Movies like Leaving Ikorodu In 1999 (2024)
The best movies like Leaving Ikorodu In 1999 (2024) are Where the Red Fern Grows (2003), Greyfriars Bobby (1961) and Where the Red Fern Grows (1974). If Leaving Ikorodu In 1999 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
- Highest ratedThe Shack (2017)7.5/10 from 2,313 votes
- NewestMy Aunt (2026)Released 2026
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 thisGreyfriars Bobby (1961)
In Scotland 1865, An old shepherd and his little Skye terrier go to Edinburgh. But when the shepherd dies of pneumonia, the dog remains faithful to his master, refuses to be adopted by anyone, and takes to sleeping on his master's grave in the Greyfriars kirkyard, despite a caretaker with a "no dogs" rule. And when Bobby is taken up for being unlicensed, it's up to the children of Edinburgh and the Lord Provost to decide what's to be done.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere the Red Fern Grows (1974)
Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for two years to achieve his dream of buying two red-bone coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in life as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with his dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
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 thisLittle 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 thisThe Shack (2017)
A grieving man receives a mysterious, personal invitation to meet with God at a place called 'The Shack'.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Good Witch (2008)
A mysterious woman comes in to town and inhabits the local haunted mansion, making everyone wonder if she's a witch or "The Grey Lady".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGoing for Gold (2018)
Seventeen year old, Emma joins a high school cheerleading team when she moves to Australia with her dad who is a former Air Force Officer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Father's Shadow (2025)
Two young brothers explore Lagos with their estranged father during the 1993 Nigerian election crisis, witnessing both the city's magnitude and their father's daily struggles as political unrest threatens their journey home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDon't Make Me Go (2022)
A terminally ill man and his teenage daughter embark on a road trip from California to New Orleans for his 20th college reunion. While there, he secretly hopes she can reunite with the mother who left them long ago.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScarecrow (1973)
Two drifters bum around, visit earthy women and discuss opening a car wash in Pittsburgh.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisC'mon C'mon (2021)
Johnny and his young nephew forge a tenuous but transformational relationship when they embark on a cross-country trip to see life away from Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFancy Dance (2024)
Following her sister's disappearance, Jax and her niece Roki must stick together. Desperate to keep what's left of their family intact, Jax and Roki defy the law and hit the road on a journey to the Grand Nation Powwow in Oklahoma City.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Beautiful Country (2004)
After reuniting with his mother in Ho Chi Minh City, a family tragedy causes Binh to flee from Viet Nam to America. Landing in New York, Binh begins a road trip to Texas, where his American father is said to live.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sheltering Sky (1990)
An American couple drift toward emptiness in postwar North Africa.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEve's Bayou (1997)
Summer heats up in rural Louisiana beside Eve’s Bayou, 1962, as the Batiste family tries to survive the secrets they’ve kept and the betrayals they’ve endured.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYou Can Count on Me (2000)
A single mother's life is thrown into turmoil after her struggling, rarely-seen younger brother returns to town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFirstborn (1984)
Because he's the oldest, Jake has been the man of the house, since his parents divorce. When Mom starts seeing Sam, who always seems to be trying some new way to get rich quick, and declares he's the man of the house now, Jake puts up with it. Until he discovers Sam's illegal activities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSkin (2009)
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhat Maisie Knew (2013)
In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new partners to strengthen their legal standing, Maisie is shuttled back and forth in an endless game of emotional point-scoring. Yet amid the chaos and upheaval, Maisie begins to find true comfort and affection in her new step-parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Aunt (2026)
Sunhee, who runs a modest animal clinic, is fostering a puppy whose owner never returned. Out of the blue, the niece she had raised as her own shows up after ten years, only to announce that she is leaving for New Zealand the very next day.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & family
Hinterland (1981)
The relationship between an embittered farm woman and her orphaned niece reaches a breaking point in this dark, psychological pastoral.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti (2025)
Many have heard of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the legendary artist from the 70s and 80s. But some may not know that his mother Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was also a legend in her own right, as a women's rights activist unabashedly pushing for equality in Nigeria at a time when people weren't having those conversations. "Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti" the film emerges as a new vivid exploration of Ransome-Kuti's journey. From growing up and learning about the importance of education, to her groundbreaking step in becoming the first girl to attend Abeokuta Grammar School at just 13, going to London and then becoming emboldened to return to Nigeria to step into her role as an educator and organizer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Ijé: The Journey (2010)
Anya's dream turned into a nightmare when she was accused of killing 3 men. For her to regain her freedom she had to share her secret with world. With help of her sister Chioma and an inexperienced attorney Ijé tells the story in a riveting way with an unexpected climatic ending. It's a story that conveys the fusion of the African culture with the American culture in a court room like no other.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996)
A girl, sent by her parents to live with her two eccentric aunts, finds out on her sixteenth birthday that she is a witch.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPresent Perfect (2014)
The movie centers on a young hipster girl who loves to party. One day, she has to deal with taking care of naughty niece that she has never met before and on top of it all, she is trying to sort out her past love that could somehow affect her future.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Tears of the Sun (2003)
Navy SEAL Lieutenant A.K. Waters and his elite squadron of tactical specialists are forced to choose between their duty and their humanity, between following orders by ignoring the conflict that surrounds them, or finding the courage to follow their conscience and protect a group of innocent refugees. When the democratic government of Nigeria collapses and the country is taken over by a ruthless military dictator, Waters, a fiercely loyal and hardened veteran is dispatched on a routine mission to retrieve a Doctors Without Borders physician.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdventureland (2009)
It's the summer of 1987, and recent college grad James Brennan can't wait to begin his long-anticipated dream trip to Europe. Unfortunately, James' plans come to a screeching halt when his parents announce that they are unable to subsidize his trip. Forced to take a job at the local amusement park, James prepares for the worst summer ever, until he finds love with a captivating co-worker named Em.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMadea's Family Reunion (2006)
Southern matriarch Madea has a lot on her plate. Her nieces, Vanessa and Lisa, have relationship troubles - Vanessa moves into Madea's house with her 2 young children and Lisa is engaged to a controlling man that her mother set her up with. In addition, Madea has just been court-ordered to become the guardian of Nikki, a rebellious runaway teenager. Madea must keep the peace and her family together while simultaneously planning her clan's reunion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThere Will Be Spring (2020)
Late 40’s after the war. Strange languaged and religioned immigrants fleeing from Karelia region are hated by Finns in the countryside. 19-year old Anni is living her life wanting to forget the war and hostility surrounding her. Falling in love with a man who hasn’t left fighting, threatens Anni’s whole family’s future and hope for mutual forgiveness..
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Leaving Ikorodu In 1999?
The closest matches to Leaving Ikorodu In 1999 are Where the Red Fern Grows (2003), Greyfriars Bobby (1961) and Where the Red Fern Grows (1974). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Leaving Ikorodu In 1999?
Start with Where the Red Fern Grows (2003), the closest match to Leaving Ikorodu In 1999.
What is the highest-rated movie like Leaving Ikorodu In 1999?
The Shack (2017), rated 7.5/10 by 2,313 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Leaving Ikorodu In 1999?
My Aunt (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Leaving Ikorodu In 1999?
Yes: Where the Red Fern Grows (2003), Greyfriars Bobby (1961) and Where the Red Fern Grows (1974).
How are movies similar to Leaving Ikorodu In 1999 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Leaving Ikorodu In 1999, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.