Movies like Emil and the Detectives (2026)
The best movies like Emil and the Detectives (2026) are The Three Investigators in The Secret of Terror Castle (2009), Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library (2017) and Nancy Drew (2007). If Emil and the Detectives hooked you with its family and adventure, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Thing (1982)8.1/10 from 8,443 votes
- NewestEnola Holmes 3 (2026)Released 2026
- In GermanThe Three Investigators in The Secret of Terror Castle (2009)Also in German
The Three Investigators in The Secret of Terror Castle (2009)
A new case for the cult detectives! Not by coincidence, a mysterious videotape falls into the hands of Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw and Bob Andrews during Jupiter's birthday party in Rocky Beach. On it is a recording of Jupiter's long dead parents. In their message they want to communicate to their son the key to an especially tricky riddle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEscape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library (2017)
Can twelve 12-year-olds escape from the most ridiculously brilliant library ever created? Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library plunks a dozen sixth-graders into the middle of a futuristic library for a night of nonstop fun and adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNancy Drew (2007)
Intrepid teenage private eye Nancy Drew heads to Tinseltown with her father to investigate the unsolved murder of a movie star in this old-fashioned whodunit based on Carolyn Keene's popular series of books for young adults. But can the small-town girl cut through the Hollywood hype to solve the case?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (2019)
Nancy Drew, a smart high schooler with a penchant for keen observation and deduction, stumbles upon the haunting of a local home. A bit of an outsider struggling to fit into her new surroundings, Nancy and her pals set out to solve the mystery, make new friends, and establish their place in the community
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTimmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made (2020)
An 11-year old boy believes that he is the best detective in town and runs the agency Total Failures with his best friend, an imaginary 1,200 pound polar bear.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEnola Holmes (2020)
While searching for her missing mother, intrepid teen Enola Holmes uses her sleuthing skills to outsmart big brother Sherlock and help a runaway lord.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHoles (2003)
After being wrongfully convicted for stealing a pair of shoes, Stanley Yelnats is sent away to Camp Green Lake, a boys detention facility where inmates are forced to dig holes all day in the hot desert sun as a form of character building. As he endures the brutal routine, Stanley begins to uncover a hidden truth behind the camp, one that connects to a dangerous secret—and possibly Stanley’s family itself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEnola Holmes 3 (2026)
Adventure follows detective Enola Holmes to Malta, where her plans to tie the knot unravel when Sherlock's disappearance plunges her into a perilous case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShorts (2009)
A young boy's discovery of a colorful, wish-granting rock causes chaos in the suburban town of Black Falls when jealous kids and scheming adults alike set out to get their hands on it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Sheep Detectives (2026)
George Hardy is a shepherd who reads detective novels to his beloved sheep every night, assuming they can't possibly understand. But when a mysterious incident disrupts life on the farm, the sheep realize they must become the detectives. As they follow the clues and investigate human suspects, they prove that even sheep can be brilliant crime-solvers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & mystery
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBenji (2018)
Two school kids strike up a friendship with an orphaned puppy named Benji. When danger befalls them and they end up kidnapped by robbers who are in over their heads, Benji and his scruffy sidekick come to the rescue.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Thief Lord (2006)
A tale about two young boys, Prosper and Bo, who flee to Venice after being orphaned and dumped in the care of a cruel auntie. Hiding in the canals and alleyways of the city, the boys are befriended by a gang of young urchins and their enigmatic leader, the Thief Lord. From their home base of an old cinema theater, the children steal from the rich to support themselves and soon capture the interest of a bumbling detective. However, a greater threat to the children is something from a forgotten past - a beautiful magical treasure with the power to spin time itself
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDog 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 & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWindstorm: The Great Hurricane (2021)
Due to the sudden outbreak of a hurricane, a traveling circus, famous for its stunning numbers with horses, calls into the small German estate of Kaltenbach. Soon, Ari realizes that one of the horses of this circus, named Orcan, is in mortal danger. Together with the boy Carlo and their faithful friend, the horse Ostwind, they try to save Orkan from the cruel owner of a traveling circus. However, the shrewd director unravels their audacious plan. And Ostwind's horse is also in trouble. Ari and Carlo have very little time to rectify the situation and save Ostwind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScooby-Doo (2002)
When the Mystery Inc. gang is invited to Spooky Island, a popular amusement park, they soon discover that the attractions aren't the only things that are spooky. Strange things are happening, and it's up to Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, and Velma to uncover the truth behind the mysterious happenings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMomo (2025)
Momo is a young orphan girl who lives in the ruins of an old Roman amphitheater and becomes friends with everybody in the neighborhood. But when a powerful international corporation starts stealing everybody’s time, nobody has any time left for her, let alone their friends or families. Momo, together with Master Hora, the custodian of time, are the only ones who can go up against the time thieves before all is lost forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Physician II (2025)
1050 AD: Robert Cole returns to England to bring the medical light of the Orient to his countrymen. But he fails because of the intrigues of the established London doctors, who feel threatened by the new knowledge. And it is not only the human body that is full of seemingly impenetrable secrets, the soul also holds its own mysteries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHouse of Anubis: The Touchstone of Ra (2013)
The students of Anubis House are on the eve of their graduation when they encounter a new group of underclassmen and a mysterious stone that leads them on a quest to save the world from evil.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRock My Heart (2017)
17-year-old Jana has a congenital heart defect. To defy fate, Jana seeks every challenge, plunges into every wild and dangerous adventure. Her parents does not like that and are even more in constant fear of their daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTo Grandmother's House We Go (1992)
When precocious twins Sarah and Julie feel like Mom is tired of them, they take off on an exciting adventure to their grandmother's house and encounter a pair of villains along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRonia: The Robber's Daughter (1984)
Ronia lives happily in her father's castle until she comes across a new playmate, Birk, in the nearby dark forest. The two explore the wilderness, braving dangerous Witchbirds and Rump-Gnomes. But when their families find out Birk and Ronia have been playing together, they forbid them to see each other again. Indeed, their fathers are competing robber chieftains and bitter enemies. Now the two spunky children must try to tear down the barriers that have kept their families apart for so long.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
Four kids travel through a wardrobe to the land of Narnia and learn of their destiny to free it with the guidance of a mystical lion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNelly Rapp – Monster Agent (2020)
Nelly and her dog London are about to spend autumn break with her uncle Hannibal. Soon she noticed that he doesn't live a quiet life. Her uncle is a Monster agent. Nelly gets dragged in to an adventure filled with ghosts, vampires and werewolves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & adventure
Shaft (2000)
New York police detective John Shaft arrests Walter Wade Jr. for a racially motivated slaying. But the only eyewitness disappears, and Wade jumps bail for Switzerland. Two years later Wade returns to face trial, confident his money and influence will get him acquitted -- especially since he's paid a drug kingpin to kill the witness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMary Poppins (1964)
In turn of the century London, a magical nanny employs music and adventure to help two neglected children become closer to their father.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMystic River (2003)
The lives of three men who were childhood friends are shattered when one of them suffers a family tragedy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEyes Wide Shut (1999)
After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Maltese Falcon (1941)
A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a beautiful liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Thirteenth Floor (1999)
In Los Angeles, a wealthy man, known as Mr. Fuller, discovers a shocking secret about the world he lives in. Fearing for his life, he leaves a desperate message for a friend of his in the most unexpected place.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Thing (1982)
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Absolute CinemaMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Emil and the Detectives?
The closest matches to Emil and the Detectives are The Three Investigators in The Secret of Terror Castle (2009), Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library (2017) and Nancy Drew (2007). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Emil and the Detectives?
Start with The Three Investigators in The Secret of Terror Castle (2009), the closest match to Emil and the Detectives.
What is the highest-rated movie like Emil and the Detectives?
The Thing (1982), rated 8.1/10 by 8,443 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Emil and the Detectives?
Enola Holmes 3 (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there German movies like Emil and the Detectives?
Yes: The Three Investigators in The Secret of Terror Castle (2009), Windstorm: The Great Hurricane (2021) and The Physician II (2025).
How are movies similar to Emil and the Detectives chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Emil and the Detectives, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.