quick list: five inspiring and cheerful documentaries

I wholeheartedly second the recommendation of Young@Heart. Exhilarating! Prepare to shed a tear, though, as casualties are bound to happen in such a set-up. "Should I stay or should I go" - indeed. The other docs look pretty interesting, too.

Also, Anvil! The Story of Anvil.

Even if you don't particularly like metal, it's a very captivating story. People have called it real-life Spinal Tap, and it really is. But emotionally, you identify with the band so much by the end that it can cause tearing up in places...

I won't spoil the ending ;)

and yes, I'm aware that there is suspicion about its authenticity... I don't care...

Sigur Ros' documentary Heima definitely needs to be mentioned.

I should add that it's directed by Dean DeBlois of How to Train Your Dragon fame.

"The King of Kong:A fistful of quarters" is a great documentary. It shows how those little obessions that you have can get out of control and take over your life and yet you are stil routing for him even though some of the things he does aren't always nice.

All the ones listed above are are great. The following are not necessarily cheerful, but I felt inspired and uplifted after watching them:

Dark Days - People living in abandoned railway tunnels in NYC
When We Were Kings - The Rumble in the Jungle; best sports doc ever
Touching the Void - Near fatal climb in the Peruvian Andes
Crumb - Required watching for geeks
The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Experience
Man on Wire - Walking on a tightrope between the twin towers

And when I want to be simultaneously inspired and depressed, there's always:

An Unreasonable Man - Ralph Nader in all his glory

I just realized that all but one of my documentary suggestions are male-centric. I still think they're good, but here are a few good ones that are centered around a female subject or subjects:

Regret to Inform
Breasts
Good Hair
Very Young Girls
Trouble in the Water

A lot of these are downers though. It's a lot harder to find uplifting docs about women... I wonder why that could be? Maybe I'm not looking hard enough.