The Beach Boys (2024) on Netflix
PG-1320241h 53mDocumentaryMusic
Brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine form a band. Their harmony sound becomes tied to the California dream, and the group reshapes pop music.
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- Netflix4.0/5
- IMDb7.1/102,657 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes89%
Trailer
Plot summary
The documentary traces the Beach Boys from their family beginnings to their rise as a force in pop music. Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine form the group, and the harmony sound they develop becomes linked with the California dream. Brian Wilson's musical vision shapes Pet Sounds, and a friendly rivalry with the Beatles drives both groups to new musical innovation; Capitol Records is slow to back the album in North America. Brian tries to follow it with Smile but shelves the project, fearing nobody would understand it. Two sides of the band emerge: one records and writes songs under Brian Wilson's direction, the other plays live shows. Surviving members and music industry figures offer their accounts of the band's dynamics.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Beach Boys (2024)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The Beach Boys is the first film to open with the "standard variant" of the 2022 Disney logo, which had been introduced the year before for the studio's centennial anniversary.
- Al Jardine said that asking around for "home movies under (the bed)" turned up shoeboxes of 8mm film, which is how the film obtained footage of Dennis Wilson, and that Carl and Dennis Wilson's families helped the film represent them the right way.
- The film's soundtrack was released digitally on May 24, 2024, and a reissue with a shortened track listing followed on Apple Music; that reissue was the last official Beach Boys release before Brian Wilson's death in June 2025.
