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Movies that feel like A Dog's Purpose (2017)

If you loved A Dog's Purpose, the closest films we have are Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009), The Call of the Wild (2020) and The Cat Returns (2002). All three share A Dog's Purpose's warm and cozy feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 10 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video and Paramount Plus Premium and others, checked against today's data.

A dog goes on quest to discover his purpose in life over the course of several lifetimes with multiple owners.

🍅 35% Rotten Tomatoes7.3 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Lasse Hallströmepicdreamlikewarmcozycontemplative
Stream it:Netflix
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If A Dog's Purpose hit the spot, these will too

Hachi: A Dog's Tale poster
Hachi: A Dog's Tale
2009 · dir. Lasse Hallström
🍅 64%8.1drama · family

Lasse Hallström working the same nerve twice

The difference: Reviewed even better

Professor Wilson discovers a lost Akita puppy on his way home. Despite objections from his wife, Hachi endears himself to the family and grows to be Parker's loyal companion. As their bond grows deeper, a beautiful relationship unfolds.

Feels alike?
The Call of the Wild poster
The Call of the Wild
2020 · dir. Chris Sanders
🍅 62%6.7adventure · family · drama

The same two preoccupations: dog, and pets

The difference: Not nearly as dreamlike as A Dog's Purpose

Buck is a big-hearted dog whose blissful domestic life is turned upside down when he is suddenly uprooted from his California home and transplanted to the exotic wilds of the Yukon during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. As the newest rookie on a mail delivery dog sled team—and later its leader—Buck experiences the adventure of a lifetime, ultimately finding his true place in the world and becoming his own master.

Feels alike?
The Cat Returns poster
The Cat Returns
2002 · dir. Hiroyuki Morita
🍅 88%7.1adventure · fantasy · animation

The same preoccupation in both: human animal relationship

The difference: Leans harder into animation than A Dog's Purpose does

Young Haru rescues a cat from being run over, but soon learns it's no ordinary feline; it happens to be the Prince of the Cats.

Feels alike?
The Incredible Journey poster
The Incredible Journey
1963 · dir. Fletcher Markle
🍅 89%7adventure · family

One thread runs through both: dog

The difference: 54 years apart, and the 1960s show

The story of three pets, a cat and two dogs, who lose their owners when they are all on vacation. Can they find their way home?

Feels alike?
A Monster Calls poster
A Monster Calls
2016 · dir. J. A. Bayona
🍅 86%7.4fantasy · adventure · family

The same mix in both: scale, then dream logic

12-year-old Conor encounters an ancient tree monster who proceeds to help him cope with his mother's terminal illness and being bullied in school.

Feels alike?
Pinocchio poster
Pinocchio
2019 · dir. Matteo Garrone
🍅 84%6.3drama · family · fantasy

Warm where it counts, cozy underneath

Old woodcarver Geppetto fashions a wooden puppet, Pinocchio, who magically comes to life. Pinocchio longs for adventure and is easily led astray, encountering magical beasts, fantastical spectacles, while making friends and foes along his journey. However, his dream is to become a real boy, which can only come true if he finally changes his ways.

Feels alike?
The Spiderwick Chronicles poster
The Spiderwick Chronicles
2008 · dir. Mark Waters
🍅 81%6.5family · adventure · fantasy

Adventure with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

Upon moving into the run-down Spiderwick Estate with their mother, twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace, along with their sister Mallory, find themselves pulled into an alternate world full of faeries and other creatures.

Feels alike?
The Jungle Book poster
The Jungle Book
2016 · dir. Jon Favreau
🍅 94%7.3adventure · family · fantasy

Both lean on scale more than on fantasy

After a threat from the tiger Shere Khan, Mowgli, a man-cub fostered by wolves, is forced to flee the jungle, and he embarks on a journey of self-discovery with the help of the panther, Bagheera, and the free-spirited bear, Baloo.

Feels alike?
The BFG poster
The BFG
2016 · dir. Steven Spielberg
🍅 74%6.3adventure · family · fantasy

Family built on dream logic, twice over

An orphan little girl befriends a benevolent giant who takes her to Giant Country, where they attempt to stop the man-eating giants that are invading the human world.

Feels alike?
Red Dog poster
Red Dog
2011 · dir. Kriv Stenders
🍅 84%7.3drama · comedy · family

Both keep coming back to the same thing: human animal relationship

The legendary true story of the Red Dog who united a disparate local community while roaming the Australian outback in search of his long lost master.

Feels alike?
Hunt for the Wilderpeople poster
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
2016 · dir. Taika Waititi
🍅 97%7.8adventure · comedy · drama

Warm drama, and it commits to that

Ricky is a defiant young city kid who finds himself on the run with his cantankerous foster uncle in the wild New Zealand bush. A national manhunt ensues, and the two are forced to put aside their differences and work together to survive.

Feels alike?
The Fox and the Hound poster
The Fox and the Hound
1981 · dir. Richard Rich
🍅 75%7.2adventure · animation · drama

Both are built on the same subject: pets

The difference: Made in the 1980s, in a different era of the craft

When a feisty little fox named Tod is adopted into a farm family, he quickly becomes friends with a fun and adorable hound puppy named Copper. Life is full of hilarious adventures until Copper is expected to take on his role as a hunting dog -- and the object of his search is his best friend!

Feels alike?

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The best-reviewed films that share A Dog's Purpose’s defining feeling.