Father’s Day should be celebrated every day of the year, but there’s no harm in setting aside a special day to shower dads with extra attention.
At M-Net Movies we're celebrating doting dads by taking a look at awesome fathers and father-figures on film.
Peter Banning, Hook
In Steven Spielberg's spin on the Peter Pan tale, the boy from Neverland is all grown up, goes by the name of Peter Banning and is a father to two children of his own. However Peter, played by Robin Williams, spends all his time at work, and only when his children are abducted by his old-nemesis Hook does he realise he has been neglecting his fatherly duties. He returns to Neverland to rescue his children; but matters are exacerbated when his son Jack refuses to leave, thinking he has found a better father figure in Captain Hook!
J.M. Barrie, Finding Neverland
You can visit a very different Neverland in this poignant movie about Peter Pan's creator J.M. Barrie, portrayed by Johnny Depp. A chance encounter in a park brings Barrie in contact with the Llewelyn Davies' boys and their widowed mother, Sylvia. He develops a friendship with the former and becomes a father figure to the boys. Ignoring society's malicious whispers, his time with the boys and their mother inspires him to write the play about the boy who never grew up.
Hans Hubermann, The Book Thief
Set during World War II and based on the best-selling book by Markus Zusak, it follows the story of a young girl, Liesel Meminger, sent to live with an adoptive German family. Taught to read by her kind-hearted foster father Hans Hubermann, played by Geoffrey Rush, she finds solace in her books in a time of terror and fear. Driven by her passion for reading she starts stealing books and shares her hobby and treasured collection with the Hubermanns' own secret, a Jewish refugee protected in their basement.
David Wozniak, Delivery Man
This fun comedy will lighten any mood. It follows the story of deliveryman David Wozniak, played by Vince Vaughn, who finds out he is a father to 533 children - as a result of 693 donations he made to a sperm bank. His life is further complicated when he is informed that 162 of his children have joined a lawsuit to force the fertility clinic to reveal David's identity. He decides to let them know who he is and become part of their lives, only to find out that his girlfriend is also pregnant.
Giovanni Manzoni, The Family
There's more comedy on offer in The Family, about a mafia boss who must enter a witness protection programme with his family after snitching on a rival. They relocate to a small town in France to start their new lives, but find that old habits die hard - making it difficult for this mafia family to stay undercover. Cast in the role of the mafia father is none other than Robert De Niro, who played the young version of the famous mafioso Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II.