Movies Like My Father Lives in Rio

If you liked My Father Lives in Rio (1989), a family and adventure movie directed by Ben Sombogaart, 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
Welcome to Smelliville (2021)
★ 6.7/10Also adventure and family
The Oggly family arrive at the municipal rubbish dump of Smelliville and must look for a new home, but they never feel really welcome anywhere. They stink and are for most humans just a tad too oggly. When Firebottom…
2
Wish Upon a Unicorn (2020)
★ 6.9/10Also adventure and family
Two children discover that their mother is gone. The youngest of the pair, adventurer and upcomming singer, Long Johnson forces his older sister, Lily Johnson, to hunt down a unicorn with magical blood.
3
Iron Will (1994)
★ 6.7/10Also adventure and family
When Will Stoneman's father dies, he is left alone to take care of his mother and their land. Needing money to maintain it, he decides to join a cross country dogsled race. This race will require days of racing for…
4
The Pagemaster (1994)
★ 6.4/10Also family and adventure
Rich knows a lot about accidents. So much so, he is scared to do anything that might endanger him, like riding his bike, or climbing into his treehouse. While in an old library, he is mystically transported into the…
5
Where the Red Fern Grows (2003)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and family
Set in the Ozark Mountains during the Great Depression, Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for 2 years to achieve his dream of buying two coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in God as he faces…
6
Dog Gone (2023)
★ 6.2/10Also family and adventure
When his beloved dog goes missing, a young man embarks on an incredible search with his parents to find him and give him life-saving medication.
7
Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure (2003)
★ 6/10Also adventure and drama
Wilbur the pig knows how important friendship is - he learned that from a spider named Charlotte. So when Wilbur meets Cardigan, a lonely lamb, Wilbur immediately makes him his friend.
8
The Secret Life of Bees (2008)
★ 7.5/10Also family and adventure
Set in South Carolina in 1964, this is the tale of Lily Owens a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother. To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father, Lily flees with…
9
I Am David (2003)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and adventure
A 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…
10
Black Beauty (1994)
★ 6.7/10Also family and adventure
The fates of horses, and the people who own and command them, are revealed as Black Beauty narrates the circle of his life.
11
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…
12
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.
13
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.
14
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.
15
The Greening of Whitney Brown (2011)
★ 5.9/10Also adventure and drama
Whitney, a spoiled pre-teen from Philadelphia, is forced to move to the country when her parents feel the squeeze of economic hard times. A fish out of water, far from her comfort zone, she befriends an amazing horse…
16
Canvas (2020)
★ 6.3/10Also family and drama
After a heartbreaking loss, a grandfather struggling to reclaim his passion for painting finds the inspiration to create again.
17
I Believe (2019)
★ 7.8/10Also family and drama
A 9 year old boy experiences God's power in a supernatural way.
18
The Good Witch's Destiny (2013)
★ 7.6/10Also drama and family
As Cassie's birthday approaches, Lori discovers disturbing parallels between Cassie and her great aunt, who disappeared years before on her birthday. When signs of a curse appear, Cassie conjures up a little magic to…
19
Benji (2018)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and family
Two school kids strike up a friendship with an orphaned puppy named Benji. When danger befalls them and they end up kidnapped by robbers who are in over their heads, Benji and his scruffy sidekick come to the rescue.
20
The Call of the Wild: Dog of the Yukon (1997)
★ 7.2/10Also adventure and drama
Jack London's classic story from 1903 about Buck, a dog kidnapped from his home in California and taken to the Yukon where he is mistreated until a prospector discovers him and relates to his situation. Although the…