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Movies like Stopping Time (2024)

The best movies like Stopping Time (2024) are The Railway Children (1970), The Secret Garden (2020) and Steven Universe: The Movie (2019). If Stopping Time hooked you with its drama and family, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. The Railway Children (1970)

    At the dawn of the 20th century, following their father's arrest on suspicion of betraying state secrets, the three Waterbury children—Bobbie, Phyllis and Peter—move with their mother to Yorkshire, where they find themselves involved in unexpected dramas along the railway by their new home.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  2. The Secret Garden (2020)

    Mary Lennox is born in India to wealthy British parents who never wanted her. When her parents suddenly die, she is sent back to England to live with her uncle. She meets her sickly cousin, and the two children find a wondrous secret garden lost in the grounds of Misselthwaite Manor.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  3. Steven Universe: The Movie (2019)

    Two years after bringing peace to the galaxy, Steven Universe sees his past come back to haunt him in the form of a deranged Gem who wants to destroy the Earth.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  4. The Secret Garden (1993)

    A young British girl born and reared in India loses her neglectful parents in an earthquake. She is returned to England to live at her uncle's castle. Her uncle is very distant due to the loss of his wife ten years before. Neglected once again, she begins exploring the estate and discovers a garden that has been locked and forgotten. Aided by one of the servants' boys, she begins restoring the garden, and eventually discovers some other secrets of the manor.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  5. Dog Gone (2023)

    When his beloved dog goes missing, a young man embarks on an incredible search with his parents to find him and give him life-saving medication.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  6. 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 this
  7. Canvas (2020)

    After a heartbreaking loss, a grandfather struggling to reclaim his passion for painting finds the inspiration to create again.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  8. Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken (1991)

    A runaway orphan, young Sonora, persists in a menial job mucking stables in Doc Carver's travelling stunt show. Her great wish is to become a death-defying "diving girl," but Doc refuses her pleas. Undaunted, Sonora's gutsy resolve finally convinces him to give her a break. On the brink of stardom, however, a cruel twist of fate threatens to destroy her dream.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  9. Kensuke's Kingdom (2024)

    A young boy and his family set off on a sailing trip of a lifetime until a violent storm erupts, sweeping Michael and his dog overboard. After washing up on a remote island, terrified, they struggle to survive and adjust to life alone, One day, Michael discovers he is not alone when he is confronted by a mysterious Japanese man who has lived there secretly since World War II, angry that Michael has arrived. However, as dangerous invaders threaten their fragile island paradise, Michael and the old man, Kensuke, join forces to save their secret world.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  10. Heidi (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 this
  11. Little 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 this
  12. The Forge (2024)

    19 year old Isaiah Wright lives for basketball and video games. A year out of high school, he has no job, no plans, and no idea how to be a man. At odds with his single mother Cynthia, Isaiah is given an ultimatum – to step up or move out. Feeling the pull from his friends and the push from his mom, Isaiah is hired by Moore Fitness, unaware of how the owner will personally impact his life. With the prayers of his mother and unexpected guidance from his new mentor, Isaiah is forced to deal with his past, sacrifice his selfishness and discover how God might have a greater purpose for his life.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  13. The Chalk Garden (1964)

    The peculiar antics of Laurel, an emotionally troubled young girl, are the focus of The Chalk Garden – a stately household drama set on the cliffs of the English south coast. Edith Evans plays a matriarchal grandmother who, in raising her granddaughter, has neglected her other love – a barren chalk garden. Mayhem ensues as Laurel's behavior frightens away a succession of governesses until an enigmatic one is hired in spite of her mysterious references. She skillfully sets about tending to the girl's reckless emotions and the pitifully failed garden.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  14. Nicholas Nickleby (2002)

    Nicholas Nickleby, a young boy in search of a better life, struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his coldheartedly grasping uncle.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  15. Flowers in the Attic (2014)

    After the sudden death of their father, four children face cruel treatment from their ruthless grandmother.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  16. The Deep End of the Ocean (1999)

    A three-year-old boy disappears during his mother's high school reunion. Nine years later, by chance, he turns up in the town in which the family has just relocated.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. Black or White (2015)

    A grieving widower is drawn into a custody battle over his granddaughter, whom he helped raise her entire life.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  18. The Long Day Closes (1992)

    Bud is a lonely and quiet boy whose moments of solace occur when he sits in rapture at the local cinema, watching towering and iconic figures on the movie screen. The movies give Bud the strength to get through another day as he deals with his oppressive school environment and his burgeoning homosexuality.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  19. The 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

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  20. Sounder (1972)

    The oldest son of a loving and strong family of black sharecroppers comes of age in the Depression-era South after his father is imprisoned for stealing food.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  21. Imelda (2014)

    A year after the death of his paternal grandmother at the age of 101, filmmaker Martin Villeneuve brings her back to life using a special talent.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & family

  22. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2022)

    Marcel is an adorable one-inch-tall shell who ekes out a colorful existence with his grandmother Connie and their pet lint, Alan. Once part of a sprawling community of shells, they now live alone as the sole survivors of a mysterious tragedy. When a documentarian discovers them amongst the clutter of his Airbnb, his resulting short film brings Marcel millions of passionate fans, as well as unprecedented dangers and a new hope at finding his long-lost family.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & family

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  23. Gerry (2002)

    Two friends named Gerry become lost in the desert after taking a wrong turn. Their attempts to find their way home only lead them into further trouble.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  24. Persepolis (2007)

    In 1970s Iran, Marjane 'Marji' Satrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family of a long dream being fulfilled of the hated Shah's defeat in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. However as Marji grows up, she witnesses first hand how the new Iran, now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, has become a repressive tyranny on its own.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  25. Our Mother's House (1967)

    Seven children bury their mother and hide her death - until their long-lost father returns.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  26. Ellipsis (2018)

    In the middle of a crowded city the paths of two strangers, a man and a woman, collide. This accidental, chance occurrence sets in motion a chain of events that sees the two strangers embark on a night of adventure and connection that challenges their separate lives.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  27. The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)

    The true, harrowing story of a young Jewish girl who, with her family and their friends, is forced into hiding in an attic in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  28. Hamburger Hill (1987)

    The men of Bravo Company are facing a battle that's all uphill… up Hamburger Hill. Fourteen war-weary soldiers are battling for a mud-covered mound of earth so named because it chews up soldiers like chopped meat. They are fighting for their country, their fellow soldiers and their lives. War is hell, but this is worse. Hamburger Hill tells it the way it was, the way it really was. It's a raw, gritty and totally unrelenting dramatic depiction of one of the fiercest battles of America's bloodiest war. This happened. Hamburger Hill - war at its worst, men at their best.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  29. Clarissa (2026)

    Across a single day in Lagos, Nigeria, Clarissa prepares to host a high society party at her home, as her complicated past begins to consume her, in the form of now-distant friends and loves from her youth. Simultaneously, Septimus, a young soldier, is haunted by his own memories of the horrors he has witnessed and endured. As the perspectives traverse past and present, across the bourgeois class and those too easily forgotten by society, a delicate portrait of contemporary Nigeria emerges.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Coming SoonMovies like this
  30. My Last Summer (2017)

    During a heat wave in Montreal, Tom, 11, meets Édith, who’s the same age. He soon discovers that Édith has a terrible secret.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

Like Stopping Time and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like Stopping Time?

The closest matches to Stopping Time are The Railway Children (1970), The Secret Garden (2020) and Steven Universe: The Movie (2019). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after Stopping Time?

Start with The Railway Children (1970), the closest match to Stopping Time.

What is the highest-rated movie like Stopping Time?

Steven Universe: The Movie (2019), rated 8.2/10 by 889 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like Stopping Time?

The Forge (2024) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there English movies like Stopping Time?

Yes: The Railway Children (1970), The Secret Garden (2020) and Steven Universe: The Movie (2019).

How are movies similar to Stopping Time chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Stopping Time, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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