Movies Like The White Balloon

If you liked The White Balloon (1995), a drama and family movie directed by Jafar Panahi, 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
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.
2
Dolphin Tale (2011)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and family
A sea of animal rescuers — and a lonely boy in need of a friend – nurse an injured dolphin back to health after it loses its tail in a trap.
3
The Old Man and the Sea (1958)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
Santiago is an aging, down-on-his-luck, Cuban fisherman who, after catching nothing for nearly 3 months, hooks a huge Marlin and struggles to land it far out in the Gulf Stream.
4
Stillwater (2021)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
Bill Baker, an American oil-rig roughneck from Oklahoma, travels to Marseille to visit his estranged daughter, Allison, who is in prison for a murder she claims she did not commit. Confronted with language barriers…
5
Where the Red Fern Grows (1974)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and family
Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for two years to achieve his dream of buying two red-bone coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in life as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy…
6
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…
7
Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980)
★ 7.3/10Also family and drama
Young Cedric Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1880s Brooklyn after the death of his father. Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, has long ago disowned his son for marrying an American…
8
Flicka (2006)
★ 6.9/10Also family and drama
Katy McLaughlin desires to work on her family's mountainside horse ranch, although her father insists she finish boarding school. Katy finds a mustang in the hills near her ranch. The headstrong 16 year old then sets…
9
The Weight (2026)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
When Samuel is torn from his daughter and sent to a brutal prison, Warden Clancy offers him a high-stakes proposition: smuggle gold out of a remote mine with a dangerous crew of prisoners and he’ll win his freedom.
10
Captains Courageous (1937)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and family
Harvey, the arrogant and spoiled son of an indulgent absentee-father, falls overboard from a transatlantic steamship and is rescued by a fishing vessel on the Grand Banks. Harvey fails to persuade them to take him…
11
Rip Tide (2017)
★ 6.1/10Also family and drama
There comes a point in everyone’s life when you have to make a decision about the direction you’re going to take. For newly-18 American fashion model Cora, that time is now. She’s moved to an Australian coastal town to…
12
The Truth About Emanuel (2013)
★ 6/10Also drama
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
13
TalhotBlond (2012)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.
14
Deep (2017)
★ 5.9/10Also family
In 2100, when humanity has abandoned the earth, a colony of extravagant creatures still thrives in the deepest abyss of the ocean.
15
The Stray (2017)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and family
A young father takes his nine year old son, the family dog, and two of his son's friends backpacking in the mountains of Colorado only for all five of them to be struck by lightning.
16
God's Creatures (2022)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
In a windswept fishing village, a mother is torn between protecting her beloved son and her own sense of right and wrong. A lie she tells for him rips apart their family and close-knit community.
17
The Boy Who Could Fly (1986)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and family
Milly and Louis, and their recently-widowed mom, Charlene, move to a new neighborhood. Once there, they all deal with a variety of personal problems, but Milly finds a friend in Eric, her autistic next door neighbor…
18
Little Man Tate (1991)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and family
Dede is a sole parent trying to bring up her son Fred. When it is discovered that Fred is a genius, she is determined to ensure that Fred has all the opportunities that he needs, and that he is not taken advantage of…
19
I Believe (2019)
★ 7.8/10Also family and drama
A 9 year old boy experiences God's power in a supernatural way.
20
Heidi (2005)
★ 7.8/10Also drama and 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…