Movies like War of the Buttons (2011)
The best movies like War of the Buttons (2011) are The Children of the Resistance (2026), War of the Buttons (2011) and The Lulus (2023). If War of the Buttons hooked you with its adventure and family, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSgt. Stubby: An American Hero (2018)7.9/10 from 219 votes
- NewestThe Children of the Resistance (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchThe Children of the Resistance (2026)Also in French
The Children of the Resistance (2026)
During the German occupation of World War II, François, Eusèbe, and Lisa, three courageous children, embark on a secret adventure: resisting the Nazis in the heart of France. Through sabotage, hidden messages, and perilous escapes, they carry out clandestine actions right under the enemy's nose. Daring and friendship are their only weapons in the fight against injustice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWar of the Buttons (2011)
A village in the South of France, 1960. A band of country boys aged 7 to 14, led by fearless young Lebrac, wages an uncompromising battle against their sworn rivals, the kids from the neighboring village. A war of honor and allegiance that's been kept alive for generations, in which humiliation is the most fearsome defeat and no tactic is too extreme, including attacking the enemy stark naked!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lulus (2023)
August 1914. While the German army is gaining ground in the North of France, four boys aged 10 to 15, LUcien, LUcas, LUigi and LUdwig are left behind during the evacuation of their orphanage. Without the protection of Abbé Turpin and the schoolteacher Leutellier, the Lulus are now stranded on their own behind the enemy front line. Soon joined by LUce, a pretty young girl separated from her parents, they decide to reach the neutral country of Switzerland by all means possible... they embark on an adventure for which nothing and no one has prepared them!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKensuke's Kingdom (2024)
A young boy and his family set off on a sailing trip of a lifetime until a violent storm erupts, sweeping Michael and his dog overboard. After washing up on a remote island, terrified, they struggle to survive and adjust to life alone, One day, Michael discovers he is not alone when he is confronted by a mysterious Japanese man who has lived there secretly since World War II, angry that Michael has arrived. However, as dangerous invaders threaten their fragile island paradise, Michael and the old man, Kensuke, join forces to save their secret world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTreasure Island (1972)
Young Jim Hawkins finds himself serving with pirate captain Long John Silver in search of a buccaneer's treasure, in this short adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
SnoozefestMovies 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 Indian in the Cupboard (1995)
A nine-year-old boy gets a plastic Indian and a cupboard for his birthday and finds himself involved in adventure when the Indian comes to life and befriends him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisG.I. Joe: The Movie (1987)
G.I. Joe faces a new enemy as an ancient society of snake people known as Cobra-La try to forcefully take back the earth from those who drove them underground eons ago.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSgt. Stubby: An American Hero (2018)
The true story of the most decorated dog in American military history - Sgt. Stubby - and the enduring bonds he forged with his brothers-in-arms in the trenches of World War I.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)
One year after their incredible adventures in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Peter, Edmund, Lucy and Susan Pevensie return to Narnia to aid a young prince whose life has been threatened by the evil King Miraz. Now, with the help of a colorful cast of new characters, including Trufflehunter the badger and Nikabrik the dwarf, the Pevensie clan embarks on an incredible quest to ensure that Narnia is returned to its rightful heir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Guns of Navarone (1961)
A team of allied saboteurs are assigned an impossible mission: infiltrate an impregnable Nazi-held island and destroy the two enormous long-range field guns that prevent the rescue of 2,000 trapped British soldiers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMadeline (1998)
Horrified at the prospect of her beloved school being sold, a young French girl named Madeline uses her wit and craftiness to attempt to save it, making an unlikely new friend in the process.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBelle and Sebastian (2013)
Belle and Sebastian is set high in the snowy Alps during the Second World War. The resourceful Sebastian is a lonely boy who tames and befriends a giant, wild mountain dog, Belle – even though the villagers believe her to be ‘the beast’ that has been killing their sheep.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWar of the Buttons (1962)
For generations, two rival French villages, Longueverne and Velrans, have been at war. But this is no ordinary conflict, for the on-going hostilities are between two armies of young schoolboys. When he is beaten by his father for having lost his buttons, the leader of the Longueverne army, Lebrac, has an idea which will give his side the advantage: next time, he and his brave soldiers will go in battle without their clothes...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShepherd: The Story of a Jewish Dog (2020)
Follow the perilous journey to freedom when a young boy and his dog attempt to escape a concentration camp during World War II. Based on true events.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Darkest Minds (2018)
After a disease kills 98% of America's children, the surviving 2% develop superpowers and are placed in internment camps. A 16-year-old girl escapes her camp and joins a group of other teens on the run from the government.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLittle Nicholas (2009)
Nicolas has a happy existence, parents who love him, a great group of friends with whom he has great fun, and all he wants is that nothing changes. However, one day, he overhears a conversation that leads him to believe that his life might change forever, his mother is pregnant! He panics and envisions the worst.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
Isolated in the bell tower of Notre Dame, Quasimodo longs to experience the world beyond the cathedral walls, despite the wishes of his stern guardian, the Judge of Paris Claude Frollo. His first venture into the city leads him to Esmeralda, a fearless Romani woman whose defiance of Frollo's tyranny draws her—and Quasimodo—into his dangerous obsession.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
Three children evacuated from London during World War II are forced to stay with an eccentric spinster. The children's initial fears disappear when they find out she is in fact a trainee witch.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisH.M.S. Defiant (1962)
Defiant's crew is part of a fleet-wide movement to present a petition of grievances to the Admiralty. Violence must be no part of it. The continual sadism of Defiant's first officer makes this difficult, and when the captain is disabled, the chance for violence increases.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRonia: The Robber's Daughter (1984)
Ronia lives happily in her father's castle until she comes across a new playmate, Birk, in the nearby dark forest. The two explore the wilderness, braving dangerous Witchbirds and Rump-Gnomes. But when their families find out Birk and Ronia have been playing together, they forbid them to see each other again. Indeed, their fathers are competing robber chieftains and bitter enemies. Now the two spunky children must try to tear down the barriers that have kept their families apart for so long.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
Four kids travel through a wardrobe to the land of Narnia and learn of their destiny to free it with the guidance of a mystical lion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNelly Rapp – Monster Agent (2020)
Nelly and her dog London are about to spend autumn break with her uncle Hannibal. Soon she noticed that he doesn't live a quiet life. Her uncle is a Monster agent. Nelly gets dragged in to an adventure filled with ghosts, vampires and werewolves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & adventure
Shaft (2000)
New York police detective John Shaft arrests Walter Wade Jr. for a racially motivated slaying. But the only eyewitness disappears, and Wade jumps bail for Switzerland. Two years later Wade returns to face trial, confident his money and influence will get him acquitted -- especially since he's paid a drug kingpin to kill the witness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMary 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 family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPoseidon (2006)
A packed cruise ship traveling the Atlantic is hit and overturned by a massive wave, compelling the passengers to begin a dramatic fight for their lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Beach (2000)
Twenty-something Richard travels to Thailand and finds himself in possession of a strange map. Rumours state that it leads to a solitary beach paradise, a tropical bliss - excited and intrigued, he sets out to find it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 13th Warrior (1999)
A Muslim ambassador exiled from his homeland joins a group of Vikings, initially offended by their behavior but growing to respect them. As they travel together, they learn of a legendary evil closing in and must unite to confront this formidable force.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarley (TBA)
A musical re-imagining of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, told from the perspective of Ebenezer Scrooge'a business partner Jacob Marley.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024)
A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and traitorous lord of Rohan seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan, and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like War of the Buttons?
The closest matches to War of the Buttons are The Children of the Resistance (2026), War of the Buttons (2011) and The Lulus (2023). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after War of the Buttons?
Start with The Children of the Resistance (2026), the closest match to War of the Buttons.
What is the highest-rated movie like War of the Buttons?
Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero (2018), rated 7.9/10 by 219 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like War of the Buttons?
The Children of the Resistance (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like War of the Buttons?
Yes: The Children of the Resistance (2026), War of the Buttons (2011) and The Lulus (2023).
How are movies similar to War of the Buttons chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside War of the Buttons, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.