Best movies like Emil and the Detectives
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
When Emil travels by bus to Berlin to visit his grandmother and his cousin, his money is stolen by a crook who specializes in digging tunnels. Emil must get the money back as it is for his grandmother. While following the thief, Emil runs into Gustav, an enterprising young boy who gathers up all his friends to help Emil find the money. Emil's cousin also gets involved and they get into more trouble than they bargained for when Emil's pickpocket turns out to be mixed up with a couple of notorious bank robbers.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 805
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Family
Country: USA, West Germany
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: detective, exciting, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Best tv shows and movies like Emil and the Detectives (1964):
Similar in 87%
Me and the Kid (1993)
Plot Summary:
A lonely and emotionally neglected rich kid forms an attachment to one of the men who kidnap him during a botched robbery of his father's safe.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 287
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 84%
A Kid Called Danger (1999)
Plot Summary:
A young boy dreams of someday becoming a detective just like his father.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 309
Genere: Crime, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: independent film, feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious, detective
Similar in 80%
Parent Trap: Hawaiian Honeymoon (1989)
Plot Summary:
Inheriting a family resort in Hawaii, the Wyatts find it in such a run-down condition that they decide to sell it after trying to fix it up. Amidst confusing goings-on among the triplet teenage girls and the boys they meet, Jeffrey meets an old high school rival who promises to keep the resort as-is if Jeffrey will sell it to him. He has other plans in mind, however, and they are not limited merely to Jeffrey's resort.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 665
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 86%
Fast Getaway (1991)
Plot Summary:
Nelson, played by Corey Haim is a teenager who robs banks with his father in group along with two other friends. Corey Haim Is the right guy, in the right place, at the right time. All he needed was a ...fast getaway.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: exciting, feel good, humorous, semi serious, independent film, realistic, fast, nostalgic, cult film, cult movie cast
Similar in 86%
Sam Steele and the Junior Detective Agency (2009)
Plot Summary:
13-year-old Sam Steele Jr. forms his own private detective agency to emulate his father, Des Moines detective Sam Steele, and helps track down a jewel thief.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 164
Genere: Family
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, feel good, captivating, exciting, realistic, suspenseful, detective
Similar in 82%
Annaluise & Anton (1999)
Plot Summary:
Pünktchen und Anton is the 1999 German film based on the classic children’s novels by Erich Kastner and assimilated to modern times.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Family, Comedy, Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: sad, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 84%
Emil and the Detectives (2001)
Plot Summary:
The twelve-year-old Emil and his father are haunted by bad luck. To take a break from a series of family disasters, Emil is allowed to spend a few days with a friend of the family, the female priest Hummel in Berlin. In the train he runs across the slick Max Grundeis who anaesthetizes Emil and steals his savings of 1500 DM. When he finally arrives in Berlin, Emil and a gang of street kids, led by the cheeky girl Pony Hütchen, try to find the gangster, who haunts the posh Hotel Adlon as a hotel thief. Meanwhile, to prevent anyone from finding out about Emil's mishap, Gypsi, a member of the gang of kids, passes himself off as Emil, thus wreaking havoc on the home of the priest.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Family, Adventure, Comedy, Crime
Country: Germany
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: feel good, captivating, humorous, entertaining
Similar in 81%
Never a Dull Moment (1968)
Plot Summary:
When practicing for a role, actor Jack is mistaken for the killer Ace. He doesn't realize this until it's too late and is carried off to gangster boss Leo Smooth, who wants Ace to do a job for him. Fearing for his life, Jack plays his role, but always searching for a way out of the well-guarded house. - By: Tom Zoerner.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 781
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: hilarious, humorous, realistic, semi serious, cult film
Similar in 83%
The Upper Hand (1966)
Plot Summary:
In Paris, a gold smuggler is at war with other local gangsters who want piece of the action. Then the mob shows up and makes things worse. And an undercover US Treasury Department agent is trying to infiltrate the smuggle business.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 663
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: France, Italy, West Germany
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: neo noir, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, poliziottesco, eurospy
Similar in 84%
The Last Tunnel (2004)
Plot Summary:
A recently released prisoner reunites his criminal colleagues to pull off one last heist.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 752
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, humorous, serious, realistic, suspenseful, neo noir
Similar in 87%
Coast Mafia (2014)
Plot Summary:
Shin, a good family friend and business partner of the DeLeon family, assumes his role as head of the Coast Mafia.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 11
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration:
Plot tags: exciting, serious, realistic, suspenseful, detective
Similar in 90%
The Gang (1977)
Plot Summary:
In 1945, as World War Two comes to a close, five small time crooks unite to form a gang. After several bold robberies they become notorious as "the front-wheel drive gang". The police attempt to stop their crime spree with little success, but how long will their luck last?.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 728
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: tense, sincere, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, fast
Similar in 85%
Cop and a Half (1993)
Plot Summary:
When a pint-sized 8-year-old kid witnesses a murder he offers to help the police, if they make him a cop, too. Saddled with this streetwise sidekick, a hardboiled cop is forced to take his new partner seriously as they race the clock to bring the bad guys to justice.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: detective, humorous, satirical, semi serious, entertaining, action comedy, cult classic, feel good, realistic, fast
Similar in 84%
Pippi Goes on Board (1969)
Plot Summary:
This is the film version which is a compilation of the 1969 TV Series shown in 13 parts. It is therefore technically the "first" Pippi Långstrump film, although it wasn't released as a film until 1973. Pippi lives alone in Villekulla because her mother is an angel in heaven and her father is a king in the Southern Seas. Brother & sister Tommy and Annika become her friends and the 13 episodes detail their adventures together. Pippi Goes on Board is the USA title, with the original title being "Here Comes Pippi Longstocking!" (Här kommer Pippi Långstrump).
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: Sweden, West Germany
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: exciting, offbeat, feel good, humorous, semi serious
Similar in 87%
Millions (2004)
Plot Summary:
Two boys, still grieving the death of their mother, find themselves the unwitting benefactors of a bag of bank robbery loot in the week before the United Kingdom switches its official currency to the Euro. What's a kid to do?.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 26000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Family
Country: UK
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: feel good, sentimental, humorous, uplifting, visually stunning, touching, spiritual, scenic, existential, hilarious
Similar in 81%
Hidden Treasure of the Mississippi (2008)
Plot Summary:
Will and Clayton witness a murder, but out of fear decide not to tell anyone. They and their friend Betsy, whose father has been wrongfully accused of the crime, go on a journey to find the real killer, and at the same time redeem themselves.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 389
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: exciting, humorous, realistic, semi serious, independent film
Similar in 77%
Ace Ventura Jr: Pet Detective (2009)
Plot Summary:
"I will try to be normal" 12-year-old Ace Ventura Jr. promises. Thats cool, except whats normal for him is finding missing mutts, kidnapped kitties or gone gators and creating hilarious chaos every step of the way.
IMDB Rating: 2.1
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: feel good, humorous, semi serious, realistic, saga, slapstick, detective, ridiculous
Similar in 90%
Finding Friends (2005)
Plot Summary:
This kid has to move to a farm in his summer vacation and don't get to go to Norway Cup as he had planned for. Out on the country there is bad cellphone reception, cow smell and inbreed farmers as far as the eye can see. The family Volvo get stolen and the foreigners in the small town automatically gets blamed. From there is a chase to discover what truly happened.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 408
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: Norway
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, sincere, captivating
Similar in 82%
The Littlest Horse Thieves (1976)
Plot Summary:
When the owner of a Yorkshire coal-mine decides to mechanize to increase profits, the mine's pit ponies are scheduled to be destroyed. So, three children plan to steal them to keep them safe. But when they're caught, it's up to the mine owners and the miners themselves to decide what's right.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 441
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: exciting, touching, feel good, serious, realistic
Similar in 83%
Monkey Trouble (1994)
Plot Summary:
Dodger, a criminal monkey, belongs to a crooked street performer but escapes his life of crime only to end up in the arms of Eva, an innocent little girl whose mother has no idea that her daughter is harboring a fugitive.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Family
Country: Japan, USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: humorous, independent film, touching, feel good, semi serious, light, road movie, sexy, clever, unusual plot structure
Similar in 85%
Bank Roll (2012)
Plot Summary:
Set in present day Burbank, California and the surrounding San Fernando Valley area, . BENNY BIG-TIME (The BBT) learns his brother has been arrested on suspicion of a few recent bank robberies. With every bit of the life savings he's socked away over the years, The BBT hatches a plan to help out this older brother escape the repercussions of his fate by complicating his own with the assistance of five close friends -- ERIK, DEREK, JAMIE, K.C. and KYLE. The gang have only four days to create a 'red herring' that will throw off the officials and clear The BBT's brother's name by actually robbing a small bank. If all goes to plan, this is enough 'reasonable doubt' in the brother's case to clear his name. The BBT figures to exactly recreate his brother's crime and arm himself with only a few folders of photographs which contain the bank tellers' friends, families, pets, places of residence and ... Written by Doug Maguire.
IMDB Rating: 2.6
IMDB Votes: 121
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: humorous, tense, light, captivating, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film
Similar in 77%
Electric Slide (2014)
Plot Summary:
A heightened homage to the City of Angels, Electric Slide riffs on the real-life story of Eddie Dodson, the notorious "Gentleman Bank Robber." With a debonair sophistication and a serious talent for flirt, Dodson managed to lure money from mesmerized female tellers at over 60 banks during an epic spree in the 1980s.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspenseful, exciting, serious
Similar in 82%
Cache Cash (1994)
Plot Summary:
Antoine, 11, is on holiday with his grandfather. One night he catches thieves hiding their booty in a pond. Antoine seizes the 40 million. But Liza, his new friend, is the daughter of one of the criminals. Both children soon face threats.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 123
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious, suspense
Similar in 75%
Walking Thunder (1995)
Plot Summary:
In the 1850's, a young boy and his family on their way West become stranded in the Rockies. With the help of a local mountain man, a Sioux medicine man, and a legendary bear knows as "Walking Thunder," the boy learns to become a man, and his family's survival is secured.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 274
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: independent film, exciting, serious, realistic
Similar in 80%
Fool N Final (2007)
Plot Summary:
A bunch of misfits and gangsters embarks on a journey to find a lost and stolen diamond.
IMDB Rating: 3.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: India
Duration: 144 min
Plot tags: exciting, humorous, realistic, suspenseful, semi serious
Similar in 90%
Wishin' and Hopin' (2014)
Plot Summary:
Based on the New York Times best-selling novel by award winning author Wally Lamb. A vivid slice of 1960s life, Wishin' and Hopin' is a wise-and-witty holiday tale that celebrates where we've been-and how far we've come. In the small town of Three Rivers, Connecticut, we go straight into the halls of St. Aloysius Gonzaga Parochial School with Felix Funicello, a Catholic school fifth-grader in 1964, whose claim to fame is his cousin Annette Funicello, the famous Mouseketeer and teen movie queen. But grammar and arithmetic move to the back burner this holiday season with the sudden arrivals of substitute teacher Madame Frechette and feisty Russian student Zhenya Kabakova. While Felix learns the meaning of French kissing, cultural misunderstanding, and tableaux vivants, Wishin' and Hopin' barrels toward one outrageous Christmas!.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 794
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, light, sincere, captivating, entertaining, sentimental, touching, realistic
Similar in 84%
How to Eat Fried Worms (2006)
Plot Summary:
During the first day of his new school year, a fifth grade boy squares off against a bully and winds up accepting a dare that could change the balance of power within the class.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: feel good, humorous, realistic, touching, semi serious, epic
Similar in 88%
Tru Confessions (2002)
Plot Summary:
Trudy Walker hated her life. She thought it was totally messed up until she found out about a contest that could change everything.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: emotional, sincere, sentimental, touching, heartfelt, serious, realistic, tear jerker, tearjerker
Similar in 82%
This Thing of Ours (2002)
Plot Summary:
Using the Internet and global satellites, a group of gangsters pull off the biggest bank heist in the Mafia's history.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 817
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, exciting, realistic, independent film
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Angels Sing (2013)
Plot Summary:
As a child, Michael Walker wished every day could be Christmas. That is, until a tragic accident crushed his holiday spirit. Thirty years later, Michael still can't muster any joy for the holidays, despite encouragement from his playful wife and well-intentioned parents. But when his young son faces a tragedy, Michael needs to make amends with his past. A mysterious man named Nick gives Michael a gift and instills in him the courage to find the joy that he lost.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: touching, feel good, semi serious, realistic