish ancestry who lives in his own little fairy tale. His creative and happy life would come to an abrupt halt when his entire family is deported to a concentration camp during World War II. While locked up he tries to convince his son that the whole thing is just a game.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (HBO) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Truman Burbank is the star of The Truman Show, a 24-hour-a-day reality TV show that broadcasts every aspect of his life without his knowledge. His entire life has been an unending soap opera for consumption by the rest of the world. And everyone he knows, including his wife and his best friend is really an actor, paid to be part of his life.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: The King's Speech tells the story of the man who became King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates, George ('Bertie') reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dreaded stutter and considered unfit to be king, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue. Through a set of unexpected techniques, and as a result of an unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and boldly lead the country into war.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Plex), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1991. High school freshman Charlie is a wallflower, always watching life from the sidelines, until two senior students, Sam and her stepbrother Patrick, become his mentors, helping him discover the joys of friendship, music and love.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Inexperienced Otis channels his sex therapist mom when he teams up with rebellious Maeve to set up an underground sex therapy clinic at school.

Where to Watch: 16 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: The Grand Budapest Hotel tells of a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars and his friendship with a young employee who becomes his trusted protégé. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting, the battle for an enormous family fortune and the slow and then sudden upheavals that transformed Europe during the first half of the 20th century.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: After spending eight months in a mental institution, a former teacher moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: The special bond that develops between plus-sized inflatable robot Baymax, and prodigy Hiro Hamada, who team up with a group of friends to form a band of high-tech heroes.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Disney+ & Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Prime Video & 2 others).

What it's about: Tony Lip, a bouncer in 1962, is hired to drive pianist Don Shirley on a tour through the Deep South in the days when African Americans, forced to find alternate accommodations and services due to segregation laws below the Mason-Dixon Line, relied on a guide called The Negro Motorist Green Book.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (fuboTV & Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $5.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A five-year-old Indian boy gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of kilometers from home. He survives many challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia; 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi, Plex & IMDb TV) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: A narcissistic T.V. weatherman, along with his attractive-but-distant producer and mawkish cameraman, is sent to report on Groundhog Day in the small town of Punxsutawney, where he finds himself repeating the same day over and over.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Philo & fuboTV), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Sundance) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: Harry, Ron and Hermione return to Hogwarts for another magic-filled year. Harry comes face to face with danger yet again, this time in the form of escaped convict, Sirius Black—and turns to sympathetic Professor Lupin for help.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $3.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Microsoft & 2 others).

What it's about: After the death of a stranger, a writer recounts a childhood journey with his friends to find the body of a missing boy.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Starz & Sundance Now), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Aibileen Clark is a middle-aged African-American maid who has spent her life raising white children and has recently lost her only son; Minny Jackson is an African-American maid who has often offended her employers despite her family's struggles with money and her desperate need for jobs; and Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan is a young white woman who has recently moved back home after graduating college to find out her childhood maid has mysteriously disappeared. These three stories intertwine to explain how life in Jackson, Mississippi revolves around "the help"; yet they are always kept at a certain distance because of racial lines.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A filmmaker recalls his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village's theater and formed a deep friendship with the theater's projectionist.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Vudu).

What it's about: Two lost souls visiting Tokyo -- the young, neglected wife of a photographer and a washed-up movie star shooting a TV commercial -- find an odd solace and pensive freedom to be real in each other's company, away from their lives in America.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Peacock) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: After graduating from Emory University in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity, and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Follows the lives and families of three adults living and growing up in the United States of America in present and past times. As their paths cross and their life stories intertwine in curious ways, we find that several of them share the same birthday - and so much more than anyone would expect.

Where to Watch: 12 episodes (16%) are available to watch free online (Peacock & NBC). 75 episodes (97%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu & fuboTV). 66 episodes (86%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (NBC). 77 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: The true story of technical troubles that scuttle the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970, risking the lives of astronaut Jim Lovell and his crew, with the failed journey turning into a thrilling saga of heroism. Drifting more than 200,000 miles from Earth, the astronauts work furiously with the ground crew to avert tragedy.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (fuboTV & Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Doug MacRay is a longtime thief, who, smarter than the rest of his crew, is looking for his chance to exit the game. When a bank job leads to the group kidnapping an attractive branch manager, he takes on the role of monitoring her – but their burgeoning relationship threatens to unveil the identities of Doug and his crew to the FBI Agent who is on their case.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (TBS & TNT) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Microsoft & Vudu).

What it's about: A warm, affecting comedy about a high school senior (Saoirse Ronan) who must navigate a loving but turbulent relationship with her strong-willed mother over the course of her eventful and poignant senior year of high school.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A family loaded with quirky, colorful characters piles into an old van and road trips to California for little Olive to compete in a beauty pageant.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity. Based on the true story of Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film), a severely deformed man in 19th century London.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (The Criterion Channel) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A father living in the forests of the Pacific Northwest with his six young kids tries to assimilate back into society.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A private eye investigates the apparent suicide of a fading porn star in 1970s Los Angeles and uncovers a conspiracy.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Microsoft & Vudu).

What it's about: Pakistan-born comedian Kumail Nanjiani and grad student Emily Gardner fall in love but struggle as their cultures clash. When Emily contracts a mysterious illness, Kumail finds himself forced to face her feisty parents, his family's expectations, and his true feelings.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Vampire housemates try to cope with the complexities of modern life and show a newly turned hipster some of the perks of being undead.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Ishaan Awasthi is an eight-year-old whose world is filled with wonders that no one else seems to appreciate. Colours, fish, dogs, and kites don't seem important to the adults, who are much more interested in things like homework, marks, and neatness. Ishaan cannot seem to get anything right in class; he is then sent to boarding school, where his life changes forever.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: Tom, greeting-card writer and hopeless romantic, is caught completely off-guard when his girlfriend, Summer, suddenly dumps him. He reflects on their 500 days together to try to figure out where their love affair went sour, and in doing so, Tom rediscovers his true passions in life.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Royal Tenenbaum and his wife Etheline had three children and then they separated. All three children are extraordinary --- all geniuses. Virtually all memory of the brilliance of the young Tenenbaums was subsequently erased by two decades of betrayal, failure, and disaster. Most of this was generally considered to be their father's fault. "The Royal Tenenbaums" is the story of the family's sudden, unexpected reunion one recent winter.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & fuboTV) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: The night after another unsatisfactory New Year party, Tim's father tells his son that the men in his family have always had the ability to travel through time. Tim can't change history, but he can change what happens and has happened in his own life – so he decides to make his world a better place... by getting a girlfriend. Sadly, that turns out not to be as easy as he thinks.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Inspired by a true story, a comedy centered on a 27-year-old guy who learns of his cancer diagnosis and his subsequent struggle to beat the disease.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: When young Buddy falls into Santa's gift sack on Christmas Eve, he's transported back to the North Pole and raised as a toy-making elf by Santa's helpers. But as he grows into adulthood, he can't shake the nagging feeling that he doesn't belong. Buddy vows to visit Manhattan and find his real dad, a workaholic publisher.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Philo, fuboTV, Starz & 1 other), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz & AMC) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: It’s 1958 Manhattan and Miriam “Midge” Maisel has everything she’s ever wanted - the perfect husband, kids, and Upper West Side apartment. But when her life suddenly takes a turn and Midge must start over, she discovers a previously unknown talent - one that will take her all the way from the comedy clubs of Greenwich Village to a spot on Johnny Carson’s couch.

Where to Watch: 26 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video).

What it's about: The story of an Indian boy named Pi, a zookeeper's son who finds himself in the company of a hyena, zebra, orangutan, and a Bengal tiger after a shipwreck sets them adrift in the Pacific Ocean.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: New York comedian Alvy Singer falls in love with the ditsy Annie Hall.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $0.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: An aspiring actor in Hollywood meets an enigmatic stranger by the name of Tommy Wiseau, the meeting leads the actor down a path nobody could have predicted; creating the worst movie ever made.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).