Best movies like Island of the Blue Dolphins
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Based on the beloved book by Scott O'Dell, this family movie tells the adventures of a young Native American girl. After her father is killed by a malevolent white trapper, Karana joins her community as they leave their island home in the Pacific to live on the mainland. Upon her departure, Karana realizes that her brother has been left behind. She immediately swims back to be with him and the two remain on the abandoned island. Though Karana is able to domesticate a wolf, her brother is not so fortunate with the animals and is killed by a pack of wild dogs. She is left to survive against the odds.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 528
Genere: Adventure, Biography, Drama, Family, History
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, captivating, melancholic
Best tv shows and movies like Island of the Blue Dolphins (1964):
Similar in 84%
Eleven Days (2018)
Plot Summary:
AJIT SINGH 12, blends in happily in to his new home in the middle of Australia. However, his brother RAJVEER 20, finds it unbearable to be constantly labelled a terrorist due to his beard and turban that he keeps faithfully according to his Sikh heritage. Rajveer then decides to join the army and leaves home after an argument with their dad SARJIT, 50. Fearing for his brother's safety, Ajit goes on a quest to go after Rajveer in order to bring him home. Ajit not only has to survive the outback, he also must to locate Rajveer within ELEVEN DAYS or it will all be too late.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 86
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: Australia
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: psychological, unusual plot structure, sincere, captivating, independent film, contemplative
Similar in 87%
Oddball (2015)
Plot Summary:
The story of Allan "Swampy" Marsh and his Maremma dog Oddball. Swampy convinced local authorities to allow Oddball to protect a colony of Little Penguins on Middle Island from wild cats and dogs. Oddball succeeds in his campaign and becomes a front runner for Maremma dogs being used to protect other endangered Australian wildlife.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Adventure, Family
Country: Australia
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: light, sincere, captivating, exciting, feel good
Similar in 76%
Jungle Child (2011)
Plot Summary:
A family of a German linguist lives with an indigenous tribe in Papua New Guinea.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Adventure, Biography, Drama, Family
Country: Germany
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: captivating, serious, realistic, educational, touching, crying
Similar in 90%
Brothers of the Wind (2015)
Plot Summary:
The way of the eagle is to raise two chicks. The stronger is destined always to throw the weaker from the nest. Man also has his ways, often to hurt those closest to him. Lukas suffers at the hands of a father who has withdrawn since the loss of his wife. Killed whilst rescuing the infant Lukas, the boy now carries the burden of her death. Our eagle’s story begins in the nest. The first-born chick pushes his weaker brother to a certain death on the forest floor. But fate intervenes and the chick is found by Lukas. Naming him Abel, Lukas cares for the creature in secret, finding a love and companionship denied to him at home. But when the day comes to release Abel back into the wild, will Lukas find his own release into a new life?.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: Austria
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, captivating, suspense, entertaining, suspenseful, minimal cast
Similar in 76%
A Dog Named Christmas (2009)
Plot Summary:
A developmentally challenged young man with a penchant for caring for animals in need sets out to convince his family - and their whole rural community - to participate in a local shelter's inaugural "Adopt a Dog for Christmas Program.".
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: touching, feel good, sentimental, sincere, captivating, christmas special, humorous, semi serious, realistic, entertaining
Similar in 75%
Adventures of Dally & Spanky (2019)
Plot Summary:
A girl inherits a miniature horse that develops an unlikely friendship with her half-sister's Jack Russell Terrier, who takes to riding on the horse's back.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 152
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, light, sincere, feel good
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Similar in 81%
Big Red (1962)
Plot Summary:
Wealthy sportsman James Haggin (Walter Pidgeon) lives on a Quebec estate called Wintapi. Émile Fornet (Émile Genest), handler of Haggin's hunting dogs, and Émile's wife Therese (Janette Bertrand), Haggin's cook and housekeeper, live in a separate house on the estate. To start a line of top show dogs, Haggin purchases the winner of the Montreal Kennel Club show, an Irish setter named Red.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 825
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, feel good, serious
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Similar in 83%
Silver Wolf (1999)
Plot Summary:
A ranger (Michael Biehn) and his 16 year old nephew (Shane Meier) struggle to save a wolf from a rancher (Roy Scheider), who is out to kill it.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 596
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sentimental, uplifting, touching, feel good, independent film, serious, realistic
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Similar in 80%
A Dog Named Palma (2021)
Plot Summary:
The film is inspired by an incredible story of a shepherd dog named Palm who was inadvertently left in the airport by her owner. She befriends nine-year old Nicholas whose mother dies leaving him with a father he barely knows - a pilot who finds the dog at the airport. It's a story of amazing adventures, true friendship and unconditional love.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: Russia
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, heartbreaking, sweet, sentimental, tear jerker
Similar in 78%
The Incredible Journey (1963)
Plot Summary:
The story of three pets, a cat and two dogs, who lose their owners when they are all on vacation. Can they find their way home?.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: road movie, touching, exciting, uplifting, feel good, serious, realistic, fairy tale, funny, light
Similar in 82%
Rescued by Ruby (2022)
Plot Summary:
Chasing his dream to join an elite K-9 unit, a state trooper partners with a fellow underdog: clever but naughty shelter pup Ruby. Based on a true story.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: entertaining, sincere, feel good, captivating
Similar in 82%
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 79%
A Dog of Flanders (1999)
Plot Summary:
Poor but happy, young Nello and his grandfather live alone, delivering milk as a livelihood, in the outskirts of Antwerp, a city in Flanders (the Flemish or Dutch-speaking part of modern-day Belgium). They discover a beaten dog (a Bouvier, a large sturdy dog native to Flanders) and adopt it and nurse it back to health, naming it Patrasche, the middle name of Nello's mother Mary, who died when Nello was very young. Nello's mother was a talented artist, and like his mother, he delights in drawing, and his friend Aloise is his model and greatest fan and supporter.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Family, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sentimental, inspirational, entertaining, tear jerker, melancholic, touching, sad, serious, realistic, sexy
Similar in 82%
When I Find the Ocean (2006)
Plot Summary:
A little girl leaves home with her pet dog and rabbit to escape abuse and find the ocean in the hopes of feeling closer to her father who has passed away.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 259
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, sincere, captivating
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Similar in 78%
Smitty (2012)
Plot Summary:
SMITTY is a family film about a rescue dog. When life gets tough for Ben, a friendly paw is all it takes to pull him through. Mischievous thirteen-year-old Ben is sent to his grandfather's farm for the summer, where he crosses paths with a lovable mutt. With help from the unlikely canine companion, Ben learns the importance of friendship, family and responsibility.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 659
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: sincere, captivating, light, feel good, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 85%
Togo (2019)
Plot Summary:
The untold true story set in the winter of 1925 that takes you across the treacherous terrain of the Alaskan tundra for an exhilarating and uplifting adventure that will test the strength, courage and determination of one man, Leonhard Seppala, and his lead sled dog, Togo.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 54000
Genere: Adventure, Biography, Drama, Family, History
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: suspense, captivating, atmospheric, exciting, tense, motivational, emotional, feel good, sad, saga
Similar in 79%
Born Free (1966)
Plot Summary:
Born Free (1966) is an Open Road Films Ltd./Columbia Pictures feature film starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, a real-life couple who raised an orphaned lion cub to adulthood, and released her into the wilds of Kenya.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Adventure, Biography, Drama, Family, History
Country: UK
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, emotional, non fiction, uplifting, feel good, serious, realistic, crying, light
Similar in 87%
Hachi-ko (1987)
Plot Summary:
In 1924, Hidesaburō Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo, took in Hachikō, a golden brown Akita, as a pet. During his owner's life, Hachikō walk with him in the morning and greeted him at the end of each day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued their daily routine until May 1925, when Professor Ueno did not return. The professor had suffered from a cerebral hemorrhage and died, never returning to the train station where Hachikō was waiting. Every day for the next nine years the dog waited at Shibuya station. Hachikō Monogatari is a melodramatic film that tells the true story of friendship, trust and affection of Japan's most faithful dog "Hachi", whose bronze statue, to this day, stands watch over Shibuya Station, Tokyo.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Family
Country: Japan
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: touching, depressing, educational, independent film, sincere, clever, serious, emotional, realistic, tear jerker
Similar in 76%
Flipper (1963)
Plot Summary:
Many kids might say their best friend is a puppy or a pony. But for 12-year-old Sandy, the most special pet of all is the exuberant dolphin he rescues and who returns the favor by rescuing Sandy from sharks.The dolphin named Flipper first swam into the world's minds and hearts in this 1963 film starring Chuck Connors and Luke Halpin as Sandy (a role he would continue in the 1964-68 TV series that followed.) James B. Clark, a long-time family filmmaker whose credits include "Island of the Blue Dolphins" and "My Side of the Mountain," directs the story of hard times (Hurricane Hazel and its aftermath) and joy (Sandy's dolphin-powered rides through the waves). And two fins up for Mitzie, the animal star who plays flipper.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: melancholic, touching, exciting, feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious, sentimental, romantic, clever
Similar in 85%
Castaway (1986)
Plot Summary:
Middle-aged Gerald Kingsland advertises in a London paper for a female companion to spend a year with him on a desert island. The young Lucy Irving takes a chance on contacting him and after a couple of meetings they decide to go ahead. Once on the island things prove a lot less idyllic than in the movies, and gradually it becomes clear that it is Lucy who has the desire and the strength to try and see the year through.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Adventure, Biography, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: emotional, scenic, sexy, realistic, retro, grindhouse, atmospheric, serious, surprise ending, melancholic
Similar in 87%
Crusoe (1988)
Plot Summary:
Robinson Crusoe is shipwrecked and he finds himself all alone on a tropical island. With a few tools he manages to rescue from the wreck he has to learn to support himself until help arrives.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: independent film, sincere, atmospheric, serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 86%
The Call of the Wild (2020)
Plot Summary:
A sled dog struggles for survival in the wilds of the Yukon.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 55000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: captivating, disturbing, sincere, inspirational, fairy tale, period piece, tense
Similar in 87%
White Fang (1991)
Plot Summary:
Jack London's classic adventure story about the friendship developed between a Yukon gold hunter and the mixed dog-wolf he rescues from the hands of a man who mistreats him.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, sincere, captivating, retro, epic, serious, realistic, black comedy, dark comedy
Similar in 85%
Call of the Wild (2009)
Plot Summary:
Self-centered and status-conscious, ten year old Ryann Hale journeys to Montana to visit her down-to-earth grandpa, Bill Hale. Ryann bonds with a wolf-dog, Buck, and schemes to save him from a cruel dogsledder.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 881
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, captivating, contemplative
Similar in 84%
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 85%
Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997)
Plot Summary:
Willy the whale is back, this time threatened by illegal whalers making money off sushi. Jesse, now 16, has taken a job on an orca-researching ship, along with old friend Randolph and a sarcastic scientist, Drew. On the whaler's ship is captain John Wesley and his son, Max, who isn't really pleased about his father's job, but doesn't have the gut to say so. Along the way, Willy reunites with Jesse.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, humorous, retro, epic, semi serious, exciting, romantic, feel good, unusual plot structure
Similar in 86%
Free Willy 2 (1995)
Plot Summary:
Jesse becomes reunited with Willy three years after the whale's jump to freedom as the teenager tries to rescue the killer whale and other orcas from an oil spill.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: France, USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, feel good, sweet, retro, epic, anamorphic, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 82%
The Bear (1988)
Plot Summary:
An orphan bear cub hooks up with an adult male as they try to dodge human hunters.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: France, USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: touching, scenic, uplifting, sentimental, captivating, visually stunning, inspirational, thought provoking, exciting, feel good
Similar in 86%
Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog (1995)
Plot Summary:
Teenager Angus adopts a stray dog and names him Yellow. Several days later, while travelling along the coast of British Columbia with Angus's father, John, the boy and dog become stranded when turbulent waters capsize their boat. Angus's parents relentlessly badger rescue teams. Angus, schooled by his father in wilderness survival skills, and assisted by the intelligent Yellow Dog, tries to attract rescuers.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Adventure, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: sentimental, emotional, touching, exciting, serious, light, romantic, feel good, unusual plot structure, humorous
Similar in 78%
Eight Below (2006)
Plot Summary:
In the Antarctic, after an expedition with Dr. Davis McClaren, the sled dog trainer Jerry Shepherd has to leave the polar base with his colleagues due to the proximity of a heavy snow storm. He ties his dogs to be rescued after, but the mission is called-off and the dogs are left alone at their own fortune. For six months, Jerry tries to find a sponsor for a rescue mission.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 67000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, inspirational, breathtaking, captivating, emotional, melancholic, intense, sad, tear jerker