Movies like What Are Friends For? (1980)
The best movies like What Are Friends For? (1980) are The Boy in the Dress (2014), I'll Be Home for Christmas (2016) and Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980). If What Are Friends For? hooked you with its family and tv movie, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDescendants 3 (2019)7.7/10 from 1,674 votes
- NewestThe Best Christmas Pageant Ever (2024)Released 2024
The Boy in the Dress (2014)
Dennis feels different - an ordinary boy in an ordinary house in an ordinary street, playing football with his mates and living with his dad and brother, but frustrated by the boring grey world he inhabits. Life has never really been the same since his mum left. However, transformation can happen in the most unexpected places. Aided by Lisa, the coolest girl in school, Dennis creates a whole new persona and puts it to the ultimate test - but can a boy wear a dress, and what will the headmaster, his dad and his friends on the football team think if they find out?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI'll Be Home for Christmas (2016)
Jackie Foster, a dynamic Assistant District Attorney and single mom, is looking forward to wrapping up her latest case and spending Christmas with Gracie, her adorable and precocious, eight-year old daughter. But when Jackie’s estranged dad, Jack , a gruff retired police officer, unexpectedly shows up at her door, they will be forced to confront old wounds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFull Out 2: You Got This! (2020)
When the University of Oklahoma Sooners lose their star gymnast, Brenna Dowell, the rest of the team have to find a way to believe in themselves in order to win their second National Gymnastics Championship. With the help of Riley, a local breakdancing phenomenon, Chayse and her OU teammates learn to incorporate intricate breakdance techniques into their gymnastics routines in order to find a competitive edge. At the end of it all, they realize what matters most is finding the confidence to believe in yourself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisA Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby (2019)
Christmas brings the ultimate gift to Aldovia: a royal baby. But first, Queen Amber must help her family and kingdom by finding a missing peace treaty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDescendants 3 (2019)
The teenagers of Disney's most infamous villains return to the Isle of the Lost to recruit a new batch of villainous offspring to join them at Auradon Prep.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnne of Green Gables (2016)
Anne Shirley, an orphan, is fostered by farmer Matthew Cuthbert and his sister Marilla, who were expecting a boy to be sent them to help with their farm work. They accept Anne, who quickly endears herself to them and to the local villagers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisChristmas...Again?! (2021)
Rowena "Ro" is a high-spirited 11-year-old hoping to add more spunk to her Christmas celebrations when her parents’ divorce is going anything but smoothly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwitches Too (2007)
Reunited witch twins Camryn and Alex adjust to their new life as supernatural beings while at the same time trying to maintain a normal existence in this sequel to the magical Disney Channel original movie Twitches. But they soon find themselves going head to head with the forces of darkness that threaten to destroy their world. Luckily, their birth mother, the powerful Miranda, is on hand to help out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDragons: Rescue Riders: Secrets of the Songwing (2020)
When a musical dragon with a beautiful voice hypnotizes the dragons and people of Huttsgalor, the Rescue Riders have to find a way to break the spell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1979)
Four children pass through a mystic portal in a wardrobe and discover the magical kingdom of Narnia, a land of talking animals and mythical creatures. There, an evil witch's spell has cast the land into eternal winter. Fearing that an ancient prophecy is coming to fruition, and that the children are Narnia's rightful rulers, the White Witch tricks their youngest brother into betraying his family, enacting an ancient magic that she can use to halt the fulfillment of the prophecy. Now, only Aslan, noble lion and High King above all kings in Narnia, can help them defeat the witch, restore springtime to Narnia, and claim their rightful places on the throne.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHoliday in Handcuffs (2007)
A ne’er-do-well thirty-something attempts to appease her family by kidnapping herself an attractive boyfriend for the family Christmas. Despite unlikely odds and dysfunctional family moments, the two fall in love and share a magical Christmas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Best Christmas Pageant Ever (2024)
The Herdman kids are undeniably the worst kids in the history of the world. They lie, steal, cheat, bully and overall terrorize their small community. But this Christmas, they're taking over their local church Pageant – and they just might unwittingly teach a shocked little town the true meaning of Christmas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Christmas Family Tree (2021)
When Vanessa receives the results from her Family Tree DNA test, she discovers a family she didn't know existed and travels to their home for Christmas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMixtape (2021)
On the eve of Y2K, orphaned 12-year-old Beverly discovers a broken mixtape crafted by her teen parents. Raised by her grandmother – who struggles talking about her late daughter – Beverly sees the mixtape as a chance to finally learn more about her parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMickey's House of Villains (2002)
The villains from the popular animated Disney films are gathered at the House of Mouse with plans to take over. Soon, the villains take over the house and kick out Mickey, Donald and Goofy. It's all up to Mickey and his friends to overthrow evil and return the House of Mouse to normal--or as close to normal as it gets.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAll Dogs Go to Heaven 2 (1996)
Charlie and Itchy return to Earth to find Gabriel's Horn, but along the way meet up with a young boy named David, who ran away from home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnder Wraps (1997)
A comedy-adventure in which three twelve-year-olds have a close encounter with a 3,000-year-old mummy. Marshall, Gilbert and Amy accidentally set the mummy free, but if they don't get him back to his resting place by midnight on Halloween, he'll turn into dust and lose his only chance of being reunited with his long-lost love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
SnoozefestMovies like thisPaunch and I (1981)
Nine years old Flori must deal with a lot of problems after his father leaves the family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
HARLEM FRAGMENTS (TBA)
Harlem Fragments is an Afro-futurist scrapbook storytelling of a Harlem Black family's beautiful destruction during the 2008 recession. A natural disaster so mesmerizing you can't look away from the tragedy. Based on true events- The film explores the haunting societal pressures of achieving the Black American dream, told in the POV of 10 year old TJ revisiting his family's home that's up for sale. By empowering this Black boy in this film with the agency to imagine, TJ, through his own journey, finds a way to process and come to terms with his family's divorce. It's important for every Black child out there enduring the same foreign emotions to know that it's okay to feel them, and affirm that there is a future trajectory forward out of the initial destruction.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
House Arrest (1996)
High-schooler Grover Beindorf and his younger sister Stacy decide that their parents, Janet and Ned, are acting childishly when they decide to divorce after 18 years of marriage, so they lock them up in the basement until they'll sort out their problems.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
SnoozefestMovies like thisSusikoira Roi (2023)
Valo, who recently moved to Raahe, gets bullied. After rescuing an abandoned dog, Valo finds a friend in it, whom she names Roi. Together, the friends end up investigating the mysterious disappearance of a neighbor boy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Always Remember (2014)
The harsh divorce and suicidal tendencies of a father are all seen through a 5-year-old daughter's eyes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
From Prison: Young Devil Worshipers (1989)
Devil worship? Could it be real? Follow up to Devil Worship: Exposing Satan's Underground.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
I Miss My Mom & Dream of Our New Home (TBA)
Matoom, a young Thai boy comes to the gradual understanding on the ephemerality of his family life through his re-collected memories - inspired by 'Bright', the first Thai novel by a female writer to have appeared in English.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Sherman's Way: A Kid's Guide to Coping with Change (1996)
Sherman must learn how to deal with his changing family situation with the help of his good friend Corny.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Ehe oder Liebe (1982)
Physics professor Sophie and divorce lawyer Stefan have been living together as a couple for 15 years. Sophie would like to get married, but because of Stefan's experience with his clients, he doesn't believe in long, happy marriages. The two make a bet: If Sophie shows him a truly happy couple that has been married for more than five years, he will marry her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Like What Are Friends For? and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like What Are Friends For??
The closest matches to What Are Friends For? are The Boy in the Dress (2014), I'll Be Home for Christmas (2016) and Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after What Are Friends For??
Start with The Boy in the Dress (2014), the closest match to What Are Friends For?.
What is the highest-rated movie like What Are Friends For??
Descendants 3 (2019), rated 7.7/10 by 1,674 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like What Are Friends For??
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like What Are Friends For??
Yes: The Boy in the Dress (2014), I'll Be Home for Christmas (2016) and Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980).
How are movies similar to What Are Friends For? chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside What Are Friends For?, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.