Movies like My First Friend (1979)
The best movies like My First Friend (1979) are A Dog Named Palma (2021), Last Chance for Christmas (2015) and Your Heart Will Be Broken (2026). If My First Friend hooked you with its family and romance, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedYour Heart Will Be Broken (2026)7.9/10 from 233 votes
- NewestYour Heart Will Be Broken (2026)Released 2026
A Dog Named Palma (2021)
The film is inspired by an incredible story of a shepherd dog named Palm who was inadvertently left in the airport by her owner. She befriends nine-year old Nicholas whose mother dies leaving him with a father he barely knows - a pilot who finds the dog at the airport. It's a story of amazing adventures, true friendship and unconditional love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & romance
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLast Chance for Christmas (2015)
When Prancer injures his hoof Santa’s stable hand, John, must find a fill in to ensure Christmas deliveries go off without a hitch. His mission gets complicated when he discovers that Frankie, the perfect substitute reindeer, belongs to a precocious 8-year-old girl and her mother Annie. As he races to get Frankie up to the North Pole, he realizes that he’s actually falling in love with Annie and has to find a way to win her over and save Christmas at the same time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisYour Heart Will Be Broken (2026)
High school student Polina is saved from bullying at her new school and makes a deal with the main bully Bars: he must pretend to be her boyfriend and protect her, and she must do everything he says. During this game, the couple develops real feelings, but her family and classmates have reasons to separate the lovers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrigadoon (1954)
Americans Jeff and Tommy, hunting in Scotland, stumble upon a village - Brigadoon. They soon learn that the town appears once every 100 years in order to preserve its peace and special beauty. The citizens go to bed at night and when they wake up, it's 100 years later. Tommy falls in love with a beautiful young woman, Fiona, and is torn between staying or going back to his hectic life in New York.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCipollino (1961)
In a world inhabited by anthropomorphic produce, "Cipollino, the Onion Boy" fights the unjust treatment of his fellow vegetable townsfolk by the fruit royalty (Prince Lemon and the overly proud Lord Tomato) in the garden kingdom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA 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 family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrince Charming (2001)
After an extramarital indiscretion, a fairy-tale prince and his sidekick are turned into frogs for all eternity or until the prince can convince a maiden to kiss and then marry him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Adventures of Buratino (1959)
A wooden boy Buratino tries to find his place in life. He befriends toys from a toy theater owned by evil Karabas-Barabas, gets tricked by Alice the Fox and Basilio the Cat and finally discovers the mystery of a golden key given to him by kind Tortila the Tortoise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Adventures of Buratino (1976)
A wooden boy Buratino tries to find his place in life. He befriends toys from a toy theater owned by evil Karabas-Barabas, gets tricked by Alice the Fox and Basilio the Cat and finally discovers the mystery of a golden key given to him by kind Tortila the Tortoise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrincess (2008)
A reclusive princess and a directionless young man embark on a quest to save the world's mythical creatures from becoming extinct.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Swan Princess: A Fairytale Is Born (2023)
Before becoming queen, Uberta lived a humble life with her husband Maximillian when she is suddenly thrust into royalty. Through triumph and tragedy, she learns the lessons needed to become a beloved Queen, all while raising the next generation of rulers. When it's time for Uberta to pass the royal scepter to Odette and Derek, rival Queen Wixom has plans of her own to ruin the kingdom's greatest coronation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
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
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Humpbacked Horse (1975)
Remake of the 1947 Soviet film directed by Ivan Ivanov-Vano and produced by the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPloey: You Never Fly Alone (2018)
A plover chick has not learned to fly when his family migrates in the fall. He must survive the arctic winter, vicious enemies and himself in order to be reunited with his beloved one next spring.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe House Elf (2019)
In an ordinary Moscow there is an unusual House — with a strange apartment in which not a single resident has stayed for long. And as soon as an independent mother and her lovely 8-year-old daughter moved there, the new residents find out that their living space is not that ordinary, and that the real House Elf lives there. But the House Elf has long been offended by the whole human race and would do all imaginable filth in order to remain alone in the ill-fated apartment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies 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 family
SnoozefestMovies like thisHoliday Date (2019)
When Brooke’s boyfriend, Ethan, breaks up with her just before the holidays, she agrees to go home with Joel, an actor who will pose as her boyfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like My First Friend?
The closest matches to My First Friend are A Dog Named Palma (2021), Last Chance for Christmas (2015) and Your Heart Will Be Broken (2026). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after My First Friend?
Start with A Dog Named Palma (2021), the closest match to My First Friend.
What is the highest-rated movie like My First Friend?
Your Heart Will Be Broken (2026), rated 7.9/10 by 233 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like My First Friend?
Your Heart Will Be Broken (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to My First Friend chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside My First Friend, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.