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Movies like The Little Dolphins (1994)

The best movies like The Little Dolphins (1994) are Free Rein: The Twelve Neighs of Christmas (2018), Six Pack (1982) and Bookworm (2024). If The Little Dolphins hooked you with its drama and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Free Rein: The Twelve Neighs of Christmas (2018)

    As Bright Fields preps for its Mistletoe Ball, a broken ornament leads Zoe to a family secret, while Gaby finds herself at the mercy of new boss Mia.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  2. Six Pack (1982)

    Stopping briefly in a small Texas town, an itinerant race car driver finds that his stock car, on a trailer behind his motor home, has just been quickly and expertly stripped. He chases down the miscreants, who turn out to be six orphan children. He has no recourse to the law, for the corrupt local sheriff takes most of the proceeds of their thievery in exchange for not putting them in an orphanage. They are charming rogues who are in turn charmed by him. Disliking their arrangement with the sheriff, they stow away with him, and he finds himself becoming a reluctant stepfather. Thanks to their enthusiasm and incredible mechanical know-how, he begins to make a name for himself on the racing circuit. But the sheriff doesn't take kindly to losing his extra income...

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  3. Bookworm (2024)

    Eleven-year-old Mildred’s life is turned upside down when her mother lands in hospital and estranged, American magician father, Strawn Wise, comes to look after her. Hoping to entertain the bookish tween, Strawn takes Mildred camping in the notoriously rugged New Zealand wilderness, and the pair embark on the ultimate test of family bonding – a quest to find the mythological beast known as the Canterbury Panther.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  4. The Clique (2008)

    A young girl tries to fit in with a clique of popular middle school girls after moving into the guest house of one of their homes.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama

  5. The Boy with Green Hair (1948)

    Peter, an orphaned boy, is adopted by Gramp Frye after his parents are killed in Europe while doing war relief work. The boy feels safe with his new caretaker, but when he is taunted for being an orphan, he gets demoralized. The next day Peter wakes up with green hair. Embarrassed and further ridiculed, Peter seeks solace in a nearby forest. To his surprise, he finds other orphans in the woods, who encourage him to spread news of the injustices of war.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  6. Foster (2011)

    Looking to adopt a child and unable to conceive a child of their own, the Morrisons' lives are turned upside down when a seven-year-old boy unexpectedly shows up on their doorstep.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  7. The Boy in the Dress (2014)

    Dennis feels different - an ordinary boy in an ordinary house in an ordinary street, playing football with his mates and living with his dad and brother, but frustrated by the boring grey world he inhabits. Life has never really been the same since his mum left. However, transformation can happen in the most unexpected places. Aided by Lisa, the coolest girl in school, Dennis creates a whole new persona and puts it to the ultimate test - but can a boy wear a dress, and what will the headmaster, his dad and his friends on the football team think if they find out?

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  8. The Great Gilly Hopkins (2015)

    Young and feisty Gilly Hopkins devises a scheme to escape from her new foster home and reunite with her birth mother.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  9. Chang Can Dunk (2023)

    Chang, a 16-year-old, Asian American, bets the high school basketball star that he can dunk by Homecoming. The bet leads 5' 8" Chang on a quest to learn to dunk—not only to impress his crush, Kristy, but to gain the respect of his high school peers too. But before he can rise up and truly throw one down, he'll have to reexamine everything he knows about himself, his friendships and his family.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  10. A Wrinkle in Time (2003)

    Meg and Charles Wallace are aided by Calvin and three interesting women in the search for their father who disappeared during a government experiment. Their travels take them around the universe to a place unlike any other.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  11. Shorts (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

  12. Slumberland (2022)

    A young girl discovers a secret map to the dreamworld of Slumberland, and with the help of an eccentric outlaw, she traverses dreams and flees nightmares, with the hope that she will be able to see her late father again.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  13. On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (2024)

    On an empty road in the middle of the night, Shula stumbles across the body of her uncle. As funeral proceedings begin around them, she and her cousins bring to light the buried secrets of their middle-class Zambian family.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  14. To 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 & comedy

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  15. Somewhere in Queens (2023)

    Leo and Angela Russo live a simple life in Queens, surrounded by their overbearing Italian-American family. When their son finds success on his high school basketball team, Leo tears the family apart trying to make it happen.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  16. The Call of the Wild (1972)

    John Thornton, is a fearless man who's after more than gold; he wants to do what's right. Thornton works for the U.S. mail and is the only person daring and smart enough to figure out how to travel the deadly 600 miles from Skagway to Dawson, Alaska in the icy winter. His incredibly dog Buck is by his side and part of how he survives.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. The Air Up There (1994)

    Jimmy Dolan is a college basketball coach who wants a big promotion. To get it, he needs to make a dramatic find. He ends up deep in Africa, hoping to recruit Saleh, a huge basketball prodigy Jimmy glimpsed in a home movie. But Saleh is the chief's son and has responsibilities at home, since the tribe's land is threatened by a mining company with its own hotshot basketball team.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  18. The Willoughbys (2020)

    When the four Willoughby children are abandoned by their selfish parents, they must learn how to adapt their Old-Fashioned values to the contemporary world in order to create something new: The Modern Family.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  19. Thunderstruck (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 this
  20. Chloe and Theo (2015)

    A young woman, Chloe, living by her wits on the streets of New York City, has a chance meeting with a wise Inuit Eskimo, Theo, who was sent to New York by his elders to provide a message to the people of the world – We either change our destructive was or be destroyed by them. Chloe, who has been searching for something to believe in, becomes inspired by Theo and , with the help of a kind lawyer, Monica, the three of them present Theo’s story to the United Nations in hopes of creating a better future for all of us.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama

  21. Pikku Pietarin piha (1961)

    A little orphan boy is the focus of attention, as well as his stepmother whose special qualities engender a certain mystery around her person – and hint at magical powers.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy

  22. Mary Poppins (1964)

    In turn of the century London, a magical nanny employs music and adventure to help two neglected children become closer to their father.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & family

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  23. Fortune Comes at Nine o'Clock (1961)

    One day, Fortune and Worry come to town. Fortune leaves her magical cloak in the local inn, saying that it fulfills every wish to those who wear it. However, Worry knows that Fortune doesn't come alone, but brings worries with herself, too. The magical cloak changes its owner and fulfills the most unusual wishes of timid professor of violin, old night guard, naive student and blonde girl. When all their wishes are fulfilled, they find out that they did not achieve happiness.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama

  24. La Chinoise (1967)

    A small group of French students are studying Mao, trying to find out their position in the world and how to change the world to a Maoistic community using terrorism.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  25. Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)

    Amidst her own personality crisis, a southern housewife meets an outgoing old woman who tells her the story of Idgie Threadgoode and Ruth Jamison, two young women who experienced hardships and love in 1920s Whistle Stop, Alabama.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  26. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

    After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  27. The Green Mile (1999)

    A supernatural tale set on death row in a Southern prison, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the cell block's head guard, Paul Edgecomb, recognizes Coffey's miraculous gift, he tries desperately to help stave off the condemned man's execution.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  28. A Beautiful Mind (2001)

    From the heights of notoriety to the depths of depravity, John Forbes Nash Jr. experiences it all. As a brilliant but socially awkward mathematician, he made a groundbreaking discovery early in his career and stands on the brink of international acclaim. But as the handsome and arrogant Nash accepts secret work in cryptography, he becomes entangled in a mysterious conspiracy. His life takes a nightmarish turn and he soon finds himself on a painful and harrowing journey of self-discovery.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  29. Casino (1995)

    In Las Vegas, two best friends-a casino executive and a Mafia enforcer--compete for a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  30. Life and Death in Flanders (1963)

    A drama consisting of two parts: In 't Water and De Boer Die Sterft. The first part tells the story of Jan Boele, who is forced to marry Tale Siepers, a girl who is pregnant with his child. However, Jan is in love with Poezeke, the daughter of a wealthy farmer, and dreads his marriage. On their wedding day, he refuses to get up when the bride arrives, leading to a tragic ending. The second part follows Nand, a Flemish farmer who, on his deathbed, looks back on his life, which consisted mainly of working and eating according to the rhythm of the seasons. He remembers his childhood, his wife Wanne, and his mother, and realizes that his life was not as empty as he thought.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

Like The Little Dolphins and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like The Little Dolphins?

The closest matches to The Little Dolphins are Free Rein: The Twelve Neighs of Christmas (2018), Six Pack (1982) and Bookworm (2024). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after The Little Dolphins?

Start with Free Rein: The Twelve Neighs of Christmas (2018), the closest match to The Little Dolphins.

What is the highest-rated movie like The Little Dolphins?

The Green Mile (1999), rated 8.5/10 by 20,130 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like The Little Dolphins?

On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (2024) is the most recent release on this list.

How are movies similar to The Little Dolphins chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Little Dolphins, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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