Best tv shows like Ruby Bridges
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
The true story of Ruby Bridges, an African-American girl who, in 1960 at age 6, helped to integrate the all-white schools of New Orleans. Although she was the only black girl to come to the school she was sent to, (and since all the white mothers pulled their children out of class, she was the only one there, period), and though she faced a crowd of angry white citizens every day, she emerged unscathed, physically or emotionally. Encouraged by her teacher, a white woman from the North named Barbara Henry, and her mother, Lucille, and with her own quiet strength, she eventually broke down a century-old barrier forever, a pivotal moment in the civil-rights movement.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: uplifting, inspirational, political, sincere, thought provoking, touching, feel good, serious, emotional, realistic
Best tv shows and movies like Ruby Bridges (1998):
Similar in 82%
Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story (2001)
Plot Summary:
As America struggled through the Great Depression in the 1930s, a little girl with big dimples and indescribable charm danced her way into the hearts of moviegoers around the world.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 484
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA, Australia
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious, independent film
Similar in 81%
Safety Patrol (1998)
Plot Summary:
Scout Bozell has always dreamt of being on his school's Safety Patrol. The only reason he cannot join is because he is very clumsy. He's sent to another school because his old school would not let him become part of their Safety Patrol. But his new school does let him on the Safety Patrol.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 640
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, not serious, slapstick, slapstick comedy, nostalgic
Similar in 79%
The Sweetest Gift (1998)
Plot Summary:
Two neighboring families in Florida, one black and one white, struggle with the problems of race, poverty, prejudice, and absent fathers, as their children become friends over the course of one summer and fall.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 181
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: uplifting, touching, feel good, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 75%
Angels in the Endzone (1997)
Plot Summary:
The football team jesse is on is terrible, after the death of his father Jesse quits the team. Then angels come to help the team get better and nobody can see them but Jesse's little brother.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: feel good, humorous, semi serious, nostalgic
Similar in 81%
Gotta Kick It Up! (2002)
Plot Summary:
This was going to be the first year that Marshal Middle School was not going to have a dance team. All that changes when the new Biology teacher, Ms. Bartlett, agrees to be the coach. Now the girls need to prove that they are ready to compete and are able to win; not only to themselves, but to their parents and coach. Using the chant "si, se puede" or "yes, I can" the Dance team builds their confidence to perform.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: uplifting, serious, touching, realistic, teen
Similar in 88%
Model Behavior (2000)
Plot Summary:
This is a Disney Channel movie about two teenage girls, one an ordinary high school girl and the other a top teen model, who meet and switch places.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: feel good, humorous, semi serious, realistic, teen, nostalgic
Similar in 85%
The Garbage Picking Field Goal Kicking Philadelphia Phenomenon (1998)
Plot Summary:
A Philadelphia garbageman is discovered by the Philadelphia Eagles and signed by them to become a kicker.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 927
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 78 min
Plot tags: feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious, nostalgic
Similar in 81%
Perfect Harmony (1991)
Plot Summary:
During the 1950s, a private school in the south undergoes racial tension as it experiences desegregation. Can a love of music help ease the pain?.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 507
Genere: Drama, Family, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sincere, uplifting, touching, feel good, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 82%
Switching Goals (1999)
Plot Summary:
Twin sisters Emma and Sam come up with a scheme to switch places so each can play in the soccer team they prefer.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: humorous, feel good, semi serious, realistic
Similar in 87%
The Worst Witch (1998)
Plot Summary:
Mildred Hubble is a young witch attending Cackles Academy. She's called the "Worst Witch" because she's always caught getting into trouble.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK, Canada
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: semi serious, spooky, offbeat, humorous
Similar in 81%
Annie (1999)
Plot Summary:
Eleven-year-old Annie has been living in an orphanage her whole life run by cruel Miss Hannigan. After unsuccessful escape attempts, Grace Farrell comes to take the child home to live two weeks with billionaire Oliver Warbucks during Christmas.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: emotional, christmas special, touching, feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious, corny
Similar in 89%
Claudine (1974)
Plot Summary:
Diahann Carroll was nominated for both an Oscar and a Golden Globe award for her gripping portrayal as the indomitable Claudine in this heartwarming comedy. While struggling to support herself and her six children in Harlem by working as a maid for a wealthy family, Claudine (Carroll) meets a charming garbage man, Roop (James Earl Jones). But although Roop is smitten with the lovely single mother, his own life trials make him slow to respond to her invitation to a lifetime of love. The touching story of Claudine will inspire smiles and tears in viewers of all ages.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: black comedy, grim, sincere, uplifting, touching, serious, realistic, independent film, black cinema
Similar in 75%
I'll Fly Away (1991)
Plot Summary:
I'll Fly Away is an American drama television series set during the late 1950s and early 1960s, in an unspecified Southern U.S. state. It aired on NBC from 1991 to 1993 and starred Regina Taylor as Lilly Harper, a black housekeeper for the family of district attorney Forrest Bedford, whose name is an ironic reference to Nathan Bedford Forrest, the founder of the Ku Klux Klan. As the show progressed, Lilly became increasingly involved in the Civil Rights Movement, with events eventually drawing in Forrest as well. I'll Fly Away won two 1992 Emmy Awards, and 23 nominations in total. It won three Humanitas Prizes, two Golden Globe Awards, two NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Drama Series, and a Peabody Award. However, the series was never a ratings blockbuster, and it was canceled by NBC in 1993, despite widespread protests by critics and viewer organizations. After the program's cancellation, a two-hour movie, I'll Fly Away: Then and Now, was produced, in order to resolve dangling storylines from Season 2, and provide the series with a true finale. The movie aired on October 11, 1993 on PBS. Its major storyline closely paralleled the true story of the 1955 murder of Emmett Till in Money, Mississippi. Thereafter, PBS began airing repeats of the original episodes, ceasing after one complete showing of the entire series.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sincere, thought provoking, feel good, serious, realistic, contemplative, vintage, period drama
Similar in 75%
The White Shadow (1978)
Plot Summary:
The White Shadow is an American drama television series that ran on the CBS network from November 27 1978, to March 16 1981.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 79%
Welcome Back, Kotter (1975)
Plot Summary:
Welcome Back, Kotter is an American television sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan and featuring a young John Travolta. Videotaped in front of a live studio audience, it originally aired on the ABC network from September 9, 1975, to June 8, 1979.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, retro, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 87%
7th Heaven (1996)
Plot Summary:
7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on The WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007. The series finale was scheduled for May 8, 2006; however, the show was renewed by The CW when the intended final episode received high ratings. The final season premiered on Monday, September 25, 2006 and ended on May 13, 2007. 7th Heaven is the longest-running series that has ever aired on The WB and is the longest-running family drama in television history. It is also the longest-running show produced by Aaron Spelling. Dan Foliart composed the theme song "7th Heaven", which is performed by Steve Plunkett in the introduction of each episode.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sentimental, semi serious, sincere, touching, feel good, realistic, biblical, family comedy, romantic drama, religious drama
Similar in 79%
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
Similar in 83%
Toothless (1997)
Plot Summary:
A female dentist is cast into limbo after her death in an accident and is given the assignment to act as the Tooth Fairy as her action to be admitted into heaven.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: touching, semi serious, humorous, feel good, stylized, fairy tale, nostalgic
Similar in 75%
The Miracle Worker (2000)
Plot Summary:
Devoted teacher Anne Sullivan (Alison Elliott) leads deaf, blind and mute Helen Keller (Hallie Kate Eisenberg) out of solitude and helps integrate her into the world.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, emotional, sentimental, uplifting, realistic, motivational, biblical, feel good
Similar in 89%
Selma, Lord, Selma (1999)
Plot Summary:
In 1965 Alabama, an 11 year old girl (Jurnee Smollett) is touched by a speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. (Clifton Powell) and becomes a devout follower. But her resolution is tested when she joins others in the famed march from Selma to Montgomery. This movie is based on the memoir "Selma, Lord, Selma: Girlhood Memories of the Civil Rights Days" by Sheyann Webb and Rachel West Nelson, as told to Frank Sikora, first published in 1980.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 586
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: gothic, sincere, uplifting, thought provoking, touching, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 83%
Oliver Twist (1997)
Plot Summary:
Charles Dickens' classical story about the young orphan boy in 1837 England is again re-filmed in grand fashion. Richard Dreyfuss portrays Fagin, the unscrupulous leader of the young pick-pockets Oliver (Alex Trench) initially falls in with after escaping from a sweat shop and going to London to find his relatives. Written by John Sacksteder.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, realistic, gloomy, period drama
Similar in 81%
Amy (1981)
Plot Summary:
A woman leaves her husband after the death of her child to teach deaf children how to speak. Her own child was deaf and although she has no formal training she successfully teaches one boy.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 563
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, uplifting, touching, feel good, serious, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 81%
Sister, Sister (1994)
Plot Summary:
Sister, Sister is an American television sitcom starring identical twins Tia Mowry and Tamera Mowry. The premise of the show was that the girls were separated and adopted at birth, one to a single mother, one to a single father, and have met again after 14 years apart. Created by Kim Bass, Gary Gilbert and Fred Shafferman, the series was produced by de Passe Entertainment and Paramount Network Television. The cast, along with Tia and Tamera Mowry, also included Jackee Harry, Marques Houston and Tim Reid, with RonReaco Lee and Deon Richmond joining the cast in the fifth season. The series ran from April 1, 1994 to April 28, 1995 on ABC, and was canceled by the network after two seasons, due to poor ratings. The series was picked up by The WB and aired on that network from September 6, 1995, through May 23, 1999.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, touching, feel good, humorous, semi serious, realistic, sweet, telenovela, teen comedy, nostalgic
Similar in 80%
Sounder (1972)
Plot Summary:
The Morgans, a loving and strong family of Black sharecroppers in Louisiana in 1933, face a serious family crisis when the husband and father, Nathan Lee Morgan, is convicted of a petty crime and sent to a prison camp. After some weeks or months, the wife and mother, Rebecca Morgan, sends the oldest son, who is about 11 years old, to visit his father at the camp. The trip becomes something of an odyssey for the boy. During the journey he stays a little while with a dedicated Black schoolteacher.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: emotional, sentimental, touching, realistic, thought provoking, gothic, social, southern gothic, sincere, uplifting
Similar in 80%
A Lesson Before Dying (1999)
Plot Summary:
In the 1940's South, an African-American man is wrongly accused of the killing a a white store owner. In his defense, his white attorney equates him with a lowly hog, to indicate that he didn't have the sense to know what he was doing. Nevertheless convicted, he is sentenced to die, but his godmother and the aunt of the local schoolteacher convince school teacher go to the convicted man's cell each day to try to reaffirm to him that he is not an animal but a man with dignity.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: powerful, sincere, uplifting, thought provoking, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 86%
Beyond the Blackboard (2011)
Plot Summary:
Inspired by a true story, “Beyond the Blackboard” is about a 24-year-old first-time teacher who makes a difference in the lives of the homeless children she teaches in a shelter’s makeshift classroom. Set in 1987 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this movie tells the story a brand-new teacher and Mom who is given a tougher than expected teaching job and winds up teaching homeless children in a school that is housed in a room and called, literally, The School with No Name. She has some personal prejudicial hurdles to cross before she is able to be a true teacher for these children and of course there are hurdles like the lack of books and supplies.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: uplifting, touching, serious, emotional, inspirational, realistic, learning
Similar in 80%
The Women of Brewster Place (1989)
Plot Summary:
A multigenerational story of the lives of several black women who call an inner-city tenement home.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 178 min
Plot tags: retro, sincere, touching, serious, realistic, black cinema
Similar in 80%
Knights of the South Bronx (2005)
Plot Summary:
A business man decides that he wants to teach school in the inner city and chooses a tough school in the South Bronx. He teaches the children how to play the game of chess, and along the way they learn a lot about life.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: uplifting, touching, serious, realistic, spiritual
Similar in 89%
Akeelah and the Bee (2006)
Plot Summary:
Eleven year-old Akeelah Anderson's life is not easy: her father is dead, her mom ignores her, her brother runs with the local gangbangers. She's smart, but her environment threatens to strangle her aspirations. Responding to a threat by her school's principal, Akeelah participates in a spelling bee to avoid detention for her many absences. Much to her surprise and embarrassment, she wins. Her principal asks her to seek coaching from an English professor named Dr. Larabee for the more prestigious regional bee. As the possibility of making it all the way to the Scripps National Spelling Bee looms, Akeelah could provide her community with someone to rally around and be proud of -- but only if she can overcome her insecurities and her distracting home life. She also must get past Dr. Larabee's demons, and a field of more experienced and privileged fellow spellers.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: touching, uplifting, emotional, sentimental, realistic, sweet, serious, inspirational, feel good, sincere
Similar in 76%
Remember the Titans (2000)
Plot Summary:
After leading his football team to 15 winning seasons, coach Bill Yoast is demoted and replaced by Herman Boone – tough, opinionated and as different from the beloved Yoast as he could be. The two men learn to overcome their differences and turn a group of hostile young men into champions.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 228000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: inspirational, sentimental, touching, uplifting, feel good, emotional, motivational, factual, sincere, sad