Best movies like Pete's Dragon
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
For years, old wood carver Mr. Meacham has delighted local children with his tales of the fierce dragon that resides deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. To his daughter, Grace, who works as a forest ranger, these stories are little more than tall tales... until she meets Pete, a mysterious 10-year-old with no family and no home who claims to live in the woods with a giant, green dragon named Elliott. And from Pete's descriptions, Elliott seems remarkably similar to the dragon from Mr. Meacham's stories. With the help of Natalie, an 11-year-old girl whose father Jack owns the local lumber mill, Grace sets out to determine where Pete came from, where he belongs, and the truth about this dragon.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 61000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA, UK, New Zealand, India
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, emotional, compassionate, light, touching, sweet, sentimental, tear jerker, psychotronic, feel good
Best tv shows and movies like Pete's Dragon (2016):
Similar in 76%
Okja (2017)
Plot Summary:
A young girl named Mija risks everything to prevent a powerful, multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend - a massive animal named Okja.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 130000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: South Korea, USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, sweet, colorful, sad, satirical, talky, compassionate, surreal, psychotronic
Similar in 81%
Dragonheart: Battle for the Heartfire (2017)
Plot Summary:
When the King Gareth dies, his potential heirs, twin grandchildren who possess the dragon’s unique strengths, use their inherited powers against each other to vie for the throne. When Drago’s source of power – known as the Heartfire – is stolen, more than the throne is at stake; the siblings must end their rivalry with swords and sorcery or the kingdom may fall.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, atmospheric, captivating, suspense, saga, fantasy adventure
Similar in 75%
Dumbo (2019)
Plot Summary:
Circus owner Max Medici enlists former star Holt Farrier and his children Milly and Joe to care for a newborn elephant whose oversized ears make him a laughingstock in an already struggling circus. But when they discover that Dumbo can fly, the circus makes an incredible comeback, attracting persuasive entrepreneur V.A. Vandevere, who recruits the peculiar pachyderm for his newest, larger-than-life entertainment venture, Dreamland.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 81000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK, Canada, Australia, USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, touching, sweet, emotional, sincere, sad, mystical, inspirational, mystic, costume drama
Similar in 87%
The Jungle Book (2016)
Plot Summary:
A man-cub named Mowgli fostered by wolves. After a threat from the tiger Shere Khan, Mowgli is forced to flee the jungle, by which he embarks on a journey of self discovery with the help of the panther, Bagheera and the free-spirited bear, Baloo.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 289000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Musical
Country: UK, USA, New Zealand, France, Canada, India
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: serious, entertaining, scenic, semi serious, motion capture, visual, visually stunning, fairy tale, action adventure, exciting
Similar in 90%
The Sword in the Stone (1963)
Plot Summary:
Wart is a young boy who aspires to be a knight's squire. On a hunting trip he falls in on Merlin, a powerful but amnesiac wizard who has plans for him beyond mere squiredom. He starts by trying to give him an education, believing that once one has an education, one can go anywhere. Needless to say, it doesn't quite work out that way.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 105000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 79 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, humorous, entertaining, arthurian, stylized, sentimental, mystical, mythical, retro, spiritual
Similar in 76%
The Neverending Story II: The Next Chapter (1990)
Plot Summary:
Once again, Bastian is transported to the world of Fantasia which he recently managed to save from destruction. However, the land is now being destroyed by an evil sorceress, Xayide, so he must join up with Atreyu and face the Emptiness once more.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: Germany, USA, Australia
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, stylized, mysterious, surreal, tripping, fantasy adventure, action adventure, touching, offbeat, feel good
Similar in 82%
A Monster Calls (2016)
Plot Summary:
A boy imagines a monster that helps him deal with his difficult life and see the world in a different way.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 92000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Horror
Country: USA, Spain, UK
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: touching, dark fantasy, emotional, compassionate, fairy tale, poignant, sad, depressing, psychotronic, thought provoking
Similar in 82%
DragonHeart (1996)
Plot Summary:
In an ancient time when majestic fire-breathers soared through the skies, a knight named Bowen comes face to face and heart to heart with the last dragon on Earth, Draco. Taking up arms to suppress a tyrant king, Bowen soon realizes his task will be harder than he'd imagined: If he kills the king, Draco will die as well.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 101000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, humorous, epic, cult classic, entertaining, scenic, fantasy adventure, touching, mystical, anamorphic
Similar in 76%
The Neverending Story III (1994)
Plot Summary:
A young boy must restore order when a group of bullies steal the magical book that acts as a portal between Earth and the imaginary world of Fantasia.
IMDB Rating: 3.2
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: offbeat, feel good, fairy tale, mysterious, fantasy adventure, cult classic, action adventure, stylized, semi serious, metafiction
Similar in 76%
Dolittle (2020)
Plot Summary:
A physician discovers that he can talk to animals.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 70000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA, China, UK, Japan
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: light, funny, humorous, not serious, fairy tale, mystical, mystic, smart, costume drama, happy
Similar in 84%
The Secret Garden (2020)
Plot Summary:
Mary Lennox is born in India to wealthy British parents who never wanted her. When her parents suddenly die, she is sent back to England to live with her uncle, Archibald Craven. She meets her sickly cousin Colin and the two children find a wondrous secret garden lost in the grounds of Misselthwaite Manor.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, Family, Fantasy, Mystery
Country: UK, France, USA, China
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, mysterious, sentimental, exciting, touching, feel good, light, crying, period drama
Similar in 81%
Angels in the Outfield (1994)
Plot Summary:
Roger is a foster child whose irresponsible father promises to get his act together when Roger's favourite baseball team, the California Angels, wins the pennant. The problem is that the Angels are in last place, so Roger prays for help to turn the team around. Sure enough, his prayers are answered in the form of angel Al.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 34000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: inspirational, touching, entertaining, light, sweet, emotional, humorous, feel good, epic, hilarious
Similar in 77%
Bogus (1996)
Plot Summary:
Recently orphaned, a young boy is taken in by his godmother who is shocked to realize that she can see the boy's imaginary friend: a flamboyant, French magician named Bogus.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, fairy tale, uplifting, epic, slang, happy, feel good, humorous, semi serious
Similar in 75%
The Magic Kids: Three Unlikely Heroes (2020)
Plot Summary:
Vlad has just moved and joined one of the most famous magical schools in the world, where he meets fairies, witches, trolls and dwarfs. Him and his father are the first vampires in town, but he soon meets other special kids.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 559
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: Germany
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: light, feel good, fairy tale, funny, entertaining
Similar in 88%
The BFG (2016)
Plot Summary:
The BFG is no ordinary bone-crunching giant. He is far too nice and jumbly. It's lucky for Sophie that he is. Had she been carried off in the middle of the night by the Bloodbottler, or any of the other giants—rather than the BFG—she would have soon become breakfast. When Sophie hears that the giants are flush-bunking off to England to swollomp a few nice little chiddlers, she decides she must stop them once and for all. And the BFG is going to help her!.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 92000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK, India, USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, entertaining, exciting, light, colorful, visually stunning, atmospheric, feel good, stylized, 3d animation
Similar in 76%
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 82%
Hook (1991)
Plot Summary:
The boy who wasn't supposed to grow up—Peter Pan—did just that, becoming a soulless corporate lawyer whose workaholism could cost him his wife and kids. But a trip to see Granny Wendy in London, where the vengeful Capt. Hook kidnaps Peter's kids and forces Peter to return to Neverland, could lead to a chance at redemption, in this family-oriented fantasy from director Steven Spielberg.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 269000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 142 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, sweet, stylized, feel good, inspirational, touching, entertaining, sentimental, humorous, exciting
Similar in 87%
Martian Child (2007)
Plot Summary:
A recently-widowed, science fiction writer considers whether to adopt a hyper-imaginative 6-year-old abandoned and socially-rejected boy who says he's really from Mars.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, sentimental, sweet, feel good, humorous, uplifting, spiritual, happy, realistic
Similar in 89%
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 82%
Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)
Plot Summary:
In the sequel to Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland", Alice Kingsleigh returns to Underland and faces a new adventure in saving the Mad Hatter.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 119000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Mystery
Country: USA, Thailand, UK, India, Canada
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, dark fantasy, entertaining, surreal, visual, psychotronic, funny, atmospheric, psychedelic, mysterious
Similar in 85%
Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
Plot Summary:
Max imagines running away from his mom and sailing to a far-off land where large talking beasts -- Ira, Carol, Douglas, the Bull, Judith and Alexander -- crown him as their king, play rumpus, build forts and discover secret hideaways.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 108000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Horror
Country: Germany, USA, Australia
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, stylized, dark fantasy, light, talky, captivating, fairy tale, melancholic, sad
Similar in 80%
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016)
Plot Summary:
A teenager finds himself transported to an island where he must help protect a group of orphans with special powers from creatures intent on destroying them.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 185000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Thriller
Country: USA, UK, Belgium, Canada
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: dark fantasy, fairy tale, gothic, entertaining, exciting, atmospheric, stylized, serious, mystical, touching
Similar in 81%
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
Plot Summary:
In 1926, Newt Scamander arrives at the Magical Congress of the United States of America with a magically expanded briefcase, which houses a number of dangerous creatures and their habitats. When the creatures escape from the briefcase, it sends the American wizarding authorities after Newt, and threatens to strain even further the state of magical and non-magical relations.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 499000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, light, exciting, dark fantasy, entertaining, cliffhanger, absurd, psychotronic, saga, semi serious
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 84%
The Good Dinosaur (2015)
Plot Summary:
An epic journey into the world of dinosaurs where an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 125000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA, Japan
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: scenic, computer animated, touching, intense, 3d animation, sentimental, light, emotional, entertaining, melancholic
Similar in 88%
The NeverEnding Story (1984)
Plot Summary:
While hiding from bullies in his school's attic, a young boy discovers the extraordinary land of Fantasia, through a magical book called The Neverending Story. The book tells the tale of Atreyu, a young warrior who, with the help of a luck dragon named Falkor, must save Fantasia from the destruction of The Nothing.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 154000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: West Germany, USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, feel good, light, surreal, touching, scenic, offbeat, atmospheric, epic, melancholic
Similar in 77%
Pan (2015)
Plot Summary:
Living a bleak existence at a London orphanage, 12-year-old Peter finds himself whisked away to the fantastical world of Neverland. Adventure awaits as he meets new friend James Hook and the warrior Tiger Lily. They must band together to save Neverland from the ruthless pirate Blackbeard. Along the way, the rebellious and mischievous boy discovers his true destiny, becoming the hero forever known as Peter Pan.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 67000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA, UK, Australia
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, visually appealing, exciting, stylized, serious, tense, humorous, mysterious, mystic, period piece
Similar in 82%
Jumanji (1995)
Plot Summary:
When siblings Judy and Peter discover an enchanted board game that opens the door to a magical world, they unwittingly invite Alan -- an adult who's been trapped inside the game for 26 years -- into their living room. Alan's only hope for freedom is to finish the game, which proves risky as all three find themselves running from giant rhinoceroses, evil monkeys and other terrifying creatures.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 369000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: entertaining, exciting, offbeat, light, humorous, fairy tale, funny, feel good, epic, atmospheric
Similar in 76%
Nanny McPhee (2005)
Plot Summary:
Widower Cedric Brown hires Nanny McPhee to care for his seven rambunctious children, who have chased away all previous nannies. Taunted by Simon and his siblings, Nanny McPhee uses mystical powers to instill discipline. And when the children's great-aunt and benefactor, Lady Adelaide Stitch, threatens to separate the kids, the family pulls together under the guidance of Nanny McPhee.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 84000
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA, UK, France
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, sweet, feel good, touching, light, humorous, semi serious, offbeat, cute, inspirational
Similar in 88%
Paddington (2014)
Plot Summary:
After a deadly earthquake destroys his home in Peruvian rainforest, a young bear makes his way to England in search of a new home. The bear, dubbed "Paddington" for the london train station, finds shelter with the family of Henry and Mary Brown. Although Paddington's amazement at urban living soon endears him to the Browns, someone else has her eye on him: Taxidermist Millicent Clyde has designs on the rare bear and his hide.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 129000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK, France, USA, China
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: touching, feel good, sweet, colorful, stylized, not serious, semi serious, funny, humorous, slapstick