Movies like When the Pigeons Arrive (1968)
The best movies like When the Pigeons Arrive (1968) are Pups Alone (2021), Thunderstruck (2012) and Little Big League (1994). If When the Pigeons Arrive 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 ratedLemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)6.8/10 from 5,451 votes
- NewestSnoopy Presents: There's No Place Like Home, Snoopy (2026)Released 2026
Pups 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 thisThunderstruck (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 thisLittle Big League (1994)
When the owner of the Minnesota Twins passes away, he bequeaths the team to his preteen grandson. The newly minted head honcho quickly appoints himself manager, causing unrest in an organization that struggles to take orders from a 12-year-old.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
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 thisBeethoven (1992)
The Newton family live in their comfortable home, but there seems to something missing. This "hole" is filled by a small puppy, who walks into their home and their lives. Beethoven, as he is named, grows into a giant of a dog... a St Bernard. Doctor Varnick, the local vet has a secret and horrible sideline, which requires lots of dogs for experiments. Beethoven is on the bad doctor's list.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisFirehouse Dog (2007)
Rexxx, Hollywood's top canine star, gets lost and is adopted into a shabby firehouse. He teams up with a young kid to get the station back on its feet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisWoody Woodpecker (2017)
Woody Woodpecker enters a turf war with a big city lawyer wanting to tear down his home in an effort to build a house to flip.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWoody Woodpecker Goes to Camp (2024)
After getting kicked out of the forest, Woody thinks he's found a forever home at Camp Woo Hoo — until an inspector threatens to shut down the camp.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
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 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 thisLaughing Gravy (1931)
Stan and Ollie try to hide their pet dog Laughing Gravy from their exasperated, mean tempered landlord, who has a "No Pets" policy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJoe's Apartment (1996)
A nice guy has just moved to New York and discovers that he must share his run-down apartment with a couple thousand singing, dancing cockroaches.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisDuplex (2003)
When a young couple buys their dream home, they have no idea what the sweet little old lady upstairs is going to put them through!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both 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 thisPloey: You Never Fly Alone (2018)
A plover chick has not learned to fly when his family migrates in the fall. He must survive the arctic winter, vicious enemies and himself in order to be reunited with his beloved one next spring.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Super (1991)
Louie Kritski is a heartless landlord who has been so negligent in keeping up his ghetto apartment that he is threatened with jail time. The judge gives him another option -- he must live in his rat-infested hell hole until he brings it up to liveable standards.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisOne of Them Days (2025)
When one roommate's boyfriend blows their rent money, two best friends embark on a chaotic race against time to avoid eviction while trying to keep their friendship intact.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFun with Dick and Jane (1977)
When an upwardly mobile couple find themselves unemployed and in debt, they turn to armed robbery in desperation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSnoopy Presents: There's No Place Like Home, Snoopy (2026)
When Snoopy's beloved doghouse goes missing, he tries to track it down, and learns what makes a house feel like home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Little Ranger (1938)
Alfalfa imagines himself as a western movie hero battling with Butch for Darla's heart.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & comedy
Penguins of Madagascar (2014)
Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private join forces with undercover organization The North Wind to stop the villainous Dr. Octavius Brine from destroying the world as we know it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTom and Jerry: The Lost Dragon (2014)
Tom and Jerry find a dragon egg, and help the baby dragon find its mother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCasper's Scare School (2006)
When Casper's been being friendly lately even when playing with a boy named Jimmy, Kibosh: The King of the Underworld has Casper enrolled into a Scare School headed by the two-headed headmaster Alder and Dash. He befriends Ra, a mummy with unraveling issues and Mantha, a zombie girl who keeps falling apart. When Casper discovers the two-headed headmaster's plot to use a petrification potion to turn Kibosh into stone and take over the Underworld and Deedstown, he and his new friends must stop him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & family
SnoozefestMovies like thisLemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
Three wealthy children's parents are killed in a fire. When they are sent to a distant relative, they find out that he is plotting to kill them and seize their fortune.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wiggles - Wiggle House (2014)
Who’s in The Wiggles’ house? All your favourite friends, Emma, Lachy, Simon and Anthony, and twenty-six new songs! Join the fun of ‘The Laughing Doctor’, taste the delights of ‘Pappadum’, ’Do the Hawk’ with America’s Lee Hawkins, ‘Have a Good Day (Kia Pai to Rā)’ with New Zealand’s Robert Rakete, and so much more. So open the door to a house full of fun as we raise the roof with Wiggle House!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Vic the Viking: The Magic Sword (2019)
Vic dreams of going to sea as a member of the crew captained by Halvar, his father, who unfortunately thinks that the child is too weak to embark with him and his brave warriors in search of dangerous adventures; but fate will offer Vic the opportunity to prove to Halvar that he is a true Viking.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Wiggles: Here Comes The Big Red Car (2006)
Let's all go for a ride in the Big Red Car! Join The Wiggles on the freeway of fun as Captain Feathersword shows us how to Nicky Nacky Nocky Noo, Dorothy the Dinosaur invites us to her Dance Party and Wags the Dog and Henry the Octopus get their waist benders and toe tappers wiggling! For the first time ever on DVD, this re-recording of Big Red Car includes the catchy songs I Want To Wear The Jacket and Sorry Again, as well as the all new animated I'm A Cow.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Bionicle: Mask of Light (2003)
With darkness encroaching on the island of Mata Nui, the only hope for the survival of the islanders rests with two Matoran villagers, who must find the seventh Toa and deliver to him the fabled Mask of Light.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Calcium Kid (2004)
When milkman Jimmy Connelly accidentally puts Britain's contender for the World title out of action, he is propelled from amateur boxer to the world stage and announced as the replacement contender for the championship fight.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like When the Pigeons Arrive?
The closest matches to When the Pigeons Arrive are Pups Alone (2021), Thunderstruck (2012) and Little Big League (1994). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after When the Pigeons Arrive?
Start with Pups Alone (2021), the closest match to When the Pigeons Arrive.
What is the highest-rated movie like When the Pigeons Arrive?
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), rated 6.8/10 by 5,451 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like When the Pigeons Arrive?
Snoopy Presents: There's No Place Like Home, Snoopy (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to When the Pigeons Arrive chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside When the Pigeons Arrive, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.