Movies Like How to Build a Better Boy

If you liked How to Build a Better Boy (2014), a family and science fiction movie directed by Paul Hoen, 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
Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip (1999)
★ 7.5/10Also family and science fiction
After Dexter is confronted with robots who wish to "destroy the one who saved the future," he uses his time machine to see how he saved it. They declare that they are here to destroy the one who saved the future, and…
2
Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 3 (2022)
★ 7.3/10Also family and tv movie
Zed and Addison are beginning their final year at Seabrook High in the town that’s become a safe haven for monsters and humans alike. Zed is anticipating an athletic scholarship that will make him the first Zombie to…
3
Next Gen (2018)
★ 7/10Also family and science fiction
A friendship with a top-secret robot turns a lonely girl's life into a thrilling adventure as they take on bullies, evil bots and a scheming madman.
4
Robots (2005)
★ 6.5/10Also family and science fiction
Rodney Copperbottom is a young robot inventor who dreams of making the world a better place, until the evil Ratchet takes over Bigweld Industries. Now, Rodney's dreams – and those of his friends – are in danger of…
5
Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama (2005)
★ 6.9/10Also family and science fiction
Dr. Drakken has an evil new plot for world domination, but his ultimate success depends upon finding out KP's weakness which may involve a new hottie at Middleton High School named Eric, who suddenly sparks feelings in…
6
A.R.C.H.I.E. (2016)
★ 6/10Also family and science fiction
A recently orphaned 15-year-old who has moved to a small town to live with her uncle befriends a robotic canine with super strength, x-ray vision and the ability to talk and the pair take on a military complex…
7
D.A.R.Y.L. (1985)
★ 6.4/10Also family and science fiction
Daryl is a normal 10-year-old boy in many ways. However, unbeknown to his foster parents and friends, Daryl is actually a government-created robot with superhuman reflexes and mental abilities. Even his name has a…
8
Zapped (2014)
★ 6.1/10Also tv movie and family
Zoey is a talented dancer whose organized life is rudely disrupted when she moves in with her new step-dad and three step-brothers, until she discovers a dog-training app that can get boys to obey her every command…
9
Teen Beach 2 (2015)
★ 6.8/10Also tv movie and family
When characters from the movie musical “Wet Side Story” get stuck in the real world, teens Brady and Mack must find a way to return them home.
10
Clash of the Thundermans (2026)
★ 6.6/10Also tv movie and family
When Chloe develops a destructive new superpower, the Hero League orders her to an elite boarding school for superheroes to learn control of her abilities. Faced with the prospect of sending Chloe away for years, the…
11
F.R.E.D.I. (2018)
★ 5.9/10Also science fiction and family
An intelligent, lovable robot known as "F.R.E.D.I." is stolen from a secret research facility by the project's lead scientist. The robot is found by a 15 year old teenager, James. Soon the two begin to communicate and…
12
Plankton: The Movie (2025)
★ 6.7/10Also family and science fiction
Plankton's tangled love story with his sentient computer wife goes sideways when she takes a stand — and decides to destroy the world without him.
13
A-X-L (2018)
★ 6.4/10Also science fiction and family
The life of a teenage boy is forever altered by a chance encounter with cutting edge military technology.
14
Minutemen (2008)
★ 5.8/10Also family and tv movie
When three high-school friends invent a time-machine, they decide to use it to go back in time and prevent other youngsters from making humiliating mistakes.
15
The Suite Life Movie (2011)
★ 6.1/10Also science fiction and tv movie
Cody and Zack are approached to join the Gemini Project, a high-tech research center studying the dynamics between twins. Shockingly, they find themselves interconnected in a whole new way! When one twin experiences…
16
Leroy & Stitch (2006)
★ 6.5/10Also tv movie and family
Lilo, Stitch, Jumba, and Pleakley have finally caught all of Jumba's genetic experiments and found the one true place where each of them belongs. Stitch, Jumba and Pleakley are offered positions in the Galactic…
17
Astro Boy (2009)
★ 6.3/10Also family and science fiction
Set in the futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy (Atom) is a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist in the image of the son he had lost. Unable to fulfill his creator's expectations, Astro…
18
Ron's Gone Wrong (2021)
★ 7.8/10Also science fiction and family
In a world where walking, talking, digitally connected bots have become children's best friends, an 11-year-old finds that his robot buddy doesn't quite work the same as the others do.
19
Ben 10: Alien Swarm (2009)
★ 6.2/10Also tv movie and science fiction
Ben and a mysterious girl from his past must prevent an alien threat from destroying the world.
20
Adventures in Babysitting (2016)
★ 7.2/10Also family and tv movie
Two teen rival babysitters, Jenny and Lola, team up to hunt down one of their kids who accidentally ran away into the big city without any supervision.