Comfort films—those movies we turn to again and again in the midst of turmoil. The ones that calm our soul, bring a dose of cheer, that feel like a hot cup of tea on a cold day, filling our insides with goodness and warmth.

As much as I adore books, I am also a huge movie fan (and even more so with TV series, but that’s a topic for another blog post). I just like good stories, guys! In all their forms. And though usually I am all for tales of epic quests and exciting adventures and end-of-the-world stakes (*cough*LOTR*cough*), sometimes my soul needs something softer. Something gentle and cute and heartfelt that shows me the joy in the little things, that adds a touch of whimsy to the mundane, and reminds me that the world really is a beautiful place. The ones that will promise me a smile no matter how dark the days may seem.

So today I am going to share with you five films that do just that, and give you a little peek into my happy places.

FIVE FAVORITE COMFORT FILMS

THE MANY ADVENTURES OF WINNIE THE POOH

I had actually talked about my complete love for Winnie-the-Pooh not too long ago, so this may not come as a surprise to many of you.

This film is probably my uttermost happy place (well, it and the Howl’s Moving Castle book, but I already did a whole post on that AHEM). This movie was my childhood. If I had to guess, I’d say it was my most watched childhood movie, one I’d put on and rewind once I got to the end over and over and over. When Pooh said at the end “Can’t we go back to page one and do it over again?” I took him quite seriously. I never wanted it to stop. The Hundred Acre Wood felt like my home. The way Christopher Robin played in the woods with his stuffed animal companions? That was ME. I was always the girl with a stuffed animal in hand wanting to frolic through the woods.

Every single time I put the movie on, I am instantly transported back to my happy childhood days. The sweet music, the soft animation, the characters and all their silly problems and hilarious antics—it brings me joy like few other things. When this movie is on, all is right with the world. There is no sadness or darkness. It is just Pooh and his friends living out their days in the homey Hundred Acre Wood.

Basically, if I am sad, just play this movie for me. It is an instantaneous mood changer.

(And I feel like I could spend this whole post listing all the classic animated Disney movies. Almost every single one of them is a comfort film for me since I grew up with them, but this one is definitely #1.)

TANGLED

My other topmost favorite animated film in all of existence. I could fangirl all the livelong day but YOU GUYS KNOW. I mean, it’s Tangled. There is not a single thing not to love about this film. So instead of talking about all the things I adore about it, I’ll just focus on why it’s such a comfort movie for me.

(Though I did do a group review of it a couple of years back over on Fairy Tale Central HERE if you really want my fangirly thoughts.)

First of all, I feel like the whole aesthetic of the film is my aesthetic. The painted art style to the cozy tower to the bright forest to the cheery castle town—hello yes I want to live there ASAP. The soft, enchanting, fairy tale feel makes me want to crawl into the film and never leave (so instead I just watch the movie 2893 times over). It is a feast for my eyeballs and makes the world look so…pretty.

Secondly, it’s such a happy film. Somehow they created one of the most chilling villains ever (Mother Gothel is messed up, guys) and still created something just downright fun. It’s a rip-roaring good time from Rapunzel bashing Flynn unconscious with a frying pan to a hilarious musical number in a bar to a daring escape from the castle prison. But it’s balanced out so perfectly with the softer scenes. Rapunzel and Flynn’s heartfelt talk in the woods. The floating lantern scene. Even, heartrending though it is, the moment Flynn is dying and they say they were each other’s new dream (brb SOBBING). This movie doesn’t try to tell a wild and crazy tale. It’s just about a girl who decides to leave her tower and discovers all the amazing things the world has to offer.

Thirdly, I felt such a kinship with Rapunzel the moment she came on screen. Her fears, her excitements, her innocence and joys. I think she is the type of protagonist so many of us can relate to. And seeing her face her fears while still holding on to her goodness resounds so deeply within me.

Watching this film for the first time in theaters was one of the most immersing, joyful experiences of my life. And it has been a film that has brought me abounding happiness ever since.

CINDERELLA (2015)

The classic animated Disney Cinderella was probably my second most watched movie after Winnie-the-Pooh. Cinderella was always like a role model for me with her kindness and patience (two things I seriously needed more of). So when trailers popped up for a live-action adaptation of the classic film I was…worried. What were they going to do to my beloved film? Were they going to modernize this beautiful story and turn sweet, caring Cinderella into some tough, emotionless, “Strong Female Character”? How could they possibly do justice to the beauty of the animated movie?

WELL.

It took the film about 0.8 seconds to pull me in and sever all my fears. From the absolutely darling music to the lush, gorgeous setting to Ella’s bright smile, I was whisked away into a Cinderella story I didn’t even know I needed. Not only did it honor the classic animated movie, but it expanded it into something even greater (no instalove YAY!). Child Christine would be aghast at this confession but here it is: I like Cinderella 2015 far more than the animated one. YES. IT’S TRUE. Lily James brought to life my Cinderella. The kind, amiable one whose strength is found through her patience and gentleness. (My sister and I often joke that Lily James should play all the Disney princesses because AWK, she was just so perfect. XD)

It’s another one of those soft stories. Nothing grand and epic and overly dramatic. Just simplistic, and that is where its beauty shines. The lush, bright setting and sweet romance and beautiful reminder of the power of kindness and forgiveness stirs my heart. Whenever I need something to calm my soul, I put on the soundtrack and just soak in the gentle stringed music.

Honestly, I’d be hard pressed to think of a single complaint. And, well, I pretty much always have something to complain about with any story. *sheepish grin* But with this one? It set out to tell a beautiful fairy tale of courage and kindness, and it did it brilliantly.

CHRISTOPHER ROBIN

And we are back to the Winnie-the-Pooh obsession! And…more Disney. (Shhh, I have a problem.)

By this point Disney had given us quite a few live-action films adapted from their animated classics, such as Maleficent (helloooo favorite movie of all time after LOTR), Cinderella, and Pete’s Dragon—all of which I adored. So I was beginning to have a bit more faith in their ability to bring their animated films to life. (Well, except there was Beauty and the Beast, but I won’t get into that.) Although, I have to say, this seemed like an awful strange premise for a movie. An adult Christopher Robin??? A story where the Hundred Acre Wood and Pooh and friends are actually REAL? How would that even work with live-action? I feared it was just going to be awkward and strange, but held on to hope that they wouldn’t totally destroy my entire childhood. (Like with Beauty and the Beast *COUGH*)

As with Cinderella, as I sat in the theaters and the film opened up reading the very passages of the book, showing the adorable map of the Hundred Acre Wood, my fears vanished. And I cried. NO JOKE. We had not made it a full 30 seconds into the movie before I was choking up. Because suddenly not only was I experiencing one of my favorite stories of all time, but in a new way. I had seen the Winnie-the-Pooh movie so many times, getting to experience the story over again in a new format was…everything.

With this one, it truly felt like the writers got it. The care they put into the characters, the simplicity of the plot, down to the aesthetic, it felt so true to the original animated film AND the story A.A. Milne originally created. They could have so easily turned it into a wild, slapstick comedy full of cringe-worthy goofiness and caricatures of the characters we’ve all grown up with. But they didn’t. It held true to that old-fashioned charm few stories have anymore.

And the theme of returning back to one’s childhood joy and wonder resounded down to my core. I always saw my childhood self in Christopher Robin. And suddenly I found my adult self in him too. This movie spoke to my soul and touched my heart in the tender places, but filled it with a healing salve. Getting my beloved Pooh Bear in a whole new way was a gift. Though I’ve literally only seen this one two or three times, it’s one I know I will return to again and again and again when I need a good dose of charm and comfort and the sweet simplicity of childhood wonder.

Also Ewan McGregor and Hayley Atwell, guys! Apparently Hayley Atwell should just play all the Disney moms too.

KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE

LOOK. It’s not a Disney film! The lone one in the bunch.

This is probably a funny one to add because not only have I just seen it once, but it was only a couple of months ago when I first watched it. YET. It’s one of those movies that I knew, right from the start, would be a happy place for me. My sister and I were watching it together, and by about three minutes in I turned to her and said. “Is it just me or is this one of the most delightful things you have ever seen?”

It’s about a young witch, Kiki, who sets off to spend a year on her own in a new town as is tradition for witches. Sort of their initiation. Except, Kiki can’t really do anything but fly on her broom. So she starts a delivery service. UPS on a broom, if you will.

This is one of those Studio Ghibli films that doesn’t really have a plot, but you love it anyway because it’s just so stinkin’ charming (looking at you My Neighbor Totoro). The story literally just follows Kiki’s ups and downs as she tries to find her way in a new town and discover who she really is inside. It’s a coming of age type of tale. But for me it was so much more. Because it was also a love letter to creatives.

After witnessing how unkind people can be, Kiki falls into depression and soon finds she can no longer fly her broom. Self-doubt racks her violently, and she fears she will never truly find her way in the world, that all her worth is gone. Then a friend tells her she is simply suffering from artist’s block, and that she needs to stop trying so hard and instead go for walks, look at the scenery, doze off at noon. Eventually, she’ll be flying again.

As a writer, the themes of this film touched me deeper than few other stories have. I saw myself in Kiki, accidentally putting my worth in my creative pursuits instead of as a human being. Allowing the hardships of the world attack my joy of creating, and forgetting to turn away from all the ugliness and let the simple, beautiful things in life fill up my soul.

I went in expecting a cutesy, silly, little anime film, and instead was gifted with a story that explores the hardships and wonder of following one’s creative passions.

BUT. It is, in fact, also a cutesy anime film. Themes aside, it’s just ADORABLE. I loved the setting of the seaside town and the cozy little bakery where Kiki sets up her delivery service. And if you’ve ever watched a Ghibli film, you know they excel at romanticizing the mundane things of life. Plus, this one is a bit…tamer and quieter than some of the others.

Though Howl’s Moving Castle is my top favorite Ghibli film, Kiki comes as a very close second, and is definitely the most peaceful one I’ve seen so far. I already know it’s one I shall be returning to again when I need a dose of comfort, happiness, and something to inspire my creative soul.

Honorable mention to Whisper of the Heart, another Ghibli film that has much of the same themes (it’s, in fact, about a writer!) and is absolutely precious.

And that, my friends, is five of my most favorite comfort films. The ones I can always trust to give me a smile or touch my heart when I need it the most. Or just give my eyeballs a feast with all the soft, lush colors and settings. (Hey, I’m a very visual person. The aesthetics are sometimes just as important to me as the plot. *grins*)

Now it’s your turn! I absolutely want to know: What’s your favorite comfort films? And what do you think of mine? Do we share any?? What is a defining factor that makes a movie an instant comfort film for you? Give me all your thoughts!