Best movies to watch with the family on Thanksgiving Day

It’s that time of year when we drop everything to spend a day with family thanks to... well, Thanksgiving Day.  And while there are of course many traditional aspects of what to watch on TV (there will be that relative who insists on watching the NFL games of the day), sitting on the couch with the family watching a movie while the turkey cooks, the cousins arrive, or we wait for the always unfortunate inappropriate comments of a family gathering sounds like a good option. While it’s not a tradition, here are some movie options that touch on the theme of the day that you just can’t miss.

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

If there’s one movie that evokes Thanksgiving and is a part of our childhood, it’s this Charlie Brown movie. If there’s one lesson this movie taught us, it’s that friends are the family you choose to be with, and spending the holidays with them is a great option. Sorry, Peppermint Patty, but how is buttered toast, jelly beans, popcorn, pretzel sticks and ice cream not a real Thanksgiving dinner? It’s food that Snoopy cooked from the heart, and it’s just as valid as a good turkey.

Spider-Man

We know that Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man is far from a Thanksgiving movie. There’s the death of a family member, the realization that with great power comes great responsibility, and the acceptance that the responsibility of being a superhero comes on top of love. But if Die Hard is a Christmas movie because it takes place on Christmas Eve, why isn’t this one? There are important scenes in this Sam Raimi-directed work that take place on Thanksgiving Day (Peter Parker fights over ingredients, the turkey is carved with the Osborns, and we even have a fight at the famous parade).

Fantastic Mr. Fox

On this site we are fans of stop-motion and we can’t leave out one of the best movies of this style. Although we know that Fantastic Mr. Fox is far from being a Thanksgiving movie, the family atmosphere that this movie leaves us with about the reunion of animals, both in the family and with neighbors, permeates us and leaves us with a feeling of revolution and that understanding between wolves and foxes can happen without problems.

Addams Family Values

If we define a movie by having a Thanksgiving scene to make this list, then Addams Family Values has everything to be on it. We know we’re cheating with this one, because it’s not even a Thanksgiving scene, it’s a play...during the summer. Anyway, Wednesday Addams (played at the time by Christina Ricci) burning down an entire set in a summer camp play is the repressed dream of those who can no longer stand Auntie’s embarrassing comments.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

We end our list with a great comedy classic that is, in its entirety, a Thanksgiving Day movie. While some may wish they didn’t have to go to the holiday gathering, Planes, Trains & Automobiles shows us the lengths some people will go to be with their family on this holiday. The chemistry between Steve Martin and the late John Candy makes this road movie a must-see classic.