Movies Like Stand by Me
If you liked Stand by Me (1986), a drama and adventure movie directed by Rob Reiner, 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
The Cowboys (1972)
★ 7.1/10Also adventure and dramaWhen his cattlemen abandon him for the gold fields, rancher Wil Andersen is forced to take on a collection of young boys as his cowboys in order to get his herd to market in time to avoid financial disaster. The boys…
- 2
Nicholas Nickleby (2002)
★ 6.8/10Also adventure and dramaNicholas Nickleby, a young boy in search of a better life, struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his coldheartedly grasping uncle.
- 3
Lost on a Mountain in Maine (2024)
★ 7.1/10Also adventure and dramaWhen twelve-year-old Donn Fendler gets tired of waiting for his father and brothers to join him on the summit of Maine's highest peak, he decides to find his own way back to camp. But Donn doesn't count on a…
- 4
True Grit (1969)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and adventureThe murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy on a mission of 'justice', which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, 'Rooster' Cogburn because he has 'true grit', and a reputation of…
- 5
The Call of the Wild (1972)
★ 6.1/10Also adventure and dramaJohn Thornton, is a fearless man who's after more than gold; he wants to do what's right. Thornton works for the U.S. mail and is the only person daring and smart enough to figure out how to travel the deadly 600 miles…
- 6
Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventure (1995)
★ 6.2/10Also adventureA young boy draws on the inspiration of legendary western characters to find the strength to fight an evil land baron in the old west who wants to steal his family's farm and destroy their idyllic community. When…
- 7
The Way West (1967)
★ 6.1/10Also adventure and dramaIn the mid-19th century, Senator William J. Tadlock leads a group of settlers overland in a quest to start a new settlement in the Western US. Tadlock is a highly principled and demanding taskmaster who is as hard on…
- 8
Dances with Wolves (1990)
★ 7.8/10Also adventure and dramaWounded Civil War soldier John Dunbar tries to commit suicide—and becomes a hero instead. As a reward, he's assigned to his dream post, a remote junction on the Western frontier, and soon makes unlikely friends with…
- 9
The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993)
★ 6.2/10Also adventure and dramaMischievous Huck Finn is unnerved when his father, reemerging after years away, kidnaps him in an attempt to take away a $600 inheritance from his late mother. Fearing for his life, Huck fakes his own death and…
- 10
Lord of the Flies (1963)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and adventureFollowing a plane crash a group of schoolboys find themselves on a deserted island. They appoint a leader and attempt to create an organized society for the sake of their survival. Democracy and order soon begin to…
- 11
Into the Wild (2007)
★ 7.8/10Also adventure and dramaAfter graduating from Emory University in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity, and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the…
- 12
I Am David (2003)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and adventureA 12-year-old boy manages to flee a Communist concentration camp on his own, through sheer will and determination. All he has in his possession is a loaf of bread, a letter to deliver to someone in Denmark, and a…
- 13
The Prince and the Pauper (1977)
★ 6.1/10Also drama and adventureTom Canty is a poor English boy who bears a remarkable resemblance to Edward, Prince of Wales and son of King Henry VIII. The two boys meet and decide to play a joke on the court by dressing in each other's clothes…
- 14
Sarah's Oil (2025)
★ 8/10Also dramaSarah Rector, a Black girl born in early 20th-century Oklahoma Indian Territory, believes there is oil beneath the barren land she’s allotted, and her faith proves right. As greedy oil sharks close in, Sarah turns to…
- 15
Hud (1963)
★ 7.3/10Also dramaHud Bannon is a ruthless young man who tarnishes everything and everyone he touches. Hud represents the perfect embodiment of alienated youth, out for kicks with no regard for the consequences. There is bitter conflict…
- 16
Train Dreams (2025)
★ 7.3/10Also dramaA logger leads a life of quiet grace as he experiences love and loss during an era of monumental change in early 20th-century America.
- 17
Lean on Pete (2018)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and adventureCharley Thompson, a teenager living with his single father, gets a summer job working for horse trainer Del Montgomery. Bonding with an aging racehorse named Lean on Pete, Charley is horrified to learn he is bound for…
- 18
The Outsiders (1983)
★ 7.2/10Also dramaIn 1960s Tulsa, class divisions ignite a violent rivalry between the working-class Greasers and the privileged Socs. When a deadly encounter forces two Greasers, Ponyboy and Johnny, to flee, their struggle for survival…
- 19
The Darkest Minds (2018)
★ 7/10Also adventure and dramaAfter 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…
- 20
The Giver (2014)
★ 6.6/10Also dramaIn a seemingly perfect community, without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man about the true pain and pleasure of the "real" world.