9 films to watch this spring
On the rainiest of days, a great film can change your outlook on life. They inspire hope, grip you with emotional storylines and captivate you in magical worlds.
You’re not just on your sofa watching a screen; you’re right next to the main character, with a front seat ticket to the danger and excitement.
Bringing new life, sunny skies, and dusting out the cobwebs formed over winter, the arrival of spring definitely deserves celebrating.
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These are some of the best films to watch during the spring season.
1. Anne of Green Gables (1985)
Anne of Green Gables follows the story of a young red-headed girl in the late 19th century navigating her childhood after being adopted to help a family with farmwork, despite them believing they were adopting a young boy.
There’s a high chance you may have seen this movie when you were Anne’s age in the 80s and haven’t seen it since. Give it a watch, especially if you now have kids who are Anne’s age, and have the nostalgia hit you by seeing the sweet storyline play out one more time.
2. Notting Hill (1999)
No matter how overplayed you may think this film is, it’s a romance classic for a reason. Who hasn’t daydreamed that an A-lister would bump into them, fall in love and build their life around them?
Packed with a hilarious supporting cast, witty lines and enough bouncy haircuts to make you feel like you live in 90s Notting Hill, you’ll love rewatching this Richard Curtis masterpiece.
3. Alice in Wonderland (1951)
This cartoon classic from the Disney team has stood the test of time, reaching its 75th anniversary this year.
Following the original story written by Lewis Carroll in 1865, we see Alice accidentally find herself in a new, magic-powered world filled with big personalities and even bigger attitude problems (we’re looking at you, Queen of Hearts).
This vintage illustration is comforting for big and little kids, sharing a story of adventure, courage and discovery that is perfect for springtime.
4. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Any Wes Anderson film can be recognised straight away. It’s a square-framed, eccentric and colourfully choreographed story that will keep you on your toes.
Celebrities line up to feature in Wes Anderson films, and The Grand Budapest Hotel is a great place to start when entering the director’s world of absurd cinema.
As you enjoy the season of growth, this film shines an optimistic light on even the gloomiest of days.
5. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
The winter holidays have gone, the excitement for the school year in September has long been forgotten, and the summer break feels like a lifetime away. Spring is when the sun begins to make an appearance again in our lives, meaning that the last thing anybody wants to do is go to school.
This 80s film is the antidote you need if you’ve been wanting to call in sick to work or school and spend the day having an adventure instead, making it a great film night choice for all the family to laugh along with.
6. The Ballad of Wallis Island (2025)
The Ballad of Wallis Island may be the film you saw mentioned at recent film awards, as it caused a stir in audiences that left no dry eye in the house.
With such a small cast, it’s surprising the amount of goliath performances that are packed into one movie, combining themes of grief and loneliness with unwavering optimism and well-crafted jokes.
This may be a film that leaves you searching for the tissue box, but its fresh view on life will leave you feeling calmer and in control of the year ahead.
7. Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
Everyone must endure the torture of being 13 at some point in their life. Your body is changing, you’re developing an actual personality and no matter how hard you try, you’re just waiting to grow up as soon as possible.
So, when a 13-year-old boy goes missing in the New Zealand wilderness with his foster father after his foster mother dies, chaos ensues in this manhunt adventure.
It’s got the comedic stylings of director Taiki Waititi that will leave you feeling exhausted from laughing too much by the end of the film, while also giving you some of the childlike wonder that you had at 13.
8. My Neighbour Totoro (1988)
Studio Ghibli is the creative team behind some of the best animated movies to come from Japan, sharing great fantasy stories that you’ll get lost in.
In My Neighbour Totoro, two young girls befriend forest creatures over one summer in 1950s Tokyo. For a coming-of-age story, this film celebrates the power of imagination to get through tough times.
9. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
Starting a re-watch of a film franchise takes a lot of time out of your schedule, let alone when those films span multiple hours.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first story in the timeline of the Lord of the Rings universe, which sees a fantasy world filled with goblins, magic and wizardry as the forces of good and evil battle.
Watching this first instalment may inspire your film nights for the rest of the year; that is, if you have time to watch over 17 hours of film footage chronicling an epic adventure.
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