Movies like Balú (2014)
The best movies like Balú (2014) are Dog Gone (2023), A Perfect World (1993) and A Dog's Purpose (2017). If Balú hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedCaramelo (2025)7.7/10 from 308 votes
- NewestCaramelo (2025)Released 2025
Dog Gone (2023)
When his beloved dog goes missing, a young man embarks on an incredible search with his parents to find him and give him life-saving medication.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Perfect World (1993)
A kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor: an escaped convict on the run from the law, headed by an honorable U.S. Marshal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Dog's Purpose (2017)
A dog goes on quest to discover his purpose in life over the course of several lifetimes with multiple owners.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Dog's Way Home (2019)
The adventure of Bella, a dog who embarks on an epic 400-mile journey home after she is separated from her beloved human.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)
Dito Montiel, a successful author, receives a call from his long-suffering mother, asking him to return home and visit his ailing father. Dito recalls his childhood growing up in a violent neighborhood in Queens, N.Y., with friends Antonio, Giuseppe, Nerf and Mike.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe One and Only Ivan (2020)
A gorilla named Ivan who’s living in a suburban shopping mall tries to piece together his past, with the help of other animals, as they hatch a plan to escape from captivity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisArthur the King (2024)
Over the course of ten days and 435 miles, an unbreakable bond is forged between pro adventure racer Michael Light and a scrappy street dog companion dubbed Arthur. As the team is pushed to their outer limits of endurance in the race, Arthur redefines what victory, loyalty and friendship truly mean.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Friend (2025)
New York City writer Iris finds her comfortable, solitary life thrown into disarray after her closest friend and mentor bequeaths her a Great Dane named Apollo. The huge dog immediately creates practical problems for Iris, from furniture destruction to eviction notices, as well as more existential ones. Yet as Iris finds herself unexpectedly bonding with Apollo, she begins to come to terms with her past, and her own creative inner life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGreat Expectations (2012)
Orphan Pip discovers through lawyer Mr. Jaggers that a mysterious benefactor wishes to ensure that he becomes a gentleman. Reunited with his childhood patron, Miss Havisham, and his first love, the beautiful but emotionally cold Estella, he discovers that the elderly spinster has gone mad from having been left at the altar as a young woman, and has made her charge into a warped, unfeeling heartbreaker.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Tall Man (2012)
When her child goes missing, a mother looks to unravel the legend of the Tall Man, an entity who allegedly abducts children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGigi & Nate (2022)
A young man with a bright future suffers a near-fatal accident and recreates his new life with the help of an unlikely animal friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisExtremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011)
A year after his father's death, Oskar, a troubled young boy, discovers a mysterious key he believes was left for him by his father and embarks on a scavenger hunt to find the matching lock.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe True Adventures of Wolfboy (2019)
Follows a young boy who runs away from home in the search of his estranged mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisCaramelo (2025)
After a life-changing diagnosis, a promising chef finds hope and humor with the help of a fur-midable dog friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDean Spanley (2008)
Set in Edwardian England where upper lips are always stiff and men from the Colonies are not entirely to be trusted, Fisk Senior has little time or affection for his son, but when the pair visit an eccentric Indian, they start a strange journey that eventually allows the old man to find his heart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCry Macho (2021)
A one-time rodeo star and washed-up horse breeder takes a job from an ex-boss to bring the man's young son home from Mexico.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisHomeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)
Before the Seavers leave for a family vacation to San Francisco, they drop off their pets -- Chance, an adventurous American bulldog; Shadow, a wise golden retriever; and Sassy, a cautious cat -- at a friend's ranch. But when the animals start to worry that they've been left for good, the three embark together on a treacherous and thrilling journey to find their way back home through the California wilderness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bygone (2019)
When a young rancher crosses paths with a Lakota girl from a nearby reservation, her mysterious disappearance sparks a search that uncovers a harrowing past and hints at a dire future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBecause of Winn-Dixie (2005)
A girl, abandoned by her mother when she was three, moves to a small town in Florida with her father. There, she adopts an orphaned dog she names Winn-Dixie. The bond between the girl and her special companion brings together the people in a small Florida town and heals her own troubled relationship with her father.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPet (2016)
A man bumps into an old crush and becomes obsessed. After several failed attempts at winning her over, he kidnaps her and holds her captive underneath the animal shelter where he works.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Balú?
The closest matches to Balú are Dog Gone (2023), A Perfect World (1993) and A Dog's Purpose (2017). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Balú?
Start with Dog Gone (2023), the closest match to Balú.
What is the highest-rated movie like Balú?
Caramelo (2025), rated 7.7/10 by 308 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Balú?
Caramelo (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Balú chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Balú, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.