Best tv shows like Lassie
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Lassie is a Canadian television series which aired from 1997 to 1999 on YTV in Canada and Sunday nights on the Animal Planet network in the United States, as a modified remake of the original Lassie series about a boy and his faithful dog. As with previous Lassie TV versions and several movies dating back to the original Lassie Come Home movie of 1943, the star was Lassie, a trained Rough Collie. Not to be confused with a previous, syndicated follow-up series entitled The New Lassie which aired 1989–1991, this Canadian-produced Lassie series starred Corey Sevier as 13-year-old Timmy Cabot in the fictional town of Hudson Falls, Vermont. The show was filmed in Quebec by Cinar Inc.. In this series' story line, Timmy and his recently widowed mother, Dr. Karen Cabot, move to Hudson Falls, where Karen takes over a veterinary practice. In the first season, Lassie was played by "Howard", an eighth generation collie descended from "Pal", the dog in the original 1943 movie Lassie Come Home. As with all previous Lassie movies and television series beginning with Pal, Howard was owned and trained by Weatherwax Trained Dogs, founded by brothers Frank and Rudd Weatherwax. Midway through production, Cinar replaced Howard with a non-Pal descended dog. Following Lassie fan protests, "Hey Hey", son of Howard and a ninth-generation direct descendent of Pal, was brought in to assume the role of Lassie for the final thirteen episodes of the show.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 341
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sentimental, light, inspirational, clever, touching, feel good, sweet, entertaining, semi serious
Best tv shows and movies like Lassie (1997):
Similar in 84%
The Magic of Lassie (1978)
Plot Summary:
Lassie is claimed from his family by a "former owner" and then braves a cross country trip to rejoin the ones that love her.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 651
Genere: Drama, Family, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: independent film, touching, feel good, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 80%
Skippy (1968)
Plot Summary:
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo is an Australian television series created by John McCallum, produced from 1966–1968, telling the adventures of a young boy and his intelligent pet kangaroo, and the various visitors to the fictional Waratah National Park in Duffys Forest, near Sydney, New South Wales. Ninety-one 30-minute episodes were made over the three seasons of production. At the time of first screening, Australian television was still in black and white, however, the show was filmed in colour on 16 mm film to increase its international marketability, especially in the United States and Canada, where it aired in syndication between 1969 and 1972. The Nine Network readily repeated the series several times after Australian television switched to colour transmission in 1975. The series was dubbed into Spanish in Mexico, where it is known as Skippy el canguro, and has been distributed to most Spanish-speaking countries, including Cuba and Spain, where it became very popular. The series crossed the Iron Curtain and was aired in Czechoslovakia and Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s, and is still being broadcast in Iran.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: Australia
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: sitcom, children's program, offbeat, feel good, semi serious
Similar in 75%
Ready or Not (1993)
Plot Summary:
Ready or Not is a Canadian teen drama series which aired on the Showtime Movie Channel and later on the Disney Channel and Global Television Network for 5 seasons and 65 episodes between 1993 and 1997 in both Canada and the United States.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: Canada
Duration: 23 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 78%
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 85%
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 90%
Miracle Dogs (2003)
Plot Summary:
The family friendly animal movie Miracle Dogs concerns a boy who befriends a three-legged dog. Soon his relationship with the canine deepens to the point that the boy is attempting to find new homes for a variety of homeless animals.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 503
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: feel good, serious, touching, cute
Similar in 84%
Lassie Come Home (2020)
Plot Summary:
Remake of 1943 movie based on Eric Knight's book, "Lassie Come Home".
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 594
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: Germany
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: captivating, sentimental, light, touching, feel good, humorous, sweet, suspense, entertaining, realistic
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
Similar in 79%
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 85%
Greyfriars Bobby: The True Story of a Dog (1961)
Plot Summary:
In Scotland 1865, An old shepherd and his little Skye terrier go to Edinburgh. But when the shepherd dies of pneumonia, the dog remains faithful to his master, refuses to be adopted by anyone, and takes to sleeping on his master's grave in the Greyfriars kirkyard, despite a caretaker with a "no dogs" rule. And when Bobby is taken up for being unlicensed, it's up to the children of Edinburgh and the Lord Provost to decide what's to be done.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, anthology
Similar in 84%
A Dog's Journey (2019)
Plot Summary:
Bailey is living the good life on the farm of Ethan and Hannah. As Bailey’s soul prepares to leave this life for a new one, he promises Ethan to find CJ and protect her at any cost.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 28000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: China, India, Hong Kong, USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: emotional, sweet, touching, sad, sincere, inspirational, semi serious, feel good, tear jerker, fun
Similar in 80%
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 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%
Miracle Dogs Too (2006)
Plot Summary:
Zack, a young boy, finds two cocker spaniels caged in the woods and takes them home. The animals, Sissy and Buddy, have magical healing powers that change the people of a small town.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 340
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: sentimental, feel good, serious, touching
Similar in 82%
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 77%
Aussie and Ted's Great Adventure (2009)
Plot Summary:
Aussie, a lovable Australian mutt, embarks on a mission to return his young owner's missing Teddy Bear.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 217
Genere: Family
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: semi serious, sincere, humorous, captivating
Similar in 75%
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 90%
Air Bud 3 (2000)
Plot Summary:
In this second heartwarming and hilarious sequel to the popular favorite, Air Bud masters two new starring roles: soccer (real football) player and fatherhood. Loaded with laughs and cool soccer action, Buddy teams up alongside U.S. women's soccer greats.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family, Sport
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: feel good, sentimental, touching, humorous, exciting, semi serious, independent film, uplifting
Similar in 80%
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 79%
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 82%
Adventures of Bailey: Christmas Hero (2012)
Plot Summary:
It's "Christmas time" at the Baker household, and Bailey is at it again. Worried that he will not get any presents from Santa because he's been a bad doggie, Bailey learns about a mysterious Native American Indian called the "Handsome Fellow," who may be able to make his Christmas wishes come true. With thoughts of tennis balls, stuffed animals and more dog bones then he can count, he sets out to find this legend, inadvertently dragging his brother along for the ride. But when Bailey's misguided missteps cause harm to Duke and even threaten their family's Christmas plans, Bailey must not only find a way to save his brother, but he is also forced to make a big decision... one that just might enable him to finally understand the "true" meaning of Christmas.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 118
Genere: Family
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, sentimental, feel good, semi serious, independent film
Similar in 85%
Rascal (1969)
Plot Summary:
A comedy filled with tenderness as a baby raccoon snuggles his way into the life of a lonely boy. He becomes the boy's only companion during his father's frequent absences. Because of Rascal, both father and son realize their responsibility to each other.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 516
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, feel good, humorous, semi serious
Similar in 87%
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 84%
Disney's Air Bud (1997)
Plot Summary:
A young boy and a talented stray dog with an amazing basketball playing ability become instant friends. Rebounding from his father's accidental death, 12-year-old Josh Framm moves with his family to the small town of Fernfield, Washington. The new kid in town, Josh has no friends and is too shy to try out for the school basketball team. Instead he prefers to practice alone on an abandoned court, he befriends a runaway golden retriever named Buddy. Josh is amazed when he realizes that Buddy loves basketball...that is playing basketball...and he is GOOD! Josh eventually makes the school team and Buddy is named the Team Mascot. Josh and Buddy become the stars of halftime. Buddy's half-time talent draws media attention. Unfortunately, when Buddy's mean former owner, Norm Snively, comes along with a scheme to cash in on the pup's celebrity, it looks like they are going to be separated.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family, Sport
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: light, inspirational, touching, feel good, humorous, sad, semi serious, slapstick comedy, sentimental, road movie
Similar in 89%
Chesapeake Shores (2016)
Plot Summary:
A divorced mom deals with an old romance and complicated family issues when she returns to her hometown with her twin daughters.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: romantic, sincere, emotional, semi serious, touching, feel good
Similar in 88%
Marley & Me (2008)
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
Similar in 84%
Chestnut: Hero of Central Park (2004)
Plot Summary:
Ray and Sal, two orphaned sisters, adopt and hide a Great Dane puppy from their two adopted parents living in a luxury downtown New York apartment that expressely forbids dogs.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, touching
Similar in 85%
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 83%
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 84%
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