Top 10 Father and Daughter Movies

Audiences may have grown accustomed to seeing Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson playing the charismatic meathead who could bust a few skulls and still crack a mega-watt smile. But in this 2007 Disney comedy, he plays a football player suddenly thrust into the role of full-time father when his estranged 8-year-old daughter appears on his doorstep. As family-friendly shenanigans follow, Johnson’s character evolves from a self-centered athlete to a man who can’t live without his little girl. And isn’t that what fatherhood is all about?

Some dads prepare their daughters for the world by telling them about the birds and bees; others train them to become highly lethal assassins who can murder at the drop of a dime. In this 2011 thriller, Eric Bana plays a former CIA operative who raises his 15-year old daughter to be an efficient killing machine with one mission in mind: destroy their enemies. After living in the Arctic for several years, the duo plans to rendezvous in Berlin and bring their adventure full circle. This trip gives Hanna a brief glimpse at life as a normal teenage girl, though thanks to her father, she is clearly anything but.

A surprise baby doesn’t have to be a burden. Just ask Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, and Ted Danson’s characters in this ‘80s classic. They play three hard-partying bachelors whose lives are suddenly thrown for a loop by the introduction of a doorstep infant. Jack Holden turns out to be an unwitting baby daddy, forcing him and his roommates to transform from womanizers into doting fathers overnight. There are other complications thrown into the mix, like a heroin deal gone bad and the little girl’s mother showing up to reclaim her. But genuine affection and sincere baby-fever prevail in the end.

In this smart romantic comedy, Steve Carell plays a man trapped in a mid-life crisis after discovering that his wife is having an affair. As he struggles to rebuild his life in the wake of their separation, his daughter also has to adjust to being an adult, and all of the complications life throws at you. One of the more pleasant complications comes in the form of Ryan Gosling’s character, an irresistible playboy who also happens to be coaching her father in pick-up artistry. Their stories eventually converge, with Carell’s character snapping out of his self-indulgence and into his role as a father.

What do you do when you’re a notorious villain who needs the sweet innocence of a trio of little girls to pull off your latest scheme? Well, naturally, you adopt three kids from an orphanage and hope for the best. In this animated hit, Steve Carell voices Gru, who initially planned on utilizing said girls to steal a shrink ray, but ends up growing attached to his new wards instead. He slowly accepts the full trappings and joys of fatherhood, including trips to ballet recitals and reading bedtime stories, all while trying to maintain his supervillain cred.

In this critically acclaimed comedy-drama, George Clooney shakes his perpetual bachelor persona and dons that of a single father struggling to raise two daughters while his wife is in a coma. As Matt King, he’s a lawyer and father of a rebellious teenage girl and a 10 year-old daughter with behavior problems. In addition to the difficulties he’s facing with his daughters, he must also wrestle with the knowledge of his wife’s infidelity AND the fact that she’s not going to recover from her coma. As he adapts to a number of issues, including some potentially lucrative acreage his family owns, Matt also has to learn to how connect with his daughters in the wake of tragedy.

In this comedy-drama, Steve Carell yet again takes on the role of the conflicted single father beset by the hazards of having female children. As widowed dad Dan Burns, he appears annoyingly overprotective of his three young daughters. While contending with teenage romances and other family issues, he must also figure out how to navigate his feelings for his brother’s girlfriend. Since this is a romantic comedy and all, it’s not that complicated to figure out what happens in the end. But at the center of the film is Dan’s relationship with his girls and how that affects the decisions he makes with regards to his life and theirs.

Clint Eastwood trades in his curmudgeonly trainer and father figure to a rising boxing champ hat to play a curmudgeonly baseball scout and estranged father to Amy Adams’ ambitious lawyer in this 2012 sports drama. As a senior scout for the Atlanta Braves named Gus Lobel, Eastwood is accompanied by his daughter on his latest scouting mission. In spite of their strained relationship, his girl aids him in his quest to locate a suitable draft pick for his team and this gives the pair the opportunity to reconcile their differences.

In this comedy, real-life father and daughter Ryan and Tatum O’Neal respectively play Moses Pray and Addie Loggins, an inadvertent con artist team who may or may not actually be related in the film as well. Moses is a travelling con man who happens upon Addie while attending her mother’s funeral and is persuaded to deliver her to her Aunt in another state. Along the way, the two literally become partners in crime, leaving a number of hapless victims in their wake. They also form a close bond that neither had anticipated, and neither wants to break.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
- “I Am Sam” (2001)
- “Broken” (2012)
- “Three Days to Kill” (2014)
- “Definitely, Maybe” (2008)
- “What a Girl Wants” (2003)

In this remake of the 1950 classic, Steve Martin plays George Banks, a loving father caught up in the whirlwind of wedding bells madness. After his daughter returns from a trip overseas and announces her engagement to a man she only recently met, there’s a mad dash to prepare a wedding – with George footing the ever-increasing bill. In addition, he’s struggling to accept his daughter’s new beau as well as his future extended family. None of this really compares to what is probably the most difficult aspect of his daughter’s wedding though: finally letting her go.

Do you agree with our list? What is your favorite father and daughter film? For more entertaining Top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.