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Father’s Day is a celebration inaugurated in the early twentieth century to complement Mother’s Day in celebrating fatherhood and male parenting, and to honor and commemorate fathers and forefathers. Father’s Day is celebrated on a variety of dates worldwide and typically involves gift-giving, special dinners to fathers, and family-oriented activities. In celebration of all the fathers on Listverse and the fathers of the listversers, here is our homage to fathers – as portrayed in the movies.
Seeing Rodney Dangerfield, not as a comedian or a slapstick goof, but as a child molesting, wife beating drunkard makes this a once in a life time, memorable role for Dangerfield. He may not have been father of the year, but he is permanently branded on my brain.
Atticus Finch stands up for what is right and is not afraid to let his children see it. No matter how socially unacceptable it was at the time. I think most Dads could learn a lesson from this character.
Elrond lies to his daughter so that she nearly sails off to immortality rather than stay and marry the man she loves. Sure, it was selfish, but he must want to keep his daughter awful bad to tell such a big lie. Daughters are hard for fathers to let go of. We all know this.
This guy is ANGRY! Angry at Henry Fonda! Angry at Jack Klugman! He even gets mad at the little guy who does the voice of Piglet! But, really, we find out he is mad at himself for being a failure as a Father. He nearly sends someone to the chair to deal with his anger.
Lester Burnham teaches us all a valuable lesson. Look Closer. You think you are unhappy and ready to leave your wife? Look closer. Think your life sucks and you just want to end it all? Look closer. Life really has some beautiful things in it if we just take the time to look for them.
Mr. Incredible is a hero, but sadly only to himself and a few old timers who remember his glory days. Glory days which he cannot stop reliving. Finally though, he realizes what is important in life, his family. Eventually, he becomes a true hero again, along with the rest of his family.
Jack Torrance is 31 flavors of crazy. Throw in a psychic son and an Olive Oylish annoying wife and we’ve got a bloodbath! This film gave me serious nightmares as a kid. Yeesh.
Barely more than a cameo, Robert Duvall stunningly portrays a backwoods, heathen sonofabitch better than anyone I could imagine. In his 4 or 5 minutes of screentime, I could totally envision the horrible abuse put upon poor Carl at the hands of this menace. Poor little feller….
A loving, caring man but still a total nerd. With his cruise control set at a steady 35 MPH, he does his best to instill courage in Louis when getting ready to face a new and scary situation, college. He even does his best to help poor Gilbert, whom we are never told, but it is hinted, has lost his Father to an early death.
Mufasa has a lot of responsibilities. He has to watch over and lead the pride, keep the hyenas at bay, and keep all the other animals in the jungle in line. Yet he still finds time to play with his kid. Even in death, he comes back to give advice. Nice Kitty.
George is typical. Big dreams that went to squat because his family would suffer is he pursued them. So, he gets married, has kids and settles down. One could say, the wife and kids tie him down. In fact, George even loses his cool and starts destroying stuff and yelling because he is feeling these very same feelings. He is facing jail time and under considerable stress though, so we will cut him some slack. In the end, he learns how truly blessed he is to have his family and friends.
The “Don” gets shot because his scruples about drugs make him a deadly enemy. He barely survives and passes onto his son, the duty of leading “the family” in a mob war. A duty his son Michael does not want.
Eugene Levy has been around forever, but this role launched him to superstar status. Hilarious yet touching, this character reminds all of us how no matter how stupid we are, Dad will still love us.
Talk about wanting a son, yeesh. Hasn’t Geppetto ever heard of an orphanage? They were all over in those days weren’t they? But anyway, Geppetto is a trusting father who keeps having faith in Pinnochio even after he has lied on numerous occasions. More than I can say for myself! Pinnochio finally sheds his wooden body and gets a real one. Dad’s faith paid off in the end.
Definitely the most memorable cinematic dad of all time. “Luke, I am your father!” being one of the most wrongly quoted Star Wars lines says something for that (it was actually “No, I am your father”). Not exactly the kind of Dad who gave piggy-back rides around the back yard, he still manages to show his love for his son in the end.
June 19th, 2009 at 1:31 am
Darth Vader ! That’s classic
June 19th, 2009 at 1:32 am
MUFASA!
June 19th, 2009 at 1:34 am
Mr. Levenstein was classic. His best advice ever – shaving pubes to appear bigger – classic.
June 19th, 2009 at 1:36 am
yay first!
glad darth vader was 1st =]
June 19th, 2009 at 1:36 am
aww i was 4th
fml lol
June 19th, 2009 at 1:38 am
Haha, I thought the Dad from American Pie would be on here. But I thought Gregory Peck would of been higher. Best Dad ever
June 19th, 2009 at 1:41 am
i like mufasa,,and dad # 3..they’re cool. ü happy father’s day to all dads!!!
June 19th, 2009 at 1:42 am
Whoo! Thanks for posting my list!
June 19th, 2009 at 1:43 am
LOVES JACKO!! Gepetto rules
June 19th, 2009 at 1:49 am
Darth Vader himself never had a father himself. He could be Dark Jesus.
June 19th, 2009 at 1:52 am
Best Dad?
Peter Griffin in, Family Guy The Movie
Peter Griffin: Kids, your mother and I have decided that we are gonna help you two get out in to dating world.
Peter Griffin: Meg when I get through with you, you’re gonna be “beating guys off” with both hands!
Meg Griffin: This is gonna be so fun!
Peter Griffin: Hey! Zip it! Rule number one: No speaky until the *man* speaky to *you*.
June 19th, 2009 at 2:02 am
#6 There are so many bad fathers in this list I tried to scatter the good ones around. That is why Peck is not higher in the list.
June 19th, 2009 at 2:10 am
@Travis (11): you have no idea how close I was to putting peter griffin on as a bonus!
June 19th, 2009 at 2:23 am
“Luke, I am your father!”
Too bad that’s not the real quote. :p
It’s:
“No, I am your father.”
June 19th, 2009 at 2:45 am
Yay, my dad made it on to the list. Mr.incredible forever! Where’s Homer Simpson? The man is a brilliant father.
June 19th, 2009 at 2:55 am
Awesome list, could have made it top 20 easy.
June 19th, 2009 at 3:00 am
“Memorable” means so many different things!
June 19th, 2009 at 3:03 am
Wrong actor picture in # 12.
June 19th, 2009 at 3:15 am
ummmm, Mufasa does not hunt for his pride, the lionesses do all the hunting, the male lions just get to enjoy the meal first. You know, as in life, they do all the work and he gets all the credit…….
June 19th, 2009 at 3:19 am
Oh ja, Homer Simpson deserves a spot on this list
June 19th, 2009 at 3:25 am
Slight errors that occurred in the list have now been corrected. Thanks for pointing them out
June 19th, 2009 at 3:58 am
Great list gremlinmiller–Your entries to the list covered the vast array of dads that are out there, and the inclusion of the famous cartoon dads is most excellent.
I think I would have to add Blake Clark, who played Marlin Whitmore–the father in “50 First Dates”.
Any dad that would go to THAT much trouble to protect their daughter is quite the dad in my book.
and item 15–That role has always made my skin crawl-ugggh.
Happy Father’s Day!! to all the fathers out there!
June 19th, 2009 at 4:17 am
wooh! vito corleone!
June 19th, 2009 at 4:19 am
You forgot Duvall in an even more memorable dad role: The Great Santini!
June 19th, 2009 at 4:20 am
When I saw the title of the list, my instant thought was Furious Styles from Boyz N The Hood. Shocked he isn’t on here.
June 19th, 2009 at 4:23 am
cool…
June 19th, 2009 at 4:34 am
My personal favs from this list would be Mufasa, Don Vito and Geppeto. I was hoping to see more cartoon dads Homer Simpson, Peter Griffin, and Stan’s dad from South Park – he’s TOO funny!
June 19th, 2009 at 4:35 am
Stan’s dad – Randy Marsh
Hot list
June 19th, 2009 at 4:40 am
another overlooked film father… John McClane
June 19th, 2009 at 4:55 am
um… not to be a buzz-kill, but why did the names change from actors to characters mid-list?
June 19th, 2009 at 5:02 am
Great list, gremlinmiller.
Happy Father’s Day, Dad!
June 19th, 2009 at 5:13 am
I forgot, Sean Penn in I Am Sam deserves to be mentioned.
June 19th, 2009 at 5:14 am
Actually, Penn might’ve been better in “I AM Sam” had he not gone “full retard”.
June 19th, 2009 at 5:17 am
Re: Duvall and Sling Blade: The character is Karl, not Carl, Childers.
June 19th, 2009 at 5:26 am
Do not mock Mufasa!
June 19th, 2009 at 5:46 am
How about the father from American Pie? At least he was able to keep his cool.
Great list, gremlinmiller!
June 19th, 2009 at 5:51 am
Great list; eclectic and well-rounded. Alot of suprises that shows some real thought was put into it. Well done!
I would nominate Norman Thayer Jr. from “On Golden Pond”. He was a cranky son-of-a-bitch who finally reconciled with his family at the end.
June 19th, 2009 at 5:51 am
Lee Cobb from 12 angry men looks exactly like Jason Segel in that one photo.
June 19th, 2009 at 5:53 am
How about Spencer Tracy in several roles? Actual fathers in Father of the Bride (love the way he has Elizabeth Taylor convinced he’s a rock when he feels like panicked jello inside) and Father’s Little Dividend (there have to be SOME guys out there who can’t just dive into grandfatherhood, but end up doing great), and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? Dad overcoming a HUGE social issue for the time because he loves his daughter, he loves his wife (and thus knows how his daughter feels), and he is basically a decent man.
Then there were the ’surrogate father’ roles–Boys Town, Captains Courageous… I’m sure there are others, and it’s early. Coca cola hasn’t kicked in yet.
June 19th, 2009 at 5:54 am
Oh, and I boo hooed when Mufasa died. I actually sat there in the theater and whispered, “I want my daddy.” Dad passed away when I was twelve, so I never got the chance to know him as an adult.
June 19th, 2009 at 6:10 am
Aww what about Forest Gump?
June 19th, 2009 at 6:16 am
LMAO at finding Darth Vader at #1. I’m not really sure why I found that so hilarious. I never knew about the misquote. It makes me a little sad to realize that it wasn’t really “Luke, I am your father”.
Also, I am so glad to find Lester Burnham from American Beauty on here… it is my favorite movie (tied with The Usual Suspects, actually).
#33 Joe- props to you for quoting Tropic Thunder.
June 19th, 2009 at 6:33 am
@iwalkwithzombies (30): yeah, that threw me off some too. Since there’s two disney movie dads here, I’ll say I was always partial to King Triton. He seems like a good dad.
June 19th, 2009 at 6:44 am
@iwalkwithzombies (30) – Two things:
1) I wondered the same thing about the switch; seems a little random.
and
2) The name you chose strikes me; so much ambiguity in meaning – not unlike the Tourneur film of a similar name which is, itself, riddled with ambiguous meaning.
June 19th, 2009 at 6:48 am
hello, Marlin from Little Nemo, travels the entire ocean fights three sharks and an angler fish.
June 19th, 2009 at 6:58 am
I was hoping to see Clark W. Griswald on the list.
June 19th, 2009 at 7:04 am
ATTICUS FINCH IS ALL MAN!
June 19th, 2009 at 7:35 am
What, no Clark Griswold? He’s the ultimate movie dad…
June 19th, 2009 at 7:37 am
Reading the title of this list, I thought to myself, “Mufasa better be on there.” Sure enough, there he is. Nice list, could’ve put in some different choices though (like @Tom (46):)
June 19th, 2009 at 7:40 am
Mufasa! Thats great!!
Where is Evil Emperor Zurg? The father of the one and only Buzz Lightyear? :0
June 19th, 2009 at 7:42 am
Clark Griswald? I agree that is who popped in my head first.
June 19th, 2009 at 7:44 am
Marlin from finding nemo deserves it.
I mean… COME ON.
I Am Sam… He deserved it too.
But I laughed my ass off at “Nice Kitty” at the end of Mufasa’s blurb. Dunno why.
June 19th, 2009 at 8:00 am
Frank Abagnale Sr, from “Catch Me If You Can.” Poor guy was such a loser, but a memorable one.
June 19th, 2009 at 8:03 am
Great list! I would have chosen The Old Man from “A Christmas Story”, though. He’s the best. You think that he doesn’t have a clue what’s going on with his kids until the Christmas Day scene. Classic!
June 19th, 2009 at 8:10 am
Clark Griswald should definitely be on the list. Also a few other notsble mentions:
Homer Simpson
Jason Seaver
Tony Soprano
Bill Cosby
Al Bundy
Archie Bunker
Frank Costanza
June 19th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Correct me if I’m wrong, but the list was Memorable MOVIE Dads, not MOVIE AND TV DADS.
June 19th, 2009 at 8:30 am
How about Victor Frankenstein?
He surely sounds like a happy first time dad:
June 19th, 2009 at 8:31 am
Joe, You’re right. I was thinking TV for some reason. I think there are more memorable TV dads then movie dads. There can be a list for that as well.
June 19th, 2009 at 8:40 am
Great list for father’s day! I just emailed it to my dad.
June 19th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Darth vader FTW!!! but Homer Simpson deserves a spot, especially for what he did in the simpsons movie.
June 19th, 2009 at 9:13 am
Mr. Levenstein is IDENTICAL to a friend of mine’s dad…
June 19th, 2009 at 9:15 am
NEEDS TO BE ON THIS LIST:
Guido from “Life is Beautiful” played by Roberto Benigni
Ed Bloom from “Big Fish” played by Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney.
I also agree that Marlin from “Finding Nemo” is a must.
June 19th, 2009 at 9:19 am
Great list! Totally agree w/ # 60’s Homer Simpson nod.
June 19th, 2009 at 9:36 am
No, it’s “No, I am your father AND your uncle!”
What happened to Hugh Beaumont from “Leave it to Beaver” and that others guy from “Father Knows Best” or “My Three Sons”?
June 19th, 2009 at 9:38 am
Oh yeah, Nemo’s dad! Faced all his fears to save/look for his son!
June 19th, 2009 at 9:50 am
i cant believe marlin from FINDING NEMO isnt here best dad ever traveled all over the ocean to find his only son and battled or tried to battle a big as fish not to mention sharks.
June 19th, 2009 at 9:57 am
I also think Marlin should be there!!
He did a whole lot to find Nemo…
And Yay for Mufasa (*shivers*)
June 19th, 2009 at 10:03 am
What about Steve Martin’s charcter in Parenthood? For anyone who is a dad, his quote “My WHOLE LIFE is have to” hits home. Plus the shag carpet chaps were great.
June 19th, 2009 at 10:03 am
Kevin Spacey in American Beauty is awesome.
best dad ever
‘look at me, jackin off in the shower, its all downhill from here’
lol
June 19th, 2009 at 10:08 am
Hey! What a day it’s been, and here we are again.
The first thing I thought of when I read the title was ‘here we go, this is gonna be full of ‘father of the bride’, ‘parent trap’, ‘meet the fockers’ type stuff – and then I read the list. Wow, so many kinds of fathers. I suppose I was disappointed to see a great role model of mine, and the most memorable father I could think of; Atticus Finch; in 14th – but I guess that’s gonna be a common thread on this list. When I think about these movies, do I remember the fathers? Sometimes yes (George Bailey), sometimes no.
Totally LOL at #1!
June 19th, 2009 at 10:11 am
I also think The Old Man from A Christmas Story should be on here. Classic!
June 19th, 2009 at 10:28 am
How about….
Max von Sydow : Father Lankester Merrin (The Exorcist)
Tim Allen : Scott Calvin [father] / Father Christmas (The Santa Clause)
Did you hear the one about a father who became a priest and sailed off to Austrailia? He was the father father, even farther still father.
Sorry….
June 19th, 2009 at 10:50 am
how about John Q. Archibald another overlooked film father??
June 19th, 2009 at 10:53 am
Not too shabby. Although I would have included Spencer Tracey (thanks to missmozell for the remind). If we were including surrogate dads my vote would go to Sidney Poitier in To Sir with Love.
Notable TV dads? There are too many to pick from;
Fred MacMurray from My 3 sons, Hugh Beaumont from Leave it to Beaver, Ozzie Nelson from Ozzie and Harriet, Lorne Green as Pa in Bonanza/Ponderosa, Carol O’connor from All in the Family. More current? Bill Cosby from The Cosby Show, Bob Saget from Full House (good thing he wasn’t my dad – would have chewed him up and spit him out by Grade 1)and of course Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin. I also have a sneaking fondness for American Dad’s Stan Smith.
June 19th, 2009 at 11:14 am
How about Darren McGavin from A Christmas Story? Or even from Billy Madison…?
June 19th, 2009 at 11:34 am
What about Alan Arkin as Sheldon Kornpett in The In-Laws? The things he goes through for his daughter…
June 19th, 2009 at 11:43 am
Daniel Day Lewis in ‘There Will Be Blood’. Not the best dad… but surely memorable.
June 19th, 2009 at 11:47 am
When TV dads make more of an impact it’s usually because they have (usually) years of character development as opposed to a couple hours. Truly memorable movie dads are sometimes more memorable because they do only have about 2 hours to leave an impression, so the actor might feel more inspired to leave it all out on the screen, so to speak.
June 19th, 2009 at 11:53 am
Anyone remembers that great movie “Karakter” with Dreverhaven the draconian dad?
**chills**
June 19th, 2009 at 11:57 am
@psychosurfer (79): That reminded me of Willis Davidge (Dennis Quaid) from the movie “Enemy Mine”.
Great (surrogate) dad, there!
June 19th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
@oouchan (80): Have to check that one!
Hey I just discovered that Vader is the dutch word for Father dah!
June 19th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
I did have the intention of including Darren McGavin from A Christmas Story, but I chose to go with only one Christmas movie and selected George Bailey instead.
I agree with Clark Griswold. Damn, just missed on that one.
I dont know why I switched from actor names to character names at #5. Pure accident. Mufasa, not having an actor name, threw me off I guess.
Some others I thought of including but did not.
Arthur Weasley
Sean Connery from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Steve Martin from Parenthood
The Dad from Bambi
Chucky from Seed of Chucky
Zeus from Clash of the Titans
June 19th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
No Randy Marsh =[ We need him on this list..
Randy Marsh: [getting put in a car by the cops after fighting at Stan's Baseball Game]
[shouts]
Randy Marsh: I thought this was America!
June 19th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Good list, but did you realize 7-15 lists the actors’ names and 1-6 lists the characters’ names? I just thought it was weird
June 19th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
well, actually 1 2 and 6 are not real people, so I couldnt very well put actor names for Mufasa, Gepetto or Darth Vader. I guess I could’ve, but it would have been silly. The only goofs are on 5 4 and 3.
June 19th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
@psychosurfer (81): I didn’t know that about Vader! If you get a chance, that movie is excellent! The book was just as good.
June 19th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Gepetto????a dad?? Wth?? are u tellin me that Gepetto is a tree fuker??? ,this reminds me,, theres this new kinda porn dvd series called ”Gepetto xxx” shows ppl humping trees in the public…. all the possible holes..you wont believe this but an oak tree( busty one) had multiple orgasms, and squirted several times…
June 19th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
@Style (87):
So you’re saying you can only be a dad if you physically spawn the child? You better run for cover…
June 19th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Robert Duvall, who is #6 on this list with “Slingblade”, made his big screen debut as Boo Radley in “To Kill a Mockingbird” (#14). Both movies are in my top 5 of all time if not THE tops on my list of favorites.
June 19th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
I think one you missed was from the movie “Life is Beautiful” with Roberto Benigni.
He plays a father who makes his son survive through a Nazi concentration camp by turning it all into an elaborate game, making his son laugh even until the end, when he is about to be executed.
June 19th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
How about Steve Martin in Parenthood or Father of the Bride? Steve Martin is the coolest dad ever.
June 19th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Mr. Levenstein actually looks a lot like my boyfriend’s father, both in appearence and gestures. Needless to say, it’s VERY disturbing.
June 19th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
1 and 3 are great selections
June 19th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
I can’t believe I forgot about “Life Is Beautiful”! I agree with totava, Roberto Benigni’s character was very admirable.
June 19th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
First things first, I’ve never commented here though I love this site and check it frequently.
That said, I think that placing Peck at number 14 was a poor choice. Atticus Finch in both the movie and book versions of “Mockingbird” showed how a father should act – strong of character and a dignified rebel. He should not have been surpassed by cartoon characters!
Also, I agree with others here who have said that Benigni should have been on the list for his performance in “Life is Beautiful”… I’ve completely forgotten about the film and am going to re-watch it immediately!
June 19th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
I think Roberto Benigni as Guido Orefice in Life is Beautiful would have been a really good one!
June 19th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
I have to agree with Denzel Washington as John Q. what a great dad.
June 19th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Oh, those are great! But don’t forget about Mike Brady — the Brady Bunch!
June 19th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Brilliant list, and lol at 93’s name.
June 19th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
@steeveebee (99): haha I try
June 19th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
I have to agree with others who said that Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch should have been #1. He was, to me, the epitome of all that a father should be: loving, strong, protective and nurturing; but most of all, he was a man who had the courage of his convictions. What a great role model he was to his children!
Wade (89) I agree with you wholeheartedly, as you can probably guess from my nickname!
The other father I loved was John Walton from The Waltons, but unfortunately he doesn’t qualify, as he was a TV dad. Great list, gremlinmiller. I really enjoyed it.
June 19th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
kinda funny, in that I saw a dadlist just a couple of days or so ago somewhere else, maybe it was at a hockey game or even online…i dont recall.
Weird that you go back and forth between the actor and the character.
All this is weird to me…
I will first negate all the movie dads in movies on this list that i have seen but dont even remember that the chosen actors were even in the film, which makes them the opposite of memorable.
I dont remember J.Cromwell at all in revenge of the nerds and yet I remember the “revenge list” on this site and scores of complainers mentioning R.O.T.Ns.
Duvall was in Slingblade? Really. My guess is a flashback.
Weaving was forgettable..so was whats his name from LOTR.
I give it to you for the creeps, like Dangerfield(his most fitting and underated role) and The Jack(a horror film changed into the abstract/real horrors of family abuse and other things). Geppetto in more modern reavaluations might blend into..
Another creepy addition would be the guy from that movie….I cant remember the name but he coaches his son on masterbation and drugs his son’s buddy durring a sleep over and rapes him and wacks off in the car to teen mags and the cops rip open his shed and find the porn …Happiness, that’s it.
Isn’t Mustafa also Darthvader?
Isn’t Darthvader also Mustafa?
I hate Kevin Spacey.
-Atticus will appear on all DAD lists.
-I would like to mention the DAD in “Teen Wolf”. or the movie “Raising Arizona”
If Darthvader never said I’m your father Luke, than he wouldn’t be here. It’s on the movie quotes list….but in fact if you get the bootleg DVD, that has the unedited extras then you will see that that line was not part of any original intention. Originally DarthV said “All right! Hold up hold up! stop stop stop…Okay. Now, I am like a hundred years older than you and, yeh ok, I got the dark force and all, but Have You Ever Heard Of Osteoarthritis? I mean for real! Be kind to an old man for once!
Where did you go to school…If I was your father..And I’m not saying that I am.BUT, IF I was your father, I would at least have tught you a little respect for your elders! Damn! Hold up. I gotta sit down for a second.”
-surprised Adam Sandler didnt make a visit…or did he?
Giving way to the Dad trying to be the Mom:
Wasn’t there some stupid movie called “Mr.Mom” with Batman in it?
Or
A pregnant Arnold Schwarzenegger
Or
Three men and A Baby
all kidding aside,,,,,
Okay, here’s some of the real shit:
-”The Son” by the Dardenne brothers would be on my list.
-The documentary, “Stevie”, a film by his Big Brother Steve James
-”The Return” by Andrei Zvyagintsev
-maybe “She’s So Lovely” with S. Penn
-maybe “The Kid” by Chaplin
-It was live TV, but still, lets go with Orson as King Lear
- the imperfect “Afflicted” with James Coburn (again with the fake looking flashbacks!)
- De Sica’s “The Bicycle Thief”
and and and well ect ect, I didnt write the list and i have grown bored writing this comment.
so that is all.
9:46pm and I have an evening to attend to.
June 19th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
IM SORRY,
but the biggest most absolute miss of the list is not having Guido Orefice (Life is Beautiful) on this list.
i mean him and his kid get sent to a concentration camp, and he does his best to make the most of it for his child. come on!!
–obsolete list–
June 19th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
I also agree with the ‘bicycle thief’s’ dad should be on here, as well.
and two more.
Royal Tenenbaum from the ‘Royal Tenenbaums’
and Steve Zissou from ‘The Life Aquatic’
June 19th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
My fav dad character of all time is Mr Levenstein because he is like my real dad, My fav dad TV shows is Al Bundy
HAPPY FATHERS DAY DAD
June 19th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
i think eugene levy in american pie was awesome as the dad
June 19th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Are you sure you couldn’t have put Rodney Dangerfield’s peformance as Monty Capuletti from Easy Money versus Natural Born Killers?
At least in Easy Money he …. well .. he smoked weed and did drugs… ok .. how about how well he … .. oh .. yeah .. he was a notirious gambler…. yeah… but he.. he ….. no .. he ate like a pig. Ok… nevermind. RIP my dearest respected funny man.
June 19th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
We’ve been doing alot of film lists lately. I like it! I Love it! I want some more of it! No to the complaining:
Hugo weaving was the worst casting choice I CAN IMAGINE. terrible, just terrible.
31 flavors of crazy Lol gonna start using that/
I think Don Corleone should have been number 2. (Remember the second movie: “Micheal, your father loves you very much. Very much.”)
And Life is Beautiful?????? Should be on this list. And high. How about a realy obvious but boring choice: Kramer vs Kramer. But maybe thats just because i liked it.
Other than that, you pretty much nailed it. and yes, Darth Vader deserves his #1 spot.
June 19th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
… Jack Arnold from The Wonder Years should have been on the list!!!! He IS the most honest, truest, reallest father tv ever provided.
June 19th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Uncle Phil.
June 19th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
What about Chris Garvin from Pursuit of Happyness, probably on of the greatest fathers on film
June 19th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
Love the List!
Honorable mention stepdads – Robert DeNiro “This Boy’s Life” terrorizing Leo and Vince Vaughn “Disturbed”.
Don Vito – “Michael I never wanted this for you”
I would of sqeezed Clark W. Griswold in there.
I was thinking Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy or Dennis Quaid would be on there but those guys all played the same type dads and the kids or animals overshadowed the dads.
June 19th, 2009 at 11:54 pm
Let’s not forget about Aaron Eckhart as Nick Naylor in THANK YOU FOR SMOKING!!!
June 20th, 2009 at 2:07 am
It’s “Pinocchio”, not Pinnochio… look at the movie poster
June 20th, 2009 at 5:52 am
Okay, a couple more “Not Mentioned”…
Good/cool Dads:
Dick Van Dyke in “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”
Keith Richards, as Jack Sparrow’s dad in the last POTC.
Stellan Skarsgård, as Bootstrap Bill, in POTC “Dead Man’s Chest”.
BAD dads:
Sid Haig, as Capt. Spaulding in “House of a 1,000 Corpses,” and “The Devil’s Rejects.”
Bill Paxton, as the ax wielding dad in “Frailty”.
And for a TV Dad:
Andy Griffith as Andy Taylor.
June 20th, 2009 at 6:18 am
YES! Darth Vader! Totally agree with #1….. Awesome.
June 20th, 2009 at 7:33 am
George Bailey: “My mouths bleedin’ Burt!! My mouth’s bleedin’”
i love its a wonderful life!
June 20th, 2009 at 7:36 am
Totally agree with Darth Vader too lol!
June 20th, 2009 at 11:20 am
wumblestump going old school with The In-Laws! Absolute classic movie that didn’t garner near the attention it should have.
Sheldon – There’s no reason to shoot at me, I’m a dentist!
Of course in that movie there were two great fathers:
Sheldon – Did we hit the little boy on 6th Avenue?
Vince – No, we missed him by a good foot and a half.
June 20th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
ROFLcopters on LOLlerskates!!! I love Mr Levenstein!!! His, ahem, educational lessons are the funniest thingvabout that set of movies!!! Legend!
June 20th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
I wish my dad had been like Atticus Finch.
June 20th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Excellent List!!
I’d add Ward Clever
“Ward, weren’t you a little hard on the Beaver last night?”
June 20th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Why not give the voice actors some credit? You mention only the character’s name for #10 (Craig T. Nelson) and #6 & #1 (James Earl Jones).
June 20th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
As soon as i saw the name of this list i knew Atticus Finch would be here! He should of been in the top 3 AT LEAST! COMMON! It Atticus freaking Finch!
June 20th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
and i read a lot of these lists.
June 20th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
A rather dark list. Do you have something against fathers?
Not in movies, but I love Bernie Mac as a dad. Raising three kids that were not his own, and he did it in real life too. That’s a man.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:37 am
I like the introduction…
In Germany father’s day consists of guys going out and getting drunk.
June 21st, 2009 at 6:00 am
i’ll drink to that
June 21st, 2009 at 10:06 am
What? Homer is not on the list?! Why you little…!!!!
June 21st, 2009 at 6:23 pm
I liked Gene Hackman in that movie (of course I forgot the name of it) where Matt Dillon is his son and he thinks his dad is an out-of-date old fogey until his mom gets kidnapped in Europe and he accompanies his dad to get her back and find out he used to be in the CIA….Gene Hackman has always been one of the most natural, convincing actors I’ve ever seen.
And how about Liam Neeson in “Taken”? He gives up his career to be near his daughter and then is unstoppable in saving her. I want a dad like that!
June 22nd, 2009 at 8:17 am
Totally off topic – but Jack Torrance’s wife may sound Olive Oylish because she WAS Olive Oyl in the Robin Williams Popeye movie. And here I thought I had blocked that out of my memory…
June 22nd, 2009 at 8:42 am
@Bert (131): Jack Torrance’s wife may sound Olive Oylish because she WAS Olive Oyl in the Robin Williams Popeye movie
I seriously doubt that the list writer made that association coincidentally.
June 22nd, 2009 at 8:43 am
I think as far as “good” dads go, Will Smith in Pursuit of Happyness should have a mention
as far as dads that stick out in my mind, like forever, the dad in the movie “Happiness”… OMG freaking gross!! i’ll never forget that movie as long as I live..
June 22nd, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Roberto Benigni in Life is Beautiful deserves a mention, too. Great film.
June 23rd, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Laurence Fishburne in the movie Boyz n’ The Hood
June 24th, 2009 at 5:37 am
Yeh I’m surprice that John Q wasn’t on the list.. A great dad who’s willing to gave out his own heart just to let his kid live
June 28th, 2009 at 5:29 am
U forgot Johny Depp’s dad from “Blow”!!!
June 30th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
These two should also be on the list.
Sean Penn for I am Sam (2001)
Roberto Benigni for Life is Beautiful (1998)
July 2nd, 2009 at 2:28 pm
I had a feeling Vader would be number one.
July 5th, 2009 at 4:40 am
Oh not another Star Wars fanboy putting their precious heroes at number one. I’m not saying Star Wars is a bad film series, but no way should Darth Vader be number one. Atticus Finch should be at the top, followed by George Bailey, then Don Vito Corleone. And finally, where’s Homer Simpson? Far more memorable then more then half of the dads on this list. There is nobody in the western world who doesn’t know who Homer is.
July 9th, 2009 at 12:05 am
what about nemo’s dad? I guess he is also a good fatherly figure
July 25th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
what about the dad from Life is Beautiful????
July 25th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
I’m disappointed that George Stanley Banks (Steve Martin) from Father of the Bride (both part 1 and 2) didn’t make it on the list. I love him.
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:02 am
Guido Orefice (Roberto Benigni) in Life is beautiful is not in the list.,try to watch this movie,..really nice,..
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:19 am
Manny of Ice Age as well..being excited for his first baby to come out,experienced 3 false alarms in a week.,and when the time comes for their baby to come out, he fought every monster that wants to attack his wife and his baby.,,
August 8th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
totally knew darth vadar would make this list