It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve watched Phil Conners wake up to the strains of ‘I Got You Babe’ in Groundhog Day, how often you’ve escaped to the world of Soot Sprites and and forest spirits in My Neighbour Totoro, or how many times you’ve seen Andy Dufresne fight for his freedom in The Shawshank Redemption – returning to them feels like sinking into a warm bath, or a hug from an old friend. If you’re looking for groundbreaking edginess, difficult and demanding flicks, you won’t find those here – just pure, chicken-soup-for-the-soul warmth and goodness.Īnd chances are, you’ve seen most of these films before – but that’s the joy of a feelgood movie. That’s why Empire has pulled together a list of guaranteed feelgood movies – 30 films sure to bring a smile to your face (and maybe a few cathartic tears along the way) just when you need it the most. Between the pandemic, multiple lockdowns, and all kinds of political upheaval, it’s been a very difficult couple of years to say the least – and we’ve never needed escapism more.