Movies Like How I Was Independent

If you liked How I Was Independent (1987), a family movie directed by Yevgeni Radkevich, 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
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…
2
Snoopy Presents: There's No Place Like Home, Snoopy (2026)
★ 8.3/10Also family
When Snoopy's beloved doghouse goes missing, he tries to track it down, and learns what makes a house feel like home.
3
The Happiest Millionaire (1967)
★ 6.8/10Also family
A happy and unbelievably lucky young Irish immigrant, John Lawless, lands a job as the butler of an unconventional millionaire, Biddle. His daughter, Cordelia Drexel Biddle, tires of the unusual antics of her…
4
Cadet Kelly (2002)
★ 6.2/10Also family
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.
5
PAW Patrol: Jet to the Rescue (2020)
★ 7.1/10Also family
A royal relative steals a gem with the power to make things fly, the Paw Patrol takes to the skies to stop him and save Barkingburg.
6
The Willoughbys (2020)
★ 7.1/10Also family
When the four Willoughby children are abandoned by their selfish parents, they must learn how to adapt their Old-Fashioned values to the contemporary world in order to create something new: The Modern Family.
7
Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle (2015)
★ 6.7/10Also family
When Curious George is offered a special space mission, Ted (The Man in the Yellow Hat) can't deny his little friend this exciting journey, especially after Curious George completes the training. But when he…
8
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.
9
Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire (2003)
★ 7.1/10Also family
The Yowie Yahoo starts kidnapping musicians at a concert attended by Scooby and the gang in Vampire Rock, Australia.
10
The Humpbacked Horse (1975)
★ 6.4/10Also family
Remake of the 1947 Soviet film directed by Ivan Ivanov-Vano and produced by the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow.
11
Flicka (2006)
★ 6.9/10Also family
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…
12
Far from the Tree (2021)
★ 8.1/10Also family
On an idyllic beach in the Pacific Northwest, curiosity gets the better of a young raccoon whose frustrated parent attempts to keep them both safe.
13
Snoopy Presents: It's the Small Things, Charlie Brown (2022)
★ 7.3/10Also family
Charlie Brown is determined to win the big baseball game. But things turn into a fiasco right before the matchup, when Sally bonds with a little flower on the pitcher's mound and vows to protect it at all costs.
14
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.
15
Sneakerella (2022)
★ 5.9/10Also family
When El, an aspiring sneaker designer from Queens, meets Kira King, the fiercely independent daughter of legendary basketball star and sneaker tycoon Darius King, sparks fly as the two bond over their mutual affinity…
16
Sketch (2025)
★ 7/10Also 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…
17
Groot Takes a Bath (2022)
★ 7.1/10Also family
Everybody needs some alone time to relax and wash up, but things go quite differently when you’re a Flora Colossi toddler.
18
Happy New Year, Charlie Brown (1986)
★ 6.6/10Also family
It's the night of Peppermint Patty’s New Year’s Eve bash, but Charlie Brown has to write a book report about War and Peace. Hoping to join the fun for a special dance with the Little Red-Haired Girl, he tries…
19
Mater and the Ghostlight (2006)
★ 6.3/10Also family
Mater, the rusty but trusty tow truck from Cars, spends a day in Radiator Springs playing scary pranks on his fellow townsfolk. That night at Flo's V8 Café, the Sheriff tells the story of the legend of the Ghostlight…
20
Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness (2022)
★ 7.2/10Also family
A brave young animal explorer teams up with two trusty friends to find a powerful artifact before his greedy uncle can get his paws on it.