Movies Like The Pencil Thief

If you liked The Pencil Thief (1957), a family movie directed by Norio Nakagawa, 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
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.
2
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.
3
Love Don't Co$t a Thing (2003)
★ 7.7/10Also family
A high school outcast pays a cheerleader to pose as his girlfriend so he can be considered cool.
4
Yours, Mine & Ours (2005)
★ 6.2/10Also family
Admiral Frank Beardsley returns to New London to run the Coast Guard Academy, his last stop before a probable promotion to head the Guard. A widower with eight children, he runs a loving but tight ship, with charts and…
5
Skater Girl (2021)
★ 7.2/10Also family
Prerna, a teenager growing up in rural India, comes of age when she’s introduced to the sport of skateboarding. As a result, she has to fight the odds to follow her dreams and compete in the national championship.
6
Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You (1999)
★ 6.8/10Also family
After Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Rabbit see Christopher Robin making a valentine for -- gasp! -- a girl, they find he's been bitten by a "Smitten" and is lovesick! Worried that he'll no longer have time for them, and…
7
Chang Can Dunk (2023)
★ 6.7/10Also family
Chang, a 16-year-old, Asian American, bets the high school basketball star that he can dunk by Homecoming. The bet leads 5' 8" Chang on a quest to learn to dunk—not only to impress his crush, Kristy, but to gain the…
8
Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Sky Utopia (2023)
★ 7.1/10Also family
Doraemon, Nobita and his friends go to find Utopia, a perfect land in the sky where everyone lives with happiness, using an airship having a time warp function.
9
That's What I Am (2011)
★ 6.8/10Also family
A coming-of-age story that follows 12-year-old Andy Nichol, a bright student who, like most kids his age, will do anything to avoid conflict for fear of suffering overwhelming ridicule and punishment from his junior…
10
Sketch (2025)
★ 7/10Also family
When a young girl’s sketchbook falls into a strange pond, her drawings come to life—chaotic, real, and on the loose. As the town descends into chaos, her family must reunite and stop the monsters they never meant to…
11
Ploey: You Never Fly Alone (2018)
★ 6.2/10Also family
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.
12
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.
13
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…
14
Heidi (2005)
★ 7.8/10Also family
Swiss girl Adelheid 'Heidi' is orphaned young. Aunt Detie brings her to grandpa Alp and his wife, who live isolated in the Alps since his murder charge. Heidi soon takes to the wild country, especially accompanying…
15
Snoopy Presents: There's No Place Like Home, Snoopy (2026)
★ 8.3/10Also family
When Snoopy's beloved doghouse goes missing, he tries to track it down, and learns what makes a house feel like home.
16
The Clique (2008)
★ 5.9/10Also family
A young girl tries to fit in with a clique of popular middle school girls after moving into the guest house of one of their homes.
17
Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey! (2009)
★ 6.5/10Also family
The film chronicles George's adventures as he befriends Kayla, a baby elephant, at a magic circus show and helps her travel across the country to be reunited with her family.Accompanied by his friend, the Man with the…
18
Pollyanna (1960)
★ 6.9/10Also family
A young girl comes to an embittered town and confronts its attitude with her determination to see the best in life.
19
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie (1998)
★ 6.1/10Also family
Young Rudolph suffers a childhood accident that sees his nose turn from the publicly accepted norm of black to a glowing red colour. His parents worry about him getting teased, and indeed he does in the end. When he is…
20
Lucy Shimmers and the Prince of Peace (2020)
★ 8.4/10Also family
Second chances start when a hardened criminal crosses paths with a precocious little girl who is helped by an angel to change hearts during the holiday season.