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Disney+ is chock-full of content that can scratch all kinds of itches. You want a Star Wars? You got a Star Wars. Craving Marvel superheroes? Knock yourself out. Need some princesses in your life? Disney Plus is positively saturated with princesses. But what if your particular viewing needs on the Mouse House app aren’t so easily sorted? What if you’re in the mood to laugh, but don’t exactly know how? We’ve got you covered, friend.
Below, we’ve sorted some of the best and funniest comedies currently available to stream on Disney+. Many of them fall satisfyingly into the Disney wheelhouse, some of them are quite surprising, all of them will split your sides and tickle your funnybones. Without further ado, please enjoy the best comedies on Disney Plus streaming.
In the mood for something a little more serious? Check out our list of best dramas or action films on the platform.
Editor’s note: This list was updated May 2022 to include Cars, Cheaper By the Dozen, and Free Guy.
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Director: Gil Junger
Writers: Karen McCullah, Kirsten Smith
Cast: Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, Larry Miller, Andrew Keegan, David Krumholtz, Susan May Pratt
Run Time: 1 hr 37 min
It was a surprisingly progressive take on the teen comedy. A sneaky adaptation of William Friggin’ Shakespeare. A prescient incubator of incredible talent. And one of the many incredible films produced in 1999. It’s 10 Things I Hate About You, and if you’re surprised to hear that the iconoclastic, PG-13-rated romcom is available on the ostensibly family-friendly Disney+ — buddy, so am I! But I highly encourage you to convert that potential energy into kinetic energy and give this picture a stream. Diving cleverly headfirst into the problematic politics of The Taming of the Shrew headfirst, Julia Stiles stars as the rebellious, snarky, and upon modern eyes “usually correct” Kat. She is set up with bad boy Patrick (Heath Ledger, of course) by good boy Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, of course) in a scheme to help Cameron wind up with Kat’s younger, popular sister Bianca (Larisa Oleynik). Compared to many of the other teen romcoms of this era, 10 Things I Hate About You is uncommonly sensitive, nuanced, and pointed in its comic targets. It’s the perfect film for the “teenager who doesn’t want to admit they have deep feelings even though they absolutely do” in all of us. — Gregory Lawrence
Cars (2006)
Director: John Lasseter
Writer: Dan Fogelman, John Lasseter, Joe Ranft, Kiel Murray, Phil Lorin, Jorgen Klubien
Cast: Owen Wilson, Bonnie Hunt, Paul Newman, Larry the Cable Guy
Run Time: 1 hr 57 min
If you’ve ever doubted the success of Pixar’s Cars franchise, just visit “Carsland” at Disney World. The original Cars gets a bad rap. It’s easy to loop it in with the disastrous Cars 2 and the forgettable Cars 3, but the first installment in the series is a perfectly charming entry in Pixar’s filmography. There’s a beautiful message in Cars; you don’t have to race through life to enjoy it. Larry the Cable Guy doesn’t get nearly as much screen time as he does in the subsequent installments, and Cars also marks one of the great Paul Newman’s last appearances. –Liam Gaughan
Cheaper by the Dozen (2003)
Director: Shawn Levy
Writer: Sam Harper, Joel Cohen, and Alec Sokolow
Cast: Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Piper Perabo, Hilary Duff, Tom Welling, Richard Jenkins, Ashton Kutcher
Run Time: 1 hr 55 min
After years of compromising their careers, Tom (Steve Martin) and Kate (Bonnie Hunt) move their 12 kids to a new city for Tom’s new coaching job just as Kate’s memoir is being published. When Kate leaves to go on her book tour, Tom takes over managing the household and his new team, which proves to be a bigger undertaking than he was expecting. The kids bring their shenanigans to create even more chaos, including a prank involving soaking underwear in meat. With a family this big, the laughs in Cheaper by the Dozen are equally as big and heartwarming as this family has to rely on each other through the trials and change. – Meredith Loftus
Free Guy (2021)
Director: Shawn Levy
Writer: Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Joe Keery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Taika Waititi
Run Time: 1 hr 55 min
The Truman Show meets Ready Player One in this action-comedy directed by Shawn Levy. Ryan Reynolds trades out his signature Deadpool humor for the wholesome Guy, a non-player character who decides to break out of his mold and be his own hero. As he does, he partners with Millie (Jodie Comer), another player who’s trying to prove that the CEO of the gaming company (Taika Waititi) stole her and her former partner’s (Joe Keery) coding. Free Guy packs comedy, surprise cameos, pop culture references, and a whole lot of heart to keep you entertained with its clever concept. – Meredith Loftus
Night at the Museum (2006)
Director: Shawn Levy
Writers: Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant
Cast: Ben Stiller, Carla Gugino, Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Bill Cobbs, and Robin Williams
Run Time: 1 hr 48 min
The Night at the Museum franchise is a family favorite, but the 2006 original remains the best entry in the series thus far. Ben Stiller plays the new night watchman at New York City’s Museum of Natural History who finds himself in over his head when a magical artifact brings all the exhibits to life. The film plays fast and loose with history, but it’s tons of fun to see all the celebrity cameos throughout playing famous historical figures. And of course, the late great Robin Williams is a highlight. – Adam Chitwood
A Goofy Movie (1995)
Director: Kevin Lima
Writers: Jymn Magon, Chris Matheson, Brian Pimental
Cast: Jason Marsden, Bill Farmer, Jim Cummings, Kellie Martin, Rob Paulsen, Wallace Shawn, Jenna von Oÿ
Run Time: 1 hr 21 min
You can keep your “Belle.” Your “Arabian Nights.” Your “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?”, while you’re at it. For my money, the best Disney opening number is and always will be “After Today” from A Goofy Movie. Set at the outset of the last day of school, the tune encapsulates all of the joys of A Goofy Movie perfectly. It’s upbeat and contemporary in a way not many classically-paced Disney musicals are. It’s packed with gags and — dare I say — goofs in nearly every new couplet. And it’s got a surprising amount of melancholy at its core — particularly regarding Max’s yearning to be seen as cool. You see, Max is trying to have a fulfilling social life and figure out who he is as a teenager. But his dad — who happens to be very famous Disney character Goofy — doesn’t want to let him go. So instead of a summer vacation full of teenage creature comforts like pools, malls, and crushes, Max is stuck on a dang fishing trip with his goofy-ass dad. The film nimbly shifts between excellent fish-out-of-water comedy (no pun intended) and gut-punching moments of growth, particularly for a character who’s primarily known for saying, “Garsh!” Give A Goofy Movie a watch, and good luck getting “After Today” out of your head. — Gregory Lawrence
The Absent-Minded Professor (1961)
Director: Robert Stevenson
Writer: Bill Walsh
Cast: Fred MacMurray, Nancy Olson, Tommy Kirk, Keenan Wynn, Elliott Reid
Run Time: 1 hr 37 min
Did you, like me, grow up with the Robin Williams-starring Flubber? And did you, like me, always find it just a little too maniacally paced and pandering toward “cool ‘90s culture,” youth pastor style? ThenThe Absent-Minded Professor will play like a breath of fresh air for you. Made in 1961, The Absent-Minded Professor (unrelated to the Jerry Lewis/Eddie Murphy Nutty Professor-verse) follows Professor Brainard (Fred MacMurray), a rather, um, “scatterbrained educator” who accidentally invents a brand new chemical substance he calls “flying rubber.” Which is to say, “Flubber.” This discovery causes all kinds of silly sub-plots to bounce around each other, including the accidental standing up of and attempts to re-woo a bride-to-be (Nancy Olson), the capitalistic attempts to exploit Flubber from a villainous corporate stooge (Keenan Wynn), and all kinds of damn hijinks involving sports, cars, and everything else that could possibly bounce. The film, in glorious black and white, just oozes with a timeless, classical, old-fashioned charm that a CGI green blob shaking its booty could never hope to replicate. — Gregory Lawrence
Ant-Man (2015)
Director: Peyton Reed
Writers: Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Adam McKay, Paul Rudd
Cast: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Tip “T.I.” Harris, Anthony Mackie, Wood Harris, Judy Greer, David Dastmalchian, Michael Douglas
Run Time: 1 hr 58 min
How on earth did Ant-Man wind up so slick, so fun, so satisfyingly entertaining? After a tumultuous production process wound up shedding one of the most acclaimed contemporary filmmakers we’ve got (Edgar Wright, still credited as co-writer and producer), late-in-the-game director Peyton Reed (Down with Love) managed to pull off the job despite the odds stacked against him. Hey, that’s the plot of the movie, too! Subtly and brilliantly structured as a heist comedy masquerading as a tentpole superhero picture, Ant-Man follows Scott Lang (Paul Rudd, charming) as an ex-con trying his best to walk the right path and reconnect with his daughter. Along the way, he teams up with Hank Pym (Michael Douglas, charming) and his daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly, charming) to use a magnificently shrinking suit to pull off a job stealing the same technology from the wrong hands (Corey Stoll, scary). It’s so fun watching Rudd and his bumbling crew (especially and aways Michael Peña) try and make this crazy scheme work. In an aggressively ballooning MCU, losing yourself in the relatively small stakes of Ant-Man might yield comic joy greater than 50 times its body weight. Bonus rec: While its less of a traditional “comedy” than its predecessor, Ant-Man and the Wasp is also highly worth a watch, and might be a more satisfying “film” overall. — Gregory Lawrence
Bolt (2008)
Directors: Chris Williams, Byron Howard
Writers: Dan Fogelman, Chris Williams
Cast: John Travolta, Susie Essman, Mark Walton, Miley Cyrus
Run Time: 1 hr 36 min
In the grand tradition of classic “show biz meets real world” comedies like Three Amigos and Galaxy Quest, Bolt has a simple, irresistible premise. Bolt (John Travolta) has lived his life as the canine star of a TV show about a dog with superpowers. As such, Bolt thinks that his fake powers are, in fact, real. And when his owner Penny (Miley Cyrus) goes “missing,” he takes it upon himself to leave the comfortable confines of his Hollywood set and travel across the country to find her. However, Bolt is in for a dang rude awakening, as he must come to terms with the limits of his fake powers and realize how the real world really works. Armed with all kinds of tropes in its toolbelt (superhero stories, animal adventure movies like Homeward Bound), Bolt strikes with a litany of surprising jokes and gags, all the while keeping a strong emotional core. If you’re digging the latest “neo Disney revival” films that flirt with postmodernism and comedy like Tangled or Frozen, you owe it to yourself to give the underrated Bolt a lightning-strength stream. — Gregory Lawrence
Cow Belles (2006)
Director: Francine McDougall
Writers: Matt Dearborn, Stu Krieger
Cast: Alyson Michalka, Amanda Michalka, Jack Coleman, Michael Trevino, Chris Gallinger
Run Time: 1 hr 33 min
In sooth, this whole list could be entirely Disney Channel Original Movies from the late ‘90s through mid-2000s. Those works emanate a ton of comedic charm — particularly if you’re into camp, cornball, and cheese. But among all of these made-for-television films that inadvertently raised an entire generation of media-saturated millennials (or is that just me?), I’m gonna single one out. And it stars, of course, pop sister superstars Aly & AJ. Putting Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie’s Simple Life to shame, Cow Belles is the story of two spoiled sisters whose widower father, tired of their bratty entitlement, puts them to work at a dairy farm. Are the two any good at this job? Certainly not to begin with — and the film sets up lots of bungling shenanigans for the real-life/screen sisters to get into. But as the DCOM sets up their inevitable realization that hard work and sacrifice is more important than gliding through life carefree (with a strong sidebar that “inevitable” should not be interpreted as cynicism; it’s earnest AF and I love it), it throws us two wonderful curveballs. One: There ain’t a love interest. It’s purely a story about sisterhood. And two: There is a corporate embezzling/heist narrative thrown in for good measure. Long story short: Cow Belles rules! Also, while I have you here, listen to Aly & AJ’s Ten Years album, and make sure it’s the deluxe edition because the live versions featured are real bops, okay thank you. — Gregory Lawrence
Dan in Real Life (2007)
Director: Peter Hedges
Writers: Pierce Gardner, Peter Hedges
Cast: Steve Carell, Alison Pill, Juliette Binoche, Dianne Wiest, John Mahoney, Dane Cook
Run Time: 1 hr 38 min
Alright, enough of this fun stuff. Are you ready for a dramedy that explores the ennui of middle-aged white American men? Woo! Woo! Corresponding curiously with the best years of The Office, Dan in Real Life stars Steve Carell as the titular Dan, a widower, an advice columnist, and a single dad to three precocious daughters. When they head to rural Rhode Island for an annual family gathering (featuring parents John Mahoney and Dianne Wiest), Dan meets the charming Marie (Juliette Binoche) and sparks an immediate attraction. Can he get out of his rut and get his groove back? One problem — Marie is dating Dan’s brother, played, of course, by Dane Cook. If all of this reads like “Alexander Payne twee bingo,” you’re pretty much right. And some of the more acerbic moments of the film (like its insistent joke of calling Emily Blunt’s character “Pigface”) definitely betray this particular subgenre’s problematics. But if you can look past these moments of troublesome cliche, lock into the now-familiar tropes, and get onboard with the across-the-board lived-in performances, there’s a lot about Dan in Real Life that will gently charm you. At the very least, the film provides a welcome piece of counter-energy to the oft-sugary pace of the other comedies on Disney+. Watch it with your family and give each other a big, understanding hug after. — Gregory Lawrence
Descendants (2015)
Director: Kenny Ortega
Writers: Josann McGibbon, Sara Parriott
Cast: Dove Cameron, Cameron Boyce, Booboo Stewart, Sofia Carson
Run Time: 1 hr 52 min
Descendants is very, very fun. Its young, charismatic cast members centralize the delightful premise — the children of classic Disney villains are trying to save their infamous parents while coming to terms with who they are — with charm and aplomb. Its infamous parents are played by delightfully stunt-cast folks: Wendy Raquel Robinson as Cruella de Vil, Maz Jobrani as Jafar, Kathy Najimy as Evil Queen, and Kristin Chenoweth as Maleficent. Its direction and choreography, from High School Musical vet Kenny Ortega, are propulsive, infectious, and saturated with a delightfully gauche color palette. Its original pop tunes, written in part by music vets like Shawn Mendes and Adam Shlesinger, are darker-than-usual bops for everyone’s inner Hot Topic kid. And its screenplay, from Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott, hits you with equal parts sharply goofy jokes and a necessarily syrupy heart at its core. Marvel may have called Avengers: Infinity War the most ambitious crossover event ever. But, to paraphrase the rest of that meme’s structure, Descendants had it beat by a couple years. Give this piece of sour candy a stream, and if you dig it, check out its two sequels, too. — Gregory Lawrence
The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)
Director: Mark Dindal
Writers: David Reynolds, Chris Williams, Mark Dindal
Cast: David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt, Patrick Warburton, Wendie Malick
Run Time: 1 hr 18 min
If you’re looking, pound-for-pound, for the funniest, briskest, most bluntly and purely “funny” of all the Disney films, The Emperor’s New Groove wins and then some. And frankly, it’s a surprise the fleet, 77-minute piece of tight comedic cinema works at all, given its painful production history. As interrogated in the never-officially-released documentary The Sweatbox, The Emperor’s New Groove began life as an earnest drama called “Kingdom of the Sun,” a Prince and the Pauper-styled narrative with songs from Sting, perhaps our most earnest musician. When Disney worried this film’s production was moving too slowly, and would likely result in a film that couldn’t perform well enough at the box office, they completely overhauled the story, fired the original director, brought on Mark Dindal, and retooled the hell out of everything. But hey, at least one of the Sting songs remained! David Spade stars as Kuzco, a selfish emperor of the Inca Empire, who’s going to eradicate Pacha’s (John Goodman) village to build himself a lavish home. But when Kuzco is transformed into a llama in a poison attempt gone awry (a llama!), he and Pacha just might learn a few lessons or two in their adventures to turn him back. With incredible gags, both physical and verbal, delightful performances from a more-than-game cast, and the absolutely perfect pairing of Eartha Kitt and Patrick Warburton as the villians, The Emperor’s New Groove is comedy perfection despite (because?) of its wild journey to the screen. Boo-yah. — Gregory Lawrence
First Kid (1996)
Director: David M. Evans
Writer: Tim Kelleher
Cast: Sinbad, Robert Guillaume, James Naughton, Brock Pierce, Zachery Ty Bryan, Art LaFleur
Run Time: 1 hr 41 min
You might not care for First Kid. And you’d be in good company — it sits at a pitiful 23% on Rotten Tomatoes. First Kid is a frenetic kids’ film for frenetic kids and frenetic kids at heart, with hyperbolic, mugging performances, bonkers slapstick set pieces, and a surprisingly dark and violent subplot of grown-up jealousy, revenge, and even some light shootouts. But if you can find yourself on the same particular wavelength of the picture — or if you in any way grew up watching it — you will get a lot of immature (in a good way!) joy out of First Kid. Sinbad stars as the Secret Service agent put in charge of the President’s son, played by Brock Pierce with excellent 1990s energy. While the odd couple bicker and disagree at first, they eventually become buds, with Sinbad even teaching Pierce how to stand up for himself against bullies like Zachery Ty Bryan — aka Brad from Home Improvement. First Kid is quite the time capsule to watch — if you’re into it, you’ll have an absolute blast. If you’re not into it, you’ll at least find a lot of interesting components to wrestle with. And no matter your opinion, you’ll agree with at least one thing: We need Sinbad in more motion pictures, stat. — Gregory Lawrence
Freaky Friday (1976)
Director: Gary Nelson
Writer: Mary Rodgers
Cast: Barbara Harris, Jodie Foster, John Astin
Run Time: 1 hr 35 min
I’m no Lindsay Lohan hater, and certainly not of her fun pairing with Jamie Lee Curtis. But if you’re only familiar with the 2003 update of the classic body-swapping narrative, you simply must acquaint yourself with the delightful original. From the get-go, a charming and catchy musical number with exquisitely lo-fi, handcrafted animation, the 1976 Freaky Friday is the epitome of “they don’t make them like this anymore.” Jodie Foster absolutely is Annabel Andrews, acting as our guide through her world thanks to her effortless, lived-in, utterly believable voiceover. She’s a teenage tomboy who simply doesn’t understand her mom, the textbook example of a housewife played pitch-perfectly by Barbara Harris. And when the two inevitably switch bodies, it’s just classical fun to see them try and cope. So many body-switching titles that have come since this film — from The Change-Up to even the 2003 remake — wink and distance themselves from the inherent silliness of the premise. It’s refreshing to see a movie dive headfirst into the premise as committed as possible. In fact, there’s not even a ton of time spent trying to figure out why this happened or switch back. Writer Mary Rodgers and director Gary Nelson fling their protagonists into a series of handsomely photographed set pieces, with utterly pleasant results. — Gregory Lawrence
The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
Director: Jim Henson
Writers: Jerry Juhl, Tom Patchett, Jack Rose, Jay Tarses
Cast: Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Steve Whitmire, Louise Gold, Kathryn Mullen, Charles Grodin
Run Time: 1 hr 38 min
Here are a list of things I love: Muppets. Musicals. Self-aware comedy. Elaborate heist narratives. And wouldn’t you know it, The Great Muppet Caper has all of these elements and thensome! In the only Muppet film actually directed by creator Jim Henson, The Great Muppet Caper features all of your favorites mapped over a crackerjack, noir-leaning plot — Kermit, Fozzie, and Gonzo work for a newspaper and investigate a London-based jewelry robbery. As they uncover the overly complicated-on-purpose plot, we’re treated to a cavalcade of familiar faces, both Muppet (Miss Piggy! Sam the Eagle! Rizzo in his debut!) and human (John Cleese! Peter Falk! Peter Ustinov!). Whenever the Muppets tackle a genre parody, it always radiates with genuine affection for its well of comedic inspiration (it’s why their Christmas Carol is still one of the best adaptations we’ve got). You can feel Henson and his writers’ love of genre stories like this, and you can feel the exquisite commitment from performers like Charles Grodin, whose love of Miss Piggy makes me cackle every time. — Gregory Lawrence
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Director: James Gunn
Writers: James Gunn, Nicole Perlman
Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Benicio del Toro
Run Time: 2 hr 2 min
Snuck in among the many jokes in the MCU’s game-changing Guardians of the Galaxy, Star-Lord (Chris Pratt forever changing how we see him) makes a comment that a black light examination of a room will result in a Jackson Pollock painting. That’s right, friends. In the middle of a Disney-funded, four-quadrant, PG-13 rated superhero blockbuster that every child in America will see opening weekend, is a gnarly riff about semen. That requires a basic understanding of art to understand. And now, you can stream it anytime you want on Disney+. What a time to be alive! To be fair, the many charms of Guardians of the Galaxy aren’t exclusively in the gutter. But director/co-writer James Gunn and co-writer Nicole Perlman’s iconoclastic vision soars to the stars because it’s so rooted in the earth. We’re headed to outer space, where refreshingly brightly colored aliens blast the heck out of each other with lasers. But we’re centered by a capital H Human, who loves rock music, wisecracking, and dope/cheesy facial hair. It’s such a smart way to introduce a new tone into the MCU, and it’s such a smart way to ensure the film maintains one of the MCU’s most smartly self-contained pleasures. — Gregory Lawrence
Heavyweights (1995)
Director: Steven Brill
Writers: Steven Brill, Judd Apatow
Cast: Tom McGowan, Aaron Schwartz, Shaun Weiss, Tom Hodges, Leah Lail, Paul Feig, Kenan Thompson, David Bowe, Max Goldblatt, Robert Zalkind, Patrick LaBrecque, Jeffrey Tambor, Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara, Ben Stiller
Run Time: 1 hr 40 min
When live-action Disney film Heavyweights was released in theatres in 1995, it was immediately way too hip for the family comedy room. Disney was trying to replicate their Mighty Ducks success. Instead, they accidently swung closer to ahead-of-their-time 1990s Gen-X-defining comedies like The Ben Stiller Show, The Larry Sanders Show, Get a Life, and Mr. Show. Part of that, certainly, is the pedigree of talent involved in the picture, from co-writer Judd Apatow, to co-star Paul Feig, to an absolutely bananas, bonkers, unhinged, wild, insane, iconically villainous performance from Ben Stiller (he basically reprises this character in Dodgeball, but it’s somehow more untethered here). But it’s also because of the genuine quality of the script, and the wonderful performances from its capable teen cast (Kenan Thompson has been an on-screen MVP longer than… any other performer?). Does the film’s depiction of weight issues hold up? Parts of it do, and parts of it might not — there’s definitely a lot of triggering fat-shaming language from Stiller (who is, I cannot reiterate this enough, a true villain) and depictions of the joys of binging and controlling food that may rankle viewers. Ultimately, Heavyweights does preach a message of moderation and self-love — and does so with a ton of bonkers comedy. — Gregory Lawrence
Hocus Pocus (1993)
Director: Kenny Ortega
Writers: Neil Cuthbert, Mick Garris, David Kirschner
Cast: Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Omri Katz, Thora Birch, Vinessa Shaw
Run Time: 1 hr 36 min
Who’s on your Halloween movie Mount Rushmore? Your four most iconic, influential big-screen characters that scream all things spookily October 31st? I’ll throw out a dramatic suggestion: All three witches at the center of Hocus Pocus! As for the fourth head? You — for choosing to watch Hocus Pocus! The delightful team of Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker are the Sanderson Sisters who, after being hanged in 17th century Salem, are accidentally sprung to modern life by the young Max Dennison (Omri Katz). As the hijinks and context clashes of “classic witches” and “modern kids” ensue, two things become clear about Hocus Pocus. It’s not afraid of going broad in its comedy, and it’s not afraid of going dark in its ostensibly family-friendly spookiness. It’s an appealingly physical film, with Doug Jones doing typically excellent work as a jilted zombie ex, lots of incantations and spells being cast, and the truly wild motivations of our main characters being “kill children because they don’t take Halloween seriously.” How on earth does Hocus Pocus even work as a movie, let alone a comedy? Give it another stream and remind yourself. — Gregory Lawrence
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
Director: Chris Columbus
Writer: John Hughes
Cast: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard, Tim Curry, Brenda Fricker, Catherine O’Hara
Run Time: 2 hr
Nuclear take: Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is better than Home Alone. Sure, the original is also on Disney+. And so is, for that matter, the non Macaulay Culkin-starring Home Alone 3, which features a young Scarlett Johansson, a bonkers spy plot, and even more bonkers pranks. But the one most worthy of your time is number two. Why? I’m so glad you asked. It is the crystallized, heightened, perfected version of everything hinted at in the first film. Where Home Alone’s pranks stay in the corporeal, knowable world, Lost in New York’s keenly staged violence spirals into the cartoonish, the surreal, the “Daniel Stern turning into a skeleton for a second is a buyable part of the film’s visual grammar.” Where Home Alone’s Old Shovel Man hints at heart and redemption, Lost in New York’s Old Pigeon Woman flies with tear-shedding pathos and the forever iconic two turtle doves. And speaking of “forever iconic,” Lost in New York’s entries into our culture’s iconography far surpass its predecessor. The Talkboy? Tim Curry smiling like the Grinch? “Merry Christmas, you filthy animal”? If you need some perfect, family-friendly, holiday humor in your life, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is the ticket you need to book. — Gregory Lawrence
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