Movies Like Return to Nim's Island

If you liked Return to Nim's Island (2013), a family and adventure movie directed by Brendan Maher, 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
Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie (2009)
★ 7.3/10Also family and adventure
During a family vacation, Alex, a young witch, accidentally casts a curse on her loved ones. To reverse this, she tries to find a magical stone while her brother tries to keep their parents together.
2
The Legend of Ochi (2025)
★ 6.1/10Also family and adventure
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…
3
The Magic Faraway Tree (2026)
★ 6.7/10Also adventure and family
A modern family relocates to the countryside where the children discover a magical tree with eccentric residents. They're transported to fantastical lands, rekindling their family bond through adventures.
4
Lassie (1994)
★ 6.1/10Also family and adventure
On their way to start a new life at a sheep farm in rural Virginia, the Turner family are halted by a wreck on the highway that has claimed the life of a truck driver. Spotting the trucker's now-abandoned collie on the…
5
The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking (1988)
★ 5.9/10Also adventure and family
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…
6
Dolittle (2020)
★ 6.6/10Also family and adventure
After losing his wife seven years earlier, the eccentric Dr. John Dolittle, famed doctor and veterinarian of Queen Victoria’s England, hermits himself away behind the high walls of Dolittle Manor with only his…
7
Moana (2026)
★ 7.5/10Also family and adventure
Teenage Moana answers the Ocean's call and, for the first time, voyages beyond the reef of her island of Motunui with infamous demigod Maui on an unforgettable journey to restore prosperity to her people.
8
White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf (1994)
★ 6.9/10Also adventure and family
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.
9
Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991)
★ 6.2/10Also adventure
In this sequel to the 1980 classic, two children are stranded on a beautiful island in the South Pacific. With no adults to guide them, the two make a simple life together and eventually become tanned teenagers in love.
10
Moon the Panda (2025)
★ 6.5/10Also family and adventure
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…
11
Shorts (2009)
★ 5.9/10Also family and adventure
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
True Spirit (2023)
★ 7/10Also adventure
When the tenacious young sailor Jessica Watson sets out to be the youngest person to sail solo, nonstop and unassisted around the world, many expect her to fail. With the support of her sailing coach and mentor Ben…
13
Anastasia: Once Upon a Time (2020)
★ 5.9/10Also family and adventure
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.
14
The Legend of Johnny Lingo (2003)
★ 7.2/10Also family and adventure
When a storm washes a canoe bearing an infant boy ashore upon a small South Pacific island, he is at first well-received as a gift from the heavens, even to the point of the tribal chief adopting him as a successor…
15
The Secret of Roan Inish (1994)
★ 6.7/10Also adventure and family
Ten-year-old Fiona is sent to live with her grandparents in a small fishing village in Donegal, Ireland. She soon learns the local legend that an ancestor of hers married a Selkie – a seal who can turn into a human…
16
Nim's Island (2008)
★ 5.9/10Also adventure and family
A young girl inhabits an isolated island with her scientist father and communicates with a reclusive author of the novel she's reading.
17
Once Upon a Forest (1993)
★ 6.5/10Also family and adventure
A young mouse, mole and hedgehog risk their lives to find a cure for their badger friend, who's been poisoned by men.
18
Finding ʻOhana (2021)
★ 6.2/10Also adventure and family
Two Brooklyn siblings' summer in a rural Oahu town takes an exciting turn when a journal pointing to long-lost treasure sets them on an adventure, leading them to reconnect with their Hawaiian heritage.
19
Tomb Raider (2018)
★ 6.4/10Also adventure
Lara Croft, the fiercely independent daughter of a missing adventurer, must push herself beyond her limits when she finds herself on the island where her father disappeared.
20
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.