Movies like Rex: A Dinosaur's Story (1993)
The best movies like Rex: A Dinosaur's Story (1993) are The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers (2006), Shorts (2009) and The Legend of Ochi (2025). If Rex: A Dinosaur's Story hooked you with its family and adventure, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHow to Train Your Dragon (2010)7.9/10 from 14,923 votes
- NewestThe Legend of Ochi (2025)Released 2025
The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers (2006)
As the Great Day of the Flyers nears, the Great Valley's flying youngsters are eager to participate in the annual exhibition to show off their skills. Everyone, that is, except free-spirited pterodactyl Petrie, whose individualism causes problems when it comes to staying in formation. Enter his dinosaur pals Littlefoot, Cera, Spike and Ducky, who encourage Petrie to embrace his uniqueness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
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 thisThe Legend of Ochi (2025)
In a remote village on the island of Carpathia, a shy farm girl named Yuri is raised to fear an elusive animal species known as ochi. But when Yuri discovers a wounded baby ochi has been left behind, she escapes on a quest to bring him home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends (2007)
Littlefoot learns a series of important lessons following an incident that nearly costs his grandmother her life. Soon afterwards, three dinosaurs arrive claiming they have lost their way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island (1997)
The Great Valley turns barren and herds of dinosaurs have to find another place to inhabit. Cera, Littlefoot and Petrie, all kids, leave to find food and get stranded on a lush unknown island.
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 thisMoon the Panda (2025)
Due to his poor academic performance, twelve-year-old Tian is sent to live with his grandmother in the remote mountains of Sichuan. Far from the hustle and bustle of the city, he finds himself immersed in nature and secretly befriends a panda cub he names Moon. Together, Tian and Moon embark on a journey of discovery and overcoming challenges. The boy is forced to confront his fears and, in the process, learns valuable lessons about courage, respect, and the profound bond between humankind and nature. This experience profoundly transforms Tian's life and fosters an unexpected family reconciliation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
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 thisThe Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water (2002)
Littlefoot befriends with a mysterious, fun-loving dolphin-like creature named Mo, who is trapped in "new water" caused by heavy rain. The gang then goes on an adventure to the "big water" to bring Mo home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists (1996)
When Littlefoot's grandfather falls ill, the only way to cure him is with a flower from the forbidding land of the mists, which holds unexpected perils and danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBookworm (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 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 Land Before Time XI: Invasion of the Tinysauruses (2005)
Littlefoot and his friends return in another adventure. But this time, they aren't the smallest dinosaurs in the valley anymore.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisOddball (2015)
An eccentric chicken farmer, with the help of his granddaughter, trains his mischievous dog Oddball to protect a penguin sanctuary from fox attacks in an attempt to reunite his family and save their seaside town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Land Before Time XIV: Journey of the Brave (2016)
On a day known to the dinosaurs as "Treasure Day", Bron becomes stuck in the Mysterious Beyond. This event urges the young Longneck Littlefoot to take his friends on a quest to the Fire Mountain to save his father. Along the way, they befriend a Flyer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock (1998)
Littlefoot's grandfather narrates the story about the Lone Dinosaur that killed a Sharptooth. A giant monolith formed after the fight and if it's destroyed, bad luck will loom over the valley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze (2001)
When the dinosaur families get trapped in a valley by an ice storm, one family of "spike tail" dinosaurs volunteers to leave since they consume more food than the others. Meanwhile, the young dinos and a new adult dinosaur named Mr. Thicknose, head out to bring back their friend Spike, who has left his friends to be with members of his own species.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisThe Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie (2024)
Porky and Daffy, the classic animated odd couple, turn into unlikely heroes when their antics at the local bubble gum factory uncover a secret alien mind control plot. Against all odds, the two are determined to save their town (and the world!)...that is if they don't drive each other crazy in the process.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTwigson the Explorer (2017)
Lillebror moves with Twigson and his family to the western part of Norway, but he dreams of even bigger expeditions, like going to the North Pole.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & family
How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
As the son of a Viking leader on the cusp of manhood, shy Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III faces a rite of passage: he must kill a dragon to prove his warrior mettle. But after downing a feared dragon, he realizes that he no longer wants to destroy it, and instead befriends the beast – which he names Toothless – much to the chagrin of his warrior father.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
When eccentric candy man Willy Wonka promises a lifetime supply of sweets and a tour of his chocolate factory to five lucky kids, penniless Charlie Bucket seeks the golden ticket that will make him a winner.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStar Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
When a huge alien probe enters the galaxy and begins to vaporize Earth's oceans, Kirk and his crew must travel back in time in order to bring back whales and save the planet.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
After losing Captain Jack Sparrow to the locker of Davy Jones, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, and Captain Barbossa journey to the ends of the earth to rescue him. And as the East India Trading Company tightens its grip on the seas under Lord Cutler Beckett—now in control of Davy Jones—the fate of piracy hangs by a thread. Now, they must unite the pirate lords for one final stand. But as loyalties are tested and alliances shift, each must ultimately choose where they stand in the battle for freedom on the high seas.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSonic the Hedgehog (2020)
Powered with incredible speed, Sonic The Hedgehog embraces his new home on Earth. That is, until Sonic sparks the attention of super-uncool evil genius Dr. Robotnik. Now it’s super-villain vs. super-sonic in an all-out race across the globe to stop Robotnik from using Sonic’s unique power for world domination.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Mummy (1999)
Dashing legionnaire Rick O'Connell stumbles upon the hidden ruins of Hamunaptra while in the midst of a battle to claim the area in 1920s Egypt. It has been over three thousand years since former High Priest Imhotep suffered a fate worse than death as a punishment for a forbidden love—along with a curse that guarantees eternal doom upon the world if he is ever awoken.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMonsters, Inc. (2001)
Lovable Sulley and his wisecracking sidekick Mike Wazowski are the top scare team at Monsters, Inc., the scream-processing factory in Monstropolis. When a little girl named Boo wanders into their world, it's the monsters who are scared silly, and it's up to Sulley and Mike to keep her out of sight and get her back home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Absolute CinemaMovies like this102 Dalmatians (2000)
Get ready for a howling good time as an all new assortment of irresistible animal heroes are unleashed in this great family tail! In an unlikely alliance, the outrageous Waddlesworth - a parrot who thinks he's a Rottweiler - teams up with Oddball - an un-marked Dalmatian puppy eager to earn her spots! Together they embark on a laugh-packed quest to outwit the ever-scheming Cruella De Vil.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Rex: A Dinosaur's Story?
The closest matches to Rex: A Dinosaur's Story are The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers (2006), Shorts (2009) and The Legend of Ochi (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Rex: A Dinosaur's Story?
Start with The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers (2006), the closest match to Rex: A Dinosaur's Story.
What is the highest-rated movie like Rex: A Dinosaur's Story?
How to Train Your Dragon (2010), rated 7.9/10 by 14,923 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Rex: A Dinosaur's Story?
The Legend of Ochi (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Rex: A Dinosaur's Story?
The closest matches are in other languages.
How are movies similar to Rex: A Dinosaur's Story chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Rex: A Dinosaur's Story, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.