Catherine O’Hara’s 10 Best Movies And TV Shows

The best Catherine O’Hara movies and TV shows prove that she is one of the smartest and quick-witted comedic actresses of her era. She got her start as a comedy performer, working with The Second City in Toronto and learning as an understudy to Gilda Radner. She then got a big break when they started the sketch comedy show SCTV and she became one of the regulars on it. This led to cartoon voice roles and television guest spots until she got her breakout in various TV roles in the 80s and onward.

Many people discovered her when she took on a main supporting role in the 1988 movie Beetlejuice, but then she had the biggest role of her career just wo years later when she starred as Kevin’s mother Kate in the holiday classic Home Alone. While she has enjoyed movie success, with some great roles in Christopher Guest’s mockumentary films as a highlight, she has really succeeded by remaining on television with her most recent prominent role in Schitt’s Creek.

10

Dick Tracy (1990)

Texie Garcia

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Your comment has not been saved

Dick Tracy

PG

Where to Watch

  • stream
  • rent
  • buy

Not available

Not available

Not available

*Availability in US

Release Date

April 5, 1990

Runtime

105 minutes

Main Genre

Action

Cast

Warren Beatty
, Charlie Korsmo
, Jim Wilkey
, Stig Eldred
, Neil Summers

Director

Warren Beatty

In 1990, the classic newspaper cartoon strip Dick Tracy was adapted into a major motion picture. The film was directed by and starred Warren Beatty as Dick Tracy, while Madonna had the second major lead role as femme fatale Breathless Mahoney. Al Pacino was also part of the cast as the villain, Big Boy Caprice, the city’s leading crime boss. Beatty chose to film the movie in a colorful, comics-like look, and that remains what it is best known for decades later.

Dick Tracy Mumbles Big Boy Warren Beatty Dustin Hoffman Al Pacino

Related

Why Disney’s Dick Tracy Movie Is The Best Comic Book Adaptation

Disney’s Dick Tracy is retrospectively a great movie, as well as the only comic adaptation to really capture the aesthetics of the original medium.

Posts

Catherine O’Hara stars in the movie as Texie Garcia, a female criminal who works under Big Boy Caprice and is his sometimes-girlfriend. While she was only a minor character in the film, she stood out as one of the only women involved in the major meetings of the criminal underworld. It was a fun performance for O’Hara, who had no problem going over the line in her acting during her scenes in the comic film. Dick Tracy earned seven Oscar nominations, winning three of them.

9

Waiting For Guffman (1996)

Sheila Albertson

zuari6ebpv6mexrvfnyidootzdf.jpg

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

Waiting for Guffman

R

Waiting for Guffman is a mockumentary film directed by Christopher Guest that follows the town of Blaine, Missouri as it prepares for a community theater production. The film focuses on the townspeople’s expectations and experiences as they await the arrival of famous Broadway director Mort Guffman, who is rumored to be attending the production.

Where to Watch

  • stream
  • rent
  • buy

Not available

Not available

Not available

*Availability in US

Release Date

August 21, 1996

Runtime

84 Minutes

Main Genre

Comedy

Cast

Christopher Guest
, Eugene Levy
, Fred Willard
, Catherine O’Hara
, Michael Hitchcock

Director

Christopher Guest

Catherine O’Hara had a big career working in comedy, starting with SCTV and then moving on to work with Eugene Levy and Christopher Guest on their mockumentaries that focused a lot on the improvisational skills of the cast. O’Hara was part of all of their movies, and the first of these remains a true cult classic. Released in 1996, Waiting For Guffman was the first mockumentary that Guest directed (he wrote This is Spinal Tap). The film follows the production of a fake stage musical in a small town in Missouri community theater.

On top of O’Hara, other stars in this film included Fred Willard, Parker Posey, Levy, Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer.

Guest and Levy create outlines of their movies and allow the cast to improvise most of their lines before editing together the best takes to create the movie. On top of O’Hara, other stars in this film included Fred Willard, Parker Posey, Levy, Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer. Critics loved the movie’s inventiveness, awarding it a 91% fresh Rotten Tomatoes score and it picked up three Independent Spirit Award nominations.

8

Frankenweenie (2012)

Susan Frankenstein (Voice)

Frankenweenie Movie Poster

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

8/10

Frankenweenie

PG-13
AnimationComedyFantasyHorror

Frankenweenie is a 2012 stop-motion animated remake of Tim Burton’s eponymous 1984 short film. It tells the story of young scientist Victor Frankenstein, who brings his dog Sparky back to life and tries to stop his experiment from wreaking havoc across his town.

Where to Watch

  • stream
  • rent
  • buy

Not available

Not available

Not available

*Availability in US

Release Date

October 5, 2012

Runtime

87 Minutes

Cast

Charlie Tahan
, Winona Ryder
, Martin Short
, James Hiroyuki Liao
, Catherine O’Hara
, Martin Landau
, Atticus Shaffer

Director

Tim Burton

Distributor(s)

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Catherine O’Hara did voice work on several cartoons early in her career and kept tackling these projects in later years for big screen animated releases. In 2012, she re-teamed with her Beetlejuice director, Tim Burton, to voice Susan Frankenstein in his animated release, Frankenweenie. The movie was based on a short film that Burton made in the 1980s but Disney felt was not right for the company. Burton returned to the idea two decades later and created a masterpiece.

Jack Skellington from Nightmare Before Christmas and Sparky from Frankenweenie

Related

Tim Burton Created An Odd Nightmare Before Christmas Plot Hole 18 Years Later

Although Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas came nearly two decades before Frankenweenie, the 2012 film created an 18-year-old plot hole.

Posts

In this movie, Frankenstein is a young boy and the Monster is his dog who died when hit by a car. Frankenstein brings the dog back to life, but then his classmates use it on their dead animals and soon there are real animal monsters rampaging the town. O’Hara not only voiced Frankenstein’s mother, but she also had two other roles as a Weird Girl in class and the Gym Teacher at the school. Frankenweenie was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards that year.

7

Where The Wild Things Are (2009)

Judith (Voice)

where-wild-things

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

3/10

Where the Wild Things Are

PG

In this adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s beloved children’s book, a young boy named Max sails away from home and discovers a wondrous land of creatures known as “Wild Things,” who name Max their new king.

Where to Watch

  • stream
  • rent
  • buy

Not available

Not available

Not available

*Availability in US

Release Date

October 16, 2009

Runtime

101 minutes

Main Genre

Adventure

Cast

Max Records
, Catherine Keener
, Mark Ruffalo
, Lauren Ambrose
, Chris Cooper
, James Gandolfini
, Catherine O’Hara
, Forest Whitaker

Director

Spike Jonze

Distributor(s)

Warner Bros.

Expand

In 2009, Spike Jonze adapted the beloved children’s book Where the Wild Things Are into a live action/CGI animated film. In the movie, Max Records plays Max, a young boy with a vivid imagination who runs away from home after a fight with his mother. He ends up on a small boat and is transported to an island where there are seven large monsters known as Wild Things. Max pretends to be a king with powers, but he ends up in danger when one monster, Carol, learns the truth.

Judith was the three-horned lion who is both aggressive and wild, giving the actress a lot of play with when voicing the character.

Catherine O’Hara voices Judith, one of the seven monsters in the movie. Judith was the three-horned lion who is both aggressive and wild, giving the actress a lot of play with when voicing the character. Critics gave the movie mostly positive reviews for its imagination and creature effects. However, commercially it was a disappointment, ultimately losing money for the studio. Despite that, it ended up on several best-of lists that year.

6

Temple Grandin (2010)

Aunt Ann

04100120_poster_w780.jpg

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

Temple Grandin

DramaHistory

Temple Grandin: Temple Grandin is a biographical film that chronicles the life of Temple Grandin, an autistic scientist recognized for her groundbreaking work in humane livestock management. Released in 2010, the film explores her contributions to the field and her journey in overcoming personal and societal challenges.

Where to Watch

  • stream
  • rent
  • buy

Not available

Not available

Not available

*Availability in US

Release Date

February 6, 2010

Runtime

108 minutes

Cast

Claire Danes
, David Strathairn
, Barry Tubb
, Melissa Farman
, Charles Baker
, Blair Bomar
, Cherami Leigh
, Tamara Jolaine
, Julia Ormond
, David Born
, Catherine O’Hara
, Chloë Evans
, Jordan Strassner
, Michael D. Conway
, Xochitl Romero
, Joe Nemmers
, Richard Dillard
, David Blackwell
, Toby Metcalf
, Brady Coleman
, Silver Renee
, Chad McMinn
, Nicole Holt
, Jake Messinger
, Cynthia Huerta

Director

Mick Jackson

Expand

Arguably, Catherine O’Hara’s least-known great movie is Temple Grandin, which was released on HBO in 2010. It is a biographical film about a woman named Temple Grandin, who was diagnosed with autism but went on to create inventions that revolutionized the human handling of livestock on cattle ranches. Claire Danes starred as Temple in the movie, while Catherine O’Hara took on the role of Aunt Ann, Temple’s aunt by marriage.

It was Aunt Ann’s cattle ranch that Temple visited as a child, which influenced her inventions. The film starts with Temple as an uncommunicative child whose frustration causes meltdowns into an adult who fights sexism and ignorance to achieve her goals and change an entire industry. Critics praised the film, awarding it a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score and O’Hara weas nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress, losing to co-star Julia Ormond.

5

The Wild Robot (2024)

Pinktail (Voice)

The Wild Robot Movie Poster

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

72

9.4/10

The Wild Robot

PG

The Wild Robot is an animated drama film based on a series of books by Peter Brown. The adaptation is written and directed by Chris Sanders and stars Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, and Catherine O’Hara. The Wild Robot centers on a robot named Rozzum 7134, who becomes stranded on a deserted island and the guardian of a young orphan.

Where to Watch

  • stream
  • rent
  • buy

Not available

Not available

Not available

*Availability in US

Release Date

September 27, 2024

Runtime

101 Minutes

Main Genre

Animation

Cast

Lupita Nyong’o
, Pedro Pascal
, Catherine O’Hara
, Bill Nighy
, Kit Connor
, Stephanie Hsu
, Mark Hamill
, Matt Berry
, Ving Rhames

Director

Chris Sanders

Distributor(s)

Universal Studios

Expand

DreamWorks released the animated movie The Wild Robot in 2024 and it ended up as the studio’s most recent critically beloved hit. Directed by Chris Sanders (How to Train Your Dragon), the movie follows a robot made to help people with everyday tasks who ends up lost on an island after an accident. The robot (Roz) awakens and tries to find someone to help, taking over the duties of raising a baby goose after accidentally crushing the baby’s nest.

Roz from The Wild Robot looking to the right, next to an image of the cover of the book

Related

10 Ways The Wild Robot Movie Changes The Book

The Wild Robot is a great adaptation of a beloved book, but changes were still made to allow the story to be better told in its new medium.

Posts

1

The film is a strong story about acceptance and working together despite differences in the name of survival. Catherine O’Hara plays the important role of Pinktail, a Virginia opossum who has a lot of kids that she is always looking out for. She is the character that gives Roz some of her best advice and is there to help gather the other animals when it is time to fight the robot army coming to retrieve Roz. The Wild Robot received 10 Annie Award nominations and four Golden Globes nominations.

4

Best In Show (2000)

Cookie Fleck

0148359_poster_w780.jpg

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

Best in Show

PG-13
Comedy

Best in Show is a mockumentary directed by Christopher Guest, exploring the eccentric personalities behind the participants of the fictional Mayflower Dog Show. Released in 2000, the film humorously delves into the lives of the various dog owners and handlers competing for the coveted top prize.

Where to Watch

  • stream
  • rent
  • buy

Not available

Not available

Not available

*Availability in US

Release Date

September 29, 2000

Runtime

90 minutes

Cast

Bob Balaban
, Jennifer Coolidge
, Christopher Guest
, John Michael Higgins
, Michael Hitchcock
, Eugene Levy
, Jane Lynch
, Michael McKean
, Catherine O’Hara
, Parker Posey
, Fred Willard
, Ed Begley Jr.
, Patrick Cranshaw
, Linda Kash
, Don Lake
, Larry Miller
, Jim Piddock
, Jay Brazeau
, Lewis Arquette
, Dany Canino
, Will Sasso
, Stephen E. Miller
, Colin Cunningham
, Jehshua Barnes
, Scott Williamson

Director

Christopher Guest

Expand

The best collaboration between Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy concerning their mockumentaries was the 2000 release, Best in Show. The movie follows people taking their dogs to compete in dog shows and shows how wild things can get behind the scenes at these events. This movie came out before the Westminster Dog Show began nationally televising its dog shows and is seen as one reason the event became so popular, warranting its annual television spot.

The movie is mostly improvised, and O’Hara and Levy are at the top of their game.

Catherine O’Hara stars as Cookie Fleck, once again playing Eugene Levy’s wife in a movie. Cookie and Gerry are a middle-class couple from Florida who own a Norwich terrier named Winky. Unlike other competitors, who are wealthy or very experienced, they are mostly struggling to make ends meet and are the underdogs. The movie is mostly improvised, and O’Hara and Levy are at the top of their game, especially with the running gag that several of Cookie’s former lovers are trying to seduce her throughout the movie.

3

Schitt’s Creek (2015-2020)

Moira Rose

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

TV Show

My Favorite TV Shows
My Watchlist

Success!

10/10

Schitt’s Creek

TV-14
Comedy

Schitt’s Creek is a sitcom series created by and starring Dan and Eugene Levy. When the Rose family’s business manager embezzles funds from their fortune, they discover that all of their money is gone except for one last piece of property – a small town called Schitt’s Creek that they purchased for fun years ago. Now forced to acclimate to an average, borderline impoverished life, the Rose family will attempt to make due with what they have while trying to revitalize the town.

Where to Watch

  • stream
  • rent
  • buy

Not available

Not available

Not available

*Availability in US

Release Date

January 13, 2015

Cast

Catherine O’Hara
, Dan Levy
, Noah Reid
, Emily Hampshire
, Tim Rozon
, Dustin Milligan
, Eugene Levy
, Jennifer Robertson
, Chris Elliott
, Annie Murphy

Seasons

6

Showrunner

Dan Levy
, Eugene Levy

Catherine O’Hara’s most recent hit television series was Schitt’s Creek. The sitcom, created by long-time O’Hara collaborator Eugene Levy, told the story of the formerly wealthy Rose family whose business manager embezzles their fortune. They move to Schitt’s Creek, a town they bought years before as a joke, and live in a motel there, now trying to adjust to life without their wealth and around people they used to mock.

O’Hara won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in 2021 and an Emmy in 2020.

The series ran for six seasons and 80 episodes and O’Hara played Moira Rose, the matriarch of the family. She is a former soap opera star who has become obsessed with her celebrity and glamour and has constant trouble living life with no money. She delivers some of the best performances in the series, often talking in a bizarre accent for no reason. Schitt’s Creek received nine Primetime Emmy Awards in 19 nominations and two Golden Globe wins. O’Hara won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in 2021 and an Emmy in 2020.

2

Beetlejuice (1988)

Delia Deetz

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

46

9.1/10

Beetlejuice

PG
ComedyFantasy

Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice stars Michael Keaton as the titular “bio-exorcist”, an obnoxious spirit who specializes in driving living occupants out of homes. When Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin) die suddenly, they pass into the spirit realm, and must stay in their home. However, in the living world, the Deetz family purchases the house and moves in, prompting the Maitlands to enlist the help of Beetlejuice to drive them away.

Where to Watch

  • stream
  • rent
  • buy

Not available

Not available

Not available

*Availability in US

Release Date

March 30, 1988

Runtime

92 minutes

Cast

Catherine O’Hara
, Michael Keaton
, Geena Davis
, Alec Baldwin
, Winona Ryder
, Jeffrey Jones

Director

Tim Burton

Distributor(s)

Warner Bros.

Possibly Catherine O’Hara’s most memorable role came in the Tim Burton movie Beetlejuice. The film sees a couple die in an accident and then realize they are now ghosts living in their old home. However, their afterlife is turned on its head when a new family moves in and starts to remodel the home in horrifyingly post-modern ways. Catherine O’Hara plays the mother of the family, and the person mostly responsible for the terrible interior design ideas that force the couple to call on Beetlejuice for help.

Lydia, Delia, Betelgeuse, Sandworm, Astrid, and Bob in the Beetlejuice 2 poster

Related

Every Beetlejuice Actor Who Returned For The Sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Here are the returning stars from Beetlejuice who return 36 years later for the long-awaited Tim Burton-directed follow-up, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Posts

This movie allowed O’Hara to really go deep into her bag of tricks as she delivers an unhinged performance as a woman who will do anything to get what she wants, and someone who seems to be more than interested in the ghosts in her new house. The movie was a box office success, won the Oscar for Best Makeup and three Saturn Awards, including Best Horror Film. O’Hara returned for the sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice 36 years later.

1

Home Alone (1990)

Kate McCallister

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

26

8.4/10

Home Alone

PG
ComedyFamily

Home Alone tells the story of Kevin McAllister, an eight-year-old who is left behind in his Chicago home when his family flies to Paris for the holidays. Not only must Kevin keep himself safe while his mother flies back across the world, but he must protect his home from the Wet Bandits – serial burglars who are targeting the McAllister House. Kevin must use every trick in the book to keep the Wet Bandits from stealing Christmas before his mother returns.

Where to Watch

  • stream
  • rent
  • buy

Not available

Not available

Not available

*Availability in US

Release Date

November 16, 1990

Runtime

103 minutes

Cast

Macaulay Culkin
, Joe Pesci
, Daniel Stern
, John Heard
, Roberts Blossom
, Catherine O’Hara

Director

Chris Columbus

Distributor(s)

20th Century

The role that most of the world knows Catherine O’Hara for as Kate McCallister, the mother from Home Alone. The movie is a holiday staple with Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) left home alone when his family goes on a Christmas vacation and doesn’t realize he isn’t with them until they are already on the plane leaving. Kevin then has to defend his home from two burglars who realize the family is gone on vacation.

Catherine O’Hara was the heart of the film, as the mother who was panicking about her son being at home alone and doing everything she could to return. She returned for the Home Alone sequel as well, where they ended up on different planes than Kevin and had no idea where he was. Neither movie received great reviews, but both remain beloved holiday classics and the first one was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2023.