Whether it’s Judgment Day, Armageddon, the day of reckoning, or whatever name you choose, the end times have always horrified and fascinated people. As a result, the apocalypse has become the setting for countless fiction pieces. Most of these focus on rugged and world-weary survivors trying to make it in a miserable, barren, and often dimly-lit wasteland.
These stories are usually confined to genres like horror, action, or drama, but a few venture into lighter tones. Even though the threat of zombies, disease, or scavenging bandits is still prevalent, these movies and shows prove that while it may be doomsday, it doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world.
'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'
Based on the famous Douglas Adams novel series of the same name, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy centers around the character of Arthur Dent, and his adventures. After being saved from the destruction of his home planet, Earth, Arthur is whisked away to journey across the universe.
While not the typical post-apocalyptic movie, it does focus on two humans after the world ends, and how it affects them. Although the story covers some more bleak concepts, it does so in a dryly hilarious way that trivializes them in a way that only British comedy can.
'Zombieland'
Whereas other zombie movies have main characters who are action heroes, or everyday people who become action heroes, Zombieland is a bit different. Told from the perspective of a paranoid shut-in, this movie follows the character Columbus as he lives according to his very specific rules and meets other survivors.
Despite the movie's heavier moments, as are common with post-apocalyptic movies, this horror/comedy fan-favorite definitely leans more on the Comedy side. Its lovable characters and very human themes make the hordes of the undead a little less scary, and much more entertaining.
'Sweet Tooth'
In the near future, a deadly virus begins to spread, and people start to inexplicably give birth to human/animal hybrids. While there doesn’t appear to be a connection between these things, what follows both of them is the collapse of human civilization. In the middle of it, is a young half-boy/half-deer named Gus, trying to find his mother.
In what's praised as one of the best comic adaptations, Sweet Tooth brings an atmosphere of fantasy and childlike wonder, to what would otherwise be a very sad story. It does have its dark moments, but overall it depicts a boy discovering a brand-new world, that although in ruins, is far from a barren wasteland.
'Daybreak'
Following a deadly biological attack, the teenagers of Glendale, California are left alive as all the adults have been turned into zombie-like creatures called “Ghoulies”. Narrated by its main character, Daybreak follows Josh as he tries to find his girlfriend among the monsters and other survivors.
In the same vein as a high school comedy, with quite a bit more action, this series tells the story of a group of misfits just trying to survive. With Josh playing the laid-back and charismatic protagonist, you get the sense that the end of the world may not be so bad.
'Love and Monsters'
Although one apocalypse was stopped by nuking an incoming asteroid, the resulting nuclear fallout created another by mutating the Earth’s animals into monsters. Seven years later, Joel lives in a bunker with a group of survivors who, unlike him, have all paired up into couples. Feeling lonely, he braves the surface and its terrors to find the girlfriend he lost.
The creatures in Love and Monsters are undoubtedly deadly, and Joel comes across some pretty traumatizing situations on his journey. That being said, his hopeless romanticism brings a certain whimsy to the movie that makes it feel much more fun than scary. Overall, the messages it portrays are more uplifting than the usual grim cynicism associated with the apocalypse.
'Warm Bodies'
In the middle of a zombie apocalypse, one of the undead begins to realize that he feels different from the others. After falling in love with a survivor that crosses his path, he saves her and slowly starts to become more human, and possibly even alive.
Far from the average zombie movie, Warm Bodies has very little in terms of action or horror. Instead, it has all the classic style and tropes of a romantic comedy, albeit one of the more unique rom-coms out there. Unlike other similar movies, it introduces a more positive outlook for the living dead, with the possibility of them coming back to life.
'Night of the Comet'
When Earth gets close to the path of a passing comet, a strange phenomenon occurs leaving the majority of life either disintegrated or transformed into zombie-like creatures. As two of the few unaffected people, sisters Regina and Samantha try to survive the creatures and a group of scientists with sinister goals.
A cult classic amongst zombie movies, Night of the Comet is like if 28 Days Later mixed with Evil Dead, in a similar style to The Lost Boys. As such, it absolutely oozes eighties comedy and camp, enough to make you forget that almost all of humanity was tragically wiped out. Plus, the jovial, devil-may-care attitudes of the main characters make it an exciting adventure rather than a horrific one.
'The Last Kids on Earth'
After several portals open up in the sky, a legion of monsters lands on Earth, along with a zombie virus, leaving only a few living humans. One of these survivors, a boy named Jack, spends his time living out his fantasy as a monster hunter, as well as searching for the girl he likes.
Similar to the main character Josh in Daybreak, Jack is making the best out of the end of the world. As he gathers a group of friends, they approach survival through a more fun lens, despite the deadly creatures around them. The Last Kids on Earth is meant for a bit of a younger audience, so it makes the apocalypse much easier to watch.
'WALL-E'
Having made the Earth unlivable due to mass pollution, the human race ventures to the stars to live in an enormous ship in orbit of the planet. Back on Earth, they leave a small robot named Wall-E behind with a singular objective, to clean up the trash. After discovering that a plant has finally grown out of the polluted soil, WALL-E embarks on an adventure that may decide humanity’s fate.
Pollution as the cause of the end times isn’t relatively common in movies, but when it’s used it provides a sobering, and sometimes realistic look into our future. In WALL-E’s case however, the story has an optimistic outlook to this idea, and shows that humanity can change their ways even when it seems far too late. Not to WALL-E's inspiring determination and adorable personality easily makes him one of the best robots in cinema.
'Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts'
200 years after Earth’s animals mutated into intelligent beings called “mutes”, the majority of humanity has been forced into hiding in underground cities called Burrows. After a mega-mute busts into her Burrow, a girl named Kipo is separated from her father and winds up on the surface. There she heads out to find her friends and family, and explore what the world has become.
While something like The Last Kids on Earth may be a bit more childish, this is one of those animated series that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. In place of a dreary ambience or a miserable, violent protagonist, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts delivers a unique, colorful atmosphere and an upbeat, hopeful main character. Throughout the series, the importance of kindness and family is highlighted in a way that doesn’t seem too cheesy or cheap, and the world it creates truly seems like the best case, post-apocalyptic scenario.