Movies Like Sam Steele and the Crystal Chalice

If you liked Sam Steele and the Crystal Chalice (2011), a family movie directed by Tom Whitus, 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
Holes (2003)
★ 6.9/10Also family
After being wrongfully convicted for stealing a pair of shoes, Stanley Yelnats is sent away to Camp Green Lake, a boys detention facility where inmates are forced to dig holes all day in the hot desert sun as a form of…
2
The Sheep Detectives (2026)
★ 7.9/10Also family
George Hardy is a shepherd who reads detective novels to his beloved sheep every night, assuming they can't possibly understand. But when a mysterious incident disrupts life on the farm, the sheep realize they must…
3
Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (2019)
★ 6.3/10Also family
Nancy Drew, a smart high schooler with a penchant for keen observation and deduction, stumbles upon the haunting of a local home. A bit of an outsider struggling to fit into her new surroundings, Nancy and her pals set…
4
Treasure Island (1972)
★ 5.9/10Also family
Young Jim Hawkins finds himself serving with pirate captain Long John Silver in search of a buccaneer's treasure, in this short adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale.
5
Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made (2020)
★ 6.2/10Also family
An 11-year old boy believes that he is the best detective in town and runs the agency Total Failures with his best friend, an imaginary 1,200 pound polar bear.
6
Benji (2018)
★ 6.9/10Also 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.
7
White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf (1994)
★ 6.9/10Also family
A boy and his dog, White Fang, must try to save the noble Haida tribe from evil white men in turn-of-the-century Alaska.
8
Stargirl (2020)
★ 7.4/10Also family
An unassuming high schooler finds himself inexplicably drawn to the free-spirited new girl, whose unconventional ways change how they see themselves…and their world.
9
Thunderstruck (2012)
★ 6.2/10Also 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.
10
Shorts (2009)
★ 5.9/10Also family
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.
11
Dennis the Menace (1993)
★ 5.9/10Also family
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…
12
The Clique (2008)
★ 5.9/10Also family
A young girl tries to fit in with a clique of popular middle school girls after moving into the guest house of one of their homes.
13
The Call of the Wild (1972)
★ 6.1/10Also family
John Thornton, is a fearless man who's after more than gold; he wants to do what's right. Thornton works for the U.S. mail and is the only person daring and smart enough to figure out how to travel the deadly 600 miles…
14
Love Don't Co$t a Thing (2003)
★ 7.7/10Also family
A high school outcast pays a cheerleader to pose as his girlfriend so he can be considered cool.
15
Secondhand Lions (2003)
★ 7.2/10Also family
The comedic adventures of an introverted boy left on the doorstep of a pair of reluctant, eccentric great-uncles, whose exotic remembrances stir the boy's spirit and re-ignite the men's lives.
16
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008)
★ 6.5/10Also family
The Great Depression hits home for nine year old Kit Kittredge when her dad loses his business and leaves to find work. Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin stars as Kit, leading a splendid cast in the first ever "American…
17
My Spy (2020)
★ 6.9/10Also family
A hardened CIA operative finds himself at the mercy of a precocious 9-year-old girl, having been sent undercover to surveil her family.
18
Chang Can Dunk (2023)
★ 6.7/10Also family
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…
19
My Spy The Eternal City (2024)
★ 6.5/10Also family
JJ, a veteran CIA agent, reunites with his protégé Sophie, in order to prevent a catastrophic nuclear plot targeting the Vatican.
20
Adventures in Babysitting (2016)
★ 7.2/10Also family
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.