Movies like Emil and the Detectives (1954)
The best movies like Emil and the Detectives (1954) are Drake & Josh Go Hollywood (2006), See Spot Run (2001) and To Grandmother's House We Go (1992). If Emil and the Detectives hooked you with its family and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHenry Danger: The Movie (2025)7.6/10 from 277 votes
- NewestCall Me Dad (2025)Released 2025
Drake & Josh Go Hollywood (2006)
When Drake and Josh accidentally send their little sister Megan on a plane to L.A., they soon find themselves in the middle of a dangerous situation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSee Spot Run (2001)
A drug sniffing agent canine is a target for an assassin boss so the FBI calls Witness Protection to send him somewhere else. Meanwhile a single Mom puts her 6 year old boy James in the care of her irresponsible, mailman, neighbor, Gordon, when the babysitter bails on her. Meanwhile, an assassin mob boss hires 2 goons to kill Agent 11. But when 11 escapes from the van when they tried to kill him, he hides in Gordon's Mailtruck that James is in too. And guess what they name him. Spot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
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 & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Deposit, No Return (1976)
Two rich children devise a way to escape their grandfather and visit their mother. Unfortunately for two hapless safe crackers, they become part of the plan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists (1996)
When Littlefoot's grandfather falls ill, the only way to cure him is with a flower from the forbidding land of the mists, which holds unexpected perils and danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwo by Two: Overboard! (2020)
Two misfit castaways struggle to reunite an unorthodox family, out-run a volcano, and negotiate a peace deal on a creaking Ark.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & comedy
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 & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisPets United (2019)
When Roger (a Robin Hood-esque, stray dog) and Belle (an elegant yet spoilt pet cat) are thrown together amidst the chaos of a robot take-over of their home city, they must push all their preconceptions aside in order to survive, as they embark on a high-stakes, action-packed adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisFinding ʻOhana (2021)
Two Brooklyn siblings' summer in a rural Oahu town takes an exciting turn when a journal pointing to long-lost treasure sets them on an adventure, leading them to reconnect with their Hawaiian heritage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdventures in Babysitting (2016)
Two teen rival babysitters, Jenny and Lola, team up to hunt down one of their kids who accidentally ran away into the big city without any supervision.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMinions & More Volume 1 (2022)
This collection of 10 short films produced by Illumination includes: From the "Despicable Me" franchise: Puppy (2013); Minion Scouts (2019); Training Wheels (2013); The Secret Life of Kyle (2017); Santa's Little Helpers (2019). From the "Grinch" franchise: The Dog Days of Winter (2019). From the "Secret Life of Pets" franchise: Norman Television (2016); Weenie (2016). From the "Sing" franchise: Love at First Sight (2017). From the "Lorax" franchise: Forces of Nature (2012).
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCars Toon Mater's Tall Tales (2008)
Mater the tow truck travels from country to country as he retells his infamous but unbelievable stories.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHappiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown (2011)
Linus is pushed to his limits when he learns Grandma is coming to visit and plans on ridding him of his childish security blanket.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRecess: All Growed Down (2003)
T.J. and The Recess Gang are kidnapped by the Third Street School's kindergartners, who are in turn being bullied by a new kid in their class.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Loud House Movie (2021)
The Loud family travel to Scotland and discover they are descendants of Scottish royalty as they move into their giant ancestral castle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHow to Rob a Bank (2007)
Caught in the middle of a bank robbery, a slacker and a bank employee become the ones who arbitrate the intense situation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThunderstruck (2012)
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSlugTerra: Return of the Elementals (2014)
A new member has joined Eli and the Shane Gang! Junjie, once the protector of the Eastern Caverns, is a master of the slugslinging art of Slug Fu! But even with the power of five slingers, the Shane Gang find themselves in over their heads as they race across The 99 Caverns in search of the Legendary Elemental Slugs. The five Elementals are ancient slugs of great power, and the forbearers of all slugs found in SlugTerra today. In the wrong hands, they could bring Slugterra to the brink of destruction. So when an evil alliance starts hunting down the Elementals, Eli and his friends — old and new — take off in pursuit of the greatest threat their world has ever faced!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Silencers (1966)
Matt Helm is called out of retirement to stop the evil Big O organization who plan to explode an atomic bomb over Alamagordo, NM, and start WW III.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHenry Danger: The Movie (2025)
Henry Hart meets a superfan—eager to fight crime with Kid Danger—who comes into possession of a device that can open up alternate realities. Facing a wild ride, Henry will need his best friend Jasper and his new superfan sidekick to find his way out or be stuck in another dimension forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Ant Bully (2006)
Fed up with being targeted by the neighborhood bully, 10-year-old Lucas Nickle vents his frustrations on the anthill in his front yard ... until the insects shrink him to the size of a bug with a magic elixir. Convicted of "crimes against the colony," Lucas can only regain his freedom by living with the ants and learning their ways.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisAre We There Yet? (2005)
The fledgling romance between Nick, a playboy bachelor, and Suzanne, a divorced mother of two, is threatened by a particularly harrowing New Years Eve. When Suzanne's work keeps her in Vancouver for the holiday, Nick offers to bring her kids to the city from Portland, Oregon. The kids, who have never liked any of the men their mom dates, are determined to turn the trip into a nightmare for Nick.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Pacifier (2005)
Navy SEAL Shane Wolfe is handed a new assignment: Protect the five Plummer kids from enemies of their recently deceased father -- a government scientist whose top-secret experiment remains hidden in the kids' house.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
Con artist Lawrence Jamieson is a longtime resident of a luxurious coastal resort, where he enjoys the lavish fruits of his deceptions -- that is, until a competitor, Freddy Benson, shows up. When the new guy's lowbrow tactics impinge on his own sophisticated work and believing him to be the infamous conman 'The Jackal', Lawrence resolves to get rid of him. Confident of his own duplicitous talents, he challenges Freddy to a winner-takes-all competition: whoever swindles their latest mark, American heiress Janet Colgate, out of $50,000 first can stay, while the other must leave town.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFather of the Bride (1991)
George Banks is an ordinary, middle-class man whose 22 year-old daughter Annie has decided to marry a man from an upper-class family, but George can't think of what life would be like without his daughter. His wife tries to make him happy for Annie, but when the wedding takes place at their home and a foreign wedding planner takes over the ceremony, he becomes slightly insane.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMad Money (2008)
Three female employees of the Federal Reserve plot to steal money that is about to be destroyed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThat Darn Cat (1997)
While making his nightly rounds in the neighborhood, Patti's pet cat D.C. finds himself the carrier of a call for help from a kidnap victim. Patti enlists skeptical law enforcement help to find the victim before it's too late.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisCall Me Dad (2025)
Little Intan was used as collateral for a debt by her mother, who was forced to become a migrant worker and leave her behind. But from that moment, her life took a turn. Dedi, the debt collector — a stranger who initially just came to collect — ended up becoming an important figure in Intan’s life. Together with Tatang, they grew into an unusual kind of “family.”
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & family
Peter Bell II: The Hunt for the Czar Crown (2003)
Peter Bell and his Black Hand gang tangle with evil newspaper tycoon Stark once again, as the latter schemes to steal a priceless royal crown with his two cronies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & adventure
Kill Me If You Dare (2024)
A winning lottery ticket has grave consequences for a married couple when they start hatching plans to kill each other for the prize money.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Emil and the Detectives?
The closest matches to Emil and the Detectives are Drake & Josh Go Hollywood (2006), See Spot Run (2001) and To Grandmother's House We Go (1992). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Emil and the Detectives?
Start with Drake & Josh Go Hollywood (2006), the closest match to Emil and the Detectives.
What is the highest-rated movie like Emil and the Detectives?
Henry Danger: The Movie (2025), rated 7.6/10 by 277 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Emil and the Detectives?
Call Me Dad (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there German movies like Emil and the Detectives?
The closest matches are in other languages.
How are movies similar to Emil and the Detectives chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Emil and the Detectives, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.