The 20 best movie parents of all time

Anyone who’s seen Easy A knows that the best characters in the entire film are Olive’s parents, Dill and Rosemary. Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson are equally amazing. 

Isabel and Jackie from Stepmom are a great example of two women putting their differences aside to provide the best care for the children they both love. Co-parenting looks different in each family, but these two offer a model that’s worth adopting. 

Sure, they are creepy, kooky, mysterious, and spooky, but Morticia and Gomez are also loving and supportive. They encourage their children to be exactly who they want to be, and they have a great marriage. 

Atticus Finch shows that it’s possible to stand up for what’s right while also taking care of your own. It’s a tough line to walk, but he does it well. 

Marmee March is a kind woman. It’s not easy to care for four girls, especially when you have to do much of the job alone. But Marmee does it with grace, and she fosters an environment where the little women can be honest with each other. 

Bryan Mills isn’t a good dad because he actively sought out his daughter’s captor and saved her from human trafficking. That’s an unrealistic standard for parenting. He’s a good dad because he did everything in his power to return his daughter to safety.  

Harry Potter didn’t have many good adult influences in his life, but Molly and Arthur Weasley were an exception. They opened themselves up to him while still being great parents to their own children. 

Sure, dressing up as an old British woman in an effort to get closer to your children is an unhinged thing to do, but sometimes parents have to do unhinged things to get their children’s affection. And thanks to Daniel’s little stunt, the entire family gets closer. 

Raising a family of supers can’t be easy, but Bob and Helen Parr do it well. They are honest about their struggles as parents, but they always protect their children, even in the most dire circumstances. 

Monty will do anything to protect his daughters. He’s willing to sacrifice anything to ensure they are safe, happy, and have a good life. 

Kala is proof that maternal energy knows no bounds. When Tarzan is in danger, she accepts him as her own, and she continues loving him even when he chooses his own path. 

No matter how busy he is with work, Mel Horowitz always makes time for his daughter. And though he’s picked up some stepchildren along the way, he makes sure to include them, too, even when the marriage has failed. 

Everything Edna and Wilbur Turblad do in Hairspray is out of love for their daughter. Edna, in particular, is very protective at the start of the film, but as it goes on, she loosens the reins to let her daughter go after her dreams. 

Parenting a teen who’s become pregnant is tough, but Bren and Mac MacGuff are there for Juno. They support her decision to put her baby up for adoption, making the entire process a little easier to handle. 

Sure, Peg let a man with scissors for hands sleep on her daughter’s waterbed without warning her, but she has a good heart and just wants Edward to be accepted. And Bill doesn’t ask questions. He helps Edward, too, no matter what others in the community think. 

George and Nina Banks in Father of the Bride are how we imagine Steve Martin and Diane Keaton would actually be as parents in real life. They’re protective but supportive, and they approach life’s biggest moments with heart and humor. 

Marlin swims across the entire ocean to find his lost son. He faces migration, sharks, and dangerous filtration systems, all with the companionship of a mostly unhelpful fish, but he’ll do anything to get to his son. 

The insane decision to split up their twins as babies aside, Nick Parker and Elizabeth James are great parents. They know their daughters well, and they eventually see the error of their original custody agreement and acquiesce to a new plan. 

Miss Honey is a better parent than Matilda’s biological parents, who are bad. Miss Honey doesn’t care that Matilda isn’t her own. She takes her in and provides her with the life she deserves.  

Chris Gardner doesn’t have it easy, but he knows his son deserves the best life possible. Chris will do whatever it takes to make life better for both of them.