Movies like The Boy and the Pirates (1960)
The best movies like The Boy and the Pirates (1960) are Wish Upon a Unicorn (2020), The Secret Kingdom (2023) and Shorts (2009). If The Boy and the Pirates hooked you with its adventure and family, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)7.8/10 from 23,088 votes
- NewestHamburger Heaven (2025)Released 2025
Wish Upon a Unicorn (2020)
Two children discover that their mother is gone. The youngest of the pair, adventurer and upcomming singer, Long Johnson forces his older sister, Lily Johnson, to hunt down a unicorn with magical blood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secret Kingdom (2023)
Verity and Peter’s trip to the old family mansion takes a turn when the floor of their room suddenly gives way and they fall into an underground chamber where they are met by a civilization of creatures. The leader tells them that Peter's arrival was foretold as he’s the one who can use Great Clock of the Citadel to restart time and destroy the Shroud, a malevolent creature who feeds on fear itself...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
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 & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisDiscovering Dinotopia (2002)
The citizens of Waterfall City flee for the tenuous safety of Earthfarm, abandoning their city to the dangerous Outsiders - who discover the key to Dinotopias future and threaten its survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPercy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013)
In their quest to confront the ultimate evil, Percy and his friends battle swarms of mythical creatures to find the mythical Golden Fleece and to stop an ancient evil from rising.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Warriors Gate (2016)
After a mysterious chest opens a gateway through time, teen gamer Jack is transported to an ancient empire terrorized by a cruel barbarian king. Jack will need all of his gaming skills as he battles to defeat the barbarian, protect a beautiful princess, and somehow find his way back home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStardust (2007)
In a countryside town bordering on a magical land, a young man makes a promise to his beloved that he'll retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the magical realm. His journey takes him into a world beyond his wildest dreams and reveals his true identity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe King's Daughter (2022)
King Louis XIV's quest for immortality leads him to capture and steal a mermaid's life force, a move that is further complicated by his illegitimate daughter's discovery of the creature.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)
Thrust into an all-new adventure, a down-on-his-luck Capt. Jack Sparrow feels the winds of ill-fortune blowing even more strongly when deadly ghost sailors led by his old nemesis, the evil Capt. Salazar, escape from the Devil's Triangle. Jack's only hope of survival lies in seeking out the legendary Trident of Poseidon, but to find it, he must forge an uneasy alliance with a brilliant and beautiful astronomer and a headstrong young man in the British navy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
Captain Jack Sparrow’s got a blood debt to pay: he owes his soul to the legendary Davy Jones, ghastly Ruler of the Ocean Depths. To escape eternal servitude aboard the Flying Dutchman, ever-crafty Jack must track down the still-beating heart of Jones. But he won’t do it alone: Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann are drawn back into another one of his perilous quests—assuming they can evade execution for aiding a pirate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
After losing Captain Jack Sparrow to the locker of Davy Jones, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, and Captain Barbossa journey to the ends of the earth to rescue him. And as the East India Trading Company tightens its grip on the seas under Lord Cutler Beckett—now in control of Davy Jones—the fate of piracy hangs by a thread. Now, they must unite the pirate lords for one final stand. But as loyalties are tested and alliances shift, each must ultimately choose where they stand in the battle for freedom on the high seas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTreasure Island (1950)
Enchanted by the idea of locating treasure buried by Captain Flint, Squire Trelawney, Dr. Livesey and Jim Hawkins charter a sailing voyage to a Caribbean island. Unfortunately, a large number of Flint's old pirate crew are aboard the ship, including Long John Silver.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
When wily pirate Captain Barbossa seizes Jack Sparrow’s beloved ship, the Black Pearl, and kidnaps the governor’s daughter, Elizabeth Swann, blacksmith Will Turner reluctantly teams up with the unpredictable pirate Jack to rescue her—only to uncover a terrifying curse that turns Barbossa’s crew into the undead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDragonheart: Vengeance (2021)
Lukas, a young farmer whose family is killed by savage raiders in the countryside, sets out on an epic quest for revenge, forming an unlikely trio with a majestic dragon and a swashbuckling, sword-fighting mercenary, Darius.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJack the Giant Slayer (2013)
The story of an ancient war that is reignited when a young farmhand unwittingly opens a gateway between our world and a fearsome race of giants. Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the giants strive to reclaim the land they once lost, forcing the young man, Jack into the battle of his life to stop them. Fighting for a kingdom, its people, and the love of a brave princess, he comes face to face with the unstoppable warriors he thought only existed in legend–and gets the chance to become a legend himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisWillow (1988)
The evil Queen Bavmorda hunts the newborn princess Elora Danan, a child prophesied to bring about her downfall. When the royal infant is found by Willow, a timid farmer and aspiring sorcerer, he's entrusted with delivering her from evil.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui (2004)
In the time before time, six unlikely Matoran find themselves transformed into mighty Toa. The new Toa Metru must prove themselves as true heroes, find the missing Toa Lhikan, and uncover a plot that threatens the heart of Metru Nui.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & family
SnoozefestMovies like thisBionicle 3: Web of Shadows (2005)
The Toa Metru return to their glorious city of Metru Nui to finally accomplish their mission, only to find the city in ruins, overrun by the dreaded Visorak horde. Captured by their new enemy and transformed into hideous Toa Hordika, our heroes must find a figure out of myth to be cured of their mutations and fulfill their destiny before the beast within overtakes them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & family
SnoozefestMovies like thisDragonheart: Battle for the Heartfire (2017)
When the King Gareth dies, his potential heirs, twin grandchildren who possess the dragon’s unique strengths, use their inherited powers against each other to vie for the throne. When Drago’s source of power – known as the Heartfire – is stolen, more than the throne is at stake; the siblings must end their rivalry with swords and sorcery or the kingdom may fall.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiss Me, Frog (2000)
Modern version of The Frog King. Out of an impulse, 15-year-old Anna kisses a frog which then turns into a prince. But the curse is not solved that easily.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & fantasy
Pirates Down the Street (2020)
When a pirate family's arrival shakes up a coastal town, the kids next door offer to help them blend in and fight a bitter rival.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & adventure
Big Fish & Begonia (2016)
Beyond the human realm, there is a magical race of beings who control the tides and the changing of the seasons. One of these beings, a young girl named Chun, seeks something more—she wants to experience the human world! At sixteen, she finally gets her chance and transforms into a dolphin in order to explore the world that has her fascinated. But she soon discovers that it's a dangerous place and nearly gets killed in a vortex. Luckily, her life is spared when a young boy sacrifices himself to save her. Moved by his kindness and courage, she uses magic to bring him back to life only to learn that this power comes at a serious price. On a new adventure, she’ll have to make her own sacrifices in order to protect his soul until it is ready to return to the human world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe spirit of the woods (2017)
Trying to prove her courage, little Joana accepts the challenge of entering the woods, supposedly haunted by an ancient spirit.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & fantasy
Kriss (1931)
The story of two young men, one a prince of royal Bali-blood and the other defined as a coolie, and they are both in love with Dasnee, a slave girl possessing the sensuous charms for which the women of Bali are known to have.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
The Buccaneer (1958)
During the War of 1812 against Britain: General Andrew Jackson has only 1,200 men left to defend New Orleans when he learns that a British fleet will arrive with 60 ships and 16,000 men to take the city. In this situation an island near the city becomes strategically important to both parties, but it's inhabited by the last big buccaneer: Jean Lafitte. Although Lafitte never attacks American ships, the governor hates him for selling merchandise without taxes - and is loved by the citizens for the same reason. When the big fight gets nearer, Lafitte is drawn between the fronts. His heart belongs to America, but his people urge him to join the party that's more likely to win.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHamburger Heaven (2025)
After intercepting a mysterious tv ad, two twenty-something friends, Mac and Walter, hit the road in search of the mythic Hamburger Heaven. Their trip begins innocuously enough after they secure another buddy, Trevor, as their ride. The journey quickly goes off the rails as they are distanced from civilization and each other, and their codependent relationship is pushed to the extreme.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
STAR DRIVER: The Movie (2013)
Star Driver takes place on the fictional Southern Cross Isle. One night, a boy named Takuto washes up on shore swimming from the mainland. He later enrolls in Southern Cross High School as a freshman and makes new friends.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
BraveStorm (2017)
In the year 2050, mankind is extinct. The last survivors travel back in time to stop the invader, Killgis, aided by roboticist Kenichiro Kurenai. When they arrive at the past, they start to build a giant robot, Red Baron, and the pilot of the Red Baron races against time aided by reinforced humans to identify the alien in a fierce battle which starts in Tokyo for the survival of Earth. This is a re-imagining of the 1970s TV series' "Silver Kamen" and "Super Robot Red Baron".
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
Baleia (2022)
Jonas lives in a seaside town and has to deal with people leaving his town all the time. After his friend Giovanna has to move to the big city, Jonas isolates himself in his room taking turns between reading and watching with curiosity his neighbor, Gaspar, through the window. However, one day he hears a strange, incessant noise coming from his neighbor's house, a noise that seems to be being transmitted by a new girl in town, Sophia.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Boy and the Pirates?
The closest matches to The Boy and the Pirates are Wish Upon a Unicorn (2020), The Secret Kingdom (2023) and Shorts (2009). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Boy and the Pirates?
Start with Wish Upon a Unicorn (2020), the closest match to The Boy and the Pirates.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Boy and the Pirates?
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), rated 7.8/10 by 23,088 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Boy and the Pirates?
Hamburger Heaven (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Boy and the Pirates?
Yes: Wish Upon a Unicorn (2020), The Secret Kingdom (2023) and Shorts (2009).
How are movies similar to The Boy and the Pirates chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Boy and the Pirates, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.