Movies like Not Ivan, or How to summon a hero (2021)
The best movies like Not Ivan, or How to summon a hero (2021) are Scarecrow (1983), Skater Girl (2021) and An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong (2009). If Not Ivan, or How to summon a hero hooked you with its family and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLittle Lord Fauntleroy (1980)7.3/10 from 326 votes
- NewestHow Do I Tell You This (2024)Released 2024
Scarecrow (1983)
A twelve years old girl Lena who has come to live with her grandfather in a small Russian town is being bullied by her classmates. She took the rap of being a class traitor because she was in love with the boy who had betrayed his classmates when they were bunking off and going to cinema instead of a literature lesson. The class is penalized for that, not being allowed to go to Moscow for fall holidays with the rest of the school. Lena is being ostracized, "boycotted" however not telling the truth, waiting that the boy himself would confess to be guilty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSkater Girl (2021)
Prerna, a teenager growing up in rural India, comes of age when she’s introduced to the sport of skateboarding. As a result, she has to fight the odds to follow her dreams and compete in the national championship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAn American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong (2009)
A fourth grader and her friends deal with bullying from a more popular girl in their class.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlicka (2006)
Katy McLaughlin desires to work on her family's mountainside horse ranch, although her father insists she finish boarding school. Katy finds a mustang in the hills near her ranch. The headstrong 16 year old then sets her mind to tame a mustang and prove to her father she can run the ranch. But when tragedy happens, it will take all the love and strength the family can muster to restore hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Little Prince(ss) (2021)
When Gabriel, a 7-year-old Chinese kid who loves ballet, becomes friends with Rob, another Chinese kid from school, Rob’s dad gets suspicious about Gabriel's feminine behavior and decides to intervene.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Believe (2019)
A 9 year old boy experiences God's power in a supernatural way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Karate Kid (1984)
New Jersey teen Daniel LaRusso moves to Los Angeles with his mother, and soon strikes up a relationship with Ali. He quickly finds himself the target of bullying by a group of thugs, led by Ali's ex-boyfriend Johnny, who study karate at the Cobra Kai dojo under ruthless sensei John Kreese. Fortunately, Daniel befriends Mr. Miyagi, an unassuming repairman who just happens to be a martial arts master himself. Miyagi takes Daniel under his wing, training him in a more compassionate form of karate for self-defense and, later, preparing him to compete against the brutal Cobra Kai.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDouble Teamed! (2002)
Heather and Heidi play volleyball for their school team, when their family decides that they need to go to a bigger school so that they will have a better chance for scholarships. But at the new school, the twins are discovered by the basketball coach. Inspired by the true story of Heather and Heidi Burge.
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 thisA Second Chance: Rivals! (2019)
As Maddy takes on coaching a team of young twelve-year-old gymnasts, she faces up to intense city versus country rivalry, racism, cyberbullying and her own self-doubt but eventually takes the challenge head on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Second Chance (2011)
A young girl and her coach overcome adversity to make their way into the National Australian Gymnastics Squad.
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 thisSanjay's Super Team (2015)
SANJAY'S SUPER TEAM follows the daydream of a young Indian boy, bored with his father's religious meditation, who imagines "a kind of ancient, Hindu version of The Avengers," with the gods appearing like superheros.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Dry White Season (1989)
During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Tracey Fragments (2007)
Tracey Berkowitz, 15, a self-described normal girl, loses her 9-year old brother, Sonny. In flashbacks and fragments, we meet her overbearing parents and the sweet, clueless Sonny. We watch Tracey navigate high school, friendless, picked on and teased. She develops a thing for Billy Zero, a new student, imagining he's her boyfriend. We see the day she loses Sonny and we watch her try to find him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Short History of the Long Road (2019)
Nola grew up living in a van with her father, Clint—two nomads against the world. When tragedy strikes, Nola must confront the reality of life on the road alone, learning to own her grief, her past, and her new destination.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrom Straight A's to XXX (2017)
When a change of circumstances leaves Miriam unable to pay her college tuition, she makes a surprising decision: to start performing in adult films, using the pseudonym Belle Knox. Miriam lies to her family and her friends at school, keeping her double life a secret. But soon rumours spread and Miriam becomes the subject of vicious online attacks and unwanted attention. Miriam fights back: she talks to the media, saying her new line of work empowers her as a feminist. But her confident stand has unintended consequences. Miriam is shunned by her conservative family and her colleagues in the adult film world. One impulsive decision has quickly spiralled out of control - and Miriam's problems are just beginning.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisCipollino (1961)
In a world inhabited by anthropomorphic produce, "Cipollino, the Onion Boy" fights the unjust treatment of his fellow vegetable townsfolk by the fruit royalty (Prince Lemon and the overly proud Lord Tomato) in the garden kingdom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Am David (2003)
A 12-year-old boy manages to flee a Communist concentration camp on his own, through sheer will and determination. All he has in his possession is a loaf of bread, a letter to deliver to someone in Denmark, and a compass to help get him there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFirst Day in the Grave (2017)
A student movie loosely based on the short story by Sadegh Chubak
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Panda Syndrome (2004)
A young boy, Bjørn, discovers on his 17th birthday that his problems with the girls might not be self-inflicted.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Immaculate (2013)
A man lives isolated in his grandmother's country-house in an attempt to recover from a tragic event involving his family. His lonely and silent days are spent with an unnameable hope.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Antoine and Colette (1962)
After indulging in much delinquency in his youth, seventeen-year-old Antoine Doinel is now an upstanding member of society working for Philips Records, which allows him to indulge in his love of music. At the Youth Concerts, he has noticed the same young woman at several performances. She is Colette, and the two begin to date. Colette treats Antoine like a buddy, while Antoine has fallen in love with her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAfronauts (2014)
16th July 1969: America prepares to launch Apollo 11. Thousands of kilometers away, a ragtag group of Zambian exiles is trying to beat America to the Moon.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Into the Night (2020)
A yuppie seeks help from two townspeople in finding his wife and daughter, during a blizzard storm. Based on the short story by Stephen King.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
How Do I Tell You This (2024)
Two long-time internet friends - Ted, the hometown artist, and Liz, a globe-hopping humanitarian. On the night of his gallery opening, on a river that goes nowhere, they meet for the first time. Neither one knows that the other loves them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Erica (2016)
Erica has a secret relationship to the married Sebastian. When his wife Liv finds out, she decides to confront Erica over an evening of gin and tonics. Erica is soon being pushed to question what things in life are worth fighting for.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Eva (2016)
Gabriel, a shy boy, decides to enlist the services of Eva to help him confront his sexual desires. Although he isn't able to make love with her, their meeting takes an unexpected turn.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Not Ivan, or How to summon a hero?
The closest matches to Not Ivan, or How to summon a hero are Scarecrow (1983), Skater Girl (2021) and An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong (2009). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Not Ivan, or How to summon a hero?
Start with Scarecrow (1983), the closest match to Not Ivan, or How to summon a hero.
What is the highest-rated movie like Not Ivan, or How to summon a hero?
Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980), rated 7.3/10 by 326 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Not Ivan, or How to summon a hero?
How Do I Tell You This (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Not Ivan, or How to summon a hero chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Not Ivan, or How to summon a hero, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.