The 10 Best John Candy Movies and TV Shows You Can Watch With Your Kids, Ranked
John Candy was a versatile and iconic actor who left his signature style in comedic fingerprints across the timelines of cinema. Whether in a movie or television role, Candy’s voice, charm, and charisma were indelible. As the new documentary I Like Me just had its grand debut at the Toronto International Film Festival and is set to stream on Prime on October 10, 2025, now is a great time to examine his proficiency.
Though Candy was a key figure in several significant comedies for adults like Planes, Trains, and Automobiles and Stripes, his work also included an impressive range of children’s and family projects. It is long overdue for the legendary actor to receive his much-deserved acclaim after his tragic passing in 1994. There has never been a better opportunity to revisit some of John Candy’s accomplishments on the large and small screen, and these examples you can watch with the whole family.
10
‘Camp Candy’ (1989–1992)
In the late 1980s, John Candy had his own animated TV series. This was during an era where several animation and television studios were making cartoons for kids that featured movie stars and movies themselves that were typically more focused on adults. Camp Candy ran for three seasons and featured the voice talents of Lewis Arquette and Danny Mann.
Although Camp Candy didn’t have a very long tenure, it is remembered as a fun and nostalgic trip down memory lane for those who grew up watching the show. The plotlines revolved around Candy, who played an animated version of himself, working as a head counselor at a summer camp for kids. The series has some signature 1980s animation, and Candy served as the narrator as well as the lead.
9
‘Shelley Duvall’s Bedtime Stories’ (1992–1994)
Actor Shelley Duvall gathered the most glittering names in Hollywood for her series, Shelley Duvall’s Bedtime Stories. Each performer would take a turn narrating a different children’s story as charming animation depicted the scenes. Ringo Starr, James Earl Jones, Michael J. Fox, Bette Midler, and Martin Short are just some of the many celebrities who lent their voices to the series.
John Candy’s contribution is in the first season entitled “Blumpoe the Grumpoe Meets Arnold the Cat.” Candy narrates an amusing story about a man named Blumpoe who has a negative disposition about almost everything. When a shy cat named Arnold befriends Mr. Blumpoe, he begins to feel less grumpy all the time. Candy’s unmistakable voice makes “Blumpoe the Grumpoe” a fun and speedy snippet of his acting abilities.
8
‘Follow that Bird’ (1985)
One of the best children’s shows ever, Sesame Street blends muppet performers with live actors. Its dynamic formula and endearing characters have made it a television staple for over five decades. In 1985, Sesame Street jumped from the small screen to the big screen in its first feature-length film, Follow That Bird.
The movie follows Big Bird (Caroll Spinney) after he is relocated to a new home. Missing his friends, Big Bird runs away, which prompts all of his friends from Sesame Street to go looking for him. Candy plays a state trooper in the movie, and this was not his only collaboration with the series. He also appeared as his character Yosh Shmenge from the movie The Last Polka in the 1988 Sesame Street TV movie Put Down the Duckie. In Put Down the Duckie Candy’s role is more brief, but watching him reprise the character Yosh is great fun, especially because of the actor’s real-life talent for playing clarinet.
7
‘Rookie of the Year’ (1993)
Rookie of the Year is a fun sports movie about a young baseball fan named Henry (Thomas Ian Nicholas) who has big dreams of joining a team. However, his talent and ability are less than desirable. When a freak accident renders him with a super-powered pitching arm, he joins the majors and the Chicago Cubs as their rookie pitcher.
Rookie of the Year’s cast includes Gary Busey, Dan Hedaya, and Daniel Stern. Although Candy has a smaller cameo in the film playing a sports announcer, his scenes are just as laugh-out-loud funny as any of his larger roles. Rookie of the Year makes a great watch for comedy and sports fans of all ages.
6
‘The Great Outdoors’ (1988)
When you combine comedy titans like Dan Aykroyd and John Candy in the same film, you know some uproarious laughter-inducing sparks will fly. The Great Outdoors features Candy as Chet Ripley, a husband, and father who just wants to enjoy a rustic vacation with his family. Enter his egotistical and irritating brother-in-law, Roman (Aykroyd), who crashes their holiday and causes all sorts of headaches for everyone.
The Great Outdoors is best for families with older teens who can enjoy some of the more adult slapstick humor. Although Aykroyd had mentioned wanting to make a sequel called The Great Outlaws, it has yet to be materialized. It is hard to imagine making a follow-up to this great film without Candy. His performance was inimitable and integral to the movie.
5
‘Uncle Buck’ (1989)
A fun fact of movie trivia is that the wildly successful Home Alone was not the first movie John Candy and Macaulay Culkin starred in together. That distinction goes to the 1989 film Uncle Buck. In the colorful comedy, Candy plays Buck Russell, a laid-back uncle who is charged with caring for his brother’s three children in a spur-of-the-moment emergency when the parents need to temporarily travel out of state.
Hijinks and hilarity ensue in some great culture clashes between the blasé Buck and the three unsuspecting kids. As they bond with their uncle, all of the characters get a chance to benefit from spending time with each other. Candy is comedy gold in the film, and Culkin steals every scene he’s in. Uncle Buck is a great feature in both of their filmmaking careers.
4
‘Spaceballs’ (1987)
Mel Brooks has created some of the greatest parodies of all time, including Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. When he turned his razor-sharp wit of satire to sci-fi, the rest was history. Spaceballs is a spit-out-your-drink funny comedy that pokes fun at some of the genre’s biggest hits like Star Wars, Alien, and Star Trek.
In Spaceballs, Candy plays Barfolomew or “Barf,” who is a mawg, a half-man, half-dog. In this clever homage to furry companions and human hybrids in sci-fi movies, Candy is brilliant as the loveable sidekick. Spaceballs is a polarizing film between critics and audiences. You either love it or hate it. And for the audiences who love it, they can look forward to the long-awaited sequel, which is set to start production very soon.
3
‘The Rescuers Down Under’ (1990)
An immensely underappreciated gem is Disney’s The Rescuers Down Under. Made as a sequel to the 1977 film The Rescuers, it follows two mice from a rescue society as they travel to Australia to save a kidnapped boy. Candy voices Wilbur, the quirky albatross who is hired by Bernard (Bob Newhart) and Miss Bianca (Eva Gabor) to fly them to the land Down Under.
Candy brought his star presence even from behind the camera and made what was a side character in the original film an integral part of the second film.
In the original film, the albatross character Orville was voiced by Jim Jordan. Since Jordan passed away in 1988, Candy was brought on as the new character of Wilbur, Orville’s brother, for the sequel. Candy brought his own signature flair to the character, and Wilbur ended up being more quirky, amusing, and funny than Orville.
2
‘Home Alone’ (1990)
Candy and Culkin’s second collaboration would not only set records, but shatter them. Home Alone would go on to be one of the highest-grossing Christmas movies of all time. Although Candy’s part in the movie is smaller, it is still essential, and his comedic banter with Catherine O’Hara is deadpan at its finest.
A talented improviser, Candy came up with the entirety of his dialogue on the set and in the moment. The whole funeral parlor story? That was all, Candy. His quick wit took a small cameo role and turned it into a memorable performance. To this day, Home Alone remains a beloved family classic that is simply amazing, start to finish.
1
‘Cool Runnings’ (1993)
“Always remember, your bones will not break in a bobsled. No, no. They shatter.” Inspired by the true story of a Jamaican bobsled team that competed in the 1988 Winter Olympics, Cool Runnings is John Candy’s best family-friendly film. He stars as Irv, a bobsled coach with a complicated reputation who chooses to take on the task of training Jamaican athletes to compete in the Olympic bobsled event. All without any snow to practice on.
Joined by Doug E. Doug, Malik Yoba, Rawle D. Lewis, and Leon, Cool Runnings is a fantastic film to watch with the whole family. It has great lessons about sportsmanship, determination, and integrity. It also has a highly entertaining training montage and great moments of humor and heart. It is set apart from most sports movies because the main characters don’t win. However, this lesson about how life brings both highs and lows, successes and disappointments, could be intertwined with Candy’s legacy itself. As audiences everywhere prepare to remember the man who gave the world some of the best movies we all love, the ethos of Cool Runnings rings true: “Peace be the journey.”
