Good movie moms often go unrecognized.  The past two years, the Best Supporting Actress Oscar has gone to two mother monsters (not Lady Gaga) who give the role kind of a bad name.  So, to celebrate Mother’s Day, we take a look at some moms who either kill their children with kindness, or literally kill for them.

The Bride (Kill Bill)- As played by Uma Thurman, The Bride spends all of the first Kill BIll movie thinking her daughter is dead.  The second half of Volume 2 delves more into their relationship and adds some disarming humanity to the story.  Here’s a mom who takes time out of finishing her revenge conquest to lay in bed and watch Shogun Assassin with her daughter.  If that’s not a great mom, I don’t know what is.

Elastigirl (The Incredibles)-Another kick-ass mom, Elastigirl almost dares Disney to try and kill her off.  She teaches her children much better lessons while she’s alive, like how to use superpowers for good and how to be a kid.  She’s also willing to give up her life of world-saving to raise her kids, and helps keep Mr. Incredible grounded in reality instead of constantly pummeling baddies.

Peg Boggs (Edward Scissorhands)- Peg deserves a medal for putting up with her annoying daughter and her idiot boyfriend, let alone welcoming a social misfit with scissorshands into her home.  She treats Edward like a human and embraces his talents, allowing him to blossom into a somewhat normal entity.  She even gets a nifty haircut out of the deal. 

Sheryl Hoover (Little Miss Sunshine)– When everyone else in the family wants to abandon her daughter’s dream of making it to the Little Miss Sunshine beauty competition, Sheryl Hoover gets all of their asses in the yellow van.  When everyone at the competition treats her daughter like a joke and her family wants to take Olive out of it, she holds her ground.  She is the definition of a rock, whether it’s with her daughter, her speechless son, or her suicidal brother.

Sylvia Llewlyn Davies (Finding Neverland)- Who wouldn’t want to have Kate Winslet as a mom?  Though her mother is an overbearing nuisance, Sylvia embraces her children’s childhood and embraces their influence on James M. Barrie’s Peter Pan.  She joins in on the fantasy games they play in the park and raises them with compassion.  The devastating events at the end speak even further to her maternal credentials.