Ever noticed that most of us holiday-loving folk tend to skip straight from Halloween movies to Christmas movies? Thanksgiving is largely overlooked when it comes to cozy holiday film watching, but dig a little, and there are quite a few movies that take place around the harvest celebration. Most of these films aren't often categorized as "Thanksgiving movies," though, so it can be hard to figure out what to watch for those not quite ready for Christmas movies — but totally over Halloween movies for the year.
Though Thanksgiving movies tend to be a bit more dramatic than joyful, that also means they can be quite a bit more relatable than the average made-for-TV holiday movie. After all, family drama does tend to come to the surface around Turkey Day for many people, so the holiday lends itself quite nicely to dramatic, introspective and often, totally hilarious movies. The stress and chaos surrounding the holidays is often on full display in Thanksgiving movies, and honestly, it's pretty cathartic to watch.
Here we're counting down the top 20 Thanksgiving movies to check out over the next couple of weeks — and add to the queue for the future — according to critics as rated on Rotten Tomatoes. So grab a slice of pie and a cozy blanket, and keep scrolling to see what they are.
20. 'Jim Henson's Turkey Hollow'

Rated: PG
When the Emmerson family goes to the quiet town of Turkey Hollow to visit a relative, the kids quickly grow bored in the rural town. Itching for something to do, they decide to investigate the local urban legend of the "Howling Hoodoo." Soon, they find themselves tracking the elusive creatures, and on an adventure they couldn't have anticipated.
19. 'The War at Home'
Rated: R
In this thriller — starring Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen and Kathy Bates — a young man returns home for Thanksgiving after serving in the Vietnam War. He struggles with his war experience and has a hard time accepting life as it was, especially when it comes to his domineering father. As tensions rise at the Thanksgiving table, a shocking secret comes to light.
18. 'The Myth of Fingerprints'
Rated: R
In The Myth of Fingerprints, starring Julianne Moore and Blythe Danner, a family gathers for the Thanksgiving holiday at their parents' home in Maine. As is apt to happen during the holidays, tensions rise — and conflicts and secrets bubble to the surface — enlightening the buttoned-up family, and making for a pretty uncomfortable holiday dinner.
17. 'The Oath'

Rated: R
Starring some of the funniest comedians in movies today, The Oath — with Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz — is about a couple who decides not to sign an oath pledging allegiance to the United States for tax incentives. While they're spending Thanksgiving with the family, they are dealing with the mounting stress of their choice on top of the complexities of their family dynamics, all of which comes to a head on Black Friday.
16. 'The House of Yes'

Rated: R
The House of Yes, starring Parker Posey, Josh Hamilton, Freddie Prinze Jr., and Tori Spelling, is the story of a mentally ill woman who's convinced she's Jackie Kennedy. She's excited for her brother to visit home for Thanksgiving … until he shows up with his new fiancée, revealing her obsession with her own brother and sending her into a murderous rage.
15. 'Alice's Restaurant'
Rated: GP
Alice's Restaurant is the absolutely bizarre cinematic adaptation of musician Arlo Guthrie's song of the same name. In this quirky film, Arlo visits his friend, Alice, for Thanksgiving, and when he goes to take her trash to the dump, he finds it closed so he drops it in a ravine, resulting in his arrest and then gets drafted into the Army. We did mention it's a weird one, right?
14. 'Home for the Holidays'
Rated: PG-13
Featuring an all-star cast that includes Robert Downey Jr., Holly Hunter, Anne Bancroft, Dylan McDermott, Steve Guttenberg, and Claire Danes, Home for the Holidays is the quintessential Thanksgiving film. It's about a woman who's forced to spend Thanksgiving with her dysfunctional family when she loses her job and finds out that her daughter won't be coming home for the holiday.
13. 'Funny People'

Rated: R
Funny People features an ensemble cast, including Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jason Schwartzman, and Aubrey Plaza. It's the story of a successful comedian who finds out that he is terminally ill. Looking to find purpose in the little life he has left, he takes a young comedian under his wing.
12. 'The Vicious Kind'
Rated: R
The Vicious Kind is an independent film starring Brittany Snow, Adam Scott, and J.K. Simmons. It's about a man who sets out to convince his brother to break up with his girlfriend when he brings her home with him from college for Thanksgiving break … but unexpectedly begins to fall for her himself. Soon, he can't decide whether he should pursue her or remain loyal to his brother.
11. 'Hollidaysburg'
Rated: NR
Hollidaysburg is the story of a group of five friends who return home for Thanksgiving after their first semester at college. It's a coming-of-age film that sees its characters reconnect after months apart, and realize how different their lives are now, even though everything around them is unchanged.
10. 'Addams Family Values'

Rated: PG-13
The sequel to the original 1993 film The Addams Family, Addams Family Values sees beloved Uncle Fester fall for the trap of a black widow when she's hired to nanny Morticia and Gomez's new baby. Blinded by love, he doesn't realize she's planning his demise, leaving the rest of the Addams family tasked with rescuing him.
9. 'Tadpole'
Rated: PG-13
In 2002's Tadpole, a sophisticated and cultured 15-year-old prep school student finds himself falling in love with his stepmother. He plans to tell her how he feels when he arrives home for Thanksgiving break. When she shoots him down, he's despondent, but much to his surprise, her best friend is keen to offer him some (incredibly inappropriate) comfort.
8. 'Avalon'

Rated: PG
The 1990 film Avalon — starring Aidan Quinn, Elizabeth Perkins, Joan Plowright, Elijah Wood, and many others — is about a Polish-Jewish family who move to America and settle in Baltimore in the hopes of achieving a better life. The film offers a peek into the cultural transitions of an immigrant family in the early 20th century, highlighted by a fantastic Thanksgiving scene.
7. 'The Ice Storm'

Rated: R
Starring Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Christina Ricci, Sigourney Weaver, and Tobey Maguire, The Ice Storm is set in 1973 Connecticut and tells the story of a middle class family grappling with substance abuse, trust issues, their children's burgeoning sexuality, and other domestic issues — when an ice storm hits on Thanksgiving weekend.
6. 'Pieces of April'
Rated: PG-13
The black sheep of her family, April, invites everyone to her New York apartment for Thanksgiving. Challenges — including a broken oven mount — leaves April worried about disappointing her judgmental family. Needless to say, she goes into a panic, realizing how dysfunctional she and her entire family are.
5. 'Scent of a Woman'

Rated: R
Starring Al Pacino, Scent of a Woman is an intense drama about a young man (Chris O'Donnell) who takes on a gig as a caretaker for a blind retired Army lieutenant colonel over the long Thanksgiving weekend so he can make some cash for a trip home for Christmas. He thinks it'll be easy money, but when he winds up in New York with his charge, it ends up being more than he bargained for. Al Pacino won his first Academy Award for this one.
4. 'Hannah and Her Sisters'
Rated: PG-13
Hannah and Her Sisters is a 1986 Woody Allen film — starring Mia Farrow, Michael Caine, and Dianne Wiest — that takes place over the course of two Thanksgivings. It's about a man who falls in love with his wife's sister, whose own ex is falling for another sister, leading to quite a complicated love story for everyone involved.
3. 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles'

Rated: R
Anyone in need of some serious belly laughs over the holidays should definitely check out the 1987 classic Planes, Trains and Automobiles, starring Steve Martin and John Candy. It's about a man desperate to get home for Thanksgiving after his flight is canceled. He ends up agreeing to find alternate transportation with a man he meets in the airport, only realizing too late that his new companion is well … kind of obnoxious.
2. 'Krisha'
Rated: R
Krisha is a deeply emotional film about an aging woman who returns home for Thanksgiving for the first time in 10 years. Krisha hopes to reconnect with family, but past traumas quickly lead their holiday downhill, and her mental state deteriorates. The film is almost too realistic and raw not to leave viewers in awe.
1. 'A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving'

Rated: G
Though not a feature-length film, there's just something about the nostalgia of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving that's helped it reach the top spot on the list of best Thanksgiving movies. This animated short is of course about how Charlie Brown and crew attempt to throw together a last-minute Thanksgiving dinner and wind up learning the true meaning of the holiday.