Movies like The Beginner (2018)
The best movies like The Beginner (2018) are Skater Girl (2021), Where the Red Fern Grows (2003) and Greyfriars Bobby (1961). If The Beginner hooked you with its drama and family, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Perfect Game (2009)7.4/10 from 215 votes
- NewestA Tooth Fairy Tale (2025)Released 2025
- In GermanWindstorm: The Great Hurricane (2021)Also in German
Skater Girl (2021)
Prerna, a teenager growing up in rural India, comes of age when she’s introduced to the sport of skateboarding. As a result, she has to fight the odds to follow her dreams and compete in the national championship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhere the Red Fern Grows (2003)
Set in the Ozark Mountains during the Great Depression, Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for 2 years to achieve his dream of buying two coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in God as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with "Old Dan" and "Little Ann."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGreyfriars Bobby (1961)
In Scotland 1865, An old shepherd and his little Skye terrier go to Edinburgh. But when the shepherd dies of pneumonia, the dog remains faithful to his master, refuses to be adopted by anyone, and takes to sleeping on his master's grave in the Greyfriars kirkyard, despite a caretaker with a "no dogs" rule. And when Bobby is taken up for being unlicensed, it's up to the children of Edinburgh and the Lord Provost to decide what's to be done.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere the Red Fern Grows (1974)
Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for two years to achieve his dream of buying two red-bone coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in life as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with his dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeidi (2005)
Swiss girl Adelheid 'Heidi' is orphaned young. Aunt Detie brings her to grandpa Alp and his wife, who live isolated in the Alps since his murder charge. Heidi soon takes to the wild country, especially accompanying young goatherd Peter. Grandpa refuses to send her to school in the city, but aunt Detie returns and forces him to give in. She's sent to a posh lady in Frankfurt, where she'll be a companion for crippled daughter Clara after school hours.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Second Chance (2011)
A young girl and her coach overcome adversity to make their way into the National Australian Gymnastics Squad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good Witch's Gift (2010)
Almost as soon as Jake and Cassie decide to get married on Christmas Eve, complications arise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFlicka: Country Pride (2012)
Flicka and Toby help out a struggling stable owner and her teenage daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Second Chance: Rivals! (2019)
As Maddy takes on coaching a team of young twelve-year-old gymnasts, she faces up to intense city versus country rivalry, racism, cyberbullying and her own self-doubt but eventually takes the challenge head on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWindstorm: The Great Hurricane (2021)
Due to the sudden outbreak of a hurricane, a traveling circus, famous for its stunning numbers with horses, calls into the small German estate of Kaltenbach. Soon, Ari realizes that one of the horses of this circus, named Orcan, is in mortal danger. Together with the boy Carlo and their faithful friend, the horse Ostwind, they try to save Orkan from the cruel owner of a traveling circus. However, the shrewd director unravels their audacious plan. And Ostwind's horse is also in trouble. Ari and Carlo have very little time to rectify the situation and save Ostwind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Perfect Game (2009)
Based on a true story, a group of boys from Monterrey, Mexico who become the first non-U.S. team to win the Little League World Series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAn American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong (2009)
A fourth grader and her friends deal with bullying from a more popular girl in their class.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & 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 & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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 thisAnastasia: Once Upon a Time (2020)
Anastasia Romanov escapes through a portal when her family is threatened by Vladimir Lenin, and she finds herself in the year 1988, befriended by a young American girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Tooth Fairy Tale (2025)
Van, the brave son of a tooth fairy leader, meets the goblins girl Gemma on his first mission. Despite the myths about ancient disputes between fairies and goblins, they share common values. When the greedy Spider Queen threatens both tribes, they must work together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking (1988)
After her father's ship is carried off by a sudden storm, the spunky Pippi Longstocking is stranded with her horse, Alfonso,and her pet monkey, Mr. Neilson, and takes up residence in the old family home, which is thought by neighborhood children to be haunted. Soon, two children, Tommy and his sister Anika, venture into the house only to meet up with Pippi. The three soon become friends and get into various adventures together, including cleaning the floor with scrubbing shoes, dodging the "splunks", going down a waterfall in barrels, and helping Pippi with the problem of having to go to an orphanage. Older children will probably get the most out of this movie.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
SnoozefestMovies like thisBibi & Tina (2014)
Bibi Blocksberg visits her friend Tina Martin at the riding stables during the summer vacation. This year there is to be a special horse race organized by Count Falko. However, the two friends run into trouble when Sophia von Gelenberg from an elite boarding school at Falkenstein Castle, a participant and close acquaintance of the house, arrives and tries to steal Tina's boyfriend Alexander. The shady businessman Hans Kakmann is also up to no good, and it's not just the foal Socrates, known as "Socke", he's after. Bibi tries to save Alex and Tina's relationship on the one hand and expose Kakmann's business practices on the other. But even witchcraft can't prevent her from turning everyone against her, Count Falko enrolling his son in boarding school and Kakman offering to buy the foal "Socke".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Beginner?
The closest matches to The Beginner are Skater Girl (2021), Where the Red Fern Grows (2003) and Greyfriars Bobby (1961). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Beginner?
Start with Skater Girl (2021), the closest match to The Beginner.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Beginner?
The Perfect Game (2009), rated 7.4/10 by 215 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Beginner?
A Tooth Fairy Tale (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there German movies like The Beginner?
Yes: Windstorm: The Great Hurricane (2021), Lassie Come Home (2020) and Bibi & Tina (2014).
How are movies similar to The Beginner chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Beginner, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.