Updated Feb. 10, 2026
You can’t help it. Even just the quotes from the funniest family movies make you blurt out a laugh.
“Tis but a scratch!”
“Baby steps onto the elevator.”
“Does anyone want a peanut?”
These are film moments that your family needs to experience. They’re funny and good for your wellbeing. Laughter reduces cortisol, which is connected to anxiety and stress. It means if you don’t show your children Spaceballs or Monty Python and the Holy Grail, you’re a bad parent.
You may notice there are no Christmas movies on this list. Some would qualify, but there’s already a Funniest Family Christmas Movies list for your holiday needs. And, if you wonder what qualifies as a family film, check out my FAQ.
Two of these films are black-and-white. Guess what? They’re hilarious. Physical comedy translates. Timing matters. Joke escalation creates laughter. I know. I tested all of these films on my daughters (6 & 8) and they all crushed family movie night.
Let’s do it. Here are the funniest family movies of all time.
25. Beetlejuice (1988) (7+)
Beetlejuice is a haunted house flick that constantly jumps at you with bold and physical humor that’s built on strong comedy foundations. The yuppy satire. The afterworld waiting room. Michael Keaton crushing it as Beetlejuice. Combined, they deliver a constant flow of jokes.
Then the dinner possession scene drives it all home because it feels like a forced family dinner. You know, a synchronized dance that escalates out of control. In every scene, Tim Burton somehow makes the bizarre and avant-garde relatable.
24. Megamind (2010) (5+)
Megamind makes you laugh because it taps into how kids imagine themselves when they’re convinced they’re the main character. He overexplains, over-plans, and over-narrates his own importance. Then reality kicks his butt. You see his confidence wobble in real time, especially when his big ideas collapse into social and societal disasters that should break him. Yet, he keeps going.
In the end, you’re proud of the blue-noggined bad guy for maturing into a blue-noggined good guy. You can almost imagine your kid showing this growth. Except your kids are just not this funny.
23. Napolean Dynamite (2004) (7+)
Director Jared Hess is like an off-key Wes Anderson. Where Wes nails the colors and vibe of a sophisticated culture magazine, Jared is more like an ‘80s Sears catalogue. That backdrop makes everything funnier. And every character possesses confidence navigating nonsense and showing you they fit in this bizarre world. It’s why line deliveries come across so funny. All of this sets up the talent show dance, which becomes a showstopper because Jon Heder delivers it without a wink to the crowd.
22. What About Bob? (1991) (6+)
Bob is a charming mess who leaves a trail of destruction in his wake. His attachment to his psychologist’s family turns What About Bob? into a slow-motion comedy disaster you can’t look away from.
The movie gets funnier as Bob steadily pulls himself together while Dr. Leo Marvin unravels in full view of everyone around him. The biggest laughs come from Bob stepping over boundaries with complete sincerity and stripping away Marvin’s control until the inevitable breakdown.
21. Top Secret! (1984) (10+)
Top Secret! is a forgotten ‘80s film that embraces the ridiculous. And the gags are nonstop. It’s one of those movies that has you hitting the Rewind 10 Seconds button again and again. The jokes aren’t always front and center — there’s a lot happening in the background that competes for your attention. Top Secret! is at its best when it satirizes action flicks without losing its silliness.
20. Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) (7+)
This is a road movie where common inconveniences turn into bigger, funnier problems. Planes, Trains and Automobiles is a hilarious movie, but it’s emotionally resonant as well. At times you side with Steve Martin, the well-to-do ad exec who’s trying to get back to his family. Other times you side with John Candy, the affable shower ring salesman whose intentions remain vague.
That bouncing back and forth pays off with several classic bits — including the “those aren’t pillows — what about those Bears” moment that remains repeated in Gen X households to this day. And some of the funniest moments are just Martin and Candy chatting about things like the weather.
Parent note: This is a PG film but there are several F-bombs in one scene.
19. Best in Show (2000) (9+)
Best in Show constantly trots humor across the screen. But huge punchlines or elaborate set pieces don’t win you over. It’s the small lines about “two left feet” and relatable dog-owner situations that make you laugh. At first, you’re not laughing with these people, you’re laughing at them. That’s part of the fun.
Then the story evolves and you start to care. As the pressure of show-day builds, you feel the tension, and every tiny interaction is amplified, leaving you laughing out in relief. In the end, you’re cheering on these lovable lunatics and their canine companions.
18. Better Off Dead (1985) (9+)
If someone says, in any context, “two dollars” — you invariably say “Where’s my two dollars?” in that gritty paperboy voice. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, stop what you’re doing and see Better Off Dead. It’s almost a brat pack film, but too funny to fit that subgenre. The film leans hard into satirical cartoon logic, made clear by the title and John Cusack’s failed attempts to fulfill that desire. Better Off Dead comes with a PG rating, but it’s 100% an ’80s teen comedy.
17. Modern Times (1936) (5+)
Charlie Chaplin is an odd fellow. He’s half righteous tramp with a golden heart and half a conniving scamp who can veer off-the-rails at any moment. Both happen in Modern Times, a black-and-white silent era film with comedy that comes across on any sized screen. What it lacks in dialogue, it makes up for in escalating gags that erupt in disaster.
The feeding machine in Modern Times is one of the funniest set pieces in any film because it’s clearly a terrible idea and you can’t wait to see it fail. If this one makes your family laugh, check out two other Chaplin films: The Gold Rush and City Lights. They’re movies still remembered a century later for a reason.
16. Paddington 2 (2017) (4+)
Paddington 2 is a please and thank you comedy. The film’s positivity makes the contrasting themes about incarceration hit that much harder. The jokes start out with small oopsies. Then they domino into bigger laughs. It’s relatable for everyone in the family to see little mistakes turn into big messes. Underneath it all remains Paddington’s charm. It’s easy to laugh when your face is already smiling.
15. Spaceballs (1987) (8+)
What stupid fun this movie is. It almost trips over itself trying to make you laugh with social commentary and absurdist riffs. But the playfulness pays off, even if you’re not a Star Wars fan. Spaceballs sets an absurd tone early mimicking the opening shot of A New Hope with an endless ship. Mel Brooks makes you a promise at that moment: We’re going to get silly. He spends the next hour and a half living up to that promise.
14. Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995) ( 8+)
Jim Carrey is a funny guy. In the Ace Ventura sequel, he’s unleashed on us, given free rein to be his funniest self. And what he does is make us laugh until we cry or pee. This is pure physical comedy at its unsophisticated best. Carrey being hunted with tranquilizer darts. Carrey disrespecting the South African imperialists. Carrey being birthed from a mechanical rhino. You will lose it time and time again. Some of the jokes are for older viewers and will almost certainly go over younger viewers’ heads.
13. Tommy Boy (1995) (8+)
Chris Farley’s sincerity is endearing. It’s why we still talk about him decades after his unfortunate passing. In Tommy Boy, he delivers laugh after laugh after laugh. It’s because Farley understands gravity — of the moment and of the pratfall. Farley falls and reels in pain with incredible agility. His line delivery is earnest one moment, then boisterously violent the next.
The film has a heartfelt story but is mostly a series of smartly executed set pieces that highlight Farley’s unique persona and skills. The car door and sales call bits hit hard because you care about him. Your shared embarrassment stretches just long enough to surprise you with a smack of a joke — often to the face of the ever-willing Farley.
12. Emperor’s New Groove (2000) (5+)
Emperor’s New Groove is like a smartly-written live-action screwball comedy animated by Disney’s talented artists. The script delivers laughs. The actors nail the lines. The animation team pulls off the timing. And the jokes keep coming whether you’re caught up or not.
The mix of jokes is impressive: Insults, bickering, magical mishaps, map gags, and a new take on the classic angel/devil-on-the-shoulder routine. What makes this film stand out is the characters constantly, confidently make dumb choices. The results always pay off for us watching.
11. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) (8+)
The humor in Guardians of the Galaxy works because every character enters scenes with a different agenda, tone, and level of self-importance. They constantly, hilariously crash into each other — sometimes literally. What’s fun is the bickering becomes the connective tissue that keeps scenes alive while the plot moves forward. It’s as critical as the action. Even in the climactic fight, a dance-off distraction takes what is a life-or-death moment and recrafts it into epic silliness. And that’s simply fun to watch.
10. Shrek (2001) (5+)
How can one of the most famous movies — a blockbuster — also be somewhat underrated? Yet it is. Shrek is a comedy classic. It’s funny on multiple layers (like an onion), which is why families keep coming back to it. Sure, the fairy-tale skewering is funny, but the real laughs come from how the characters react to each other. Their lines are sharply written. An incredible comedic cast make them stick. You find yourself repeating lines, often out of context, years later.
9. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) (5+)
Bud Abbott comes off like a big kid with a big imagination, which makes Lou Costello’s disbelief relatable to kids. That whole gimmick is the signature Abbott and Costello bit. What makes Meet Frankenstein work better than their other films is how tight everything else is.
The verbal exchanges and visual gags stack without cluttering the story. Doors slamming, crates moving, people entering at the worst possible moment. It all keeps the pressure rising. When Abbott finally encounters Dracula and screams, it delivers laughs because the movie has been building to that moment the entire time.
8. The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021) (5+)
This is one of the funniest family movies because it nails family dynamics — which don’t change just because there’s a robot rebellion. The humor is grounded in the dysfunction we all go through at home. It’s amplified by the struggle to survive together. The Mitchells vs. the Machines feels like a big budget animation classic that a creative teenager has touched up with her playful art style. Those bits come at you fast, sometimes out of nowhere and lasting just a few dozen frames.
Despite the exciting pops of unbridled expressionism, the strength of the film is the relationship between the analog dad and his digital daughter. Watching them learn to understand each other is the feel-good juice that fuels your laughter.
7. The Princess Bride (1987) (6+)
The Princess Bride keeps you laughing no matter how many times you return. In fact, the jokes are almost better when you know they’re coming. The cast makes it happen. Their words, expressions, and even pauses all deliberate and perfected.
The Cliffs of Insanity act — from the boat until Westley tumbles down the hill — is a blast to watch. It’s one hilarious moment after another, packed with surprise twists, all performed by characters who treat the absurd rules of the world as completely serious. That seriousness is what keeps the laughs steady through the end.
6. The ’Burbs (1989) (7+)
In Tom Hanks’s long career, The ‘Burbs is by far his funniest film because he treats it with the same attention to detail he does dramas. But this is not just a Hanks-ian comedy about how suburban monotony can break you down. There’s a full cast of funny characters who all have a role in making you laugh.
Joe Dante, who worked with Steven Spielberg on Gremlins, sets things up with an Amblin-like glow. But it fades as paranoia grows. The child-like antics of these adults escalate into comedic confrontations as they overstep social (and property) boundaries searching for evil next door. Again, these moments are at their best when Hanks is leading the way armed with only a flashlight or plate of brownies.
5. Ghostbusters (1984) (7+)
Ghostbusters is a comedy classic because the jokes are delivered with deadpan seriousness by cartoonishly immature characters. Yet they’re the only hope. The best scenes build toward exciting moments that are a little spooky and often gooey. The library opener kicks things off with a sudden scare that sends the on-screen adults screaming like kids. It tells you immediately these guys are in over their heads.
But the ‘Busters continue with their work because they’re passionate about it. When Peter gets slimed, Ray and Egon’s giddiness is infectious. You can’t help but laugh at their response. Your smile doesn’t really go away. By the time Stay Puft explodes, you feel like you haven’t stopped laughing. It’s quite possible you haven’t.
4. Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985) (5+)
Many of these comedies treat silliness with total seriousness. Pee-wee’s Big Adventure flips that idea, treating seriousness with total silliness. Pee-wee feels like a cartoon stepping out of the safety of his home and into a live-action world with real consequences, yet he never stops behaving like a kid. Every strange encounter, awkward pause, or minor inconvenience is a major event to Pee-wee. His unwavering optimism makes him easy to root for even as the odds pile up.
Director Tim Burton brings a handmade feel to the gags, using visual invention and timing that give the jokes a personality all their own. Paired with iconic one-liners, the laughs keep coming straight through to the end.
3. The Lego Movie (2014) (4+)
How is a movie made for five-year-olds this funny? The Lego Movie comes boxed with nonstop visual gags and sharp satire that make you forget you’re watching a toy movie. Writer-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller fully commit to that idea, treating Lego logic as law. Every chase, explosion, and “build your way out of it” solution follows those rules, which is why the action stays clear and the jokes stay sharp.
In the opening minutes, stiff Lego hands and plastic faces straining to emote tip you off that Lego’s limitations are about to become its greatest strengths. Then the all-star cast kicks in, delivering joke after joke with such ease it feels improvised, even though you know the lines are brilliantly constructed. Every time my family watches, we end up howling like we all just stepped barefoot on Legos.
2. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) (8+)
This is one of the funniest films ever made because it’s built from sharply written lines stacked inside sharply constructed sketches, all woven into a dense comic tapestry. And then the cast wipes their bums with that tapestry. It’s that combination of erudite wit and blue collar British bullshittery that allows them to also wipe their bums on history, religion, mythology, the French, swallows (which kind of swallows?), and all epic storytelling.
Some scenes collapse for comedic oomph. Others wander into each other for no reason except for nonsensical fun. The unpredictable and constant jokes make Monty Python and the Holy Grail infinitely rewatchable.
1. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) (10+)
Don’t breathe. Don’t blink. Hell, don’t even laugh. You do and you’re missing an all-time joke. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! riddles you with constant comedy, filling you with laughter unlike any other movie. Jokes fire in the foreground while visual nonsense keeps unfolding behind the main action. The humor comes at you from different angles and styles, so someone in the room is always laughing at something different.
What really seals it is the dead-serious delivery, especially Leslie Nielsen. He reacts to absolute nonsense like it’s standard procedure, making every silly detail that much funnier. Just when you think Naked Gun has given all it can, the baseball scene unloads every kind of joke on you. A classic among comedy classics.
Honorable Mentions (alphabetized)
These are still some of the funniest family movies even though they didn’t make the final cut.
Despicable Me, Duck Soup, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Inside Out, KPop Demon Hunters, Happy Gilmore, Kung Fu Panda, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Men in Black, Monsters Inc., The Muppet Movie, The Pink Panther (1963), Playtime, Ratatouille, Sketch, The Three Amigos
