Movies like The Railway Children Return (2022)
The best movies like The Railway Children Return (2022) are The Water Horse (2007), Zoo (2018) and Blitz (2024). If The Railway Children Return hooked you with its drama and family, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedJojo Rabbit (2019)8.0/10 from 10,856 votes
- NewestBlitz (2024)Released 2024
- Same seriesThe Railway Children (1970)The Railway Children
The Water Horse (2007)
A lonely boy discovers a mysterious egg that hatches a sea creature of Scottish legend.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZoo (2018)
Young Tom and his misfit friends fight to save 'Buster' the baby elephant during the German air raid bombings of Belfast in 1941.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlitz (2024)
In World War II London, nine-year-old George is evacuated to the countryside by his mother, Rita, to escape the bombings. Defiant and determined to return to his family, George embarks on an epic, perilous journey back home as Rita searches for him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGoodnight, Mister Tom (1998)
A shy and quiet World War II evacuee is housed by a disgruntled old man, and they soon develop a close bond.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret Garden (2020)
Mary Lennox is born in India to wealthy British parents who never wanted her. When her parents suddenly die, she is sent back to England to live with her uncle. She meets her sickly cousin, and the two children find a wondrous secret garden lost in the grounds of Misselthwaite Manor.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSecrets of War (2014)
Tuur and Lambert are best friends. But the war is closing in and is about to change their lives forever. Tuurs dad joined the resistance and even his big brother seems so be part of it. Lamberts family on the other hand choose to obey the Germans. Then a new girls from the city shows up, befriending the boys but telling her secret to only one of them. A choice that separates the boys and ultimately gets her in trouble.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHope and Glory (1987)
A middle-aged man recalls his childhood growing up in and around London during World War II.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSwallows and Amazons (2016)
Four children dream of escaping the tedium of a summer holiday with their mother. When finally given permission to camp on their own on an island in the middle of a vast lake, they are overjoyed. But when they get there they discover they may not be alone… The battle for ownership of a lonely island teaches them the skills of survival, the value of friendship and the importance of holding your nerve.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)
Free-spirited writer Juliet Ashton forms a life-changing bond with the delightful and eccentric Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, when she decides to write about the book club they formed during the occupation of Guernsey in WWII.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Book Thief (2013)
While subjected to the horrors of WWII Germany, young Liesel finds solace by stealing books and sharing them with others. Under the stairs in her home, a Jewish refugee is being sheltered by her adoptive parents.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWar of the Buttons (2011)
Occupied France; Lebrac leads a play war between two rival kid gangs, but a girl he likes, who's Jewish, is in danger of being discovered by local Nazi sympathisers. Lebrac and the village must now respond to the reality of what's happening.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & family
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Railway Children (1970)
At the dawn of the 20th century, following their father's arrest on suspicion of betraying state secrets, the three Waterbury children—Bobbie, Phyllis and Peter—move with their mother to Yorkshire, where they find themselves involved in unexpected dramas along the railway by their new home.
Why it matches: Same series: The Railway Children · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWaiting for Anya (2020)
During the harrows of WWII, Jo, a young shepherd along with the help of the widow Horcada, helps to smuggle Jewish children across the border from southern France into Spain.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBridge to Terabithia (2007)
Jesse Aarons trained all summer to become the fastest runner in school. So he's very upset when newcomer Leslie Burke outruns him and everyone else. Despite this and other differences including that she's rich, he's poor, she's a city girl, and he's a country boy the two become fast friends. Together they create Terabithia, a land of monsters, trolls, ogres, and giants where they rule as king and queen.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Family and Other Animals (2005)
Escaping the dreary wet weather of 1930s England, an eccentric family uproot and ship themselves to the sunnier climes of the Greek island of Corfu.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & family
Paddington (2014)
A young Peruvian bear travels to London in search of a home. Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, he meets the kindly Brown family, who offer him a temporary haven.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhite Bird (2023)
After being expelled from Beecher Prep for his treatment of a classmate with a facial deformity, Julian has struggled to fit in at his new school. To transform his life, Julian's grandmother finally reveals her own story of courage of her youth in Nazi-occupied France, where a classmate shelters her from mortal danger.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJojo Rabbit (2019)
Jojo, a lonely German boy during World War II has his world shaken when he learns that his single mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home. Influenced by a buffoonish imaginary version of Adolf Hitler, he begins to question his beliefs and confront the conflict between propaganda and his own humanity.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHugo (2011)
Orphaned and alone except for an uncle, Hugo Cabret lives in the walls of a train station in 1930s Paris. Hugo's job is to oil and maintain the station's clocks, but to him, his more important task is to protect a broken automaton and notebook left to him by his late father. Accompanied by the goddaughter of an embittered toy merchant, Hugo embarks on a quest to solve the mystery of the automaton and find a place he can call home.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStorm Boy (2019)
Storm Boy lives a lonely life with his reclusive father on a desolate coastline, but when he forms a close bond with a pelican, Mr. Percival, his life takes a new and unexpected turn.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThomas & Friends: Calling All Engines! (2006)
The Island of Sodor's railway is to help in the construction of a new airport, but a fierce summer storm and a rivalry between the steam and diesel engines endanger the job.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Paddington 2 (2017)
Paddington, now happily settled with the Browns, picks up a series of odd jobs to buy the perfect present for his Aunt Lucy, but it is stolen.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Crossing (2020)
One day, just before Christmas in 1942, Gerda's and Otto's parents are arrested for being part of the Norwegian resistance movement during the Second World War, leaving the siblings on their own. Following the arrest, they discover two Jewish children, Sarah and Daniel, hidden in a secret cupboard in their basement at home. It is now up to Gerda and Otto to finish what their parents started: To help Sarah and Daniel flee from the Nazis cross the border to neutral Sweden and reunite them with their parents.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secret Garden (1987)
When a spoiled English girl living in 19th century India loses both parents in a cholera epidemic, she is sent back to England to live in a country mansion. The lord is a strange old man-- frail and deformed, immensely kind but so melancholy. She wishes to discover what has caused him so much sorrow and to bring joy back to the household. It all must have something to do with the screams and wails which echo through the house at night and no one wants to talk about.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Penguin Friend (2024)
A lost penguin rescued from an oil spill transforms the life of a heartbroken fisherman. They become unlikely friends, so bonded that even the vast ocean cannot divide them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Journey of Natty Gann (1985)
America is in the depths of the Great Depression. Families drift apart when faraway jobs beckon. A courageous young girl confronts overwhelming odds when she embarks on a cross-country search for her father. During her odyssey, she forms a close bond with two diverse traveling companions: a magnificent, protective wolf, and a hardened drifter.
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 & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYoung Black Stallion (2003)
When courageous young Neera becomes separated from her family in the desert, she chances upon a wild colt. Together they find friendship, trust, and their way back home only to discover her family is about to lose everything!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIron Will (1994)
When Will Stoneman's father dies, he is left alone to take care of his mother and their land. Needing money to maintain it, he decides to join a cross country dogsled race. This race will require days of racing for long hours, through harsh weather and terrain. This young man will need a lot of courage and a strong will to complete this race.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Railway Children Return?
The closest matches to The Railway Children Return are The Water Horse (2007), Zoo (2018) and Blitz (2024). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Railway Children Return?
People who watched The Railway Children Return most often go on to The Water Horse (2007), Zoo (2018) and Blitz (2024).
What is the highest-rated movie like The Railway Children Return?
Jojo Rabbit (2019), rated 8.0/10 by 10,856 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Railway Children Return?
Blitz (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Is The Railway Children Return part of a series?
Yes. It belongs to The Railway Children, which includes The Railway Children (1970).
Are there English movies like The Railway Children Return?
Yes: The Water Horse (2007), Zoo (2018) and Blitz (2024).
How are movies similar to The Railway Children Return chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Railway Children Return, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.