Ranking the 10 best Jack Black movies

Jack Black plays Colin Hank’s co-star in this comedy about a party-minded teenager who tries to change his life after getting into a prestigious author’s work. Black plays Hanks’ hilarious brother, a stoner who often appears on screen in his underwear. This was one of Black’s first major roles he became known for, and it doesn’t hurt that it featured a star-studded cast of actors such as Ben Stiller, John Lithgow, and Catherine O’Hara.

While companies like DreamWorks and Pixar have dominated the animation scene for the last two decades, there are a few franchises that have been able to blossom outside of this dominant orbit. Ice Age from Blue Sky Studios has been one of the most successful family-friendly movie series since the 2000s. The first film features three era-specific animals that form a bond with a human baby while trying to save it from the dangers of the natural world around them. Jack Black provides voice work as Zeke, one of the saber-toothed tigers opposing the protagonist group. Unfortunately, Black never appeared in any of the sequels of Ice Age.

There’s no movie quite like Tropic Thunder, a war spoof carried by a Ben Stiller-led ensemble cast. Black plays an actor who is addicted to drugs and has no real acting skills other than to make inappropriate poop and fart gags. Black leans all the way into this role, accentuating all of his typical humorous traits to perfection in a much more adult setting than what we usually expect him to appear in.

No Jack Black movie encapsulates his personality and life story more than this early-aughts musical comedy. Black plays Dewey Finn, a loser who can’t pay his rent and has outrageous dreams about being a rock star. Dewey pretends to be a substitute teacher so he can collect enough money for his living expenses while also imparting musical knowledge on the students. Miranda Cosgrove and Joan Cusack co-star in this one.

It speaks to Jack Black’s irreplaceable voice talent that his best role remains this DreamWorks film from the late 2000s. Kung Fu Panda is the ultimate family movie, the type of film that makes you feel good about family and friends and overcoming all odds to achieve success. Black voices Po, an underwhelming giant panda who trains to become the Dragon Warrior. Other actors who voice the supporting anthropomorphic animals in the franchise include Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, and Seth Rogan. There have been multiple sequels in the decade-plus since, and there will be a fourth movie that comes out in 2024 in which Black will once again reprise his role as Po.