Movies like Tad, the Lost Explorer (2012)
The best movies like Tad, the Lost Explorer (2012) are Tad, the Lost Explorer, and the Secret of King Midas (2017), The Inseparables (2023) and Rio 2 (2014). If Tad, the Lost Explorer hooked you with its animation and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedUp (2009)8.0/10 from 22,385 votes
- NewestJumbo (2025)Released 2025
- In SpanishTad, the Lost Explorer, and the Secret of King Midas (2017)Also in Spanish
Tad, the Lost Explorer, and the Secret of King Midas (2017)
Tad dreams of becoming an archaeologist traveling the world, uncovering hidden secrets and lost treasure, but his job working construction keeps him daydreaming instead of exploring. The chance of a lifetime comes when he is invited to attend archaeologist Sara Lavrof's presentation of her latest discovery - the papyrus that proves the existence of the Necklace of Midas, the legendary King who turned everything he touched into solid gold.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Inseparables (2023)
The animated buddy movie follows the misadventures of Don, a runaway puppet with boundless imaginations, and DJ Doggy Dog, an abandoned plush looking for a friend, who cross paths in Central Park and team up against all odds for a epic friendship adventure in New York.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRio 2 (2014)
It's a jungle out there for Blu, Jewel and their three kids after they're hurtled from Rio de Janeiro to the wilds of the Amazon. As Blu tries to fit in, he goes beak-to-beak with the vengeful Nigel, and meets the most fearsome adversary of all: his father-in-law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWonder Park (2019)
A young girl named June with a big imagination makes an incredible discovery -- the amusement park of her dreams has come to life. Filled with the world's wildest rides operated by fun-loving animals, the excitement never ends. But when trouble hits, June and her misfit team of furry friends begin an unforgettable journey to save the park.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHitpig! (2024)
A porcine bounty hunter accepts his next hit: Pickles, a naive, ebullient elephant. Though he initially sets out to capture the perky pachyderm, the unlikely pair find themselves crisscrossing the globe on an adventure that brings out the best in both of them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrouble (2019)
A pampered dog named Trouble must learn to live in the real world while trying to escape from his former owner's greedy children and must learn how to survive on the big-city streets.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMinions & More Volume 1 (2022)
This collection of 10 short films produced by Illumination includes: From the "Despicable Me" franchise: Puppy (2013); Minion Scouts (2019); Training Wheels (2013); The Secret Life of Kyle (2017); Santa's Little Helpers (2019). From the "Grinch" franchise: The Dog Days of Winter (2019). From the "Secret Life of Pets" franchise: Norman Television (2016); Weenie (2016). From the "Sing" franchise: Love at First Sight (2017). From the "Lorax" franchise: Forces of Nature (2012).
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAn Egg Rescue (2021)
Toto and his friends must rescue his egg children after they're taken away for a gourmet food event in Africa.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMy Little Pony: A New Generation (2021)
Equestria's divided. But a bright-eyed hero believes Earth Ponies, Pegasi and Unicorns should be pals — and, hoof to heart, she’s determined to prove it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Road to El Dorado (2000)
Stowing away after a failed con, a pair of swindlers end up on El Dorado, the fabled "city of gold", where they quickly get in over their heads when they are mistaken as gods by the inhabitants.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUp (2009)
Carl Fredricksen spent his entire life dreaming of exploring the globe and experiencing life to its fullest. But at age 78, life seems to have passed him by, until a twist of fate (and a persistent 8-year old Wilderness Explorer named Russell) gives him a new lease on life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLittle Eggs: A Frozen Rescue (2022)
Toto and his family must travel to the South Pole to fulfill a promise: return a polar bear and some Spanish penguins to their home. To achieve this, they will have to overcome obstacles that teach them how important teamwork is.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHuevos: Little Rooster's Egg-Cellent Adventure (2015)
Toto has grown and now is a young cock. An evil rancher tricks the female owner of the ranch where they live and forces her to bet the property in a cockfight in the arena. Toto is the only option to defend their home, so he must train in just one week and win the championship of the arena.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMadagascar (2005)
Four animal friends get a taste of the wild life when they break out of captivity at the Central Park Zoo and wash ashore on the island of Madagascar.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRio (2011)
Captured by smugglers when he was just a hatchling, a macaw named Blu never learned to fly and lives a happily domesticated life in Minnesota with his human friend, Linda. Blu is thought to be the last of his kind, but when word comes that Jewel, a lone female, lives in Rio de Janeiro, Blu and Linda go to meet her. Animal smugglers kidnap Blu and Jewel, but the pair soon escape and begin a perilous adventure back to freedom -- and Linda.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPlanes (2013)
Dusty is a cropdusting plane who dreams of competing in a famous aerial race. The problem? He is hopelessly afraid of heights. With the support of his mentor Skipper and a host of new friends, Dusty sets off to make his dreams come true.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & family
SnoozefestMovies like thisDora and the Lost City of Gold (2019)
Dora, a girl who has spent most of her life exploring the jungle with her parents, now must navigate her most dangerous adventure yet: high school. Always the explorer, Dora quickly finds herself leading Boots (her best friend, a monkey), Diego, and a rag tag group of teens on an adventure to save her parents and solve the impossible mystery behind a lost Inca civilization.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArctic Dogs (2019)
Animals band together to save the day when the evil Otto Von Walrus hatches a sinister scheme to accelerate global warming and melt the Arctic Circle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisAinbo: Spirit of the Amazon (2021)
An epic journey of a young hero and her Spirit Guides, 'Dillo' a cute and humorous armadillo and "Vaca" a goofy oversized tapir, who embark on a quest to save their home in the spectacular Amazon Rainforest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSaludos Amigos (1942)
A whimsical blend of live action and animation, "Saludos Amigos" is a colorful kaleidoscope of art, adventure and music set to a toe-tapping samba beat. From high Andes peaks and Argentina's pampas to the sights and sounds of Rio de Janeiro, your international traveling companions are none other than those famous funny friends, Donald Duck and Goofy. They keep things lively as Donald encounters a stubborn llama and "El Gaucho" Goofy tries on the cowboy way of life....South American-style.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisIce Age: Collision Course (2016)
Set after the events of Continental Drift, Scrat's epic pursuit of his elusive acorn catapults him outside of Earth, where he accidentally sets off a series of cosmic events that transform and threaten the planet. To save themselves from peril, Manny, Sid, Diego, and the rest of the herd leave their home and embark on a quest full of thrills and spills, highs and lows, laughter and adventure while traveling to exotic new lands and locations.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGnome Alone (2017)
When Chloe discovers that her new home's garden gnomes are not what they seem, she must decide between the pursuit of a desired high school life and taking up the fight against the Troggs.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJumbo (2025)
Desperate to prove to his peers that he’s more than a chubby kid that never wins at anything, little Don wishes to win his local talent show by performing a stageplay inspired from a storybook written by his late parents. When unfortunately a bully stole that book, at the same time a little ghost appeared from the spirit world asking for Don’s help to reunite her with her parents’ spirits. The two new friends then embark on an exciting adventure to help each other and learn the true meaning of friendship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAll Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)
When a casino-owning dog named Charlie is murdered by his rival Carface, he finds himself in Heaven. Wanting to get back at his killer, he cons his way back to the living with the warning that doing so damns him to Hell. Once back, he teams with his old partner, Itchy, to prep his retaliation. He stumbles upon an orphan girl who can talk to the animals, thus allowing him to get the inside info on the races to ensure his wins to finance his plans. However, all the while, he is still haunted by nightmares of what's waiting for him on the other side unless he can prove that he is worthy of Heaven again.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Cinderella Story (2004)
Routinely exploited by her wicked stepmother, the downtrodden Samantha Montgomery is excited about the prospect of meeting her Internet beau at the school's Halloween dance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRing of the Nibelungs (2004)
In this swords-and-sorcery tale, good-hearted blacksmith Eyvind hides away infant Prince Siegfried after two malevolent kings murder his father. But a fiery meteor sent by the gods reveals Siegfried's destiny, sending him on the quest of a lifetime. To save a crumbling kingdom claim the heart of his true love, he'll have to slay the nefarious dragon, Fafnir.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTouching the Void (2003)
The true story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates' disastrous and nearly-fatal mountain climb of 6,344m Siula Grande in the Cordillera Huayhuash in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStealing Rembrandt (2003)
Two bumbling scrap metal thieves - father and son - steal the wrong painting during a museum heist. The painting turns out to be the only original Rembrandt painting in Denmark, and all hell breaks loose. What do you do when you've got Interpol, the Danish police and the entire Danish underworld on your heels? And who was this Rembrandt guy anyway?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Bonzolino or – Bonzo Broadcasted (1925)
Bonzo is rejected by his sweetheart, a pekinese called Chekee, who is enraptured by her favourite film stars. However, she readily accepts Bonzo after he has been to Hollywood, and returned as the famous actor Bon Chaney.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Daylight (1996)
A group of armed robbers fleeing the police head for the New Jersey Tunnel and run right into trucks transporting toxic waste. The spectacular explosion that follows results in both ends of the tunnel collapsing and the handful of people who survived the explosion are now in peril. Kit Latura is the only man with the skill and knowledge to lead the band of survivors out of the tunnel before the structure collapses.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like Tad, the Lost Explorer and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Tad, the Lost Explorer?
The closest matches to Tad, the Lost Explorer are Tad, the Lost Explorer, and the Secret of King Midas (2017), The Inseparables (2023) and Rio 2 (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Tad, the Lost Explorer?
Start with Tad, the Lost Explorer, and the Secret of King Midas (2017), the closest match to Tad, the Lost Explorer.
What is the highest-rated movie like Tad, the Lost Explorer?
Up (2009), rated 8.0/10 by 22,385 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Tad, the Lost Explorer?
Jumbo (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like Tad, the Lost Explorer?
Yes: Tad, the Lost Explorer, and the Secret of King Midas (2017), An Egg Rescue (2021) and Little Eggs: A Frozen Rescue (2022).
How are movies similar to Tad, the Lost Explorer chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Tad, the Lost Explorer, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.