Movies Like Dad's Lunch Box

If you liked Dad's Lunch Box (2017), a drama and comedy movie directed by Masakazu Fukatsu, 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
Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (2021)
★ 7/10Also drama and family
Brash single mother Nikuko is well-known for her bold spirit, much to the embarrassment of Kikuko, her pensive yet imaginative daughter. In contrast to her mother, Kikuko wants nothing more than to fit in as she…
2
Snoopy Presents: Lucy's School (2022)
★ 7.3/10Also family and comedy
The Peanuts gang is anxious about starting at a new school in the fall, inspiring Lucy to start her own school instead. She soon learns that teaching isn't as easy as it sounds and that change can be a good thing.
3
Flying Colors (2015)
★ 7.5/10Also comedy and drama
A high school girl, Sayaka Kudō was the bottom of the class. After a year, she improved her deviation value from 30 to 70, then passed Keio University that is considered one of the most difficult to enter in Japan.
4
My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999)
★ 7/10Also comedy and family
The Yamadas are a typical middle class Japanese family in urban Tokyo and this film shows us a variety of episodes of their lives. With tales that range from the humorous to the heartbreaking, we see this family cope…
5
Wood Job! (2014)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and comedy
After failing his university entrance exam, Yuki Hirano sets his eyes on the role of a forestry trainee. Setting off for training he doubts his decision many times, but eventually after passing the training course, he…
6
Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window (2023)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and family
This engaging series of childhood recollections tells of an unconventional school in Tokyo during World War II that combined learning with fun, freedom, and love. The school had old railroad cars for classrooms and was…
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
Midnight Diner 2 (2016)
★ 7.6/10Also drama and comedy
The Master's late-night diner welcomes a woman troubled by funeral fans, an elderly scam victim, and a noodle delivery man struggling with love.
9
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…
10
Whisper of the Heart (1995)
★ 7.9/10Also drama and family
Shizuku lives a simple life, dominated by her love for stories and writing. One day she notices that all the library books she has have been previously checked out by the same person: "Seiji Amasawa."
11
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.
12
Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin (2024)
★ 7.7/10Also family and comedy
Franklin is new to town and hoping to make friends, but his usual tactics don't work on the Peanuts gang. When the Soap Box Derby arrives, he's sure it's a chance to impress new pals and teams up with the only other…
13
You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah (2023)
★ 6.5/10Also comedy and drama
Stacy and Lydia are BFFs who've always dreamed about having epic bat mitzvahs. But things start to go comically awry when a popular boy and middle school drama threatens their friendship and their rite of passage.
14
Cadet Kelly (2002)
★ 6.2/10Also family and comedy
Hyperactive teenager Kelly is enrolled into a military school when her new stepfather becomes the Commandant. At first she has problems fitting in and taking orders until she tries out for the drill team.
15
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…
16
Okko's Inn (2018)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and family
12-year-old Oriko Seki, who lost her parents in a car accident, ended up living in her grandmother's Onsen Ryokan "Haru no Ya." With the ghost "Uribou" cohabitating with her and all the other odds, she ended up…
17
Alley Cats Strike (2000)
★ 6/10Also family and drama
A group of hip retro teenage outsiders become involved in an interschool bowling rivalry.
18
Wolf Children (2012)
★ 8.2/10Also family and drama
After her werewolf lover unexpectedly dies in an accident, a woman must find a way to raise the son and daughter that she had with him. However, their inheritance of their father's traits prove to be a challenge for her.
19
Thunderstruck (2012)
★ 6.2/10Also comedy and family
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
20
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (2008)
★ 6/10Also comedy and drama
When a celebrated TV show host returns to his hometown in the South, his family is there to remind him that going home is no vacation!