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A Little Princess poster

Movies that feel likeA Little Princess (1995)

When her father enlists to fight for the British in WWI, young Sara Crewe goes to New York to attend the same boarding school her late mother attended. She soon clashes with the severe headmistress, Miss Minchin, who attempts to stifle Sara's creativity and sense of self-worth.

If you loved A Little Princess, the closest films we have are The Secret Garden (1993), Pinocchio (2019) and The White Balloon (1995). All three share A Little Princess' contemplative and warm feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Children of Heaven (1997).

🍅 97% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.6 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Alfonso Cuaróncontemplativewarmcozydreamlike
10 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Disney Plus

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If A Little Princess hit the spot, these will too

The Secret Garden poster
The Secret Garden
1993 · dir. Agnieszka Holland
🍅 89%★ 7.3drama · family · fantasy

The same two preoccupations: servant, and little girl

A young British girl born and reared in India loses her neglectful parents in an earthquake. She is returned to England to live at her uncle's castle. Her uncle is very distant due to the loss of his wife ten years before. Neglected once again, she begins exploring the estate and discovers a garden that has been locked and forgotten. Aided by one of the servants' boys, she begins restoring the garden, and eventually discovers some other secrets of the manor.

Pinocchio poster
Pinocchio
2019 · dir. Matteo Garrone
🍅 84%★ 6.3drama · family · fantasy

The same mix in both: stillness, then warmth

The difference: Made in the 2010s, in a different era of the craft

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.

The White Balloon poster
The White Balloon
1995 · dir. Jafar Panahi
🍅 83%★ 7.6drama · family

Cozy drama in both cases

The difference: Trades the dream logic of A Little Princess for an angle of its own

Several people try to take advantage of a little girl's innocence to hustle money her mom gave to her to buy a goldfish with.

The Amazing Mr. Blunden poster
The Amazing Mr. Blunden
1972 · dir. Lionel Jeffries
★ 6.8family · fantasyPrime Video

Family with a pulse of dream logic, in both cases

Mysterious old solicitor Mr. Blunden visits Mrs. Allen and her young children in their squalid, tiny Camden Town flat and makes her an offer she cannot refuse. The family become the housekeepers to a derelict country mansion in the charge of the solicitors. One day the children meet the spirits of two other children who died in the mansion nearly a hundred years prior. The children prepare a magic potion that allows them to travel backwards in time to the era of the ghost children. Will the children be able to help their new friends and what will happen to them if they do?

Children of Heaven poster
Children of Heaven
1997 · dir. Majid Majidi
🍅 83%★ 8.2drama · family

Both lean on stillness more than on fantasy

Zohre's shoes are gone; her older brother Ali lost them. They are poor, there are no shoes for Zohre until they come up with an idea: they will share one pair of shoes. School awaits.

Storm Boy poster
Storm Boy
1977 · dir. Henri Safran
★ 6.9drama · family

Drama built on warmth, twice over

Mike is a lonely Australian boy living in a coastal wilderness with his reclusive father. In search of friendship he encounters an Aboriginal native loner and the two form a bond in the care of orphaned pelicans.

The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter poster
The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter
1990 · dir. George T. Miller
🍅 14%★ 5.1family · fantasy · adventure

Cozy family, and it commits to that

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

Once again, Bastian is transported to the world of Fantasia which he recently managed to save from destruction. However, the land is now being destroyed by an evil sorceress, Xayide, so he must join up with Atreyu and face the Emptiness once more.

Return to Oz poster
Return to Oz
1985 · dir. Walter Murch
🍅 59%★ 6.7adventure · family · fantasyDisney+

Fantasy built on dream logic, twice over

The difference: Sits closer to adventure than A Little Princess does

Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, finds herself back in the land of her dreams, and makes delightful new friends, and dangerous new enemies.

The Dark Crystal poster
The Dark Crystal
1982 · dir. Frank Oz
🍅 78%★ 7.1adventure · family · fantasyPeacock

Warm family, and it commits to that

On another planet in the distant past, a Gelfling embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal and restore order to his world, before the grotesque race of Skeksis find and use the crystal for evil.

A Dog's Purpose poster
A Dog's Purpose
2017 · dir. Lasse Hallström
🍅 35%★ 7.3adventure · fantasy · family

Drama built on stillness, twice over

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

Kleks Academy poster
Kleks Academy
2024 · dir. Maciej Kawulski
★ 4.5fantasy · adventure · familyNetflix

The same preoccupation in both: school

A seemingly ordinary girl finds her way into the eponymous Academy to explore the world of fairy tales, imagination and creativity. With the help of a crazy, talented teacher, she develops her unique abilities and also stumbles upon a clue that will help her unravel the biggest secret of the family...

Pete's Dragon poster
Pete's Dragon
2016 · dir. David Lowery
🍅 88%★ 6.7adventure · family · fantasyDisney+

Both keep coming back to the same thing: orphan

For years, old wood carver Mr. Meacham has delighted local children with his tales of the fierce dragon that resides deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. To his daughter, Grace, who works as a forest ranger, these stories are little more than tall tales... until she meets Pete, a mysterious 10-year-old with no family and no home who claims to live in the woods with a giant, green dragon named Elliott. And from Pete's descriptions, Elliott seems remarkably similar to the dragon from Mr. Meacham's stories. With the help of Natalie, an 11-year-old girl whose father Jack owns the local lumber mill, Grace sets out to determine where Pete came from, where he belongs, and the truth about this dragon.

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The best-reviewed films that share A Little Princess’ defining feeling.