Movies like Heart of a Boy (2006)
The best movies like Heart of a Boy (2006) are Where the Red Fern Grows (1974), Where the Red Fern Grows (2003) and Skater Girl (2021). If Heart of a Boy 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 ratedLittle Lord Fauntleroy (1980)7.3/10 from 326 votes
- NewestMy Father is a Hero (2023)Released 2023
Where 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 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 thisSkater 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 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 drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies 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 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: 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 (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 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 thisShiloh (1996)
An abused beagle runs away from his owner. On the road, he meets young Marty Preston and follows him home. The boy immediately forms a bond with the dog and names him Shiloh. His stern father won't let him keep the dog because it belongs to Judd Travers, a local hunter. After Shiloh is mistreated again, he runs away and returns to Marty. Knowing his father will once again make him bring Shiloh back to Judd, he makes a home for the dog in an old shed up the hill from the Prestons' house and hides him from his family. His secret is soon discovered when a stray attacks the dog one night and he must turn to his father for help.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
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 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 thisAngels in the Snow (2015)
The affluent, yet troubled Montgomery family hits the road for a special Christmas in the mountains.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Safety of Objects (2002)
In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHardball (2001)
An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRemember (2015)
With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIntroducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999)
An acclaimed stage performer, Dorothy still struggled with the challenge of her color, in a time that wouldn't let some stars in by the front door. Yet against the odds she beat out many more famous rivals for the role of "Carmen Jones", becoming the first black woman ever nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award. Marriages and affairs would break her heart, but her heart was strong. Seductive and easily seduced, she was born to be a star - with all the glory and all the pain of being loved, abused, cheated, glorified, undermined and undefeated. Here was a woman who wouldn't wait in the wings. Halle Berry stars as Dorothy Dandrige.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good Doctor (2011)
Dr. Martin Blake, who has spent his life looking for respect, meets an 18-year-old patient named Diane, suffering from a kidney infection, and gets a much-needed boost of self-esteem. However, when her health starts improving, Martin fears losing her, so he begins tampering with her treatment, keeping Diane sick and in the hospital right next to him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTalhotBlond (2012)
Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Dry White Season (1989)
During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Father is a Hero (2023)
After losing his wife, a devoted father turns life's hardships into playful games to protect his young son's spirit. When the boy is diagnosed with a severe heart condition, the father faces a desperate race against time. To keep his son hopeful while waiting for a donor, he sets out to bring the child's favorite comic book world to life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & drama
Annie's Point (2005)
A recently widowed grandmother is determined to grant her husband's last wish of setting his ashes free over the idyllic bluff they called Annie's Point. The charm of this tale lies in her journey.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & family
Dear Ike: Lost Letters to a Teen Idol (2021)
In this animated documentary, Los Angeles filmmaker Dion Labriola recounts his all-consuming childhood quest to contact his teen idol, Ike Eisenmann - and the magical turn of events that led him toward his goal (some 40 years later).
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Odd Dog (2020)
Greyscale animation presents a short film about a young boy who pleads with his mother to get him a dog but his mother prefers a cat. Years later, the boy runs into what looks like a cat on the street. Can the cat win the boy over with his crazy dog-like antics and become the boy's "odd dog"? This award-winning animated short has screened at film festivals all around the world and was successfully funded on Kickstarter. It is based on the Director’s son and their cat and was lovingly made by so many incredibly talented artists.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Blood Work (2002)
Still recovering from a heart transplant, a retired FBI profiler returns to service when his own blood analysis offers clues to the identity of a serial killer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeartless (1997)
Bed-ridden Anne O'Keefe is a very sick young lady and in desperate need of a heart transplant. Her life is on a downward spiral, until a brutal crime is committed. Suzanne Hawks, wife of a very wealthy business man is murdered - shot at point blank range; for her, it is the end. However, Anne is saved, given Suzanne's heart. It should be a whole new lease on life. Suzanne's death begins to haunt Anne and she finds herself drawn into an erotic, nightmarish world where the lines between the two women's personalities blur and become intertwined to the point of obsession and beyond...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Bianca (2012)
Bianca, a middle aged, elegant and beautiful woman, is bewitched with the craving for wealth, a desire she would go to any length to satisfy and secure. A home breaker, husband snatcher and conniving selfish gold-digger saddled with the burden of two male children, Sunny and Chuks from her first marriage, traverses the city in search of the man who can afford to tend to her craving after divorcing her husband.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Good Heart (2009)
Jacques is the curmudgeonly owner of a gritty New York dive bar that serves as home to a motley assortment of professional drinkers. Jacques is determinedly drinking and smoking himself to death when he meets Lucas, a homeless young man who has already given up on life. Determined to keep his legacy alive, Jacques deems Lucas is a fitting heir and takes him under his wing.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeart of a Stranger (2002)
What happens when you receive someone else's heart and wind up with the transplant donor's personality traits and memories too? Jill Maddox, a middle-aged concert violinist, is about to find out! After her surgery, Maddox starts chugging beers, blasting modern music and donning barely-there miniskirts. She is acting like the 22-year-old guy whose ticker she inherited. Even weirder — this is a true story!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Intruder (2005)
An emotionally cold man leaves the safety of his Alpine home to seek a heart transplant and an estranged son.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Heart of a Boy?
The closest matches to Heart of a Boy are Where the Red Fern Grows (1974), Where the Red Fern Grows (2003) and Skater Girl (2021). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Heart of a Boy?
Start with Where the Red Fern Grows (1974), the closest match to Heart of a Boy.
What is the highest-rated movie like Heart of a Boy?
Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980), rated 7.3/10 by 326 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Heart of a Boy?
My Father is a Hero (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Heart of a Boy?
Yes: Where the Red Fern Grows (1974), Where the Red Fern Grows (2003) and Skater Girl (2021).
How are movies similar to Heart of a Boy chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Heart of a Boy, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.