Movies like Eye of the Dolphin (2007)
The best movies like Eye of the Dolphin (2007) are Dolphin Tale 2 (2014), Where the Red Fern Grows (1974) and The Secret of Roan Inish (1994). If Eye of the Dolphin hooked you with its drama and family, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Wolf and the Lion (2021)7.5/10 from 517 votes
- NewestOmaha (2025)Released 2025
Dolphin Tale 2 (2014)
The team of people who saved Winter's life reassemble in the wake of her surrogate mother's passing in order to find her a companion so she can remain at the Clearwater Marine Hospital.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
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 thisThe Secret of Roan Inish (1994)
Ten-year-old Fiona is sent to live with her grandparents in a small fishing village in Donegal, Ireland. She soon learns the local legend that an ancestor of hers married a Selkie – a seal who can turn into a human. Years earlier, her baby brother was washed out to sea and never seen again, so when Fiona spies a naked little boy on the abandoned Isle of Roan Inish, she is compelled to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisMoondance Alexander (2007)
Curiously named teen Moondance Alexander lives with her eccentric mother, and is faced with another uneventful summer until she discovers a lost pinto pony named Checkers. Although Moondance returns the horse to his rightful owner, the gruff and mysterious Dante Longpre, she is convinced that Checkers is a champion jumper in disguise and is determined to help him realize his full potential.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
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 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 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 thisWild Hearts Can't Be Broken (1991)
A runaway orphan, young Sonora, persists in a menial job mucking stables in Doc Carver's travelling stunt show. Her great wish is to become a death-defying "diving girl," but Doc refuses her pleas. Undaunted, Sonora's gutsy resolve finally convinces him to give her a break. On the brink of stardom, however, a cruel twist of fate threatens to destroy her dream.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Wolf and the Lion (2021)
After her grandfather's death, 20-year-old Alma decides to go back to her childhood home - a little island in the heart of the majestic Canadian forest. Whilst there, she rescues two helpless cubs: a wolf and a lion. They forge an inseparable bond, but their world soon collapses as the forest ranger discovers the animals and takes them away. The two cub brothers must now embark on a treacherous journey across Canada to be reunited with one another and Alma once more.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisReturn to Nim's Island (2013)
Fourteen year old Nim, more determined than ever to protect her island and all the wildlife that call it home, faces off against resort developers and animal poachers. Soon she realizes she can’t depend on her animal cohorts alone and must make her first human friend – Edmund, who’s run away to the island from the mainland – to save her home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Day of the Dolphin (1973)
A marine biologist teaches his dolphins to communicate in English but shady characters plan to kidnap the trained mammals for a more sinister purpose.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Legend of Johnny Lingo (2003)
When a storm washes a canoe bearing an infant boy ashore upon a small South Pacific island, he is at first well-received as a gift from the heavens, even to the point of the tribal chief adopting him as a successor. However, with time as hardships are blamed upon Tama (as he is named), he is finally outcast to live with the poorest people on the island, Mahana and her drunken father. Mahana is considered homely and undesirable, but Tama feels differently, so when he is old enough to build a craft to sail away, he vows to return for her one day. A lucky stroke brings him to land upon the island of the legendary Johnny Lingo, the wealthiest trader in the islands, and after years of service to him, Tama has learned much about life and himself as he dreams of honoring his pledge to Mahana.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStillwater (2021)
Bill Baker, an American oil-rig roughneck from Oklahoma, travels to Marseille to visit his estranged daughter, Allison, who is in prison for a murder she claims she did not commit. Confronted with language barriers, cultural differences, and a complicated legal system, Bill builds a new life for himself in France as he makes it his personal mission to exonerate his daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReturn to the Blue Lagoon (1991)
In this sequel to the 1980 classic, two children are stranded on a beautiful island in the South Pacific. With no adults to guide them, the two make a simple life together and eventually become tanned teenagers in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Turner (2014)
Eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner lives his last 25 years with gusto and secretly becomes involved with a seaside landlady, while his faithful housekeeper bears an unrequited love for him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOmaha (2025)
A young girl and her brother are awoken by their father and loaded into the car on an early morning in 2008. As they road trip across the American West, she discovers the truth about their seemingly spontaneous journey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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 thisBarbie: Dolphin Magic (2017)
Barbie and her sisters take off on another exciting, global adventure to visit their friend Ken at his summer internship at a beautiful and exotic coral reef.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLight of My Life (2019)
Years after a pandemic wipes out most of the female population, a father struggles to shield his daughter from a dangerous and predatory world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Isle (2000)
Mute Hee-Jin is working as a clerk in a fishing resort in the Korean wilderness; selling baits, food and occasionally her body to the fishing tourists. One day she falls in love with Hyun-Shik, who is on the run from the police, and rescues him with a fish hook when he tries to commit suicide.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWell Kept Secrets: Athanasia (2008)
A young American woman returns to her Greek roots in search of her real father. Accompanied by her stepfather, she shatters the very myths designed to protect her. She uncovers an unlikely relationship between those who raised her, a globe-trotting photojournalist and Athanasia. Athanasia, a girl with no right in life. A choice of nature, but not of her community. Angela finds her father and discovers her mother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Insider (1999)
A research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a 60 Minutes exposé on Big Tobacco.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAbout the Looking for and the Finding of Love (2005)
Director helmut Dietls and Patric Susskinds illustrate a legendary story of two lovers who cant keep themselves away from death.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dolphin Reef (2018)
Echo is a youngster who can't quite decide if it's time to grow up and take on new responsibilities-or give in to her silly side and just have fun. Dolphin society is tricky, and the coral reef that Echo and his family call home depends on all of its inhabitants to keep it healthy. But Echo has a tough time resisting the many adventures the ocean has to offer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe King Is Alive (2000)
Stranded in the heat of a barren African desert, eleven bus-passengers shelter in the remnants of an abandoned town. As rescue grows more remote by the day and anxiety deepens, an idea emerges: why not stage a play. However the choice of King Lear only manages to plunge this disparate group of travelers into turmoil as they struggle to overcome both nature's wrath and their own morality.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
San Francisco Bay, January 18, 1960. Frank Lee Morris is transferred to Alcatraz, a maximum security prison located on a rocky island. Although no one has ever managed to escape from there, Frank and other inmates begin to carefully prepare an escape plan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDr. Dolittle 2 (2001)
A group of beavers ask Dr. Dolittle to save their habitat from loggers. The only hope is to get the forest preserved because it's the home of a protected bear, but there's a problem: the bear's the only bear in the forest, so she can't reproduce. Undaunted, Dolittle persuades a circus bear to help out, but he has to teach him not just the ways of the wild, but the wiles of lady bears too.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
SnoozefestMovies like thisNo Escape (1994)
In the year 2022, a ruthless prison warden has created the ultimate solution for his most troublesome and violent inmates: Absolom, a secret jungle island where prisoners are abandoned and left to die. But Marine Captain John Robbins, convicted of murdering a commanding officer, is determined to escape the island in order to reveal the truth behind his murderous actions and clear his name.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Girl 2 (1994)
Vada Sultenfuss has a holiday coming up, and an assignment: to do an essay on someone she admires and has never met. She decides she wants to do an assignment on her mother, but quickly realises she knows very little about her. She manages to get her father to agree to let her go to LA to stay with her Uncle Phil and do some research on her mother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Eye of the Dolphin?
The closest matches to Eye of the Dolphin are Dolphin Tale 2 (2014), Where the Red Fern Grows (1974) and The Secret of Roan Inish (1994). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Eye of the Dolphin?
Start with Dolphin Tale 2 (2014), the closest match to Eye of the Dolphin.
What is the highest-rated movie like Eye of the Dolphin?
The Wolf and the Lion (2021), rated 7.5/10 by 517 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Eye of the Dolphin?
Omaha (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Eye of the Dolphin?
Yes: Dolphin Tale 2 (2014), Where the Red Fern Grows (1974) and The Secret of Roan Inish (1994).
How are movies similar to Eye of the Dolphin chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Eye of the Dolphin, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.