Movies like Before Leaving (2022)
The best movies like Before Leaving (2022) are Where the Red Fern Grows (2003), I Believe (2019) and Skater Girl (2021). If Before Leaving hooked you with its drama and family, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLittle Lord Fauntleroy (1980)7.3/10 from 326 votes
- NewestMexicali (2026)Released 2026
- In ChineseThe Secret of the Magic Gourd (2007)Also in Chinese
Where the Red Fern Grows (2003)
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."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Believe (2019)
A 9 year old boy experiences God's power in a supernatural way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSkater Girl (2021)
Prerna, a teenager growing up in rural India, comes of age when she’s introduced to the sport of skateboarding. As a result, she has to fight the odds to follow her dreams and compete in the national championship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHeidi (2005)
Swiss girl Adelheid 'Heidi' is orphaned young. Aunt Detie brings her to grandpa Alp and his wife, who live isolated in the Alps since his murder charge. Heidi soon takes to the wild country, especially accompanying young goatherd Peter. Grandpa refuses to send her to school in the city, but aunt Detie returns and forces him to give in. She's sent to a posh lady in Frankfurt, where she'll be a companion for crippled daughter Clara after school hours.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhere the Red Fern Grows (1974)
Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for two years to achieve his dream of buying two red-bone coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in life as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with his dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGreyfriars Bobby (1961)
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.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secret of the Magic Gourd (2007)
When schoolboy 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.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLittle Lord Fauntleroy (1980)
Young Cedric Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1880s Brooklyn after the death of his father. Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, has long ago disowned his son for marrying an American. But after the death of the Earl's remaining son, he decides to accept Cedric as his heir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Stray (2017)
A young father takes his nine year old son, the family dog, and two of his son's friends backpacking in the mountains of Colorado only for all five of them to be struck by lightning.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBig World (2024)
Liu Chunhe, suffering from cerebral palsy, bravely breaks through the shackles of body and mind to realize the dream stage for his grandmother, while trying to find the coordinates of his own life. After experiencing a summer transformation, he finally embarked on a new journey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisEinstein and Einstein (2018)
A 13-year-old girl deals with the issues brought about by her family's high-priced son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAngels in the Snow (2015)
The affluent, yet troubled Montgomery family hits the road for a special Christmas in the mountains.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlicka (2006)
Katy McLaughlin desires to work on her family's mountainside horse ranch, although her father insists she finish boarding school. Katy finds a mustang in the hills near her ranch. The headstrong 16 year old then sets her mind to tame a mustang and prove to her father she can run the ranch. But when tragedy happens, it will take all the love and strength the family can muster to restore hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good Witch's Gift (2010)
Almost as soon as Jake and Cassie decide to get married on Christmas Eve, complications arise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Encounter (2010)
When five strangers with nothing in common come together at a remote roadside eatery, they place their orders with the diner's omniscient owner, who seems to know everything about them ... and is eerily reminiscent of Jesus Christ.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn American Rhapsody (2001)
A Hungarian family forced to flee the Communist country for the United States must leave a young daughter behind. Six years later, the family arranges to bring the absent daughter to the United States where she has trouble adjusting. The daughter then decides to travel to Budapest to discover her identity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKaili Blues (2016)
Chen Sheng goes off in search of his nephew who has been abandoned by his father. Along the way, he encounters numerous people from his past and also those from his future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMexicali (2026)
A former special forces contractor is forced out of retirement as an avocado farmer in Mexico when local gangsters try to force him and his family off their farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Am David (2003)
A 12-year-old boy manages to flee a Communist concentration camp on his own, through sheer will and determination. All he has in his possession is a loaf of bread, a letter to deliver to someone in Denmark, and a compass to help get him there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Mimzy (2007)
Two siblings begin to develop special talents after they find a mysterious box of toys, and soon their parents and even their teacher are drawn into a strange new world – and find a task ahead of them that is far more important than any of them could imagine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Before Leaving?
The closest matches to Before Leaving are Where the Red Fern Grows (2003), I Believe (2019) and Skater Girl (2021). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Before Leaving?
Start with Where the Red Fern Grows (2003), the closest match to Before Leaving.
What is the highest-rated movie like Before Leaving?
Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980), rated 7.3/10 by 326 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Before Leaving?
Mexicali (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like Before Leaving?
Yes: The Secret of the Magic Gourd (2007), Big World (2024) and Einstein and Einstein (2018).
How are movies similar to Before Leaving chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Before Leaving, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.