Inspirational Movies
by jwoehr | created - 21 Jan 2012 | updated - 25 Aug 2015 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Forrest Gump (1994)
PG-13 | 142 min | Drama, Romance
The history of the United States from the 1950s to the '70s unfolds from the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, who yearns to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Sally Field
Votes: 2,255,914 | Gross: $330.25M
2. Rocky (1976)
PG | 120 min | Drama, Sport
A small-time Philadelphia boxer gets a supremely rare chance to fight the world heavyweight champion in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers
Votes: 628,213 | Gross: $117.24M
3. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
R | 142 min | Drama
Over the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion.
Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler
Votes: 2,887,515 | Gross: $28.34M
4. War Horse (2011)
PG-13 | 146 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A young farm boy enlists to serve in World War I after his beloved horse is sold to the cavalry. His hopeful journey takes him out of England and onto the front lines as the war rages on.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, David Thewlis, Benedict Cumberbatch
Votes: 165,570 | Gross: $79.88M
5. Dolphin Tale (2011)
PG | 113 min | Drama, Family
A boy finds a dolphin that was injured in a trap. They become friends, but the dolphin needs to have its tail amputated to survive. With the help of a biologist and a prosthetics specialist, the boy tries to save the animal.
Director: Charles Martin Smith | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Harry Connick Jr., Nathan Gamble
Votes: 25,700 | Gross: $72.29M
An injured dolphins courage becomes an inspiration to handicapped people.
6. 50/50 (2011)
R | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Inspired by a true story, a comedy centered on a 27-year-old guy who learns of his cancer diagnosis and his subsequent struggle to beat the disease.
Director: Jonathan Levine | Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard
Votes: 342,869 | Gross: $35.01M
7. Rudy (1993)
PG | 114 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Rudy has always been told that he was too small to play college football. But he is determined to overcome the odds and fulfill his dream of playing for Notre Dame.
Director: David Anspaugh | Stars: Sean Astin, Jon Favreau, Ned Beatty, Greta Lind
Votes: 69,061 | Gross: $22.75M
8. Lucas (1986)
PG-13 | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A socially inept fourteen-year-old experiences heartbreak for the first time when his two best friends - Cappie, an older-brother figure, and Maggie, the new girl with whom he is in love - fall for each other.
Director: David Seltzer | Stars: Corey Haim, Kerri Green, Charlie Sheen, Courtney Thorne-Smith
Votes: 17,527 | Gross: $8.20M
9. The Bucket List (2007)
PG-13 | 97 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Two terminally ill men escape from a cancer ward and head off on a road trip with a wish list of to-dos before they die.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Beverly Todd
Votes: 259,787 | Gross: $93.47M
10. The Mighty Ducks (1992)
PG | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
A self-centered Minnesota lawyer is sentenced to community service coaching a rag tag youth hockey team.
Director: Stephen Herek | Stars: Emilio Estevez, Joss Ackland, Lane Smith, Heidi Kling
Votes: 71,797 | Gross: $50.75M
11. Groundhog Day (1993)
PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A narcissistic, self-centered weatherman finds himself in a time loop on Groundhog Day.
Director: Harold Ramis | Stars: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott, Stephen Tobolowsky
Votes: 684,869 | Gross: $70.91M
12. The Lion King (1994)
G | 88 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
Lion prince Simba and his father are targeted by his bitter uncle, who wants to ascend the throne himself.
Directors: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Whoopi Goldberg
Votes: 1,141,774 | Gross: $422.78M
Everyone has a destiny and it's important not to run away from it.
13. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
PG-13 | 117 min | Biography, Drama
A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career
Director: Gabriele Muccino | Stars: Will Smith, Thandiwe Newton, Jaden Smith, Brian Howe
Votes: 560,510 | Gross: $163.57M
14. The Karate Kid (1984)
PG | 126 min | Action, Drama, Family
A martial arts master agrees to teach karate to a bullied teenager.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue, Martin Kove
Votes: 244,394 | Gross: $90.82M
15. Seabiscuit (2003)
PG-13 | 140 min | Drama, History, Sport
True story of the undersized Depression-era racehorse whose victories lifted not only the spirits of the team behind it but also those of their nation.
Director: Gary Ross | Stars: Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Elizabeth Banks, Chris Cooper
Votes: 76,768 | Gross: $120.28M
16. Pay It Forward (2000)
PG-13 | 123 min | Drama
A young boy attempts to make the world a better place after his teacher gives him that chance.
Director: Mimi Leder | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Haley Joel Osment, Helen Hunt, Jay Mohr
Votes: 123,869 | Gross: $33.52M
17. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
PG | 130 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell
Votes: 499,005
18. Schindler's List (1993)
R | 195 min | Biography, Drama, History
In German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Caroline Goodall
Votes: 1,450,088 | Gross: $96.90M
19. Stand and Deliver (1988)
PG | 103 min | Biography, Drama
The story of Jaime Escalante, a high school teacher who successfully inspired his dropout-prone students to learn calculus.
Director: Ramón Menéndez | Stars: Edward James Olmos, Estelle Harris, Mark Phelan, Virginia Paris
Votes: 22,323 | Gross: $13.99M
20. Glory (1989)
R | 122 min | Biography, Drama, History
Robert Gould Shaw leads the U.S. Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices from both his own Union Army, and the Confederates.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman
Votes: 144,384 | Gross: $26.83M
21. A Beautiful Mind (2001)
PG-13 | 135 min | Biography, Drama, Mystery
A mathematical genius, John Nash made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a harrowing journey of self-discovery.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer
Votes: 986,649 | Gross: $170.74M
22. Men of Honor (2000)
R | 129 min | Biography, Drama
The story of Carl Brashear, the first African-American U.S. Navy Diver, and the man who trained him.
Director: George Tillman Jr. | Stars: Cuba Gooding Jr., Robert De Niro, Charlize Theron, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor
Votes: 125,116 | Gross: $48.82M
23. Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
PG | 143 min | Drama, Music
A frustrated composer finds fulfillment as a high school music teacher.
Director: Stephen Herek | Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Glenne Headly, Jay Thomas, Olympia Dukakis
Votes: 41,701 | Gross: $82.57M
24. The Mighty (1998)
PG-13 | 100 min | Comedy, Drama
Two young boys are social outcasts in their community due to their disabilities and broken home lives. When they are paired together, they form a bond over their shared circumstances.
Director: Peter Chelsom | Stars: Kieran Culkin, Elden Henson, Sharon Stone, Harry Dean Stanton
Votes: 13,898 | Gross: $2.64M
25. Rain Man (1988)
R | 133 min | Drama
After a selfish L.A. yuppie learns his estranged father left a fortune to an autistic-savant brother in Ohio that he didn't know existed, he absconds with his brother and sets out across the country, hoping to gain a larger inheritance.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino, Gerald R. Molen
Votes: 546,426 | Gross: $178.80M
26. The Fisher King (1991)
R | 137 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A former radio DJ, suicidally despondent because of a terrible mistake he made, finds redemption in helping a deranged homeless man who was an unwitting victim of that mistake.
Director: Terry Gilliam | Stars: Jeff Bridges, Robin Williams, Adam Bryant, Paul Lombardi
Votes: 90,853 | Gross: $41.90M
27. The Truman Show (1998)
PG | 103 min | Comedy, Drama
An insurance salesman discovers his whole life is actually a reality TV show.
Director: Peter Weir | Stars: Jim Carrey, Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich
Votes: 1,195,713 | Gross: $125.62M
28. Field of Dreams (1989)
PG | 107 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella is inspired by a voice he can't ignore to pursue a dream he can hardly believe. Supported by his wife, Ray begins the quest by turning his ordinary cornfield into a place where dreams can come true.
Director: Phil Alden Robinson | Stars: Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, Amy Madigan
Votes: 128,037 | Gross: $64.43M
29. Breaking Away (1979)
PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
A working-class Indiana teen obsessed with the Italian cycling team vies for the affections of a college girl while searching for life goals with his friends.
Director: Peter Yates | Stars: Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley
Votes: 25,465 | Gross: $16.42M
30. The Man Without a Face (1993)
PG-13 | 115 min | Drama
Chuck wants to leave home but can't make the grade for boarding school. Then he finds out the disfigured recluse living nearby is an ex-teacher.
Director: Mel Gibson | Stars: Mel Gibson, Nick Stahl, Margaret Whitton, Fay Masterson
Votes: 30,997 | Gross: $24.76M
31. Precious (II) (2009)
R | 110 min | Drama
In New York City's Harlem circa 1987, an overweight, abused, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that she can re-route her life in a better direction.
Director: Lee Daniels | Stars: Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey
Votes: 116,218 | Gross: $47.57M
32. The Blind Side (2009)
PG-13 | 129 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All-American football player and first-round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.
Director: John Lee Hancock | Stars: Quinton Aaron, Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Jae Head
Votes: 360,394 | Gross: $255.96M
33. As Good as It Gets (1997)
PG-13 | 139 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A single mother and waitress, a misanthropic author, and a gay artist form an unlikely friendship after the artist is assaulted in a robbery.
Director: James L. Brooks | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding Jr.
Votes: 318,330 | Gross: $148.48M
34. Working Girl (1988)
R | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When a secretary's idea is stolen by her boss, she seizes an opportunity to steal it back by pretending she has her boss' job.
Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, Alec Baldwin
Votes: 62,389 | Gross: $64.00M
35. Rocky Balboa (2006)
PG | 102 min | Action, Drama, Sport
Thirty years after the ring of the first bell, Rocky Balboa comes out of retirement and dons his gloves for his final fight against the reigning heavyweight champ Mason 'The Line' Dixon.
Director: Sylvester Stallone | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Tarver, Milo Ventimiglia, Burt Young
Votes: 231,426 | Gross: $70.27M
36. The Natural (1984)
PG | 138 min | Drama, Sport
A middle-aged unknown comes seemingly out of nowhere to become a legendary baseball player with almost supernatural talent.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, Kim Basinger
Votes: 52,436 | Gross: $47.95M
37. Meet the Robinsons (2007)
G | 95 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Lewis is a brilliant inventor who meets mysterious stranger named Wilbur Robinson, whisking Lewis away in a time machine and together they team up to track down Bowler Hat Guy in a showdown that ends with an unexpected twist of fate.
Director: Stephen J. Anderson | Stars: Daniel Hansen, Wesley Singerman, Angela Bassett, Jordan Fry
Votes: 111,318 | Gross: $97.82M
Keep moving forward.
38. Ratatouille (2007)
G | 111 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A rat who can cook makes an unusual alliance with a young kitchen worker at a famous Paris restaurant.
Directors: Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava | Stars: Brad Garrett, Lou Romano, Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm
Votes: 824,516 | Gross: $206.45M
Anyone can cook, inspirational if you....want to cook but suck at it lol.
39. Free Willy (1993)
PG | 112 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
When a boy learns that a beloved killer whale is to be killed by the aquarium owners, the boy risks everything to free the whale.
Director: Simon Wincer | Stars: Jason James Richter, Lori Petty, Michael Madsen, Jayne Atkinson
Votes: 82,946 | Gross: $77.70M
40. Project X (1987)
PG | 108 min | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
An Air Force pilot joins a top secret military experiment involving chimps, but begins to suspect there might be something more to the mysterious "Project X".
Director: Jonathan Kaplan | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Helen Hunt, Willie, Okko
Votes: 12,843 | Gross: $18.53M
41. FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992)
G | 76 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
The magical inhabitants of a rainforest fight to save their home, which is threatened by logging and a polluting force of destruction called Hexxus.
Director: Bill Kroyer | Stars: Samantha Mathis, Christian Slater, Robin Williams, Tim Curry
Votes: 33,911 | Gross: $24.65M
If you don't believe in cutting down trees.
42. United 93 (2006)
R | 111 min | Action, Drama, History
A real-time account of the events on United Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on September 11th, 2001 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers foiled the terrorist plot.
Director: Paul Greengrass | Stars: David Alan Basche, Olivia Thirlby, Liza Colón-Zayas, J.J. Johnson
Votes: 110,933 | Gross: $31.57M
43. Avatar (2009)
PG-13 | 162 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A paraplegic Marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez
Votes: 1,386,060 | Gross: $760.51M
An expensive lesson about not cutting down trees and preserving the homes of wildlife. Same lesson Ferngully taught, but was less money to make lol.
44. Babe (1995)
G | 91 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Gentle farmer Arthur Hoggett wins a piglet Babe at a county fair. Narrowly escaping his fate as Christmas dinner, Babe bonds with motherly border collie Fly and discovers that he too can herd sheep. But will the other animals accept him?
Director: Chris Noonan | Stars: James Cromwell, Magda Szubanski, Christine Cavanaugh, Miriam Margolyes
Votes: 134,079 | Gross: $66.60M
45. Tomorrowland (2015)
PG | 130 min | Action, Adventure, Family
Bound by a shared destiny, a teen bursting with scientific curiosity and a former boy-genius inventor embark on a mission to unearth the secrets of a place somewhere in time and space that exists in their collective memory.
Director: Brad Bird | Stars: George Clooney, Britt Robertson, Hugh Laurie, Raffey Cassidy
Votes: 191,354 | Gross: $93.44M
Dreamers can save the world.
46. Whiplash (2014)
R | 106 min | Drama, Music
A promising young drummer enrolls at a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student's potential.
Director: Damien Chazelle | Stars: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Melissa Benoist, Paul Reiser
Votes: 988,611 | Gross: $13.09M
Don't give up on your dreams even if your teacher is a prick.
47. The Theory of Everything (2014)
PG-13 | 123 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Stephen Hawking gets unprecedented success in the field of physics despite being diagnosed with motor neuron disease at the age of 21. He defeats awful odds as his first wife Jane aids him loyally.
Director: James Marsh | Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Tom Prior, Sophie Perry
Votes: 481,938 | Gross: $35.89M
48. Philadelphia (1993)
PG-13 | 125 min | Drama
When a man with HIV is fired by his law firm because of his condition, he hires a homophobic small time lawyer as the only willing advocate for a wrongful dismissal suit.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Roberta Maxwell, Buzz Kilman
Votes: 257,998 | Gross: $77.32M
49. Crash (I) (2004)
R | 112 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Los Angeles citizens with vastly separate lives collide in interweaving stories of race, loss and redemption.
Director: Paul Haggis | Stars: Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Thandiwe Newton, Karina Arroyave
Votes: 448,956 | Gross: $54.58M
50. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
R | 169 min | Drama, War
Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns
Votes: 1,495,941 | Gross: $216.54M
51. Hoosiers (1986)
PG | 114 min | Drama, Sport
A coach with a checkered past and a local drunk train a small-town high school basketball team to become a top contender for the state championship in 1950s Indiana.
Director: David Anspaugh | Stars: Gene Hackman, Barbara Hershey, Dennis Hopper, Sheb Wooley
Votes: 51,060 | Gross: $28.61M
52. Life of Pi (2012)
PG | 127 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Adil Hussain, Tabu
Votes: 666,687 | Gross: $124.99M
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