These Thanksgiving movies will give you all the feels. Whether you're visiting family or hosting a big feast, these holiday movies will be a great addition.
I have such fond memories of Thanksgiving with my family. My Grandma would prepare a big feast that she began in the early hours of the morning for us to enjoy in the early afternoon. We'd have the football game on in the living room, where most of the guys would eat. While most of the ladies would eat in the kitchen and catch up.
About Thanksgiving Movies
Thanksgiving movies often revolve around themes that capture the essence of the holiday and its values. Some common themes in Thanksgiving movies include:
1. Family and Togetherness: Thanksgiving is traditionally a time for families to come together, and many films highlight the importance of family bonds and spending quality time with loved ones.
2. Gratitude and Thankfulness: The theme of gratitude is central to Thanksgiving movies, with characters reflecting on their blessings and expressing thanks for what they have.
3. Generosity and Giving: Some films emphasize the spirit of giving and helping others during the holiday season, whether through acts of kindness, charity, or community involvement.
4. Food and Feast: Thanksgiving is synonymous with a grand feast, and movies often feature scenes of cooking, sharing meals, and the joy of food.
5. Tradition and Ritual: Thanksgiving movies may explore the traditions and rituals associated with the holiday, such as the turkey pardon, parades, and football games.
6. Reflection and Remembrance: Characters in these films may reflect on past Thanksgivings, reminisce about loved ones, or remember the historical origins of the holiday.
7. Unity and Harmony: Thanksgiving movies often promote the idea of putting aside differences and coming together in harmony, fostering a sense of unity among diverse individuals.
8. Family Dysfunction: While many Thanksgiving movies celebrate family togetherness, some delve into the complexities of family dynamics, showcasing conflicts and resolutions.
9. Redemption and Second Chances: Characters may seek redemption or forgiveness during the holiday season, leading to personal growth and reconciliation.
10. Homecoming: Thanksgiving can be a time when loved ones return home, and movies may focus on homecoming themes, including emotional reunions and reconnections.
11. Community and Neighborly Acts: Some films emphasize the importance of community involvement and acts of kindness toward neighbors and strangers.
12. Holiday Spirit: These movies often capture the overall spirit of the Thanksgiving season, promoting joy, love, and the anticipation of the upcoming holiday season.
The specific themes and tone of Thanksgiving movies can vary widely, from heartwarming and comedic to reflective and thought-provoking, depending on the individual film.
Here are some of my favorite Thanksgiving movies.
Turkey Drop
When Lucy returns home for Thanksgiving break, she suspects she’s about to get turkey dropped—dumped by her high school sweetheart—during their holiday visit. To avoid a Turkey Day travesty, Lucy gets out of her comfort zone, proving she’s not the same play-it-safe girl she was with her high school boyfriend. As she takes control of her own life and makes choices that put herself first, she learns to let go of what’s been holding her back, helping achieve what she truly wants out of life. | Stream on Freeform
Home for the Holidays
A comedy about the Thanksgiving get-together of a thoroughly dysfunctional clan, which includes her mother and father, her brother, and his friend. What ensues is the gold-standard for family-gathering holiday films, full of absurdity, pathos, and, ultimately, a rousing sense of the ups and downs of dealing with relatives. (Rated PG-13)
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
A marketing executive just wants to get home to New York for Thanksgiving, but fate constantly stymies those plans–well, fate and John Candy's shower-ring salesman, a chipper and clumsy clown who becomes his unlikely traveling partner during this rollicking three-day odyssey. The pillow scene remains an all-time classic gag. (Rated R)
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
Maybe it's not as iconic as A Charlie Brown Christmas or It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, but this Peanuts holiday special is a good holdover between Halloween and Christmas.
Peppermint Patty infiltrates Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving holiday, which he naturally scrambles to put together with his trademark anxiety. This is one of my favorite Thanksgiving movies for kids! (Not Rated)
Pieces of April
April bravely invites her dysfunctional family from suburban Pennsylvania to her tiny apartment on the Lower East Side. Disaster strikes early when her stove breaks and she is forced to find a working oven in her building. Meanwhile, her cancer-stricken mother slowly dreads the trek into the city to see her somewhat estranged daughter. (Rated PG-13)
Dutch
A road-trip home for Thanksgiving shared by two combative men. One is a coarse slob and the other is a snobby prep-school kid–the son of the slob's girlfriend –who, through a series of misadventures, forge a lasting friendship. (Rated PG-13)
Hannah and Her Sisters
Opening and closing with scenes of its characters at Thanksgiving dinner tell a raft of interconnected stories, all in some way related to Mia Farrow's Hannah and her two siblings. (Rated PG-13)
Grumpy Old Men
Two bitter lifelong rivals who engage in ludicrous warfare over the affections of their new Wabasha, Minnesota neighborhood resident. That conflict includes an amusing Thanksgiving dinner, in which the two do their best to act like feuding immature children. (Rated PG-13)
You've Got Mail
Though they may fall in love online, Kathleen Kelly and Joe Fox are rivals in real life — on the supermarket line, especially. You've Got Mail's iconic Thanksgiving grocery store scene, in which Joe steps in for a cashless Kelly after she mistakenly rings up her items in a cash-only line, is one you just can't miss. (Rated PG)
Thanksgiving Movies on Netflix
There are currently three Thanksgiving movies on Netflix.
More Holiday Movies on Netflix:
- Christmas Movies on Netflix
- Kids Christmas Movies on Netflix
- Black Christmas Movies on Netflix
- All the Best Thanksgiving Movies on Netflix
- 50 Christmas Movies on Netflix
What do you think of this list of Thanksgiving family movies?
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