Best movies like Restless Spirits
Last updated March 2024
Looking for movies similar to Restless Spirits? Use your expertise to guide others towards tv shows and movies you've watched that they may enjoy too. Help expand the group of people recommending videos to one another. We value your input!
Plot Summary:
A young girl, who struggles with her pilot father's death in a plane crash years before, visits her grandmother in Newfoundland. While there, she encounters the ghosts of two pilots, who are condemned to Earth to constantly re-live their own crash that occurred in 1927. The girl decides to help the pair by helping them re-build their airplane and complete their flight so they may be released and, in turn, deal with her own emotional bondage.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 419
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Canada
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional
Best tv shows and movies like Restless Spirits (1999):
Similar in 90%
The Mirror Boy (2011)
Plot Summary:
The Mirror Boy is a mystical journey through Africa, seen through the eyes of a 12 year old boy, Tijan. After a London street fight, in which a local boy is hurt, Tijan's mother decides to take him back to their roots, to Gambia. On their arrival in Banjul, Tijan encounters a strange apparition, a boy smiling at him in a mirror and vanishing. Seeing the same boy in a crowded street market the next day sets in motion a chain of events, with Tijan finding himself lost. While Tijan's panic-stricken mother struggles to find her son, Tijan is left alone in the company of the enigmatic Mirror Boy, seemingly only visible to him. After a bruising spiritual rite of passage, The Mirror Boy takes Tijan on a mystical journey, but not all is what it seems.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 150
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
Country: UK, Nigeria
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, sincere, twisted, independent film
Similar in 76%
Mrs. Ashboro's Cat (2004)
Plot Summary:
Wes Merritt and his daughter Natalie (14) get more than they bargained for when they buy an old house that was formerly inhabited by the nice old Mrs. Ashboro and her pet cat, Margaret. When strange things start happening in the house, all fingers point to the presence of Margaret, who died the same day as Mrs. Ashboro. But why has she come back to haunt them?.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 629
Genere: Drama, Family, Mystery
Country: Canada
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, captivating, spooky, psychotronic
Similar in 77%
An Angel for May (2002)
Plot Summary:
When Tom accidentally travels back in time through a fireplace in a ruined farmhouse he meets May, an orphan who needs help. Now that he knows his friends' fate and his own, he will try to reorder the events and change their history.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 985
Genere: Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, sincere, captivating, exciting, melancholic
Similar in 81%
Time of the Wolf (2002)
Plot Summary:
A boy is orphaned and his only surviving relatives, an ageing aunt and uncle, somewhat reluctantly, take him in. The aunt, still traumatised by the death by drowning, years earlier, of her own two sons, has little idea how to handle the boy. As if, losing his parents and not really feeling welcome in his new home, were not enough, the boy is bullied at school. He seeks sanctuary from all of his troubles in the open air, in the company of wolves and particularly in the presence of a young wolf whose life he has saved.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 294
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany, Canada
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: touching, uplifting, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 77%
Tom's Midnight Garden (1999)
Plot Summary:
When Tom Long's brother Peter gets measles, Tom is sent to stay with his Uncle Alan and Aunt Gwen in a flat with no garden and an elderly and reclusive landlady, Mrs Bartholomew, living upstairs. Because he may be infectious he is not allowed out to play, and feels lonely. Without exercise he is less sleepy at night and when he hears the communal grandfather clock strangely strike 13, he investigates and finds the small back yard is now a large sunlit garden. Here he meets another lonely child called Hatty, who seems to be the only one who can see him. They have adventures which he gradually realises are taking place in the 19th century. And each night when Tom visits, Hatty is a different age, chronologically out of sequence.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 871
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Country: UK, USA, Japan
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: exciting, touching, serious, stylized, independent film
Similar in 86%
The Last Sign (2005)
Plot Summary:
A woman who is tormented by the ghost of her abusive, alcoholic husband. She must come to terms with the past if she is to find peace and love.
IMDB Rating: 3.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Thriller
Country: UK, France, Canada
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, serious, suspenseful, suspense, psychological, realistic
Similar in 89%
Somewhere, Tomorrow (1983)
Plot Summary:
Lori Anderson is trying to deal with the recent tragedy of her father's death. As Lori's mother moves on, Lori finds herself stuck, consumed by grief and anger. With the lingering feeling that something about her father's passing was not right, Lori turns to his journals for answers. The events that follow catapult Lori into a strange romance with a ghost, resulting in a mysterious journey.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 673
Genere: Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: independent film, serious, surprise ending, eighties
Similar in 82%
The Dinosaur Hunter (2000)
Plot Summary:
A 13-year-old girl and her older brother live on a farm where paleontologists search for fossils.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 245
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspenseful, semi serious, tense, humorous, independent film
Similar in 75%
Magic Journey to Africa (2010)
Plot Summary:
Jana’s magical journey to Africa contains a deep message about friendship, love, passion, nature and imagination. It is a spiritual journey for adults and a magical one for kids, full of mysteries, adventures and discoveries.
IMDB Rating: 3.3
IMDB Votes: 209
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: Spain
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: semi serious, sincere, captivating, exciting, light, stylized
Similar in 77%
The Secret of the Magic Gourd (2007)
Plot Summary:
The Secret of the Magic Gourd follows the wondrous adventures of a young schoolboy named Wang Bao. When Wang Bao discovers a magical gourd that can instantly grant his every wish, the awkward child suddenly becomes a hero amongst his curious classmates. When the gourd proves more of a burden than a blessing and the boy decides to get rid of it, he quickly discovers that's easier said than done.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 849
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: China, Hong Kong, USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: captivating, entertaining, light, feel good, semi serious
Similar in 77%
Superbror (2009)
Plot Summary:
"Superbrother" tells the story of Anton, a 10 year old boy desperate for, he says, an older and true brother as Buller, his brother, is autistic. Always distracted looking at the sky, Anton receives an unexpected visit from some stranger who comes from space and Buller becomes a superhero. Unfortunately, these powers do not last forever. Will they be able to learn to use them?.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 270
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Denmark
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, captivating, semi serious, exciting, uplifting, offbeat
Similar in 75%
Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller (1988)
Plot Summary:
When the joker Tommy Tricker plays some practical jokes on some of his friends, his best friend Ralph, a stamp collector, discovers the secret of "stamp travel" to make him travel around the world on a stamp to bring back the mysterious Charles Merriweather, who never returned on a stamp for 75 years.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: Canada
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: touching, feel good, humorous, semi serious, independent film, nostalgic
Similar in 87%
The Return of Tommy Tricker (1994)
Plot Summary:
Welcome to the world of stamps with Tommy Tricker and friends as they learn the magic of travelling through time and space for the mere price of the postage. Though of course, nothing is as easy as it seems as they soon learn when they try to rescue Charles Merriweather, a stamp traveller frozen in time since his last attempt at stamp- travelling, 65 years ago. But Charles turns out to be a girl, his sister Molly! And she is rapidly turning into an old woman. To find a cure, Tommy takes off in a race against the time that leads him and Molly to the exotic and magical South Pacific islands.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 241
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: Canada, Australia
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: semi serious, independent film
Similar in 87%
Once in a Blue Moon (1995)
Plot Summary:
Late-1960s suburban Canadian children work on building a rocket vessel, with the intention of delivering one or two neighborhood children to the moon, whilst dealing with social issues of the coming-of-age, orphan-hood and family veins.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 180
Genere: Family, Adventure, Fantasy
Country: Canada
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: independent film, exciting, sentimental, touching, feel good, stylized, semi serious
Similar in 84%
Nico the Unicorn (1998)
Plot Summary:
As an 11-year-old boy struggles to cope with a disability, he finds a pony who gives birth to a unicorn which he takes care of.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 572
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: independent film, semi serious
Similar in 89%
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (1989)
Plot Summary:
Bonnie and cousin Sylvia, two very young children, are left at home in Willoughby Hall while their parents travel overseas. Only the servants and the prowling wolves are their companions. News arrives that Lord and Lady Willoughby are missing and an evil looking governess suddenly arrives at the hall.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 542
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: spooky, independent film, serious
Similar in 78%
Under the Mountain (2009)
Plot Summary:
Teenage twins battle dark forces hidden beneath Auckland's volcanoes.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: New Zealand
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspenseful, captivating, suspense, scary, feel good, lovecraft, serious, disaster movie
Similar in 90%
Secret of the Cave (2006)
Plot Summary:
A young American boy spends his summer in Ireland and solves the mystery that captivates the entire village. Driven by curiosity and his own search for meaning in life, he faces his fears and discovers the Secret of the Cave.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 507
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, suspenseful, captivating
Similar in 86%
From Time to Time (2009)
Plot Summary:
A haunting ghost story spanning two worlds, two centuries apart. When 13 year old Tolly finds he can mysteriously travel between the two, he begins an adventure that unlocks family secrets laid buried for generations.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: UK
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: serious, exciting, touching, captivating, period piece, period drama, fable
Similar in 87%
Napoleon and Samantha (1972)
Plot Summary:
Two young children, who, rather than part with an old pet lion who was once a circus performer, go on a perilous mountain trek to stay with a recluse friend.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: touching, feel good, emotional, semi serious, cult film
Similar in 89%
The Giants (2011)
Plot Summary:
Brothers Danny and Zak, 15 and 13 & 3/4 are spending the summer in their deceased grandfather's house, waiting in vain for their mother, who is otherwise busy, and running low on cash. To make some money they decide to rent out the house to a local drug dealer, but things don't go exactly as planned.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: Belgium, France, Luxembourg
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, humorous, feel good, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 77%
True Heart (1999)
Plot Summary:
A brother and sister are plane-wrecked in Canada, where they must rely on the help of a native and his bear.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: independent film, atmospheric, serious
Similar in 85%
1st Love (2013)
Plot Summary:
Antoine, 13, spends the summer vacation with his parents in a rented cottage on an island in the middle of the Saint-Lawrence River. His neighbour, 17-year-old Anna, is an enigmatic and lively young woman. Antoine begins to experience the first stirrings of love-which soon yield a troubling brew of anxiety, desire and obsession. He eventually comes across a terrible secret that will forever change his life.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 253
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, captivating
Similar in 81%
An American Girl: Saige Paints the Sky (2013)
Plot Summary:
Meet nine-year old Saige, a talented artist with a passion for horses, in this modern-day story about finding your voice! Saige is excited about the new school year, until she discovers that art-her favorite class-has been cut. On top of that, her best friend, Tessa, seems to be spending more and more time with another girl. For help, Saige turns to her grandma Mimi, a well-known artist and horse-woman, who inspires her to take action. Can Saige find the courage to overcome her fears and save the art program-and her friendship with Tessa? Heart-warming, empowering, and fun, it's a movie for every girl who has ever dreamed big. Written by Anonymous (IMDB.com).
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 523
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: touching, feel good, humorous, captivating, light, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 85%
Witches Don't Exist (2014)
Plot Summary:
On her 13th birthday Katie, a talented young girl, receives a magical amulet. This amulet was on a quest to find the fifth and last witch to complete the order of the star witches. Because in it's incomplete form, the order is unable to protect earth against the evil witch Concuela. While Katie is exploring her new magical powers together with her best friend Roy, Grimbeck, the dandy gatekeeper of the star witches arena, as well as the evil Concuela are desperately trying to find Katie.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 147
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: Netherlands
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, exciting, captivating, spooky
Similar in 86%
Crystalstone (1987)
Plot Summary:
Deserted by their father and with their mother dead, nine-year-old Pablo and his little sister Maria refuse to be separated from each other by their caretaker aunt. With a cross as their guide, they embark on a perilous, but ultimately rewarding adventure in search of a mystical gem that holds the key to happiness. They escape the fearsome metal hook of a pirate and are helped by a delightfully drunken Captain in their quest for the magic stone.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 148
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: Spain, UK, USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: independent film, exciting, touching, semi serious
Similar in 88%
Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge (2001)
Plot Summary:
The Cromwell clan live in the real world, except for their grandmother who lives in Halloweentown, a place where monsters go to escape reality. But now the son of the Cromwells' old enemy Kalabar has a plan to use the grandmother's book to turn Halloweentown into a grey dreary version of the real world, while transform the denizens of the real world into monsters.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: exciting, stylized, semi serious, humorous, suspense, teen, spooky, offbeat
Similar in 79%
The Adventures of Pinocchio (1996)
Plot Summary:
One of puppet-maker Geppetto's creations comes magically to life. This puppet, Pinocchio, has one major desire and that is to become a real boy someday. In order to accomplish this goal he has to learn to act responsibly. This film shows you the adventures on which he learns valuable lessons.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Musical
Country: USA, Germany, UK, Czech Republic, France
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, touching, offbeat, feel good, humorous, mysterious, anamorphic, independent film, semi serious, exciting
Similar in 87%
Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove (2010)
Plot Summary:
After young Kirra (Bindi Irwin) leaves her Australian home to summer with her grandfather (Beau Bridges) in South Africa, she soon discovers a baby orca stranded in the lagoon near her grandfather’s rundown seaside amusement park. She names the lonely whale Willy--and embarks on a great quest to lead the little guy back to his anxious pod.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: serious, sentimental, touching, realistic, uplifting
Similar in 89%
The Young Black Stallion (2003)
Plot Summary:
When courageous young Neera becomes separated from her family in the desert, she chances upon a wild colt. Together they find friendship, trust, and their way back home only to discover her family is about to lose everything!.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic