Movies like The Secret Garden (2017)
The best movies like The Secret Garden (2017) are A Fairy Tale After All (2022), Life-Size 2 (2018) and The Dirt Bike Kid (1985). If The Secret Garden hooked you with its family and fantasy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Iron Giant (1999)8.0/10 from 6,460 votes
- NewestMomo (2025)Released 2025
A Fairy Tale After All (2022)
A stubborn teenage girl finds herself confronted by whimsical characters when she is transported into a world of fantasy and fairy tales while attending a school marionette show.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLife-Size 2 (2018)
Grace Manning is in the middle of her quarter-life crisis, realizing she is in over her head as CEO. To make matters worse, her wild-child ways are causing the company’s stock to plummet. With the help of her young next-door neighbor, Grace’s old Eve doll magically awakens to help get Grace back on track and give her the confidence to be the woman and leader Eve knows Grace can be.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dirt Bike Kid (1985)
When his mother sends Jack off with money to buy groceries, he comes home with a magic supercharged dirt bike instead. His mother is furious, but when Jack uses the magic bike to save the local hot dog stand from the clutches of corrupt big business, he becomes the town hero.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHansel and Gretel (1988)
Hansel and Gretel tells the tale of two young children driven from home by their scolding mother. Losing their way in the dark forest they stumble upon the cottage of a kindly old woman. But is this kindly old woman everything she seems...?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNico the Unicorn (1998)
As an 11-year-old boy struggles to cope with a disability, he finds a pony who gives birth to a unicorn which he takes care of.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCasper Meets Wendy (1998)
When a warlock threatens Wendy the Good Little Witch, she and her aunts hide out at a resort where Casper the Ghost is vacationing with his uncles. Although Casper and Wendy are told ghosts and witches don't get along, the two are kindred spirits! This spooky family-friendly adventure finds Casper and Wendy bridging the ghost-witch divide to battle the warlock who is intent on destroying Wendy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies 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 fantasy & family
SnoozefestMovies like thisJingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020)
An imaginary world comes to life in a holiday tale of an eccentric toymaker, his adventurous granddaughter, and a magical invention that has the power to change their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secret Garden (2020)
Mary Lennox is born in India to wealthy British parents who never wanted her. When her parents suddenly die, she is sent back to England to live with her uncle. She meets her sickly cousin, and the two children find a wondrous secret garden lost in the grounds of Misselthwaite Manor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMomo (2025)
Momo is a young orphan girl who lives in the ruins of an old Roman amphitheater and becomes friends with everybody in the neighborhood. But when a powerful international corporation starts stealing everybody’s time, nobody has any time left for her, let alone their friends or families. Momo, together with Master Hora, the custodian of time, are the only ones who can go up against the time thieves before all is lost forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMonster High: Frights, Camera, Action! (2014)
When Draculaura is led to believe she's the rightful heir to the vampire throne, she and her best ghoulfriends are whisked away to Transylvania for a royal coronation to die for. But they soon discover the hunt for the queen is not over yet. The Ghouls must locate an ancient artifact known as the Vampire's Heart in order to discover the identity of the true Vampire Queen. It's a fangtastic adventure that will lead them from the Tower of Londoom, to a haunted river boat in New Goreleans and finally to the glamorous boo-vie lots of Hauntlywood. Could this be the moment when Draculara finally receives her vampire powers and discovers screams really can come true?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPrancer: A Christmas Tale (2022)
Ten-year-old Gloria and her recently widowed grandfather Bud befriend a mysterious reindeer when the family gather for Christmas. Bud comes to believe that Prancer may actually be magical, but Gloria fears his theory will send him straight to a retirement home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFour Kids and It (2020)
A group of kids on holiday in Cornwall meet a magical creature on the beach with the power to grant wishes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLegends of Oz: Dorothy's Return (2014)
Dorothy wakes in post-tornado Kansas, only to be whisked back to Oz to try to save her old friends, the Scarecrow, the Lion, the Tin Man, and Glinda, from a devious new villain, the Jester. New comrades Wiser the Owl, Marshal Mallow, China Princess, and Tugg the Tugboat join Dorothy on her latest magical journey through the colorful landscape of Oz to restore order and happiness to Emerald City.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNorthfork (2003)
The year is 1955, and a great flood is coming to Northfork, Montana. A new hydroelectric dam is about to be installed in the mountains above the town, ready to submerge the valley in the name of progress. It is the responsibility of a six-man Evacuation Committee to relocate the townsfolk to higher ground. Most have duly departed, but a few stubborn stragglers remain – among them a priest caring for a sickly orphan, a boy whose fevered visions are leading him to believe he is a member of a roaming band of lost angels desperately searching for a way home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisF.R.E.D.I. (2018)
An intelligent, lovable robot known as "F.R.E.D.I." is stolen from a secret research facility by the project's lead scientist. The robot is found by a 15 year old teenager, James. Soon the two begin to communicate and create a bond in which F.R.E.D.I. learns about teenage life and James learns about some new values.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
SnoozefestMovies like thisA.R.C.H.I.E. (2016)
A recently orphaned 15-year-old who has moved to a small town to live with her uncle befriends a robotic canine with super strength, x-ray vision and the ability to talk and the pair take on a military complex, bullies, kidnappers, romance and the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisD.A.R.Y.L. (1985)
Daryl is a normal 10-year-old boy in many ways. However, unbeknown to his foster parents and friends, Daryl is actually a government-created robot with superhuman reflexes and mental abilities. Even his name has a hidden meaning -- it's actually an acronym for Data Analyzing Robot Youth Life-form. When the organization that created him deems the "super soldier" experiment a failure and schedules Daryl to be disassembled, it is up to a few rogue scientists to help him escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRobots (2005)
Rodney Copperbottom is a young robot inventor who dreams of making the world a better place, until the evil Ratchet takes over Bigweld Industries. Now, Rodney's dreams – and those of his friends – are in danger of becoming obsolete.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTime Toys (2016)
A group of middle school kids stumble upon a chest full of incredible toys from the future. The discovery takes them on an adventure using their newfound toys to save their neighborhood and ultimately the world from a maniacal corporate madman. In the process, these "loser" kids learn they have the qualities they thought they were lacking all along.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
SnoozefestMovies like thisShimajiro to Ururu no Heroland (2019)
Hero Land is a world where you can meet the heroes and heroines you have been waiting for, created by the inventor girl "Ururu". Shimajiro and his friends were overexcited, but a bad robot appeared there and Hero Land was in big danger. Can Shimajiro and his friends work together to help?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & fantasy
Atlantis: Milo's Return (2003)
Milo and Kida reunite with their friends to investigate strange occurances around the world that seem to have links to the secrets of Atlantis.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Grand Day Out (1990)
Wallace and Gromit have run out of cheese, and this provides an excellent excuse for the duo to take their holiday to the moon, where, as everyone knows, there is ample cheese.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Transformers: The Movie (1986)
The Autobots must stop a colossal planet-consuming robot who goes after the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. At the same time, they must defend themselves against an all-out attack from the Decepticons.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPacific Rim: Uprising (2018)
It has been ten years since The Battle of the Breach and the oceans are still, but restless. Vindicated by the victory at the Breach, the Jaeger program has evolved into the most powerful global defense force in human history. The PPDC now calls upon the best and brightest to rise up and become the next generation of heroes when the Kaiju threat returns.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHellboy (2004)
In the final days of World War II, the Nazis attempt to use black magic to aid their dying cause. The Allies raid the camp where the ceremony is taking place, but not before they summon a baby demon who is rescued by Allied forces and dubbed "Hellboy". Sixty years later, Hellboy serves the cause of good rather than evil as an agent in the Bureau of Paranormal Research & Defense, along with Abe Sapien - a merman with psychic powers, and Liz Sherman - a woman with pyrokinesis, protecting America against dark forces.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991)
Amiable slackers Bill and Ted are once again roped into a fantastical adventure when De Nomolos, a villain from the future, sends evil robot duplicates of the two lads to terminate and replace them. The robot doubles actually succeed in killing Bill and Ted, but the two are determined to escape the afterlife, challenging the Grim Reaper to a series of games in order to return to the land of the living.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpy Kids (2001)
Carmen and Juni think their parents are boring. Little do they know that in their day, Gregorio and Ingrid Cortez were the top secret agents from their respective countries. They gave up that life to raise their children. Now, the disappearances of several of their old colleagues forces the Cortez' return from retirement. What they didn't count on was Carmen and Juni joining the "family business."
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Iron Giant (1999)
In the small town of Rockwell, Maine in October 1957, a giant metal machine befriends a nine-year-old boy and ultimately finds its humanity by unselfishly saving people from their own fears and prejudices.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Time Machine (1960)
A Victorian Englishman travels to the far future and finds that humanity has divided into two hostile species.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Secret Garden?
The closest matches to The Secret Garden are A Fairy Tale After All (2022), Life-Size 2 (2018) and The Dirt Bike Kid (1985). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Secret Garden?
Start with A Fairy Tale After All (2022), the closest match to The Secret Garden.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Secret Garden?
The Iron Giant (1999), rated 8.0/10 by 6,460 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Secret Garden?
Momo (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Secret Garden?
Yes: A Fairy Tale After All (2022), Life-Size 2 (2018) and The Dirt Bike Kid (1985).
How are movies similar to The Secret Garden chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Secret Garden, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.