Movies like A Dog's Purpose (2017)
The best movies like A Dog's Purpose (2017) are A Dog's Journey (2019), Dog Gone (2023) and A Dog's Way Home (2019). If A Dog's Purpose hooked you with its adventure and fantasy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedA Dog's Journey (2019)8.1/10 from 1,669 votes
- NewestThe Legend of Ochi (2025)Released 2025
A Dog's Journey (2019)
A dog finds the meaning of his own existence through the lives of the humans he meets.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDog Gone (2023)
When his beloved dog goes missing, a young man embarks on an incredible search with his parents to find him and give him life-saving medication.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Dog's Way Home (2019)
The adventure of Bella, a dog who embarks on an epic 400-mile journey home after she is separated from her beloved human.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Fox and the Hound (1981)
When a feisty little fox named Tod is adopted into a farm family, he quickly becomes friends with a fun and adorable hound puppy named Copper. Life is full of hilarious adventures until Copper is expected to take on his role as a hunting dog -- and the object of his search is his best friend!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLassie (2005)
A family in financial crisis is forced to sell Lassie, their beloved dog. Hundreds of miles away from her true family, Lassie escapes and sets out on a journey home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWish 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 thisMax (2015)
A dog that helped soldiers in Afghanistan returns to the U.S. and is adopted by his handler's family after suffering a traumatic experience.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBenji (2018)
Two school kids strike up a friendship with an orphaned puppy named Benji. When danger befalls them and they end up kidnapped by robbers who are in over their heads, Benji and his scruffy sidekick come to the rescue.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Search for Santa Paws (2010)
When Santa and his new best friend, Paws, discover that the boys and girls of the world have lost the spirit of the season, they take a trip to New York City. But after Santa loses his memory, it's up to Paws, a faithful orphan named Quinn, her new friend Will, and a wonderful group of magical talking dogs to save St. Nick and show the world what Christmas is really all about.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Jungle Book (1994)
Raised by wild animals since childhood, Mowgli is drawn away from the jungle by the beautiful Kitty. But Mowgli must eventually face corrupt Capt. Boone, who wants both Kitty's hand and the treasures of Monkey City – a place only Mowgli can find.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFar from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog (1995)
Teenager Angus adopts a stray dog and names him Yellow. Several days later, while travelling along the coast of British Columbia with Angus's father, John, the boy and dog become stranded when turbulent waters capsize their boat. Angus's parents relentlessly badger rescue teams. Angus, schooled by his father in wilderness survival skills, and assisted by the intelligent Yellow Dog, tries to attract rescuers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Legend of Ochi (2025)
In a remote village on the island of Carpathia, a shy farm girl named Yuri is raised to fear an elusive animal species known as ochi. But when Yuri discovers a wounded baby ochi has been left behind, she escapes on a quest to bring him home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSanta Paws 2: The Santa Pups (2012)
When Mrs. Claus travels to Pineville, the merriest place on the planet, a quartet of magical puppies stow away on her sled, granting joyful wishes to the town's boys and girls. However, something goes terribly wrong - the Christmas spirit begins to disappear. Now, the Santa Pups and Mrs. Claus must race to save Christmas magic from running out for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Call of the Wild (2020)
Buck is a big-hearted dog whose blissful domestic life is turned upside down when he is suddenly uprooted from his California home and transplanted to the exotic wilds of the Yukon during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. As the newest rookie on a mail delivery dog sled team—and later its leader—Buck experiences the adventure of a lifetime, ultimately finding his true place in the world and becoming his own master.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStorm Boy (2019)
Storm Boy lives a lonely life with his reclusive father on a desolate coastline, but when he forms a close bond with a pelican, Mr. Percival, his life takes a new and unexpected turn.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies 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 fantasy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Incredible Journey (1963)
The story of three pets, a cat and two dogs, who lose their owners when they are all on vacation. Can they find their way home?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOnce Upon a Forest (1993)
A young mouse, mole and hedgehog risk their lives to find a cure for their badger friend, who's been poisoned by men.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNocturna (2007)
An orphan boy named Tim is afraid of the dark. However, when the stars start going out in the sky, he finds himself exploring the world of the night, alongside his new friend, the Cat Shepherd.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLassie (1994)
On their way to start a new life at a sheep farm in rural Virginia, the Turner family are halted by a wreck on the highway that has claimed the life of a truck driver. Spotting the trucker's now-abandoned collie on the side of the road, they take pity on the dog and adopt her. As the city family copes with the change to rural life, including a feud with a neighboring farm family who resent the city interlopers, the ever-loyal Lassie helps them adjust to their new surroundings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like this24 Hour Party People (2002)
Manchester, 1976. Tony Wilson is an ambitious but frustrated local TV news reporter looking for a way to make his mark. After witnessing a life-changing concert by a band known as the Sex Pistols, he persuades his station to televise one of their performances, and soon Manchester's punk groups are clamoring for him to manage them. Riding the wave of a musical revolution, Wilson and his friends create the legendary Factory Records label and The Hacienda club.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAdaptation. (2002)
Charlie Kaufman is a confused L.A. screenwriter overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy, sexual frustration, self-loathing, and by the screenwriting ambitions of his freeloading twin brother Donald. While struggling to adapt "The Orchid Thief," by Susan Orlean, Kaufman's life spins from pathetic to bizarre. The lives of Kaufman and Orlean's book become strangely intertwined as each one's search for passion collides with the other's.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn the Name of the Law (1932)
The story is about a drug ring and the finally successful efforts of the Paris police to break it up. A young detective goes into a den in Paris' Chinatown, following a clue, and that is the last seen of him until his body is found floating in the Seine several days later. The only clue is a woman's glove. The dead man's friends on the force vow to avenge him, and receive information leading them to suspect one Sandra, a beautiful foreigner, played by the stunning Marcelle Chantal.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
Dr. Henry Jekyll believes that there are two distinct sides to men: one that is good and one that is evil. He believes that by separating the two, man can become liberated. He succeeds in his experiments with chemicals to accomplish this and transforms into Hyde to commit horrendous crimes. When he discontinues use of the drug, it is already too late.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this42nd Street (1933)
Broadway director Julian Marsh needs just one more hit show so he can retire and recover his health. It looks like he just may pull it off until temperamental star Dorthy Brock breaks her ankle on the eve of the show's premiere and has to be replaced by her understudy Peggy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMary Queen of Scots (2018)
In 1561, Mary Stuart, widow of the King of France, returns to Scotland, reclaims her rightful throne and menaces the future of Queen Elizabeth I as ruler of England, because she has a legitimate claim to the English throne. Betrayals, rebellions, conspiracies and their own life choices imperil both Queens. They experience the bitter cost of power, until their tragic fate is finally fulfilled.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Things of Life (1970)
The mind of Pierre Bérard, a successful middle-aged architect, is torn between his unstable present with Hélène, his younger lover, and his happy memories of the past with Catherine, his ex-wife; but his true destiny awaits him at a crossroads on his way to Rennes…
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBarry Lyndon (1975)
An Irish rogue uses his cunning and wit to work his way up the social classes of 18th century England, transforming himself from the humble Redmond Barry into the noble Barry Lyndon.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBattle Royale (2000)
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisExorcism Chronicles: The Beginning (2025)
When a demonic uprising threatens to end the world as they know it, a monk and an excommunicated priest join forces to protect a powerful young boy and the next generation of magic. As dark forces close in, the unlikely trio must confront their inner demons.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like A Dog's Purpose?
The closest matches to A Dog's Purpose are A Dog's Journey (2019), Dog Gone (2023) and A Dog's Way Home (2019). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after A Dog's Purpose?
Start with A Dog's Journey (2019), the closest match to A Dog's Purpose.
What is the highest-rated movie like A Dog's Purpose?
A Dog's Journey (2019), rated 8.1/10 by 1,669 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like A Dog's Purpose?
The Legend of Ochi (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like A Dog's Purpose?
Yes: A Dog's Journey (2019), Dog Gone (2023) and A Dog's Way Home (2019).
How are movies similar to A Dog's Purpose chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside A Dog's Purpose, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.