10 Best Movies Starring Robin Williams (up to 2006)

Robin Williams was always one of my favorite actors. He's made many notable movies playing different characters in each. His best quality is that he does well with Kids AND Adults! Not many actors can accomplish getting fans young and old, but Robin just has that flare. Below are the 10 movies I love of his more than the others - although I love them all! These 10 are quickly becoming "classics" and I'm sure they will be watched more and more by new generations to come :)

1. Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) .... also starring Forest Whitaker, J.T. Walsh and Bruno Kirby

Robin Williams plays Adrian Cronauer, a military DJ who was sent to Vietnam in 1965 to raise moral. While there he does keep them laughing, but also tends to walk the line a little too closely to getting himself in trouble. This is a comedy/drama because even though Robin is funny, this is all happening in the middle of a war.

Edward Garlick: What will you do with your time?

Adrian Cronauer: Oh, I don't know. There are plenty of things I can think of. Maybe go downtown and try to find a Vietnamese man named "Phil."

2. Dead Poets Society (1989) .... also starring Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke and Gale Hansen

In this movie, Robin is once again a outspoken person. Except in this movie he is a teacher. He is trying to teach his students (all young boys) about poetry but also trying to teach them to find their own place in life. Many of the boys have overbearing parents who try to force their dreams on their children, but Professor Keaton (Robin) tries to teach them to Seize the Day and do their own dreams. This is a drama and it can be very intense at times. You can learn a lot from this movie as the main message is to Seize the Day but there is also an underlying message that parents shouldn't put too much pressure on their children. On top of all that, Robin is also fighting against his own boss who thinks he is being a little too free in what he teaches. Can you see the conflicts just flying in?

John Keating: Have you ever told your father what you just told me? About your passion for acting? You ever show him that?

Neil Perry: I can't.

John Keating: Why not?

Neil Perry: I can't talk to him this way.

John Keating: Then you're acting for him, too. You're playing the part of the dutiful son. I know this sounds impossible, but you have to talk to him. You have to show him who you are, where your heart is!

3. Awakenings (1990) .... also starring Robert De Niro, Julie Kavner and John Heard

This is another drama and another great story. In this story, Robin is a Doctor who gets a new position at a comatose ward. He is saddened by their lack of a cure and how much of life they are missing out on. He discovers a new chemical that awakens them and one by one he begins using it. There is a fun period as we watch these patients come to life full of excitement, but there is a sad time as the relatives and the other staff don't all agree with what Robin has done. The main thing we learn from here is that Robin would not give up on these people when everyone else had. All the other staff had decided these people would never be active again, but he couldn't sit back and watch people lose their life. He fought to bring them back!

Margaret: Miriam, there's no easy way to tell you this, so - your husband - he was granted a divorce from you in 1952.

Miriam: Oh, thank God!

4. Hook (1991) .... also starring Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts and Bob Hoskins

I love this one a lot! Robin plays Peter Panning... can you see where this is going? Peter is a married man with two kids... who get kidnapped! He learns they were taken to a land far away called Neverland which he has some strange memories of, but overall it's all new to him. Once there, he starts to slowly remember who he is and who he was as a child. He is Peter Pan. Peter Pan did grow up and now he must find his inner child so he can save his kids from the evil Captain Hook! This is a great family film. Kids will love the action and adventure and adults will love seeing what Peter Pan turned into. It's also a touching movie as Peter must decide how far he is willing to go to save his kids.

Peter Banning: What is this? Some sort of Lord of the Flies pre-school? Where are your parents? Who's in charge here? [the Lost Boys all point to Rufio]

Peter Banning: Noo, Nooo Mr. Skunkhead with too much mousse, you are just a punk kid. I WANT TO SPEAK TO A GROWN-UP.

5. Aladdin (1992) (voice) .... also starring Scott Weinger, Gilbert Gottfried and Linda Larkin

Robin's voice is the star of this movie! He plays the Genie who a young man named Aladdin discovers and he is tasked with helping Aladdin get Princess Jasmine to fall in love with him. This is a very funny animated film with lots of action and adventure as Aladdin has to also avoid Jafar - the evil man out to get the lamp from him. The power of animation means the Genie can turn into anything which leads to lots of laughs throughout :)

Genie:

6. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) .... also starring Sally Field, Lisa Jakub, Matthew Lawrence and Mara Wilson

In this movie Robin is a father who finds himself out of work and divorced. On top of that, his ex-wife makes it difficult to even see his three kids. He needs to see them, so he decides that with a little makeup and a whole lot of costume he will get the job as their nanny. The kids really take to Mrs. Doubtfire, and he is happy to spend time with his kids. However, he's not really happy to see his ex dating another man, and he still must keep his identity a secret. It's a touching family film.

Miranda: What happened?

Mrs. Doubtfire: He was quite fond of the drink. It was the drink that killed him.

Miranda: He was an alcoholic?

Mrs. Doubtfire: No, he was hit by a Guinness truck

7. The Birdcage (1996) .... also starring Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane and Dan Futterman

Now Robin is gay! Armand and Albert...boyfriend? own a gay cabaret club. Their son, Val, about to get married, finds its time for his parents to meet her parents...but only if they agree to play it "straight". The problem is her dad is a senator and he can't be around anything that could ruin his image...and these two could definitely ruin his image. This movie is very funny. Watching Robin and Nathan act as a couple and then watching them trying to play straight just brings lots of laughs.

[Trying to teach Albert how to be straight]

Armand: Al, you old son of a gun! How ya doin'? How do you feel about that call today? I mean the Dolphins! Fourth-and-three play on their 30 yard line with only 34 seconds to go!

Albert: How do you think I feel? Betrayed, bewildered... wrong response?

8. Jack (1996) .... also starring Diane Lane, Jennifer Lopez and Bill Cosby

Jack is a young boy but he looks like an old boy rather quickly. You see, he has a rare aging disease that makes him age at 4 times the normal rate. Robin takes the character of Jack at the age of 10...but he looks 40. He is about to go to school for the first time with other 10 year olds - but as you can imagine this boy doesn't easily fit in with the sea of normal aged kids. This is a fun film, but also a very sad film at parts. You may even get teary eyed watching Robin try to fit in, imagining that he really is a 10 year old trapped in a 40 year old body.

Angry Man: I'm a loser? You're a son of a b*tch!

Jack: I can't believe you said that! You cussed! You said the B-Word! Oh, you're gonna be in so much trouble!

9. What Dreams May Come (1998) .... also starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Max von Sydow and Annabella Sciorra

This is a very sad but very good movie. To cut to the chase, Robin (Chris) and his wife loose their children, and then he dies also. He goes to heaven which is absolutely wonderful, colorful and perfect. However he finds out that his wife ended up going crazy after he left, and killed herself. For sinning like this she was sent to a not so nice place, actually a horrible place. He is determined to find her soul and rescue her from her horrible fate, even if it means he may lose his wonderful fate in the process.

Chris Nielsen: I need Annie.

Albert: That'll change in time.

Chris Nielsen: Oh, come on Einstein! Time's not on my watch anymore. Time does not exist here. And wherever it went, it's not going to make me need Annie any less.

10. Patch Adams (1998) .... also starring Daniel London, Monica Potter and Philip Seymour Hoffman

This is another sad but funny movie. Robin is Patch, a medical student who uses humor to help cure his patients. He truly believes laughter is the best medicine. Even though the patients and staff think he's doing a great job, the medical and scientific community disagrees with what he is doing. They try to get Patch to stop, but he's a fighter for what he believes in and he really wants to help these people. There are a lot of fun parts, but also quite a few sad parts in this touching film.

Hunter Patch Adams: What's wrong with death sir? What are we so mortally afraid of? Why can't we treat death with a certain amount of humanity and dignity, and decency, and God forbid, maybe even humor. Death is not the enemy gentlemen. If we're going to fight a disease, let's fight one of the most terrible diseases of all, indifference.

Close but no cigar

Good Will Hunting (1997), One Hour Photo (2002), Insomnia (2002), The Final Cut (2004)

Conclusion

I love every Robin Williams Movie but the ones I've chosen above are what I consider Classics :) He's one of the few actors that I actually had to pick and choose my favorite movies because there are so many I like. He's very active and has made many more since 2006! So catch some of his top 10 best and be prepared for more great things from Robin in the future! Enjoy!