Movie Dads and What We've Learned From Them

Happy Fathers' Day!  To commemorate the busiest time of the year for the necktie industry, we've gathered together a list of some notable movie dads, the best and the worst, and the greatest life lessons they've had to offer, whatever their merit:

• Giuseppe Conlon from IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER (played by Pete Postlethwaite)

Father Ranking: 9/10- Maybe overly stern at times, but unwaveringly devoted and authoratative.
Defining Paternal Moment:

Mentoring his rebellious son, Gerry (Daniel Day-Lewis), within prison walls, to be a responsible adult.

Fatherly Quote:

Giuseppe:  I want you to have some respect.

Gerry:  For who?

Giuseppe:  For yourself.

 

• Atticus Finch from TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (played by Gregory Peck)

Father Ranking: 10/10- A single father in the Depression, setting a too-perfect example and sharing more proverbs than the Bible.

Great Paternal Moment:  Raising diversity-embracing children in Depression-era Alabama.

Fatherly Quote:  "There's a lot of ugly things in this world, son. I wish I could keep 'em all away from you. That's never possible."

 

• Royal Tenenbaum from THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS (played by Gene Hackman)

Father Ranking: 3/10-  Hilariously self-absorbed and widely insensitive, his brood has grown up with a vast assortment of mental, emotional and social handicaps.  Still, he makes an effort, albeit dishonest, late in the game.
Great Paternal Moment:
Faking cancer to get his family to love him.
Fatherly Quote:
"Anybody interested in grabbing a couple of burgers and hittin' the cemetery?"

• Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible from THE INCREDIBLES (voiced by Craig T. Nelson)

Father Ranking: 6/10- Granted, we get to know him best during a period of mid-life crisis, so he's somewhat distracted from his responisbilities, but he tries hard and shares bad guy-killing opportunities with the offspring, so it balances out.
Great Paternal Moment:
Intervening!
Fatherly Quote:
Bob aka Mr. Incredible:  The important thing is that your mother and I are a team, united against the forces of...
Helen aka Mrs. Incredible aka Mrs. Incredible:  Pigheadedness?
Bob aka Mr. Incredible:  I was gonna say evil.

 

• Mr. Banks from MARY POPPINS (played by David Tomlinson)

Father Ranking:  7/10- Again, this is largely a story about him learning to be a better father than he has been, but even while he's often misguided, his interest is strongly devoted to his family.
Great Paternal Moment: 
"You know, begging your pardon, but the one my heart goes out to is your father. There he is in that cold, heartless bank day after day, hemmed in by mounds of cold, heartless money. I don't like to see any living thing caged up."  -Bert the Chimney Sweep
Fatherly Quote:
"My dear, never confuse efficiency with a liver complaint."

• Jim Baker from SIXTEEN CANDLES (played by Paul Dooley)

Father Ranking: 7/10-  Obviously not perfect, but utimately, Samantha's only redeemable family member.
Great Paternal Moment:  Remembering his daughter's sixteenth birthday, albiet a couple hours after the fact.
Fatherly Quote:  "Why do you think you're a dork? I don't think you're a dork. I don't think Mom thinks you're a dork."

• Marlin from FINDING NEMO (voiced by Albert Brooks)

Father Ranking: 9/10-  Neurotic, but justifiably so, he's a single dad learning to take the occasional leap of faith.
Great Paternal Moment: 
Traversing the ocean with accompaniment of a mentally-handicapped Blue Tang to rescue his gimpy son from and Australian dentist's fish tank.
Fatherly Quote:
"I have to find my son!  I have to tell him how old sea turtles are!" 

• Dill Penderghast from EASY A (played by Stanley Tucci)

Father Ranking: 9/10-  A breath of fresh air, showing sincerity and wisdom through a veil of cornball wit and theatrics.

Great Paternal Moment:

Being accepting of his daughter's homosexual boyfriend and planning the right time to tell his black son that he was adopted.

Fatherly Quote:

"I'd take a bullet for you, you know that. Right between the eyes. I would slit my throat rather than say something to someone that you didn't want me to say."

• Noah Levenstein from AMERICAN PIE (played by Eugene Levy)

Father Ranking: 7/10- An buffoon with awkward and often inappropriate teaching moments, but earnest and genuinely trying.
Great Paternal Moment: 
Buying a vast assortment of lurid periodicals for a father-son talk.
Fatherly Quote: 
"We'll just tell your mom that...we ate it all." [in regards to a particularly embarrassing pie]

• Vito Corleone from THE GODFATHER and THE GODFATHER PART II (played by Marlon Brando and Robert DeNiro (respectively))

Father Ranking: 10/10- Though his business practices are obviously shady, his devotion to family is unparalleled, and as a family man, he is approachable and wise.

Great Parental Moment:  Teaching Michael when and who to kill after he becomes Godfather.
Fatherly Quote: 
"A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man."-THE GODFATHER
"To you, she's beautiful. For me, there's only my wife and son." -THE GODFATHER PART II

• Mufasa from THE LION KING (voiced by James Earl Jones)

Father Ranking: 10/10-  The ultra-dad; protective, providing, textbook wise and an overall badass.
Great Paternal Moment: 
Just everything, although dying in the process of protecting his son, and later arriving as a ghost with some very timely advice are particularly of note.
Fatherly Quote:  
"Being brave doesn't mean you go looking for trouble."
 

• Darth Vader from the STAR WARS films (played by David Prowse/voiced by James Earl Jones)

Father Ranking: 7/10-  His methods seem overly harsh and there have been some long stretches of abandonment, but goes to extreme meausres to find his kid after realizing that he didn't kill the baby when he killed his pregnant wife, plus he kills his only friend for picking on his son.
Great Paternal Moment: 
Chopping off his son's hand for disobeying his teachers' instructions, not to mention offering him a co-rulership of the freaking universe.
Fatherly Quote:
"I am your father."