Movies like Flight of the Red Balloon (2008)
The best movies like Flight of the Red Balloon (2008) are The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Marona's Fantastic Tale (2020) and I Believe (2019). If Flight of the Red Balloon hooked you with its family and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLa Jetée (1962)7.8/10 from 1,070 votes
- NewestIron Boy (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchMarona's Fantastic Tale (2020)Also in French
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
Isolated in the bell tower of Notre Dame, Quasimodo longs to experience the world beyond the cathedral walls, despite the wishes of his stern guardian, the Judge of Paris Claude Frollo. His first venture into the city leads him to Esmeralda, a fearless Romani woman whose defiance of Frollo's tyranny draws her—and Quasimodo—into his dangerous obsession.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMarona's Fantastic Tale (2020)
Marona, an innocent and empathetic little female dog, remembers the life she has shared with different masters, whom she has loved unconditionally.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisIron Boy (2026)
11-year-old Christophe tries to live up to his rigid and distant father on the family farm in rural France. But the young boy starts to lean over and collapse without warning — on the tractor, at school, at dinner... A doctor finds the solution: Christophe must wear an iron corset to keep himself upright. Forced to reinvent his life away from the farm, Christophe discovers a new passion for music, meets a new friend, and follows her into his first mischief.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHugo (2011)
Orphaned and alone except for an uncle, Hugo Cabret lives in the walls of a train station in 1930s Paris. Hugo's job is to oil and maintain the station's clocks, but to him, his more important task is to protect a broken automaton and notebook left to him by his late father. Accompanied by the goddaughter of an embittered toy merchant, Hugo embarks on a quest to solve the mystery of the automaton and find a place he can call home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBallet Shoes (2008)
An unusual explorer named Gum and his kindly niece adopt three orphans -- Pauline, Petrova and Posy -- and raise them as sisters in 1930s London. But the girls must fend for themselves when Gum doesn't return from one of his adventures. Together, they nurture their passions for acting, aviation and ballet in this charming TV adaptation of Noel Streatfield's novel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere 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 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 Boy Who Could Fly (1986)
Milly and Louis, and their recently-widowed mom, Charlene, move to a new neighborhood. Once there, they all deal with a variety of personal problems, but Milly finds a friend in Eric, her autistic next door neighbor. Eric has a fascination with flight, and as the story progresses, he exerts an enthralling force of change on all those around him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiraculous World: Paris, Tales of Shadybug and Claw Noir (2024)
Ladybug and Cat Noir discover the existence of a parallel universe in which they're supervillains determined to seize the Butterfly Miraculous.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLittle Nicholas: Happy as Can Be (2022)
Somewhere between Montmartre and Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Jean-Jacques Sempé and René Goscinny lean over a large white sheet of paper and bring to life a mischievous and endearing boy, Little Nicolas. From schoolyard games and fights to summer camp pranks and camaraderie, Nicolas lives a merry and enriching childhood – and brings friendship and newfound life to his creators, too.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrouble at Timpetill (2008)
The children of a small European mountain village end up being its only residents, soon after the adults cannot take their behavior any longer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisErnest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia (2022)
Ernest and Celestine are travelling back to Ernest's country, Gibberitia, to fix his broken violin. This exotic land is home to the best musicians on earth and music constantly fills the air with joy. However, upon arriving, our two heroes discover that all forms of music have been banned for many years - and for them, a life without music is unthinkable. Along with their friends and a mysterious masked outlaw, Ernest and Celestine must try their best to bring music and happiness back to the land of bears.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisScooby-Doo! in Arabian Nights (1994)
Scooby-Doo and Shaggy travel to Arabia to become the Caliph's Royal Food Tasters. But they bite off more than they can chew and are forced to run for their lives! It's a wild magic carpet ride as Scooby-Doo, Shaggy and their genie (Yogi Bear) and a jolly sailor named Sinbad (Magilla Gorilla) take you on an adventure of mistaken identities, exotic locations and fun-filled action and surprises!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMiraculous World: London, at the Edge of Time (2024)
To save the future from a terrible fate, Marinette becomes Chronobug and teams up with Bunnyx to defeat a mysterious opponent who travels through time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Past (2013)
After four years apart, Ahmad returns to his wife Marie in Paris in order to progress their divorce. During his brief stay, he cannot help noticing the strained relationship between Marie and her daughter Lucie. As he attempts to improve matters between mother and daughter Ahmad unwittingly lifts the lid on a long buried secret...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNapoleon (1995)
The adventures of Golden Retriever pup Napoleon and his friend, the parrot Birdo Lucci.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFamily Romance, LLC (2019)
Love is a business at Family Romance, a company that rents human stand-ins for any occasion. Founder Yuichi Ishii helps make his clients’ dreams come true. But when the mother of 12-year-old Mahiro hires Ishii to impersonate her missing father, the line between acting and reality threatens to blur.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCurious George 3: Back to the Jungle (2015)
When Curious George is offered a special space mission, Ted (The Man in the Yellow Hat) can't deny his little friend this exciting journey, especially after Curious George completes the training. But when he crash-lands in Africa, a worried Ted goes searching, expecting the worst, only to have it turn out to be the best.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIncredibles 2 (2018)
Elastigirl springs into action to save the day, while Mr. Incredible faces his greatest challenge yet – taking care of the problems of his three children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDear Frankie (2004)
Nine-year-old Frankie and his single mum Lizzie have been on the move ever since Frankie can remember, most recently arriving in a seaside Scottish town. Wanting to protect her deaf son from the truth that they've run away from his father, Lizzie has invented a story that he is away at sea on the HMS Accra. Every few weeks, Lizzie writes Frankie a make-believe letter from his father, telling of his adventures in exotic lands. As Frankie tracks the ship's progress around the globe, he discovers that it is due to dock in his hometown. With the real HMS Accra arriving in only a fortnight, Lizzie must choose between telling Frankie the truth or finding the perfect stranger to play Frankie's father for just one day...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Face under The Face (2025)
A SILENT STORY - An aging refugee clown in Paris masks trauma with silent street performances. Beneath his painted smile lie resilience and displacement’s sorrow, a wordless elegy to those surviving unseen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & family
The Little Thief (1988)
In a small town in post-WWII France, 16-year-old Janine tries to improve her conditions by any means necessary. Three people—Michel, a married lover; Raoul, a fellow thief; Mauricette, a photographer she meets in prison—will help her learn from her mistakes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this99 Francs (2007)
Paris, France, 2001. Octave Parango, a young advertiser working at the Ross & Witchcraft advertising agency, lives a suicidal existence, ruled by cynicism, irresponsibility and debauchery. The obstacles he will encounter in developing a campaign for a new yogurt brand will force him to face the meaning of his work and the way he manages his relationship with those who orbit around his egotistic lifestyle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Class (2008)
Teacher and novelist François Bégaudeau plays a version of himself as he negotiates a year with his racially mixed students from a tough Parisian neighborhood.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNowhere Boy (TBA)
On the way to Europe, teenage refugee Ahmed's father dies. As an orphan alone in Brussels, his dream of reaching England fades. Instead, he finds himself hiding in a house where, upstairs, an American family — including a 13-year-old boy named Max — lives. Max finds Ahmed, and the two become friends, giving the latter new direction.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Conformist (1971)
A weak-willed Italian man becomes a fascist flunky who goes abroad to arrange the assassination of his old teacher, now a political dissident.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Watchmaker of St. Paul (1974)
Michel Descombes is a watchmaker who lives in Lyon with his teenage son Bernard. When the police visit and inform him that Bernard has killed a man and is on the run with a girl, Michel realises that he knew far less about his son than he thought.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Page Turner (2006)
Mélanie Prouvost, a ten-year-old butcher's daughter, is a gifted pianist. That is why she and her parents decide that she sit for the Conservatory entrance exam. Although Mélanie is very likely to be admitted, she unfortunately gets distracted by the president of the jury's offhand attitude and she fails. Ten years later, Mélanie becomes her page turner, waiting patiently for her revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLa Jetée (1962)
A man confronts his past during an experiment that attempts to find a solution to the problems of a post-apocalyptic world caused by a world war.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like Flight of the Red Balloon and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Flight of the Red Balloon?
The closest matches to Flight of the Red Balloon are The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Marona's Fantastic Tale (2020) and I Believe (2019). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Flight of the Red Balloon?
Start with The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), the closest match to Flight of the Red Balloon.
What is the highest-rated movie like Flight of the Red Balloon?
La Jetée (1962), rated 7.8/10 by 1,070 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Flight of the Red Balloon?
Iron Boy (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Flight of the Red Balloon?
Yes: Marona's Fantastic Tale (2020), Iron Boy (2026) and Miraculous World: Paris, Tales of Shadybug and Claw Noir (2024).
How are movies similar to Flight of the Red Balloon chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Flight of the Red Balloon, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.