Movies like Das hölzerne Kälbchen (1961)
The best movies like Das hölzerne Kälbchen (1961) are The Story of Little Mook (1953), PAW Patrol: Jet to the Rescue (2020) and Christmas in the Heartland (2017). If Das hölzerne Kälbchen hooked you with its family, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFantastic Mr. Fox (2009)7.8/10 from 6,446 votes
- NewestCandy Cane Lane (2023)Released 2023
- In GermanThe Story of Little Mook (1953)Also in German
The Story of Little Mook (1953)
An old man living in an oriental city tells the story of his life to a group of kids: He too was once a young boy by the name of Little Muck - much like them, but with better manners and a heap of problems. Having lost his father at early age, little Muck is expelled from home by his greedy relatives. He wanders off into the desert hoping to find the merchant who sells good fortune. Amidst the dunes of sand he comes across a small house owned by a wicked woman and her many cats. She wants to make Little Muck her servant, but he manages to escape by stealing a pair of magic shoes which enable him to run faster than any man in the country. From there he heads right into the next set of challenges...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
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 thisChristmas in the Heartland (2017)
Kara and Jessie are two teenage girls from very different worlds, but with a little Christmas magic, they find they have much more in common than they ever imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie (1998)
Young Rudolph suffers a childhood accident that sees his nose turn from the publicly accepted norm of black to a glowing red colour. His parents worry about him getting teased, and indeed he does in the end. When he is beaten in the reindeer games by his rival for a doe he fancies, Rudolph runs away and moves into a cave with Slyly the Fox. However can he overcome his fear and reach his true potential?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCandy Cane Lane (2023)
Determined to win the neighborhood's annual Christmas decorating contest, family man Chris makes a pact with an elf to help him out-do the competition. However, the elf casts a spell bringing the twelve days of Christmas to life, unleashing chaos on the small unsuspecting town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Legend of Timm Thaler: or The Boy Who Sold His Laughter (2017)
The devil tricks a little boy off his laughter in exchange for assured wins in all his bets. It depicts his journey after the deal with the devil, how he loses his soul bit by bit with each win.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies 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
SnoozefestMovies like thisFairyTale: A True Story (1997)
In 1917, two children take a photograph, which is soon believed by some to be the first scientific evidence of the existence of fairies. Based on the true story of the Cottingley Fairies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Simple Twist of Fate (1994)
When Michael McCann is thrown over by the woman he loves, he becomes something of a misanthrope and a miser, spending all of his spare money on collectible gold coins. Living in the same town is an affluent family with two sons: John and Tanny. Tanny's a wild boy, whom John cannot control, and one night he breaks into McCann's house, and steals the gold and disappears, which nearly confirms McCann's distrust of mankind. But then, a mysterious young woman dies in the snow outside McCann's house, and her small daughter makes her way to McCann's house and into McCann's life and heart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLassie Come Home (2020)
12-year-old Florian and his beloved dog Lassie live in an idyllic village in the German countryside. When Florian's father loses his job, the family have to move into a small apartment where there are no dogs allowed. Lassie is given away to another family, but Florian and Lassie yearn to be reunited again so Florian sets out on an adventure to find his best friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Nutcracker (1993)
On Christmas Eve, a little girl named Marie falls asleep and dreams herself into a fantastic world in which her toys become larger than life. She meets up with the Nutcracker Prince who takes her on a journey to his kingdom and defends her from the Mouse King.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
SnoozefestMovies like thisBlizzard (2003)
A young girl's aunt tells her the tale of a young ice skater and an enchanted reindeer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDashing Through the Snow (2023)
Eddie Garrick is a good-hearted man who has lost his belief in the wonder of Christmas. While spending time with his nine-year-old daughter Charlotte on Christmas Eve, he befriends a mysterious man in a red suit named Nick.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Blue Bird (1940)
Peasant children Mytyl and Tyltyl are led on a magical quest for the fabulous Blue Bird of Happiness by the fairy Berylune. On their journey, they're accompanied by the anthropomorphized presences of a Dog, a Cat, Light, Fire, and Bread, among other entities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
SnoozefestMovies like thisTom Thumb (1958)
A boy, no bigger than a thumb, manages to outwit two thieves determined to make a fortune from him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnnabelle's Wish (1997)
Annabelle - a calf who has a special wish for Christmas - wants to be a reindeer and help Santa Claus drive his sleigh as he delivers his presents! Annabelle's friends tell her not to get her hopes up, but to everyone's surprise, Santa does indeed meet up with Annabelle, and the calf gets to help Santa make the holiday special for one young boy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
The Fantastic Mr. Fox, bored with his current life, plans a heist against the three local farmers. The farmers, tired of sharing their chickens with the sly fox, seek revenge against him and his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMerry Christmas, Drake & Josh (2008)
Step brothers Drake and Josh must give a foster family the best Christmas ever or face years in jail for a Christmas party gone wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHook (1991)
The boy who wasn't supposed to grow up—Peter Pan—does just that, becoming a soulless corporate lawyer whose workaholism could cost him his wife and kids. During his trip to see Granny Wendy in London, the vengeful Capt. Hook kidnaps Peter's kids and forces Peter to return to Neverland.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ewok Adventure (1984)
Wicket the Ewok and his friends agree to help two shipwrecked human children, Mace and Cindel, on a quest to find their parents.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
SnoozefestMovies like thisČertův švagr (1984)
An evil and calculating stepmother chases her stepson out of the house. Petr tries in vain to find a job, but he is sent to hell everywhere. So he goes to serve in hell. As you will see, he could not have done anything better.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Wonderwell (2023)
In an idyllic Italian village, a young American girl on the threshold of adolescence is swept into a timeless magical adventure in Wonderwell.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Hans Rockle and the Devil (1974)
Hans Röckle is a puppeteer, inventor, blacksmith and more. He is challenged by the Devil (in almost a dozen fancy costumes) who offers him even more inventiveness, against his soul should he ever make money with an invention, build something twice, or cease inventing for 7*7 hours.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
King Thrushbeard (1965)
A fairy-tale about a beautiful but very haughty princess Anna who cruelly mocks each of her suitors. Finally she is forced by the king to marry a beggar. The poor life, hard work and love teach the princess a lesson and turn her into a loving and kind person.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Rumpelstiltskin (1960)
East German adaptation of Grimm‘s fairy tale "Rumpelstiltskin". A boastful miller pretends that his daughter Marie can spin straw into gold, and so she is locked into a room full of straw and ordered to spin it into gold by the next morning. A little man appears and offers his help in exchange for Marie's necklace. The greedy treasurer makes Marie spin twice more until the only thing she has left to give the little man is the promise of her first-born child…
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Snow-White and Rose-Red (1979)
In an enchanted forest, the princely brothers Michael and Andreas get lost and are transformed, by a mountain spirit who jealously guards his underground treasure, into animals until the unlikely event of sincere love from a human. The only persons who may be able to give such love are the local commoner sisters Snow-white and Rose-red, who are kind and helpful by nature and stand to harvest unimagined rewards.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
The Farmer's Clever Daughter (1969)
A farmer receives land from the king and discovers a buried golden mortar. He decides to give it to the king out of gratitude, but his clever daughter warns him that the king will surely want him to bring a corresponding pestle as well. When the king throws the farmer into jail for fraud, he bemoans the fact that he did not listen to his daughter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Snow White (1961)
Hated by her jealous and bloodthirsty stepmother, Snow White flees a murder attempt and seeks shelter in the woods with seven kindly dwarfs. Feeling she is safe from harm, Snow White welcomes the disguised queen into her home...with fatal consequences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Like Das hölzerne Kälbchen and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Das hölzerne Kälbchen?
The closest matches to Das hölzerne Kälbchen are The Story of Little Mook (1953), PAW Patrol: Jet to the Rescue (2020) and Christmas in the Heartland (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Das hölzerne Kälbchen?
Start with The Story of Little Mook (1953), the closest match to Das hölzerne Kälbchen.
What is the highest-rated movie like Das hölzerne Kälbchen?
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), rated 7.8/10 by 6,446 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Das hölzerne Kälbchen?
Candy Cane Lane (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there German movies like Das hölzerne Kälbchen?
Yes: The Story of Little Mook (1953), The Legend of Timm Thaler: or The Boy Who Sold His Laughter (2017) and Lassie Come Home (2020).
How are movies similar to Das hölzerne Kälbchen chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Das hölzerne Kälbchen, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.