Movies like Wolf Children (2012)
The best movies like Wolf Children (2012) are Mirai (2018), Wolfwalkers (2020) and Pokémon 3: The Movie (2000). If Wolf Children hooked you with its animation and family, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSpirited Away (2001)8.5/10 from 19,201 votes
- NewestThe Legend of Ochi (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseMirai (2018)Also in Japanese
Mirai (2018)
Four-year-old Kun struggles with jealousy after his newborn sister, Mirai, begins receiving most of his family’s attention. Retreating to the garden, he encounters Mirai as a teenager from the future and embarks on extraordinary journeys across his family’s past, gradually discovering new perspectives on love, belonging and what it means to become an older brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWolfwalkers (2020)
In a time of superstition and magic, when wolves are seen as demonic and nature an evil to be tamed, a young apprentice hunter comes to Ireland with her father to wipe out the last pack. But when she saves a wild native girl, their friendship leads her to discover the world of the Wolfwalkers and transform her into the very thing her father is tasked to destroy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisPokémon 3: The Movie (2000)
When the sadness of her father's disappearance gets to Molly Hale, she unknowingly uses the Unown to create her own dream world along with Entei, who she believes to be her father. When Entei kidnaps Ash's mother, Ash — alongside Misty and Brock — invade the mansion looking for his mom and trying to stop the mysteries of Molly's Dream World and Entei!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBambi II (2006)
Return to the forest and join Bambi as he reunites with his father, The Great Prince, who must now raise the young fawn on his own. But in the adventure of a lifetime, the proud parent discovers there is much he can learn from his spirited young son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonster High: Fright On! (2011)
See what happens when the student bodies of an all-vampire school and an all-werewolf school integrate with Monster High.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister seeks help from the spirits to find her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & animation
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMy Oni Girl (2024)
A shy teenage boy's inability to say no is tested when a headstrong girl drags him on a mystical journey amid summer snow to find her missing mom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSpirited Away (2001)
A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMonster High: Frights, Camera, Action! (2014)
When Draculaura is led to believe she's the rightful heir to the vampire throne, she and her best ghoulfriends are whisked away to Transylvania for a royal coronation to die for. But they soon discover the hunt for the queen is not over yet. The Ghouls must locate an ancient artifact known as the Vampire's Heart in order to discover the identity of the true Vampire Queen. It's a fangtastic adventure that will lead them from the Tower of Londoom, to a haunted river boat in New Goreleans and finally to the glamorous boo-vie lots of Hauntlywood. Could this be the moment when Draculara finally receives her vampire powers and discovers screams really can come true?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Lion King (1994)
Young lion prince Simba, eager to one day become king of the Pride Lands, grows up under the watchful eye of his father Mufasa; all the while his villainous uncle Scar conspires to take the throne for himself. Amid betrayal and tragedy, Simba must confront his past and find his rightful place in the Circle of Life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBambi (1942)
Bambi's tale unfolds from season to season as the young prince of the forest learns about life, love, and friends.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCharlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure (2003)
Wilbur the pig knows how important friendship is - he learned that from a spider named Charlotte. So when Wilbur meets Cardigan, a lonely lamb, Wilbur immediately makes him his friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this100% Wolf (2020)
Freddy Lupin, heir to a proud family line of werewolves, is in for a shock when on his 14th birthday his first 'warfing' goes awry, turning him into a ferocious poodle. The pack elders give Freddy until the next moonrise to prove he has the heart of a wolf, or risk being cast out forever. With the help of an unlikely ally in a streetwise stray named Batty, Freddy must prove he's 100% Wolf.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrincess Mononoke (1997)
Ashitaka, a prince of the disappearing Emishi people, is cursed by a demonized boar god and must journey to the west to find a cure. Along the way, he encounters San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, who is trying to destroy it. Ashitaka must find a way to bring balance to this conflict.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & animation
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBelle (2021)
Suzu is a 17-year-old high-school student living in a rural town with her father. Wounded by the loss of her mother at a young age, Suzu one day discovers the massive online world "U" and dives into this alternate reality as her avatar, Belle. Before long, all of U's eyes are fixed on Belle, when, suddenly, a mysterious, dragon-like figure appears before her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Legend of Ochi (2025)
In a remote village on the island of Carpathia, a shy farm girl named Yuri is raised to fear an elusive animal species known as ochi. But when Yuri discovers a wounded baby ochi has been left behind, she escapes on a quest to bring him home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Greening of Whitney Brown (2011)
Whitney, a spoiled pre-teen from Philadelphia, is forced to move to the country when her parents feel the squeeze of economic hard times. A fish out of water, far from her comfort zone, she befriends an amazing horse, and undertakes a misguided journey back to her old life, only to discover that her family is her home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)
Upon moving into the run-down Spiderwick Estate with their mother, twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace, along with their sister Mallory, find themselves pulled into an alternate world full of faeries and other creatures.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrayon Shinchan the Movie: Dangerous Honeymoon -The Lost Daddy- (2019)
Hiroshi and Misae have never been to a honeymoon trip to a foreign country. One day, Misae discovered an inexpensive and family-friendly holiday package to Australia and the Nohara family decided to make it their first honeymoon vacation. Hiroshi gets kidnapped upon arrival to Australia, leaving Shinnosuke, Misae and others on a dangerous journey. It turns out that Hiroshi is the key to a secret treasure. The remaining members of the Nohara Family must rescue Hiroshi, while a mysterious masked man and treasure hunters from all over the world are after him. The struggle is among three different groups in this action-filled treasure hunting adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHeart and Yummie (2010)
Heart is a tyrannosaurus who is found and raised by a herbivore mother. After learning his true nature as a meat eater, he runs away from home and finds a baby ankylosaurus egg that hatches and thinks Heart is his father. After accidentally naming the baby Yummie - thinking he looked tasty - their love for one another tests the bounds of nature vs. nurture.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSea Prince and the Fire Child (1981)
The God of Water and the Goddess of Fire, who once lived in harmony, were torn apart by the Lord of the Winds. Their children, Sirius, heir to the Water Kingdom, and Malta, heir to the Fire Kingdom, become aware of the existence of their other worlds and fall in love. Their parents, however, disapprove, leading to a tale of star-crossed lovers trapped between life and death, water and fire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & fantasy
Beyond the Boundary: I'll Be Here – Past (2015)
It all began quite suddenly. Akihito, who appears human but is actually half yomu with the power to quickly heal himself, sees a freshman girl who appears ready to jump from the school rooftop. The girl, Mirai, who has the ability to manipulate blood, which is unique even among members of the spirit world, continues to fight her isolation. Akihito decides at that moment to save Mirai, but disturbing events soon begin to unfold.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIdiots and Angels (2008)
Angel, a selfish rotter is hanging around in a local bar, groping the wife of the barman and dealing with weapons. One morning he wakes up finding a pair of wings growing at his back. These wings do good deeds against his nature. But suddenly he finds himself fighting those who want these wings for their own dark plans.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMemories (1995)
Three back-to-back anime films by three different directors make up this sci-fi trilogy three years in the making.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Wolf House (2018)
After escaping from a religious colony in Chile, Maria seeks shelter in a mansion where she’s taken in by two pigs, its only inhabitants. Like in a stop-motion dream, the universe of the house reacts to her feelings. The animals slowly morph into humans and the house into a dark, menacing world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAladdin and the Wonderful Lamp (1982)
This film stays very faithful to the original down to the smallest details, save for the kangaroo-rat that suddenly appears twenty minutes into the movie and subsequently follows Aladdin around, serving no purpose in the story but fulfilling the role of token animal mascot. The story takes some illogical and confusing jumps at the point where Aladdin begins to court the princess, and the extravagant animation that had characterised Toei films of the 60s, when Toei had the best animators around, had become a thing of the past long before this point; but this is still an above-average film, in large part because of the screenplay that stays so faithful to the original. The character designs are slightly more western-looking than one is accustomed to seeing in anime.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & fantasy
LouiMax Dreams of Being an Adult (TBA)
a stop motion short about a little mouse who dreams of growing up and becoming an adult so he can enjoy life to the maximum. one day he wakes up to find himself in an adult body, his parents leave him home alone to go on vacation, and we see him with his new status try to maneuver adult life and exploring the new state he is in.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & animation
The Story of a Hare Boy (1976)
A psychedelic Soviet/Estonian animation short. A hare boy doesn't want to go to sleep in the evening. His mother tries to scare him with a fox, a wolf and a bear, but he is not afraid of any of them. Suddenly, a small mouse appears on the floor - and the hare boy goes quickly under the blanket.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & family
Outrageous Big Machines (2008)
Outrageous Big Machines features 4 captivating construction shows on 1 action packed DVD. Take your kid directly to the work site where they will help real construction workers clear the way for roads and blast away mountains of debris with awesome power. Better pack your hard hat - it's going to be a bumpy ride!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Sailor Victory (1995)
In the future, five female high school students form Sailor Victory to command three giant ninja robots: Gion, Momoyama and Sagano, so that they can fight against evil in the virtual-future of Mikado City. In these two episodes, a disgraced and disgruntled city employee aims to humiliate the Sailor Victory crew by joining up with the evil Margarita. Little does he know that she is bent on destroying the city...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Like Wolf Children and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Wolf Children?
The closest matches to Wolf Children are Mirai (2018), Wolfwalkers (2020) and Pokémon 3: The Movie (2000). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Wolf Children?
Start with Mirai (2018), the closest match to Wolf Children.
What is the highest-rated movie like Wolf Children?
Spirited Away (2001), rated 8.5/10 by 19,201 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Wolf Children?
The Legend of Ochi (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Wolf Children?
Yes: Mirai (2018), Pokémon 3: The Movie (2000) and My Neighbor Totoro (1988).
How are movies similar to Wolf Children chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Wolf Children, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.