Movies Like Pollyanna

If you liked Pollyanna (1960), a comedy and drama movie directed by David Swift, 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
A Simple Twist of Fate (1994)
★ 6.2/10Also family and comedy
When Michael McCann is thrown over by the woman he loves, he becomes something of a misanthrope and a miser, spending all of his spare money on collectible gold coins. Living in the same town is an affluent family with…
2
Because of Winn-Dixie (2005)
★ 6.5/10Also family and comedy
A girl, abandoned by her mother when she was three, moves to a small town in Florida with her father. There, she adopts an orphaned dog she names Winn-Dixie. The bond between the girl and her special companion brings…
3
Anne of Green Gables (2016)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and family
Anne Shirley, an orphan, is fostered by farmer Matthew Cuthbert and his sister Marilla, who were expecting a boy to be sent them to help with their farm work. They accept Anne, who quickly endears herself to them and…
4
Chang Can Dunk (2023)
★ 6.7/10Also family and comedy
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…
5
Shorts (2009)
★ 5.9/10Also family and comedy
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.
6
Roll Bounce (2005)
★ 6.9/10Also comedy and drama
In the summer of 1978, a teenager and his group of friends face new challenges when their neighborhood roller-skating rink closes, forcing them to visit a different rink.
7
Cheaper by the Dozen (1950)
★ 6.4/10Also comedy and drama
"Cheaper by the Dozen", based on the real-life story of the Gilbreth family, follows them from Providence, Rhode Island, to Montclair, New Jersey, and details the amusing anecdotes found in large families.
8
Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 (2011)
★ 5.9/10Also comedy and family
Puppy mayhem turns the lives of newlywed Chihuahua parents Papi and Chloe upside down when their rambunctious, mischievous puppies present one challenge after another. But when their human owners end up in trouble, the…
9
The Loud House Movie (2021)
★ 7.2/10Also family and comedy
The Loud family travel to Scotland and discover they are descendants of Scottish royalty as they move into their giant ancestral castle.
10
The Secret Garden (2020)
★ 6.3/10Also family and drama
Mary Lennox is born in India to wealthy British parents who never wanted her. When her parents suddenly die, she is sent back to England to live with her uncle. She meets her sickly cousin, and the two children find a…
11
Madeline (1998)
★ 6.2/10Also family and comedy
Horrified at the prospect of her beloved school being sold, a young French girl named Madeline uses her wit and craftiness to attempt to save it, making an unlikely new friend in the process.
12
The Great Gilly Hopkins (2015)
★ 6.6/10Also comedy and drama
Young and feisty Gilly Hopkins devises a scheme to escape from her new foster home and reunite with her birth mother.
13
Sketch (2025)
★ 7/10Also comedy and 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…
14
Little Big League (1994)
★ 6/10Also comedy and family
When the owner of the Minnesota Twins passes away, he bequeaths the team to his preteen grandson. The newly minted head honcho quickly appoints himself manager, causing unrest in an organization that struggles to take…
15
Dennis the Menace (1993)
★ 5.9/10Also family and comedy
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…
16
The Secret Garden (1993)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and family
A young British girl born and reared in India loses her neglectful parents in an earthquake. She is returned to England to live at her uncle's castle. Her uncle is very distant due to the loss of his wife ten years…
17
Housekeeping (1987)
★ 6.6/10Also comedy and drama
In the Pacific Northwest during the 1950s, two young sisters whose mother has abandoned them wind up living with their Aunt Sylvie, whose views of the world and its conventions don't quite live up to most people's…
18
Skater Girl (2021)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and 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.
19
Black Beauty (1994)
★ 6.7/10Also family and drama
The fates of horses, and the people who own and command them, are revealed as Black Beauty narrates the circle of his life.
20
Simon Birch (1998)
★ 6.9/10Also comedy and drama
Simon Birch and Joe Wenteworth are boys who have a reputation for being oddballs. Joe never knew his father, and his mother, Rebecca, is keeping her lips sealed no matter how much he protests. Simon, meanwhile, is an…