Netflix’s polarizing new Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde maintains an air of mystery around the Hollywood icon’s absent father. But not every movie dad is as terrible as him. Some of them are great fathers, like Sonny Koufax in Big Daddy, or at least try their best, like Steve Zissou in The Life Aquatic.
From Marlin and Nemo in Finding Nemo to Marty and George McFly in Back to the Future to Henry, Jr. and Henry, Sr. in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, there are many heartwarming father-son dynamics in movies.
Marty & George McFly (Back To The Future)
Marty McFly has a very unique role in Back to the Future, because he has to act as his father’s wingman to ensure that he wins his mother’s heart when his time-traveling antics accidentally get in the way of their initial meeting. In 1985, Marty believes he has nothing in common with his nerdy, spineless father.
But when he first bumps into a teenage George in 1955, they’re both doing the same exact movements in a diner, rubbing their heads and mulling over their beverages. As he learns throughout the movie, he’s not so different from his old man after all.
Clarence & Clifford Worley (True Romance)
Tony Scott’s pulpy romantic thriller True Romance is primarily a love story revolving around Clarence Worley’s fairy tale whirlwind romance with Alabama, the escort his boss hired to keep him company. But there’s also a great father-son dynamic.
While he’s on the run from Alabama’s former employers, Clarence knows he can count on his father, Clifford, for hospitality. When Clarence and Alabama move on and the gangsters come knocking, Clifford would rather be killed than sell out his son.
Sonny Koufax & Julian “Frankenstein” McGrath-Gerrity (Big Daddy)
After his early classics had established his immature man-child persona, Adam Sandler brought a heartwarming angle to that character’s development in Big Daddy. Sonny Koufax is a slacker stuck in a state of arrested development who finally has a reason to grow up when his roommate’s estranged son shows up at his doorstep.
Played by the Sprouse twins, Julian McGrath-Gerrity – or “Frankenstein,” as Sonny calls him – quickly becomes endeared to his new father figure. Sonny might not be Julian’s biological dad, but he loves him like he’s his own son.
Simba & Mufasa (The Lion King)
Disney’s loose reimagining of Hamlet, The Lion King, replaces all the major characters with animated lions. Destined to inherit his father Mufasa’s kingdom, young Simba is horrified to witness Mufasa’s murder at the hands of his nefarious uncle, Scar.
Mufasa continues to guide Simba on his journey from beyond the grave. When Simba is an adult and loses his way, Mufasa appears in the clouds to offer some timely wisdom.
Ray & John Kinsella (Field Of Dreams)
When it comes to discussions of movies about fathers and sons, Field of Dreams is bound to be one of the first titles that comes up. Kevin Costner stars as Ray Kinsella, whose biggest regret is that he never reconciled with his father John before he passed away.
After building a baseball field in his backyard for ghosts, Ray is reunited with the spirit of his father. After introducing John to his wife and daughter, Ray and his dad have a catch in one of the most tearjerking endings in movie history.
Steve Zissou & Ned Plimpton (The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou)
There are no perfect fathers in the Wes Anderson oeuvre. Royal Tenenbaum neglects all but one of his children, Mr. Fox puts his family at risk with a life of crime, and Steve Zissou ignored his son’s existence for decades.
But at least Steve makes an effort later in life. When his estranged son Ned reaches out to him, he hires him to join his oceanographic documentary crew and makes a concerted if misguided effort to connect with him.
Luke Skywalker & Darth Vader (Return Of The Jedi)
In the original Star Wars movie, Darth Vader was introduced as a faceless embodiment of pure evil. The Empire Strikes Back glimpsed the man under the mask and revealed that he’s the biological father of Luke Skywalker. And Return of the Jedi brought him back to the light side.
Luke saved the galaxy by refusing to give up on his belief that there was still good within his father. Vader renounced the dark side, killed the Emperor to save Luke, and, in his final moments, looked at his son with his own eyes.
Vito & Michael Corleone (The Godfather)
Vito Corleone is introduced as a powerful crime lord at the beginning of The Godfather, but he turns out to have a soft side. He’s allowed most of his relatives to go into the family business of organized crime, but he wants to keep his wayward war veteran son Michael on the straight and narrow.
The ultimate tragedy of The Godfather is that Michael becomes a killer and eventually takes his father’s place as the head of the family. Against Vito’s wishes, Michael ends up just like him.
Marlin & Nemo (Finding Nemo)
Pixar’s thrilling adventure movies are always about something deeply relatable. Up is about grief, Toy Story is about resistance to change, and Finding Nemo is about every parent’s fear of losing their child. When Marlin’s son Nemo is taken from him, he’ll do anything to get him back.
Over the course of his incredible journey across the ocean to reunite with his son, Marlin comes to terms with his own faults as an overbearing, overinvolved parent.
Indy & Henry Jones, Sr. (Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade)
After the first couple of movies established Indy as a lone wolf, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade introduced fans to his estranged dad. The threequel is a delightful buddy actioner about a bickering father and son on the run from the Nazis.
Harrison Ford and Sean Connery share authentic father-son chemistry, nailing both hilarious comedic moments like arguing during a motorcycle chase and moving dramatic moments like Indy saving his dad’s life with the Holy Grail.