Best movies like Because of Winn-Dixie
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A girl, abandoned by her mother when she was three, moves to a small town in Florida with her father. There, she adopts an orphaned dog she names Winn-Dixie. The bond between the girl and her special companion brings together the people in a small Florida town and heals her own troubled relationship with her father.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, light, sweet, feel good, funny, gothic, teen, happy, comedy drama
Best tv shows and movies like Because of Winn-Dixie (2005):
Similar in 78%
The Healer (2016)
Plot Summary:
The film follows a man with an unwanted gift for healing who meets a teenager with cancer who helps him to find himself.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Romance
Country: Spain, Canada, USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: sincere, feel good, sentimental, light, touching, captivating, romantic, humorous, educational, cute
Similar in 84%
Saving Shiloh (2006)
Plot Summary:
In this third movie about Shiloh, Judd Travers is accused of killing a man he once fought in a bar. Everyone in the town consider Judd to be guilty except Marty Preston, but even him has some doubts. Trying to clear Judd's name Marty and his friend searches the woods to find the criminal.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 930
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: serious, sincere, touching, captivating, saga
Similar in 77%
Jack of the Red Hearts (2015)
Plot Summary:
A teenage con artist tricks a desperate mother into hiring her as a live-in companion for her autistic daughter.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, thought provoking, melancholic, compassionate, sad, teen, inspirational
Similar in 78%
The Great Gilly Hopkins (2015)
Plot Summary:
Wisecracking, gum-chewing 12-year-old Gilly is well known in the foster system. Totally unmanageable, she has stayed with more families than she can remember and has outwitted them all. After all, how can she settle down when her real mother, the beautiful and glamourous Courtney, might be out there waiting for her? When Gilly is sent to live with the Trotters, the weirdest family yet, she isn’t planning to stick around. But cheerful, affectionate Maime Trotter isn’t giving up on Gilly just yet.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sincere, feel good, captivating, entertaining, light, emotional, sad, happy
Similar in 86%
Where the Red Fern Grows (1974)
Plot Summary:
Where the Red Fern Grows is the heartwarming and adventurous tale for all ages about a young boy and his quest for his own red-bone hound hunting dogs.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: sad, depressing, epic, emotional, tear jerker, touching, feel good, semi serious, independent film, tearjerker
Similar in 79%
Shiloh (1996)
Plot Summary:
An abused beagle runs away from his owner. On the road, he meets young Marty Preston and follows him home. The boy immediately forms a bond with the dog and names him Shiloh. His stern father won't let him keep the dog because it belongs to Judd Travers, a local hunter. After Shiloh is mistreated again, he runs away and returns to Marty. Knowing his father will once again make him bring Shiloh back to Judd, he makes a home for the dog in an old shed up the hill from the Prestons' house and hides him from his family. His secret is soon discovered when a stray attacks the dog one night and he must turn to his father for help.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sweet, touching, emotional, semi serious, feel good, gothic, epic, independent film, fairy tale, sentimental
Similar in 77%
A Belle for Christmas (2014)
Plot Summary:
Family film about a pair of children whose father's girlfriend has kidnapped their dog. Dean Cain stars as Glenn Barrows, a recent widower doing his best to raise his young kids Elliot and Phoebe, who really miss their mother. Things start to look up when the Barrows adopt an adorable puppy named Belle during the holiday season. Just as the healing seems to have begun, Glenn's dog-hating, gold-digging new girlfriend spoils their newfound happiness by sending Belle away. Will the young kids pull off a daring Christmas Eve rescue of their beloved new pet? Haylie Duff co-stars in this heartwarming comedy about family, friendship, and a four-legged holiday miracle.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 557
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: light, touching, feel good, sweet, emotional
Similar in 75%
The 12 Dogs of Christmas (2005)
Plot Summary:
This holiday tale has all the elements of a classic heartwarmer--cuddly dogs, small town spirit, and even a full-fledged Christmas pageant. Set during the meager years of the Great Depression, 12 DOGS OF CHRISTMAS follows the story of Emma, a 12-year-old who is sent to live in Doverville, a rural town, with her aunt. The town has, like the rest of the nation, fallen on lean times and seem to have lost all interest in celebrating. However, Emma manages to enlist the town's dogs into a colorful holiday pageant that reminds the inhabitants that even the Great Depression cannot ruin the spirit of Christmas.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 996
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: feel good, light, humorous, sentimental, touching
Similar in 78%
Annie (1982)
Plot Summary:
An orphan in a facility run by the mean Miss Hannigan, Annie believes that her parents left her there by mistake. When a rich man named Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks decides to let an orphan live at his home to promote his image, Annie is selected. While Annie gets accustomed to living in Warbucks' mansion, she still longs to meet her parents. So Warbucks announces a search for them and a reward, which brings out many frauds.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 48000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: feel good, sentimental, period piece, inspirational, retro, entertaining, juvenile, cult classic, touching, humorous
Similar in 81%
Lassie (2005)
Plot Summary:
A family in financial crisis is forced to sell Lassie, their beloved dog. Hundreds of miles away from her true family, Lassie escapes and sets out on a journey home.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA, France, Ireland, UK
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: touching, feel good, humorous, semi serious, sad, crying, realistic, independent film
Similar in 79%
Harriet the Spy (1996)
Plot Summary:
When the secret notebook of a young girl who fancies herself a spy is found by her friends, her speculations make her very unpopular! Can she win her friends back?.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: intense, enigmatic, entertaining, epic, children's program, touching, feel good, humorous, semi serious, crying
Similar in 88%
Disney's Air Bud (1997)
Plot Summary:
A young boy and a talented stray dog with an amazing basketball playing ability become instant friends. Rebounding from his father's accidental death, 12-year-old Josh Framm moves with his family to the small town of Fernfield, Washington. The new kid in town, Josh has no friends and is too shy to try out for the school basketball team. Instead he prefers to practice alone on an abandoned court, he befriends a runaway golden retriever named Buddy. Josh is amazed when he realizes that Buddy loves basketball...that is playing basketball...and he is GOOD! Josh eventually makes the school team and Buddy is named the Team Mascot. Josh and Buddy become the stars of halftime. Buddy's half-time talent draws media attention. Unfortunately, when Buddy's mean former owner, Norm Snively, comes along with a scheme to cash in on the pup's celebrity, it looks like they are going to be separated.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family, Sport
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: light, inspirational, touching, feel good, humorous, sad, semi serious, slapstick comedy, sentimental, road movie
Similar in 79%
My Dog Skip (2000)
Plot Summary:
A shy boy is unable to make friends in Yazoo City, Mississippi in 1942, until his parents give him a terrier puppy for his ninth birthday. The dog, which he names Skip, becomes well known and loved throughout the community and enriches the life of the boy, Willie, as he grows into manhood. Based on the best-selling Mississippi memoir by the late Willie Morris.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: feel good, touching, sentimental, sad, uplifting, heartbreaking, tear jerker, sweet, crying, sincere
Similar in 77%
The Sandlot (1993)
Plot Summary:
Scotty Smalls moves to a new neighborhood with his mom and stepdad, and wants to learn to play baseball. The neighborhood baseball guru Rodriquez takes Smalls under his wing. They fall into adventures involving baseball, treehouse sleep-ins, the desirous lifeguard at the local pool, the snooty rival ball team, and the travelling fair.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 100000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: feel good, funny, sentimental, teen, inspirational, sweet, witty, talky, humorous, semi serious
Similar in 83%
Chestnut: Hero of Central Park (2004)
Plot Summary:
Ray and Sal, two orphaned sisters, adopt and hide a Great Dane puppy from their two adopted parents living in a luxury downtown New York apartment that expressely forbids dogs.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, touching
Similar in 80%
Babe (1995)
Plot Summary:
Babe is a little pig who doesn't quite know his place in the world. With a bunch of odd friends, like Ferdinand the duck who thinks he is a rooster and Fly the dog he calls mom, Babe realizes that he has the makings to become the greatest sheep pig of all time, and Farmer Hogget knows it. With the help of the sheep dogs Babe learns that a pig can be anything that he wants to be.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 132000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: Australia, USA, UK
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, feel good, motivational, sincere, inspirational, sweet, humorous, uplifting, funny
Similar in 82%
Charlotte's Web (2006)
Plot Summary:
Wilbur the pig is scared of the end of the season, because he knows that come that time, he will end up on the dinner table. He hatches a plan with Charlotte, a spider that lives in his pen, to ensure that this will never happen.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 46000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA, Germany, Australia
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, inspirational, touching, light, sweet, emotional, melancholic, humorous, semi serious, sentimental
Similar in 85%
A Dog's Purpose (2017)
Plot Summary:
A dog goes on quest to discover his purpose in life over the course of several lifetimes with multiple owners.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 77000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA, India
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, sad, sweet, emotional, melancholic, feel good, inspirational, tear jerker, controversial
Similar in 79%
Beethoven (1992)
Plot Summary:
The Newton family live in their comfortable home, but there seems to something missing. This "hole" is filled by a small puppy, who walks into their home and their lives. Beethoven, as he is named, grows into a giant of a dog... a St Bernard. Doctor Varnick, the local vet has a secret and horrible sideline, which requires lots of dogs for experiments. Beethoven is on the bad doctor's list.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 75000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: feel good, sweet, funny, light, humorous, light hearted, sincere, retro, epic, semi serious
Similar in 81%
Lassie (1994)
Plot Summary:
An update of the Lassie legend stars Thomas Guiry as a troubled city kid whose family retreats to the country, where he befriends the famous collie and changes for the better. Conflict develops when a ruthless sheep rancher causes trouble for everyone.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Family, Adventure
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, feel good, sweet, light, emotional, melancholic, semi serious, tear jerker, epic
Similar in 86%
Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)
Plot Summary:
Remake of the popular Disney classic, this time featuring some well known voices as two dogs and a cat trek across America encountering all sorts of adventures in the quest to be reunited with their owners.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 50000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: touching, sweet, feel good, exciting, epic, inspirational, retro, romantic comedy, hilarious, semi serious
Similar in 81%
Andre (1994)
Plot Summary:
The true story of how a marine seal named Andre befriended a little girl and her family, circa 1962.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, sad, feel good, humorous, semi serious, fairy tale, light, inspirational, romantic
Similar in 82%
My Girl (1991)
Plot Summary:
Vada Sultenfuss is obsessed with death. Her mother is dead, and her father runs a funeral parlor. She is also in love with her English teacher, and joins a poetry class over the summer just to impress him. Thomas J., her best friend, is "allergic to everything", and sticks with Vada despite her hangups. When Vada's father hires Shelly, and begins to fall for her, things take a turn to the worse.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 87000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, feel good, crying, emotional, sad, sweet, inspirational, tear jerker, heartbreaking
Similar in 89%
Bridge to Terabithia (2007)
Plot Summary:
Jesse Aarons trained all summer to become the fastest runner in school, so he's very upset when newcomer Leslie Burke outruns him and everyone else. Despite this and other differences, including that she's rich, he's poor, and she's a city girl, he's a country boy, the two become fast friends. Together, they create Terabithia, a land of monsters, trolls, ogres, and giants and rule as king and queen.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 169000
Genere: Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: emotional, tear jerker, sad, touching, heartbreaking, fairy tale, sentimental, teen, captivating, melancholic
Similar in 85%
The Baby-Sitters Club (1995)
Plot Summary:
It's the story about seven very different best friends, and one summer that will bring them together like never before.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: light, feel good, humorous, semi serious, sad, touching, realistic, sexy, unusual plot structure, sweet
Similar in 84%
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town (2003)
Plot Summary:
Zachary Beaver, a sideshow attraction also known as the world's fattest boy, arrives in the sleepy town of Granger, Texas.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 850
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: feel good, sentimental, humorous, semi serious, touching
Similar in 82%
Benji: Off the Leash! (2004)
Plot Summary:
Benji and his friends try to save his mother from a puppy mill.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 668
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, feel good, humorous, semi serious
Similar in 78%
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008)
Plot Summary:
The Great Depression hits home for nine year old Kit Kittredge when her dad loses his business and leaves to find work. Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin stars as Kit, leading a splendid cast in the first ever "American Girl" theatrical movie. In order to keep their home, Kit and her mother must take in boarders - paying house - guests who turn out to be full of fascinating stories. When mother's lockbox containing all their money is stolen, Kit's new hobo friend Will is the prime suspect. Kit refuses to believe that Will would steal, and her efforts to sniff out the real story get her and friends into big trouble. The police say the robbery was an inside job, committed by someone they know. So if it wasn't Will, then who did it.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: sentimental, melancholic, inspirational, stylized, feel good, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, crying
Similar in 86%
Hotel for Dogs (2009)
Plot Summary:
Placed in a foster home that doesn't allow pets, 16-year-old Andi and her younger brother, Bruce, turn an abandoned hotel into a home for their dog. Soon other strays arrive, and the hotel becomes a haven for every orphaned canine in town. But the kids have to do some quick thinking to keep the cops off their tails.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Comedy, Family
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: feel good, entertaining, humorous, light, romantic, family comedy, teen, realistic, semi serious, fairy tale
Similar in 85%
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
Plot Summary:
Loving but irresponsible dad Daniel Hillard, estranged from his exasperated spouse, is crushed by a court order allowing only weekly visits with his kids. When Daniel learns his ex needs a housekeeper, he gets the job -- disguised as an English nanny. Soon he becomes not only his children's best pal but the kind of parent he should have been from the start.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 285000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: feel good, touching, funny, hilarious, light, sentimental, romantic, sweet, romantic comedy, clever