Best movies like Marley & Me
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A newly married couple who, in the process of starting a family, learn many of life's important lessons from their trouble-loving retriever, Marley. Packed with plenty of laughs to lighten the load, the film explores the highs and lows of marriage, maturity and confronting one's own mortality, as seen through the lens of family life with a dog.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 166000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: touching, sad, feel good, funny, sentimental, tear jerker, emotional, heartbreaking, intense, humorous
Best tv shows and movies like Marley & Me (2008):
Similar in 76%
The Three Lives of Thomasina (1963)
Plot Summary:
Thomasina is the pet cat of Mary McDhui, the daughter of Scottish veterinarian Andrew McDhui. When Thomasina falls ill, McDhui declares that the pet should be put down. But when Mary and her father try to bury the cat, Lori MacGregor (Susan Hampshire), who is said to be a witch, shows up and attempts to steal it.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: emotional, atmospheric, talky, touching, feel good, sentimental, semi serious, suspense, retro, allegory
Similar in 89%
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 76%
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
Similar in 86%
A Dog's Way Home (2019)
Plot Summary:
A Dog’s Way Home chronicles the heartwarming adventure of Bella, a dog who embarks on an epic 400-mile journey home after she is separated from her beloved human.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: China, USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: sweet, sentimental, exciting, scenic, light, feel good, sad, smart, sincere, touching
Similar in 83%
Nine Lives (2016)
Plot Summary:
A stuffy businessman finds himself trapped inside the body of his family's cat.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: France, China, Canada
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: feel good, entertaining, light, sweet, humorous, mystic, unusual plot structure, melancholic, surreal, visually appealing
Similar in 90%
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 89%
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 79%
Where the Red Fern Grows (2003)
Plot Summary:
Set in the Ozark Mountains during the Great Depression, Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for 2 years to achieve his dream of buying two coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in God as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with "Old Dan" and "Little Ann.".
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: touching, feel good, semi serious, gothic, sad, independent film
Similar in 80%
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 90%
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 75%
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 86%
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 85%
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 82%
Finding Neverland (2004)
Plot Summary:
Finding Neverland is an amusing drama about how the story of Peter Pan and Neverland came to be. During a writing slump play writer J.M. Barrie meets the widowed Sylvia and her three children who soon become an important part of Barrie’s life and the inspiration that lead him to create his masterpiece “Peter Pan.”.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 211000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Family
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, heartbreaking, inspirational, emotional, clever, period piece, sad, sweet, fairy tale
Similar in 86%
Marmaduke (2010)
Plot Summary:
When Phil and Debbie Winslow relocate from their native Kansas to the sunny climes of Orange County, their big-hearted, havoc-wreaking Great Dane gets a taste of the dog's life, California-style.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Comedy, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: feel good, humorous, semi serious, sentimental, entertaining, funny, slasher, family comedy
Similar in 84%
Cheaper by the Dozen (2003)
Plot Summary:
The Baker brood moves to Chicago after patriarch Tom gets a job coaching football at Northwestern University, forcing his writer wife, Mary, and the couple's 12 children to make a major adjustment. The transition works well until work demands pull the parents away from home, leaving the kids bored -- and increasingly mischievous.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 107000
Genere: Comedy, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: feel good, entertaining, humorous, funny, teen, family comedy, hilarious, light, inspirational, epic
Similar in 79%
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 89%
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 89%
Fluke (1995)
Plot Summary:
Workaholic Thomas Johnson dies in an auto accident and comes back to life as a dog. Remembering some of who he was, he returns to his wife and son to protect them from the man who caused his accident. But, as time goes by, he remembers more of his life, and realizes he wasn't such a good husband and father.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: emotional, sentimental, light, semi serious, touching, entertaining, sad, cult classic, sweet, tear jerker
Similar in 90%
The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012)
Plot Summary:
A childless couple bury a box in their backyard, containing all of their wishes for an infant. Soon, a child is born, though Timothy Green is not all that he appears.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 48000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: touching, funny, sentimental, feel good, humorous, semi serious, sad, inspirational, melancholic, crying
Similar in 90%
Secondhand Lions (2003)
Plot Summary:
"Secondhand Lions" follows the comedic adventures of an introverted boy left on the doorstep of a pair of reluctant, eccentric great-uncles, whose exotic remembrances stir the boy's spirit and re-ignite the men's lives.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 61000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: feel good, sentimental, humorous, inspirational, entertaining, period piece, semi serious, touching, cute, motivational
Similar in 82%
Paulie (1998)
Plot Summary:
Paulie, an intelligent parrot who actually talks, relates the story of his struggle to a Russian immigrant who works as a janitor at the research institute where he is housed and neglected. Paulie's story begins many years earlier when he is given as a gift to a little girl who stutters. Eventually, he teaches the girl to speak correctly but is taken away by her father because he believes the girl cannot distinguish fantasy from reality because she believes the bird can talk. Paulie goes through a series of adventures with a pawn shop owner, an aging widow, a Mexican-American troubadour and a would be thief before being taken to the institute where he now lives.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, sad, offbeat, feel good, realistic, semi serious, sentimental, inspirational, thought provoking
Similar in 87%
Free Willy (1993)
Plot Summary:
When maladjusted orphan Jesse vandalizes a theme park, he is placed with foster parents and must work at the park to make amends. There he meets Willy, a young Orca whale who has been separated from his family. Sensing kinship, they form a bond and, with the help of kindly whale trainer Rae Lindley, develop a routine of tricks. However, greedy park owner Dial soon catches wind of the duo and makes plans to profit from them.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 82000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, uplifting, feel good, sweet, light, inspirational, retro, sexy, epic
Similar in 81%
Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story (2005)
Plot Summary:
Ben Crane believes that a severely injured racehorse deserves another chance. He and his daughter Cale adopt the horse (in fact is a mare)and save it of being sacrificed by the owner.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama, Family, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: inspirational, touching, emotional, sentimental, feel good, serious, motivational, exciting, entertaining, sad
Similar in 88%
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
Similar in 81%
Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009)
Plot Summary:
A drama based on the true story of a college professor's bond with the abandoned dog he takes into his home.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 305000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Family
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, sad, heartbreaking, sentimental, poignant, inspirational, tear jerker, uplifting, feel good
Similar in 85%
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 81%
Wonder (2017)
Plot Summary:
The story of August Pullman – a boy with facial differences – who enters fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 175000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA, Hong Kong, Canada
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: inspirational, uplifting, touching, sincere, thought provoking, motivational, sad, feel good, tear jerker, cute
Similar in 83%
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 84%
We Bought a Zoo (2011)
Plot Summary:
Benjamin has lost his wife and, in a bid to start his life over, purchases a large house that has a zoo – welcome news for his daughter, but his son is not happy about it. The zoo is in need of renovation and Benjamin sets about the work with the head keeper and the rest of the staff, but, the zoo soon runs into financial trouble.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 150000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: feel good, inspirational, sincere, touching, romantic, sentimental, emotional, uplifting, funny, light