Movies like 2 1/2 Dads (1986)
The best movies like 2 1/2 Dads (1986) are Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980), The Greening of Whitney Brown (2011) and Double Teamed! (2002). If 2 1/2 Dads hooked you with its family and adventure, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
2 1/2 Dads
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Second Mother (2015)8.0/10 from 808 votes
- NewestDragons: Rescue Riders: Secrets of the Songwing (2020)Released 2020
Little 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 Greening of Whitney Brown (2011)
Whitney, a spoiled pre-teen from Philadelphia, is forced to move to the country when her parents feel the squeeze of economic hard times. A fish out of water, far from her comfort zone, she befriends an amazing horse, and undertakes a misguided journey back to her old life, only to discover that her family is her home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisDouble Teamed! (2002)
Heather and Heidi play volleyball for their school team, when their family decides that they need to go to a bigger school so that they will have a better chance for scholarships. But at the new school, the twins are discovered by the basketball coach. Inspired by the true story of Heather and Heidi Burge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & 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 & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Wrinkle in Time (2003)
Meg and Charles Wallace are aided by Calvin and three interesting women in the search for their father who disappeared during a government experiment. Their travels take them around the universe to a place unlike any other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wind in the Willows (1983)
One spring, Mole decides that he can ignore the spring cleaning for a little longer, and begins a series of adventures with his new friend Rat. They go for a picnic on the riverbank, on a caravan expedition with Toad, until Toad switches allegiance to his new car and his reckless driving makes Mole and Rat search out Badger for help in curbing Toad's profligate habits. But Toad gets away from them and gets a 20-year sentence from the magistrate for theft, reckless driving, and Gross Impertinence. While Toad works his wiles on the jailer's daughter and escapes jail dressed as a washer woman, Badger tries to guard Toad Hall from the machinations of the Weasels and is badly beaten. And it requires a plan of attack and all four comrades to regain Toad Hall.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLittle Man Tate (1991)
Dede is a sole parent trying to bring up her son Fred. When it is discovered that Fred is a genius, she is determined to ensure that Fred has all the opportunities that he needs, and that he is not taken advantage of by people who forget that his extremely powerful intellect is harboured in the body and emotions of a child.
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 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 thisDeath of a Salesman (1985)
Willy Loman, an aging, failing salesman, struggles to accept reality and his failure to achieve the American Dream.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisDragons: Rescue Riders: Hunt for the Golden Dragon (2020)
It's the treasure hunt of a lifetime for the Rescue Riders, who must race to find a precious golden dragon egg and protect it from evil pirates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPAW Patrol: Mighty Pups (2018)
When their latest scheme goes awry, Mayor Humdinger and his nephew Harold accidentally divert a meteor towards Adventure Bay. The meteor's golden energy grants the PAW Patrol superpowers. The heroic Mighty Pups are on a roll to super-save the day.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCurious George 3: Back to the Jungle (2015)
When Curious George is offered a special space mission, Ted (The Man in the Yellow Hat) can't deny his little friend this exciting journey, especially after Curious George completes the training. But when he crash-lands in Africa, a worried Ted goes searching, expecting the worst, only to have it turn out to be the best.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Mimzy (2007)
Two siblings begin to develop special talents after they find a mysterious box of toys, and soon their parents and even their teacher are drawn into a strange new world – and find a task ahead of them that is far more important than any of them could imagine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPAW Patrol: Ready, Race, Rescue! (2019)
It’s the Adventure Bay 500! The pups have built an awesome race track and are ready to be the pit crew for their race hero, The Whoosh! But when the legendary racer is unable to drive in the championship race, he calls on his biggest fan-pup Marshall to take the wheel and race in his place! Marshall has to overcome his lack of confidence and his dastardly competition, The Cheetah, to fulfill his dream of becoming the fastest race-pup ever!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving (1995)
When the water supply to the Great Valley is blocked, Littlefoot and his friends must cooperate with a group of bullies to find the reason the cause.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration (2003)
A bedtime story leads Littlefoot and his grandparents on a journey to a new land, where Littlefoot discovers someone who vanished before he was born: his father! Now Littlefoot must decide between two worlds. Will he leave to be with his friends in the Great Valley, or stay behind and start a new life with his father?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Little Prince (2015)
Based on the best-seller book 'The Little Prince', the movie tells the story of a little girl that lives with resignation in a world where efficiency and work are the only dogmas. Everything will change when accidentally she discovers her neighbor that will tell her about the story of the Little Prince that he once met.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisReturn to Never Land (2002)
In 1940, the world is besieged by World War II. Wendy, all grown up, has two children; including Jane, who does not believe Wendy's stories about Peter Pan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe State I Am In (2001)
Clara and Hans are left-wing terrorists who have been sought by police for almost fifteen years. Their increasingly rebellious daughter Jeanne begins to pose a threat to their security when she falls in love with a boy she meets on the beach.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOutrageous Big Machines (2008)
Outrageous Big Machines features 4 captivating construction shows on 1 action packed DVD. Take your kid directly to the work site where they will help real construction workers clear the way for roads and blast away mountains of debris with awesome power. Better pack your hard hat - it's going to be a bumpy ride!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Why did I write the Bible (2017)
Francis, a man in his sixties, is found in a diving suit, swimming in a river in the city center. Even his children, accustomed to their father's escapades, are surprised: since Francis knows he is condemned, it seems really unmanageable. Samuel and his sister must therefore find a way to accompany him at any cost.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Second Mother (2015)
After leaving her daughter Jessica in a small town in Pernambuco to be raised by relatives, Val spends the next 13 years working as a nanny to Fabinho in São Paulo. She has financial stability but has to live with the guilt of having not raised Jessica herself. As Fabinho’s university entrance exams approach, Jessica reappears in her life and seems to want to give her mother a second chance. However, Jessica has not been raised to be a servant and her very existence will turn Val’s routine on its head. With precision and humour, the subtle and powerful forces that keep rigid class structures in place and how the youth may just be the ones to shake it all up.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Nightcomers (1972)
Prequel to the Henry James classic "Turn of the Screw" about the events leading up to the deaths of Peter Quint and Ms. Jessel, and the slow corruption of the children in their care.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisFeed Me (2013)
Feed Me is a story about a young family in a suburban area in Southern California. The father, Jason (Cameron Graham), is an ambitious executive who keeps getting promoted in a large corporation. The mother, Christy (Mitra Avani), is a step aerobics instructor, who dedicates her life to caring for her 4 years old daughter Alicia (Duna DiVito). However, everything changes when Alicia suddenly starts disappearing every night. Jason contemplates his job security in devoting a great deal of time to this disturbing family issue. Christy believes that she can save her daughter by developing her medium skills. Alicia seems to remember nothing when she reappears, and malevolent forces may be placing her in a state between the unconscious to the subconscious.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Lady for a Day (1933)
Apple Annie is an aging New York City fruit seller whose daughter Louise has been raised in a Spanish convent since she was an infant. As she grows up, Louise is led to believe that her mother is a society matron called Mrs. E. Worthington Manville. Annie worries that her lie is in danger of being uncovered when she learns that Louise is sailing to New York with her new fiancé and his nobleman father.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPitaah (2002)
A man seeks justice against two men who raped his young daughter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
My Last Five Girlfriends (2010)
Depressed and suicidal, thirtysomething bachelor Duncan – determined to find the secret to a healthy, strong relationship, – flashes back to his last five relationships (in the last four years) and considers what caused each one to fail. Based on the novel 'Essays in Love' by Alain de Botton.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Good Woman Is Hard to Find (2019)
The recently widowed mother of two, Sarah, is desperate to know who murdered her husband in front of her young son, rendering him mute. Coerced into helping a low-life drug dealer stash narcotics stolen from the local Mr. Big, she's forced into taking drastic action to protect her children, evolving from downtrodden submissive to take-charge vigilante.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like 2 1/2 Dads?
The closest matches to 2 1/2 Dads are Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980), The Greening of Whitney Brown (2011) and Double Teamed! (2002). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after 2 1/2 Dads?
Start with Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980), the closest match to 2 1/2 Dads.
What is the highest-rated movie like 2 1/2 Dads?
The Second Mother (2015), rated 8.0/10 by 808 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like 2 1/2 Dads?
Dragons: Rescue Riders: Secrets of the Songwing (2020) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like 2 1/2 Dads?
Yes: Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980), The Greening of Whitney Brown (2011) and Double Teamed! (2002).
How are movies similar to 2 1/2 Dads chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside 2 1/2 Dads, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.