Father-daughter relationships in media have historically been... let's say underdeveloped. For every nuanced portrayal, we got ten "overprotective dad with shotgun" tropes or "distant father learns to care" clichés. But the films on this list? They actually get it. They understand that these relationships are complicated, evolving, and often defined by what's not said as much as what is.

These aren't just "good movies with dads in them." They're films that use the father-daughter dynamic as the emotional core, exploring themes of protection vs. autonomy, generational trauma, letting go, and the specific way daughters see their fathers (and vice versa).

Ages 15+

This 2022 film is a masterclass in what's left unsaid. A woman in her 30s reflects on a vacation she took with her dad when she was 11, slowly realizing things about his mental state that she couldn't have understood as a child. Paul Mescal is heartbreaking as a young father trying to hold it together. Fair warning: this will wreck you. Not a family movie night pick unless your family enjoys collectively sobbing.

Why it's #1: It captures the specific grief of realizing your parent was struggling in ways you couldn't see. Every daughter who's looked back at childhood with adult eyes will feel this one.

Ages 14+

Anthony Hopkins won an Oscar for playing a man losing his memory, with Olivia Colman as his daughter trying to care for him. It's told from his fragmenting perspective, which makes it both brilliant and emotionally brutal. This is about the role reversal that happens when parents age—when daughters become caretakers.

Ages 13+

A veteran with PTSD lives off the grid in a Portland park with his teenage daughter. She's been raised in this life, but as she gets older, she starts wanting something different. It's quiet, thoughtful, and asks hard questions about when a parent's trauma becomes a child's prison.

Ages 8+

Steve Martin at his best, playing a dad losing his mind over his daughter's wedding. Yes, it's a comedy. Yes, it's from 1991. But the emotional beats still land—that specific panic of realizing your kid is actually grown up and you missed it happening.

Ages 11+

Atticus Finch is the dad every daughter wishes she had—principled, patient, and actually listens. Scout watching her father defend Tom Robinson is about moral courage, but it's also about seeing your parent as a person with convictions that might cost them something.

Ages 13+

George Clooney as a distant dad forced to actually parent his two daughters after his wife's accident. It's set in Hawaii but feels emotionally claustrophobic in the best way. The teenage daughter (Shailene Woodley) is angry, complicated, and real.

Ages 10+

A con man in Depression-era Kansas gets stuck with a 9-year-old girl who might be his daughter. Real-life father-daughter duo Ryan and Tatum O'Neal have incredible chemistry. It's funny, surprisingly touching, and Tatum holds her own against every adult in the film.

Ages 5+

King Triton is overprotective to the point of destroying his daughter's stuff. Ariel rebels by literally changing species. It's a metaphor that works whether you're 6 or 36. The live-action remake is fine, but the 1989 original hits different.

Ages 4+

Technically father-son, but the anxious overprotective parent energy is universal. Marlin's entire arc is learning that keeping Nemo "safe" by controlling everything is its own kind of danger.

Ages 7+

Mother-daughter is the main relationship, but King Fergus is the comic relief dad who actually gets his daughter. When Merida needs backup, he's there. It's a small but meaningful portrayal of a dad who doesn't need to be the center of his daughter's story.

Ages 6+

Miguel's relationship with his great-great-grandfather Héctor is the emotional core. It's about legacy, memory, and how family stories get passed down (and distorted). Bring tissues.

Ages 5+

Chief Tui wants to keep Moana safe on the island. She wants to sail beyond the reef. It's the classic "parent wants safety, kid wants adventure" conflict, but it's handled with nuance. He's not a villain—he's scared of losing her.

Ages 12+

Bo Burnham's directorial debut is painfully accurate about middle school. The single dad (Josh Hamilton) is trying so hard, and his daughter is so embarrassed by him, and somehow it's both funny and heartbreaking. The campfire scene near the end is one of the best parent-child conversations ever filmed.

Ages 13+

Mostly about Lady Bird and her mom, but her dad (Tracy Letts) is the quiet emotional anchor. He's dealing with depression and job loss while trying to support his daughter's dreams. It's a masterclass in showing a parent's private struggles.

Ages 13+

Nadine's dad died, and she's not handling it well. The movie is about her junior year of high school, but his absence shapes everything. It's honest about how losing a parent as a teenager doesn't give you wisdom—it just makes everything harder.

Ages 12+

Filmed over 12 years with the same cast, following Mason from age 6 to 18. His relationship with his dad (Ethan Hawke) evolves from weekend visits to genuine friendship. It's long (2 hours 45 minutes) but worth it for the time-lapse effect on the relationship.

Ages 8+

Robin Williams will make you laugh and then absolutely destroy you. A dad so desperate to see his kids after divorce that he becomes a Scottish nanny. It's absurd, but the emotional reality underneath—a parent fighting to stay in their kids' lives—is real.

Ages 13+

Juno's dad (J.K. Simmons) is the steady, non-judgmental presence she needs when she gets pregnant at 16. "I thought you were the kind of girl who knew when to say when" is delivered with zero anger, just love. That's the whole relationship.

Ages 16+

Charlize Theron as an overwhelmed mom of three. Her husband is well-meaning but useless. It's more about motherhood, but watching a dad slowly realize he needs to step up is its own arc. Also, the twist will mess you up.

Ages 10+

A foster kid and her grumpy foster uncle go on the run in the New Zealand bush. It's not biological father-daughter, but it's about chosen family and how people who seem incompatible can become each other's person. Taika Waititi magic.

Ages 12+

Billi's relationship with her dad is secondary to her bond with her grandmother, but it's there—the immigrant parent who brought her to America for a better life, the cultural gap that creates. It's about family obligation across generations.

Ages 14+

Five sisters in rural Turkey are locked in their home by their uncle after being seen with boys. It's about patriarchal control and what happens when fathers/father figures see daughters as property. Heavy, but important.

Ages 14+

Jennifer Lawrence's breakout role as a 17-year-old searching for her meth-cooking father to save her family's home. It's bleak Ozark poverty, but her determination to protect her younger siblings is fierce. About the damage absent fathers leave behind.

Ages 13+

A 6-year-old living in a motel near Disney World with her young mom. Her dad is barely in the picture. It's about poverty, childhood, and the adults who try (and fail) to protect kids from harsh realities. Willem Dafoe is the motel manager who becomes a surrogate father figure.

Ages 11+

Cooper leaves his daughter to save humanity. She grows up angry at him. The time dilation means he barely ages while she becomes an old woman. It's sci-fi, but the emotional core is about a parent's sacrifice and a child's resentment/forgiveness. The "watch scene" will wreck you.

Ages 12+

14-year-old Mattie hires a marshal to hunt down her father's killer. Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges in the 2010 version, John Wayne in 1969) becomes a reluctant father figure. She's tougher than he is. It's a Western about a girl refusing to be protected.

Ages 14+

Wolverine as a dying surrogate father to a young mutant girl. It's violent (R-rated), but the relationship between Logan and Laura is surprisingly tender. About learning to care for someone when you've spent your life alone.

Ages 12+

Lee Abbott (John Krasinski) trying to protect his family from sound-hunting monsters. His relationship with his deaf daughter Regan is central—she blames herself for her brother's death, and he's trying to keep her safe while she wants to help. Tense, but the emotional beats land.

Ages 9+

Casey's dad (Tim McGraw) is a NASA engineer about to lose his job. She sabotages the demolition equipment to buy him time. It's a small thread in a bigger sci-fi story, but it's there—a daughter who believes in her father's dreams even when he's given up.

Ages 13+

A dad raises his six kids off-grid in the Pacific Northwest, training them in survival skills and philosophy. When they re-enter society, the kids start questioning his choices. It's about whether radical parenting is enlightenment or control.

Ages 13+

Royal Tenenbaum is a terrible father trying to reconnect with his adult kids, including daughter Margot. It's Wes Anderson, so it's stylized and quirky, but the emotional neglect is real. About whether bad parents can earn forgiveness.

Ages 14+

A single mom in 1979 asks two younger women to help raise her teenage son. It's more mother-son, but the exploration of how parents need help and how kids are shaped by multiple adults is universal. Also, Greta Gerwig before she was Greta Gerwig.

Ages 9+

A Māori girl in New Zealand wants to be chief, but her grandfather refuses because she's female. It's grandfather-granddaughter, but the dynamic is pure father-daughter—tradition vs. change, a girl proving herself to a man who won't see her.

Ages 12+

A son uses a ham radio to talk to his dead father in the past. It's father-son, but the concept works for any parent-child relationship. About getting a second chance to know your parent as a person, not just a role.

Ages 12+

Hear me out. Charlie Swan is the best part of the Twilight saga. He's a single dad who lets his daughter make her own (terrible) choices, tries to connect despite having zero idea how to talk to a teenage girl, and is just... there. Billy Burke is doing the lord's work in these films.

Ages 5-8: Stick with the animated picks—Moana, Coco, Finding Nemo, The Little Mermaid. These explore parent-child conflict in ways that feel big to kids but aren't traumatic.

Ages 9-12: Add in Father of the Bride, Paper Moon, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Mrs. Doubtfire. These deal with divorce, loss, and change but with enough humor to balance the heavy stuff.

Ages 13+: Most of the list opens up here. Eighth Grade, Lady Bird, The Descendants, and Juno are great for teens navigating their own parent relationships.

Ages 15+: The heavy hitters—Aftersun, The Father, Leave No Trace. These require emotional maturity to process.

Content warnings: Logan is R-rated violence. Mustang deals with sexual assault (not shown but discussed). Winter's Bone is bleak poverty and drug culture. Check Common Sense Media for specific concerns.

For family movie night: Pick something where the age gap works for everyone. Father of the Bride, Coco, or Hunt for the Wilderpeople are safe bets.

For processing your own relationship: If you're a daughter working through dad stuff, Aftersun or The Royal Tenenbaums might hit. If you're a dad trying to understand your daughter's perspective, Eighth Grade or Lady Bird.

For starting conversations: Watch Interstellar and talk about sacrifice. Watch Brave and talk about expectations. Watch To Kill a Mockingbird and talk about moral courage.

For teens who think you don't get it: Show them Eighth Grade or The Edge of Seventeen. Sometimes seeing a parent try (and fumble) on screen makes it easier to see your own parents' efforts.

Father-daughter relationships in film have evolved from "dad with shotgun meets daughter's boyfriend" to actually complex portrayals of love, control, letting go, and reconciliation. These 35 films span genres, decades, and emotional registers, but they all understand that these relationships are foundational—for better or worse.

The best ones don't have easy answers. They sit in the discomfort of a dad who loves his daughter but doesn't understand her (Eighth Grade), or a daughter who sees her father clearly for the first time (Aftersun), or a parent making impossible choices (Interstellar).

Whether you're looking for something to watch together or something to help process your own relationship, this list has range. Just maybe keep tissues nearby.

Want more recommendations? Check out mother-daughter movies, family movies that don't suck, or movies about complicated families.