Top 10 Comedy Movies on Disney+

Comedy is where Disney+ genuinely surprises you. Everyone thinks of it as the Marvel and Star Wars machine, but it's quietly sitting on What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Knives Out, Free Guy — all just there, ready to go. I had to leave out Noelle, which deserved a spot, and Confess, Fletch, which is underseen but genuinely great if you give it a chance. Also left out Thor: Ragnarok because depending on your taste it's more action than comedy, even though Taika Waititi is absolutely unhinged in it. These 10 made the cut. 🎬

Here we go:

1. The Proposal

   2009

   Sandra Bullock plays a demanding book editor who blackmails her assistant — Ryan Reynolds — into pretending to be her fiancé so she doesn't get deported to Canada. It should not work as well as it does. The chemistry between Bullock and Reynolds is so good it launched Reynolds into a different stratosphere. Still the most rewatchable rom-com on any platform.

2. Knives Out

   2019

   A famous mystery novelist is found dead the morning after his 85th birthday party and a private detective nobody hired shows up to investigate. Rian Johnson made the funniest, cleverest, most purely enjoyable film of 2019 and it somehow works as both a comedy and an immaculate whodunit. Daniel Craig's accent alone is worth the runtime.

3. Free Guy

   2021

   Ryan Reynolds plays a background NPC in a video game who becomes self-aware and decides to be the hero. It sounds like a pitch meeting joke but it's genuinely clever, surprisingly sweet, and one of the most fun original blockbusters in years. Jodie Comer is doing twice the work of everyone else in this movie and making it look effortless.

4. The Parent Trap

   1998

   Twin sisters separated at birth — both played by Lindsay Lohan in the role that proved she was going to be a star — meet at summer camp and hatch a plan to reunite their parents. Yes, it's a Disney children's film. It is also genuinely funny, sharply written, and holds up completely. Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson are effortlessly charming. A perfect movie.

5. What We Do in the Shadows

   2014

   A mockumentary following four vampire flatmates navigating modern life in Wellington, New Zealand — splitting chores, dealing with a newly turned roommate, and attending the Unholy Masquerade. Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement made one of the most quotable comedies of the decade on essentially no budget. The show is great, but the film that started it is funnier.

6. Hunt for the Wilderpeople

   2016

   A delinquent kid and his reluctant foster uncle become accidental fugitives in the New Zealand bush while the entire country watches on the news. Taika Waititi again — and this one might be his best film. Sam Neill is extraordinary in it. It's funny in the way that only genuinely warm films can be, and the ending earns every feeling it asks you to have.

7. The Princess Diaries

   2001

   A gawky San Francisco teenager discovers she is heir to the throne of a small European nation and must choose between her real life and becoming a princess. Anne Hathaway's first film. Julie Andrews in arguably her most enjoyable performance since Mary Poppins. Funny, self-aware, and completely unpretentious about what it is. Better than you remember.

8. Hocus Pocus

   1993

   Three witch sisters resurrected in Salem on Halloween by an unlucky teenager. Yes it's seasonal, and yes it was considered a flop when it came out, and yes it is now a cultural institution for very good reason. Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker are having so much fun it's impossible not to go along with it. One of the most rewatchable Disney films ever made.

9. Thor: Ragnarok

   2017

   Thor loses his hammer, ends up enslaved on a trash planet, and has to fight his way home alongside the Hulk while his sister tries to conquer Asgard. Taika Waititi took over the MCU's dullest franchise and turned it into the funniest superhero film ever made. Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster is one of the great comedy performances in modern cinema, and almost no one talks about it.

10. Flora & Ulysses

    2021

    A cynical, comic-obsessed ten-year-old rescues a squirrel who gets accidentally superpowered by a vacuum cleaner and becomes determined to save him from her mother and a city animal control officer. This one flies completely under the radar and it shouldn't. Genuinely funny, genuinely weird, and the squirrel's face alone deserves a separate mention. The best hidden gem on Disney+.

Also worth mentioning:

Four that hurt to cut. Noelle (2019) — Anna Kendrick as Santa's daughter trying to save Christmas while her brother has a breakdown; underseen and underrated. The One and Only Ivan (2020) — Sam Rockwell voicing a gorilla in a shopping mall who decides to paint his way to freedom is genuinely hilarious. Confess, Fletch (2022) — Jon Hamm takes over the Fletch franchise and is so naturally funny in it that it's criminal more people didn't watch it. And Enchanted (2007) — Amy Adams is so committed to the joke that the whole film runs on her performance; one of the best comedic debuts in Disney history.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best comedy movie on Disney+ right now?

If you want something clever and rewatchable, Knives Out is the answer — it works as a comedy, a whodunit, and a sharp piece of social satire all at once. If you want something warmer and more emotionally satisfying, Hunt for the Wilderpeople is the one. And if you want something purely fun that the whole family can watch, The Proposal or The Parent Trap. All are on Disney+ right now and all are worth your full attention.

Is Knives Out on Disney+?

Yes — Knives Out is currently streaming on Disney+. Availability can vary by region, and note that the sequels (Glass Onion and Wake Up Dead Man) are Netflix originals, so those are not on Disney+. But the original Knives Out is there and it's the best of the three.

Is What We Do in the Shadows on Disney+?

Yes, the original 2014 film is available on Disney+ in most regions, typically through the Star hub. The TV series spinoff is also on Disney+ in many markets. If you haven't seen either, start with the film — it's one of the most quotable comedies of the last decade.

Does Disney+ have good comedy movies?

More than most people expect. Disney+ is underestimated as a comedy platform because the marketing is dominated by Marvel and Star Wars, but the catalog includes Knives Out, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, What We Do in the Shadows, Free Guy, The Proposal, and Thor: Ragnarok — all genuinely funny films with broad appeal. The Taika Waititi films alone make it worth having.