The 12 best happy movies on Netflix that’ll inspire a smile

The Adam Project (2022)

Fighter pilot Adam Reed (Ryan Reynolds) travels back in time from the year 2050 to save his wife Laura (Zoe Saldaña) but misses his mark and crash lands in 2022. He stumbles upon his 12-year-old self (Walker Scobell) as he mourns his father Louis (Mark Ruffalo) and struggles with his relationship with his mother Ellie (Jennifer Garner).

As the two Adams are hunted by sinister forces from the future, the older Adam must embrace the younger Adam he has tried so hard to forget. Beyond the notable 13 Going on 30 reunion between Ruffalo and Garner, EW’s critic says the film delivers an “all-you-need-is-love message… with a Spielbergian sense of wonder.” —Andrew Walsh

Where to watch The Adam Project: Netflix

Director: Shawn Levy

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Walker Scobell, Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldaña, Catherine Keener

Always Be My Maybe (2019)

Sasha (Ali Wong) and Marcus (Randall Park) were best friends–turned–high school sweethearts who, after a post-coital fight, lost contact for 16 years. When Sasha makes a triumphant return to San Francisco as a big-time chef, she and Marcus, who is not doing quite as well, find themselves nursing old grudges and long-dormant feelings. EW praises the stars' effortless chemistry, writing, “the bond between them is one of the many elements that make the film feel authentic, sweet, and wildly funny.” —A.W.

Where to watch Always Be My Maybe: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Nahnatchka Khan

Cast: Ali Wong, Randall Park, James Saito, Michelle Buteau, Daniel Dae Kim, Keanu Reeves

Crossroads (2002)

The film debut of Britney Spears is, as EW’s critic calls it, a “girl-dream road trip” about three childhood best friends, Lucy (Spears), Kit (Zoe Saldaña), and Mimi (Taryn Manning), who drive cross-country from Georgia to Los Angeles after digging up a wish box they buried as kids. As they cruise the open road in a classic convertible, the girls reconnect and embark on a coming-of-age journey, facing pregnancy, romance, absentee parents, and dive bar karaoke along the way. While life doesn’t always go their way, the not girls, not yet women, learn they will always have each other. —A.W.

Where to watch Crossroads: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Tamra Davis

Cast: Britney Spears, Zoe Saldaña, Taryn Manning, Anson Mount, Dan Aykroyd

Dumplin' (2018)

Frustrated by the judgment of her pageant-obsessed Texas town, as well as her former beauty queen mother Rosie (Jennifer Aniston), Willowdean (Danielle Macdonald) — a.k.a. Dumplin’ — decides to enroll in the Miss Teen Bluebonnet contest as “a protest in heels.”

Despite declaring she’s not the “Joan of Arc” of plus-sized girls, her actions do inspire a few other outsiders to join her Dolly Parton-scored revolution and shake things up. “Like a pillow cross-stitched with sassy aphorisms,” EW’s critic said, “Dumplin’ is kitschy and squishy and, if you let yourself, pretty sweet to sink into.” —A.W.

Where to watch Dumplin’: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Anne Fletcher

Cast: Danielle Macdonald, Jennifer Aniston, Odeya Rush, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Dove Cameron, Harold Perrineau

Eurovision Song Contest: The Song of Fire Saga (2020)

Icelandic musicians Lars (Will Ferrell) and Sigrit (Rachel McAdams) are lifelong friends and not-yet-sweethearts who dream of winning the Eurovision Song Contest. Despite disapproval from their parents, their town, and the local Eurovision selection committee, the duo dubbed “Fire Saga” refuses to let anything stop them from achieving their goal of songwriting immortality — including their romantic feelings for each other.

Underneath all the spandex and over-the-top production numbers is a sincere film that cares as much about sharing the joy of music as satirizing its ostentatious performance. —A.W.

Where to watch Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga: Netflix

Director: David Dobkin

Cast: Will Ferrell, Rachel McAdams, Dan Stevens, Pierce Brosnan

Klaus (2019)

Klaus is a Santa Claus origin story that’s enjoyable any time of the year. Starring Oscar winner J.K. Simmons as the film’s eponymous hero, Klaus tells the tale of a widowed Norwegian lumberman who is recruited by the town’s new postman, Jesper (Jason Schwartzman), to make toys for him to deliver in an effort to prove his postmaster general father wrong. But when Klaus’ toys begin to cheer up the children of Smeerensburg — a town whose inhabitants are perpetually engaged in a feud between two familial clans — Jesper and Klaus must step out of their comfort zones to help save the town from itself.

Klaus isn’t just another feel-good film; it’s also a film that looks great. Employing unique technology to transform 2-D animation into what looks like 3-D, the film is well-deserving of its Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature (the first of Netflix’s original animated features to receive that distinction). —Ilana Gordon

Where to watch Klaus: Netflix

Director: Sergio Pablos

Cast: Jason Schwartzman, J.K. Simmons, Rashida Jones, Will Sasso, Neda Margrethe Labba, Sergio Pablos, Norm Macdonald, Joan Cusack

Mixtape (2021)

This late '90s-set YA dramedy is the perfect choice for a sweet, nostalgic watch complete with a sweeter, even more nostalgic soundtrack. Beverly (Gemma Brooke Allen) is an orphaned 12-year-old being raised by her grandmother, Gail (Julie Bowen).

When Beverly finds a damaged mixtape left behind by her deceased parents, she enlists the help of a jaded record store owner (Nick Thune) and goes on a quest to reassemble the track list to gain insight into who they were. Coming-of-age movies are a dime a dozen; what sets Mixtape apart is how it lives and breathes the experience of discovering music, obsessing over it, and even making some of your own. —A.W.

Where to watch Mixtape: Netflix

Director: Valerie Weiss

Cast: Gemma Brooke Allen, Audrey Hsieh, Olga Petsa, Julie Bowen, Jackson Rathbone, Nick Thune

My Octopus Teacher (2020)

My Octopus Teacher is an Oscar-winning documentary that chronicles South African free-diver Craig Foster’s bond with an octopus he discovers while on an underwater expedition. As he observes the creature’s life, playfulness, and harrowing encounters with predators, he notices changes in his approach to his own life and relationships out of the water. Filled with gorgeous, entrancing cinematography, this true story of an unlikely friendship inspires wonder about the natural world and our place in it. —A.W.

Where to watch My Octopus Teacher: Netflix 

Directors: James Reed, Pippa Ehrlich

Cast: Craig Foster

Nimona (2023)

Shape-shifting troublemaker Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz) aspires to be the villainous sidekick to the Queen’s would-be assassin, Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed), despite his protests that it was a frame-up. As the unlikely pair of outcasts team up, the kingdom’s ancient history and modern politics throw unexpected wrinkles into their quest to clear Ballister’s name.

We expect animated family adventures like this to be uplifting and heartfelt, but Nimona ups the ante with its explorations of chosen families, queer identity, self-expression, and its complex but inspiring understanding of heroism. —A.W.  

Where to watch Nimona: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Directors: Troy Quane, Nick Bruno

Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Riz Ahmed, Eugene Lee Yang, Frances Conroy, Lorraine Toussaint

Rescued by Ruby (2022)

Based on real events, this heartwarming tale of interspecies friendship stars Grant Gustin as Dan O’Neill, a state trooper who dreams of joining the K-9 unit. The only obstacle in his way is his lack of an actual canine. Enter Ruby: a rescue dog whose behavioral issues have kept her from finding a home outside of an animal shelter. Dan, who has dyslexia and ADHD, recognizes a kindred spirit, and the two set out to rescue each other. Rescued by Ruby is a treat for animal lovers, but also ideal for anyone who loves a good underdog story. —A.W.

Where to watch Rescued by Ruby: Netflix

Director: Katt Shea

Cast: Grant Gustin, Scott Wolf, Kaylah Zander, Camille Sullivan

To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018)

Lara Jean’s (Lana Condor) meddling little sister Kitty (Anna Cathcart) unleashes havoc on her life when she finds the teen's secret collection of love letters and mails them to her crushes — including to their older sister Margot's (Janel Parrish) ex-boyfriend, Josh (Israel Broussard).

To do damage control, Lara and classmate Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) agree to fake being in love to disguise her feelings from Josh and make Peter's ex jealous. EW praises the film for having “more substance than you expect. And Condor as Lara Jean has a winning, be-true-to-yourself sense of independence that’s infectious.” —A.W.

Where to watch To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Susan Johnson

Cast: Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, Anna Cathcart, Janel Parrish, Israel Broussard, John Corbett

Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018)

Slip into a pair of comfy sneaks and a cozy cardigan, then push play on this uplifting documentary from director Morgan Neville about the life and career of Fred Rogers, host of the legendary PBS children’s show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968–2001). As EW's critic puts it, “Neville… hasn’t made a flashy movie here. It’s an intimate profile of a simple — and, let’s admit it, pretty square — guy who beamed childlike innocence and everyday goodness into our living rooms for 40 years.” —A.W.

Where to watch Won’t You Be My Neighbor?: Netflix

EW grade: A (read the review)

Director: Morgan Neville

Cast: Fred Rogers, Margaret Whitmer, Tom Junod, Joanne Rogers