Movies Like Sam Steele and the Junior Detective Agency

If you liked Sam Steele and the Junior Detective Agency (2011), a family movie directed by Tom Whitus, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Thunderstruck (2012)
★ 6.2/10Also family
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.
2
PAW Patrol: Jet to the Rescue (2020)
★ 7.1/10Also family
A royal relative steals a gem with the power to make things fly, the Paw Patrol takes to the skies to stop him and save Barkingburg.
3
Benji (2018)
★ 6.9/10Also family
Two school kids strike up a friendship with an orphaned puppy named Benji. When danger befalls them and they end up kidnapped by robbers who are in over their heads, Benji and his scruffy sidekick come to the rescue.
4
Flicka (2006)
★ 6.9/10Also family
Katy McLaughlin desires to work on her family's mountainside horse ranch, although her father insists she finish boarding school. Katy finds a mustang in the hills near her ranch. The headstrong 16 year old then sets…
5
Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made (2020)
★ 6.2/10Also family
An 11-year old boy believes that he is the best detective in town and runs the agency Total Failures with his best friend, an imaginary 1,200 pound polar bear.
6
The Luck of the Irish (2001)
★ 6.1/10Also family
A teenager must battle for a gold charm to keep his family from being controlled by an evil leprechaun.
7
Dennis the Menace (1993)
★ 5.9/10Also family
Mr. Wilson's ever-present annoyance comes in the form of one mischievous kid named Dennis. But he'll need Dennis's tricks to uncover a collection of gold coins that go missing when a shady drifter named Switchblade Sam…
8
I Believe (2019)
★ 7.8/10Also family
A 9 year old boy experiences God's power in a supernatural way.
9
Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (2019)
★ 6.3/10Also family
Nancy Drew, a smart high schooler with a penchant for keen observation and deduction, stumbles upon the haunting of a local home. A bit of an outsider struggling to fit into her new surroundings, Nancy and her pals set…
10
Sneakerella (2022)
★ 5.9/10Also family
When El, an aspiring sneaker designer from Queens, meets Kira King, the fiercely independent daughter of legendary basketball star and sneaker tycoon Darius King, sparks fly as the two bond over their mutual affinity…
11
Shorts (2009)
★ 5.9/10Also family
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.
12
The Thief Lord (2006)
★ 6/10Also family
A tale about two young boys, Prosper and Bo, who flee to Venice after being orphaned and dumped in the care of a cruel auntie. Hiding in the canals and alleyways of the city, the boys are befriended by a gang of young…
13
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008)
★ 6.5/10Also family
The Great Depression hits home for nine year old Kit Kittredge when her dad loses his business and leaves to find work. Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin stars as Kit, leading a splendid cast in the first ever "American…
14
Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring (2002)
★ 6.4/10Also family
The Oscar-winning cat-and-mouse twosome--Tom and Jerry--returns with another adventure. When Tom and Jerry's irrepressible curiosity gets the best of them, the mysterious magic ring that Tom guards with his life ends…
15
Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel (1987)
★ 7.9/10Also family
Anne Shirley, now a schoolteacher, has begun writing stories and collecting rejection slips. She acts as Diana's maid of honor, develops a relationship with Gilbert Blythe, and finds herself at Kingsport Ladies'…
16
My Spy (2020)
★ 6.9/10Also family
A hardened CIA operative finds himself at the mercy of a precocious 9-year-old girl, having been sent undercover to surveil her family.
17
Cadet Kelly (2002)
★ 6.2/10Also family
Hyperactive teenager Kelly is enrolled into a military school when her new stepfather becomes the Commandant. At first she has problems fitting in and taking orders until she tries out for the drill team.
18
Stargirl (2020)
★ 7.4/10Also family
An unassuming high schooler finds himself inexplicably drawn to the free-spirited new girl, whose unconventional ways change how they see themselves…and their world.
19
An Autumn Romance (2021)
★ 7/10Also family
When librarian Taylor Harris suddenly loses her job, she decides to visit her brother in a small town in Montana. There, she gets involved in the fight to help save her brother's hotel from tycoon Joel Sheenan, who…
20
Snoopy Presents: It's the Small Things, Charlie Brown (2022)
★ 7.3/10Also family
Charlie Brown is determined to win the big baseball game. But things turn into a fiasco right before the matchup, when Sally bonds with a little flower on the pitcher's mound and vows to protect it at all costs.