Movies like The Playfellow (2006)
The best movies like The Playfellow (2006) are Thunderstruck (2012), The Air Up There (1994) and Recess: All Growed Down (2003). If The Playfellow hooked you with its family and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAmélie (2001)7.9/10 from 12,817 votes
- NewestFriends Like Us (2026)Released 2026
Thunderstruck (2012)
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Air Up There (1994)
Jimmy Dolan is a college basketball coach who wants a big promotion. To get it, he needs to make a dramatic find. He ends up deep in Africa, hoping to recruit Saleh, a huge basketball prodigy Jimmy glimpsed in a home movie. But Saleh is the chief's son and has responsibilities at home, since the tribe's land is threatened by a mining company with its own hotshot basketball team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRecess: All Growed Down (2003)
T.J. and The Recess Gang are kidnapped by the Third Street School's kindergartners, who are in turn being bullied by a new kid in their class.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Loud House Christmas (2021)
Lincoln Loud gears up for the ultimate Christmas, until he finds out that most of his sisters have plans to be elsewhere for the big day. Determined to remind his family that they all need to be together, Lincoln and his best friend Clyde McBride embark on a mission to preserve the family’s holiday traditions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeverly Hills Chihuahua 2 (2011)
Puppy mayhem turns the lives of newlywed Chihuahua parents Papi and Chloe upside down when their rambunctious, mischievous puppies present one challenge after another. But when their human owners end up in trouble, the tiny pups will stop at nothing to save them - because in good times and hard times, the family always sticks together. So Papi, Chloe and the puppies embark on a heroic adventure, proving once again that big heroes come in small packages.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
SnoozefestMovies like thisMy Spy (2020)
A hardened CIA operative finds himself at the mercy of a precocious 9-year-old girl, having been sent undercover to surveil her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA.R.C.H.I.E. (2016)
A recently orphaned 15-year-old who has moved to a small town to live with her uncle befriends a robotic canine with super strength, x-ray vision and the ability to talk and the pair take on a military complex, bullies, kidnappers, romance and the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCadet Kelly (2002)
Hyperactive teenager Kelly is enrolled into a military school when her new stepfather becomes the Commandant. At first she has problems fitting in and taking orders until she tries out for the drill team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRookie of the Year (1993)
When the cast comes off his once broken arm, a 12-year-old boy can throw a 100-mile-an-hour fastball, and the Chicago Cubs want him as their new pitcher.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Flintstones Christmas Carol (1994)
Fred is cast as Ebenezer Scrooge in a stage adaption of the classic Christmas story, but is acting a bit stingy in real life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sandlot 2 (2005)
A decade has passed in the small town where the original Sandlot gang banded together during the summer of ’62 to play baseball and battle the Beast. Now, back at the dugout, nine new kids descend on the diamond only to discover that a descendant of the Beast lives in Mr. Mertle’s backyard – a monster of mythical proportions known as 'The Great Fear'.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisMonster Family 2 (2021)
To free Baba Yaga and Renfield from the clutches of Monster Hunter Mila Starr, the Wishbone Family once more transforms into a Vampire, Frankenstein's Monster, a Mummy and a Werewolf but when aided by their three pet bats, the Monster Family zooms around the world again to save their friends, make new monstrous acquaintances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Loud House Movie (2021)
The Loud family travel to Scotland and discover they are descendants of Scottish royalty as they move into their giant ancestral castle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRon's Gone Wrong (2021)
In a world where walking, talking, digitally connected bots have become children's best friends, an 11-year-old finds that his robot buddy doesn't quite work the same as the others do.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSee Spot Run (2001)
A drug sniffing agent canine is a target for an assassin boss so the FBI calls Witness Protection to send him somewhere else. Meanwhile a single Mom puts her 6 year old boy James in the care of her irresponsible, mailman, neighbor, Gordon, when the babysitter bails on her. Meanwhile, an assassin mob boss hires 2 goons to kill Agent 11. But when 11 escapes from the van when they tried to kill him, he hides in Gordon's Mailtruck that James is in too. And guess what they name him. Spot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSnoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin (2024)
Franklin is new to town and hoping to make friends, but his usual tactics don't work on the Peanuts gang. When the Soap Box Derby arrives, he's sure it's a chance to impress new pals and teams up with the only other unpartnered kid: Charlie Brown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPups Alone (2021)
After receiving an exciting new job opportunity at a cutting edge Pet Invention company, Robert, his teenage daughter Jenna and their trusty and special border collie Charlie make the move to the new neighborhood, right before Christmas. Upon arriving, Robert meets his gorgeous next door neighbor Holly, and her sassy and spunky border collie Gidget. Before the sparks can fly, they are set upon my Robert’s conniving and obnoxious next door neighbor and project manager Victor, his neighborhood bully bulldog “Vinnie P” and the sycophantic sidekick Chihuahua “Jose”.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisDennis the Menace (1993)
Mr. Wilson's ever-present annoyance comes in the form of one mischievous kid named Dennis. But he'll need Dennis's tricks to uncover a collection of gold coins that go missing when a shady drifter named Switchblade Sam comes to town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisSwitched (2020)
Tired of being bullied, Cassandra Evans prays that her nemesis, Katie Sharp, the queen bee of social media, would know what it’s like to walk a day in her shoes. Her prayer is answered in an unexpected way when they get switched.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPAW Patrol: Jet to the Rescue (2020)
A royal relative steals a gem with the power to make things fly, the Paw Patrol takes to the skies to stop him and save Barkingburg.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Wizard (1989)
A boy and his brother run away from home and hitch cross-country, with help from a girl they meet, to compete in the ultimate video game championship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
When eccentric candy man Willy Wonka promises a lifetime supply of sweets and a tour of his chocolate factory to five lucky kids, penniless Charlie Bucket seeks the golden ticket that will make him a winner.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFriends Like Us (2026)
A dark comedic thriller where two sitcom actors have to reenact a new version of their show’s series finale after a crazed fan keeps them hostage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
A Photo for the Memories (1985)
A boy falls in love with the girl whose injuries he is responsible for...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Amélie (2001)
At a tiny Parisian café, the adorable yet painfully shy Amélie accidentally discovers a gift for helping others. Soon Amelie is spending her days as a matchmaker, guardian angel, and all-around do-gooder. But when she bumps into a handsome stranger, will she find the courage to become the star of her very own love story?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBack to the Future Part III (1990)
The final installment finds Marty digging the trusty DeLorean out of a mineshaft and looking for Doc in the Wild West of 1885. But when their time machine breaks down, the travelers are stranded in a land of spurs. More problems arise when Doc falls for pretty schoolteacher Clara Clayton, and Marty tangles with Buford Tannen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTo Be or Not to Be (1942)
During the Nazi occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeverly Hills Cop (1984)
Fast-talking, quick-thinking Detroit street cop Axel Foley has bent more than a few rules and regs in his time, but when his best friend is murdered, he heads to sunny Beverly Hills to work the case like only he can.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKunstgriff (2002)
Kunstgriff is a brilliantly filmed black and white short film. Andre F. Nebe gives proof of his storytelling abilities in this 6 minute film.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Like The Playfellow and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Playfellow?
The closest matches to The Playfellow are Thunderstruck (2012), The Air Up There (1994) and Recess: All Growed Down (2003). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Playfellow?
Start with Thunderstruck (2012), the closest match to The Playfellow.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Playfellow?
Amélie (2001), rated 7.9/10 by 12,817 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Playfellow?
Friends Like Us (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Playfellow chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Playfellow, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.