Movies like Growing Strong (2015)
The best movies like Growing Strong (2015) are Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), The Great Gilly Hopkins (2015) and Echo Valley (2025). If Growing Strong hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBlack Beauty (2020)8.0/10 from 363 votes
- NewestShe Rides Shotgun (2025)Released 2025
Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
Ricky is a defiant young city kid who finds himself on the run with his cantankerous foster uncle in the wild New Zealand bush. A national manhunt ensues, and the two are forced to put aside their differences and work together to survive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Great Gilly Hopkins (2015)
Young and feisty Gilly Hopkins devises a scheme to escape from her new foster home and reunite with her birth mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEcho Valley (2025)
Kate lives a secluded life—until her troubled daughter shows up, frightened and covered in someone else's blood. As Kate unravels the shocking truth, she learns just how far a mother will go to try to save her child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShe Rides Shotgun (2025)
Newly released from prison and marked for death by unrelenting enemies, Nate must now protect his estranged 11-year-old daughter, Polly, at all costs. With scant resources and no one to trust, Nate and Polly forge a bond under fire as he shows her how to fight and survive—and she teaches him the true meaning of unconditional love.
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 thisThe Secret of Moonacre (2009)
When 13 year old Maria Merryweather's father dies, leaving her orphaned and homeless, she is forced to leave her luxurious London life to go and live with Sir Benjamin, an eccentric uncle she didn't know she had, at the mysterious Moonacre Manor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPollyanna (1960)
A young girl comes to an embittered town and confronts its attitude with her determination to see the best in life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfter (2019)
Tessa Young is a dedicated student, dutiful daughter and loyal girlfriend to her high school sweetheart. Entering her first semester of college, Tessa's guarded world opens up when she meets Hardin Scott, a mysterious and brooding rebel who makes her question all she thought she knew about herself -- and what she wants out of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWuthering Heights (1992)
Young orphan Heathcliff is adopted by the wealthy Earnshaw family and moves into their estate, Wuthering Heights. Soon, the new resident falls for his compassionate foster sister, Cathy. The two share a remarkable bond that seems unbreakable until Cathy, feeling the pressure of social convention, suppresses her feelings and marries Edgar Linton, a man of means who befits her stature. Heathcliff vows to win her back.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Horse Whisperer (1998)
The mother of a severely traumatized daughter enlists the aid of a unique horse trainer to help the girl's equally injured horse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLaggies (2014)
Overeducated and underemployed, 28 year old Megan is in the throes of a quarterlife crisis. Squarely into adulthood with no career prospects, no particular motivation to think about her future and no one to relate to, Megan is comfortable lagging a few steps behind - while her friends check off milestones and celebrate their new grown-up status. When her high-school sweetheart proposes, Megan panics and- given an unexpected opportunity to escape for a week - hides out in the home of her new friend, 16-year old Annika and Annika's world-weary single dad Craig.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Legend of Billie Jean (1985)
Average Texas teen, Billie Jean Davy, is caught up in an odd fight for justice. She is usually followed and harrased around by local boys, who, one day, decide to trash her brother's scooter for fun. The boys' father refuses to pay them back the price of the scooter. The fight for "fair is fair" takes the teens around the state and produces an unlikely hero.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfter We Fell (2021)
Just as Tessa's life begins to become unglued, nothing is what she thought it would be. Not her friends nor her family. The only person that she should be able to rely on is Hardin, who is furious when he discovers the massive secret that she's been keeping. Before Tessa makes the biggest decision of her life, everything changes because of revelations about her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHow I Live Now (2013)
An American girl, sent to the English countryside to stay with relatives, finds love and purpose while fighting for her survival as war envelops the world around her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGeorgia Rule (2007)
Rebellious, uncontrollable teenager, Rachel is hauled off by her dysfunctional mother to spend the summer with her estranged grandmother, Georgia. Her journey will lead all three women to revelations of buried family secrets and an understanding that - regardless what happens - the ties that bind can never be broken.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrandma (2015)
Self-described misanthrope Elle Reid has her protective bubble burst when her 18-year-old granddaughter, Sage, shows up needing help. The two of them go on a day-long journey that causes Elle to come to terms with her past and Sage to confront her future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Best of Me (2014)
A pair of former high school sweethearts reunite after many years when they return to visit their small hometown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlack Beauty (1994)
The fates of horses, and the people who own and command them, are revealed as Black Beauty narrates the circle of his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Beauty (2020)
Born free in the American West, Black Beauty is a horse rounded up and brought to Birtwick Stables, where she meets spirited teenager Jo Green. The two forge a bond that carries Beauty through the different chapters, challenges and adventures.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisTo Kill a Tiger (2023)
Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Growing Strong?
The closest matches to Growing Strong are Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), The Great Gilly Hopkins (2015) and Echo Valley (2025). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Growing Strong?
Start with Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), the closest match to Growing Strong.
What is the highest-rated movie like Growing Strong?
Black Beauty (2020), rated 8.0/10 by 363 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Growing Strong?
She Rides Shotgun (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Growing Strong?
Yes: Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), The Great Gilly Hopkins (2015) and Echo Valley (2025).
How are movies similar to Growing Strong chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Growing Strong, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.