Movies like Four Junior Detectives (1992)
The best movies like Four Junior Detectives (1992) are The Three Investigators in The Secret of Terror Castle (2009), Shorts (2009) and Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library (2017). If Four Junior Detectives hooked you with its family and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAdventures in Babysitting (2016)7.2/10 from 450 votes
- NewestEmil and the Detectives (2026)Released 2026
- In GermanThe Three Investigators in The Secret of Terror Castle (2009)Also in German
The Three Investigators in The Secret of Terror Castle (2009)
A new case for the cult detectives! Not by coincidence, a mysterious videotape falls into the hands of Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw and Bob Andrews during Jupiter's birthday party in Rocky Beach. On it is a recording of Jupiter's long dead parents. In their message they want to communicate to their son the key to an especially tricky riddle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisEscape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library (2017)
Can twelve 12-year-olds escape from the most ridiculously brilliant library ever created? Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library plunks a dozen sixth-graders into the middle of a futuristic library for a night of nonstop fun and adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
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 & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Crocodiles Strike Back (2010)
New summer adventure of the Crocodiles, who set up their detective skills to find out who is behind the accidents of the factory where Ollie and Mary's parents work , which could mean the closure of the plant, the move of the family and the dissolution of the gang.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpymate (2006)
Amelia, a young genius and daughter of a top secret agent, unknowingly invents a contraption that makes her the target of an evil scientist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
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 & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Thief Lord (2006)
A tale about two young boys, Prosper and Bo, who flee to Venice after being orphaned and dumped in the care of a cruel auntie. Hiding in the canals and alleyways of the city, the boys are befriended by a gang of young urchins and their enigmatic leader, the Thief Lord. From their home base of an old cinema theater, the children steal from the rich to support themselves and soon capture the interest of a bumbling detective. However, a greater threat to the children is something from a forgotten past - a beautiful magical treasure with the power to spin time itself
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFamous Five (2012)
The film recounts the adventures of Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy the dog on their first holiday together at the seaside. In an old smugglers' cave, the children happen to overhear a radio message that refers to the abduction of George’s father Quentin. The professor has set up a laboratory on Kirrin Island where he’s doing research on a new energy generation method. Someone has obviously taken great interest in the valuable research results. But neither the police nor George’s mother Fanny believe the children. They are now on their own and discover a conspiracy that almost takes their breath away.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
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 & adventure
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisWhite Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf (1994)
A boy and his dog, White Fang, must try to save the noble Haida tribe from evil white men in turn-of-the-century Alaska.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOnce Upon a Forest (1993)
A young mouse, mole and hedgehog risk their lives to find a cure for their badger friend, who's been poisoned by men.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sleepover (2020)
Two siblings who discover their seemingly normal mom is a former thief in witness protection. Mom is forced to pull one last job, and the kids team up to rescue her over the course of an action-packed night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! The Movie (2018)
Thomas leaves Sodor to fulfil his dream of seeing the world. This heroic quest takes Thomas across deserts, through jungles and over dangerous mountains as he travels across five continents seeing sights he has never seen before.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Luck of the Irish (2001)
A teenager must battle for a gold charm to keep his family from being controlled by an evil leprechaun.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
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 family & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Three Investigators and the Dragon's Legacy (2023)
During the summer vacations, the three friends are about to take a trip together to Romania, where they are allowed to complete an internship on the film set of "Dracula Rises", arranged for them by Peter's father, who is responsible for the special effects during the filming. No sooner do they arrive in Transylvania than mysterious events begin to pile up at Countess Codrina's old castle, which serves as the original setting for the film. The three detectives want to find out what all this may have to do with a boy who has been missing for over 50 years, a mysterious brotherhood and an enigmatic undead. Soon, not only the filming and Peter's relationship with his father are at stake, but also the friendship of the three investigators.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Spy (2020)
A hardened CIA operative finds himself at the mercy of a precocious 9-year-old girl, having been sent undercover to surveil her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & action
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisThabo and the Rhino Case (2023)
Eleven-year-old Thabo wants to become a private detective like in the movies. If only his home, the small African village of Hlatikulu, was not the most peaceful savannah paradise. But things take a sudden turn when a rhino is murdered in the neighboring safari park because of its precious horn.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & adventure
Henkka & Kivimutka Detective Agency (2022)
Henkka Virtanen finds evidence of a possible crime on his way to school. With his friend J.K. Kivimutka, the boys decide to investigate what has happened, because these criminal cases are the responsibility of the detective agency they have set up. When it turns out that mailboxes in the area have disappeared during the night, the detective bureau has already two crimes to solve. A fun and exciting adventure begins, in which the boys also have to face their own fears.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & adventure
TKKG - The Secret of the Mysterious Mind Machine (2006)
At first, friendgroup TKKG have no idea that something is amiss when “Jugend forscht” winner Kevin behaves strangely during the presentation of his “Mind Machine” - they blame his nervousness and his unexpected termination of the speech on relationship stress with his girlfriend Nadine. But when Nadine disappears without a trace shortly afterwards, like three other children before her, the amateur detectives know that they have to help the police with their investigation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & adventure
Clubhouse Detectives (1996)
Late one night, Billy and Kade Ruckman see their neighbor, Michael Chambers, murder a woman, but Chambers has a story all set to convince their mother Vicky, that it was just a rehearsal scene from an opera. The only ones who can help them find the body in Chambers' house before he moves and gets rid of all evidence, are their friends, Jimmy, Eddie, and J.J., who are determined to find the body before Chambers finds them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & family
Susikoira Roi (2023)
Valo, who recently moved to Raahe, gets bullied. After rescuing an abandoned dog, Valo finds a friend in it, whom she names Roi. Together, the friends end up investigating the mysterious disappearance of a neighbor boy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & family
Tiger Team: The Mountain of 1000 Dragons (2010)
The Viennese detective children Biggi, Patrick and Luke find a key in dragon form, and their curiosity is aroused. They realize that the sinister Lady Q is interested in opening the legendary moon palace and find the elixir which is believed that promises eternal youth. The Tigers must prevent that Lady Q enters into possession of the priceless liquid.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & family
BFF Detectives (2019)
Friends Franzi, Marieave and Kim planned to spend the summer rehearsing for a Peter Pan play, but when strange things start to happen at the theatre they take on the role of investigators.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & adventure
The Strange Monster of Strawberry Cove (1971)
Three kids think they see a sea monster in the calm waters of Strawberry Cove, and set out to find what's behind the mystery.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & adventure
Emil and the Detectives (2026)
Emil is spending his summer vacation with his grandmother in Berlin. But on the train there, he is robbed by the ruthless con artist Max Grundeis and a wild adventure begins! Together with his friends Pony, Gustav, Dienstag, Anh, and Jason, Emil sets off in pursuit and embarks on a fast-paced detective hunt across Berlin.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & adventure
Way Down Cellar (1968)
Three friends find a secret tunnel under the ruins of a church that leads them to the basement of a dilapidated house and, incidentally, a group of counterfeiters.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Like Four Junior Detectives and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Four Junior Detectives?
The closest matches to Four Junior Detectives are The Three Investigators in The Secret of Terror Castle (2009), Shorts (2009) and Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Four Junior Detectives?
Start with The Three Investigators in The Secret of Terror Castle (2009), the closest match to Four Junior Detectives.
What is the highest-rated movie like Four Junior Detectives?
Adventures in Babysitting (2016), rated 7.2/10 by 450 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Four Junior Detectives?
Emil and the Detectives (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there German movies like Four Junior Detectives?
Yes: The Three Investigators in The Secret of Terror Castle (2009), The Crocodiles Strike Back (2010) and Famous Five (2012).
How are movies similar to Four Junior Detectives chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Four Junior Detectives, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.