feelsalike.com

Movies that feel like Boy & the World (2014)

If you loved Boy & the World, the closest films we have are Long Way North (2015), Big Fish & Begonia (2016) and Monica and Friends: Bonds (2019). All three share Boy & the World's epic and wistful feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 7 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video and Crunchyroll and others, checked against today's data.

Suffering because of his father's departure to the big city, a boy leaves his village and discovers a fantastic world dominated by bug-engines and strange beings. An unusual animation with various artistic techniques that portrays the issues of the modern world through the eyes of a child.

🍅 93% Rotten Tomatoes7.5 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Alê Abreuwhimsicaldreamlikeepicwarmcozywistful

Not on subscription streaming right now. Rent or buy below.

See it on the map

When is Boy & the World streaming? →

If Boy & the World hit the spot, these will too

Long Way North poster
Long Way North
2015 · dir. Rémi Chayé
🍅 98%7.2adventure · animation · drama

Both keep coming back to the same thing: growing up

The difference: Not nearly as whimsical as Boy & the World

In 1892 Saint Petersburg, when her explorer grandfather's failure to return from his latest expedition brings dishonour to her aristocratic family, a resilient teenager runs away to follow in his trail in search of his famed ship.

Feels alike?
Big Fish & Begonia poster
Big Fish & Begonia
2016 · dir. Liang Xuan
🍅 94%7animation · adventure · fantasy

Common ground: growing up

The difference: None of the warmth Boy & the World is built on

Beyond the human realm, there is a magical race of beings who control the tides and the changing of the seasons. One of these beings, a young girl named Chun, seeks something more—she wants to experience the human world! At sixteen, she finally gets her chance and transforms into a dolphin in order to explore the world that has her fascinated. But she soon discovers that it's a dangerous place and nearly gets killed in a vortex. Luckily, her life is spared when a young boy sacrifices himself to save her. Moved by his kindness and courage, she uses magic to bring him back to life only to learn that this power comes at a serious price. On a new adventure, she’ll have to make her own sacrifices in order to protect his soul until it is ready to return to the human world.

Feels alike?
Monica and Friends: Bonds poster
Monica and Friends: Bonds
2019 · dir. Daniel Rezende
7.1family · adventure · comedy

Epic and warm in the same breath

The difference: Missing the whimsy of Boy & the World

Fluffy, Jimmy Five's pet dog, vanished. He develops an infallible plan to rescue the little dog, but, he will need help from his faithful friends: Monica, Maggy and Smudge. Together, they will face challengers and live incredible adventures to get Fluffy back home.

Feels alike?
The Secret of Kells poster
The Secret of Kells
2009 · dir. Tomm Moore
🍅 90%7.5animation · family · fantasy

Whimsical where it counts, dreamlike underneath

Adventure awaits 12 year old Brendan who must fight Vikings and a serpent god to find a crystal and complete the legendary Book of Kells. In order to finish Brother Aiden's book, Brendan must overcome his deepest fears on a secret quest that will take him beyond the abbey walls and into the enchanted forest where dangerous mythical creatures hide. Will Brendan succeed in his quest?

Feels alike?
The Secret World of Arrietty poster
The Secret World of Arrietty
2010 · dir. Hiromasa Yonebayashi
🍅 94%7.6fantasy · animation · family

Both land comfort and wistfulness at once

14-year-old Arrietty and the rest of the Clock family live in peaceful anonymity as they make their own home from items "borrowed" from the house's human inhabitants. However, life changes for the Clocks when a human boy discovers Arrietty.

Feels alike?
Song of the Sea poster
Song of the Sea
2014 · dir. Tomm Moore
🍅 99%8family · animation · fantasy

Whimsical animation, and it commits to that

The story of the last Seal Child’s journey home. After their mother’s disappearance, Ben and Saoirse are sent to live with Granny in the city. When they resolve to return to their home by the sea, their journey becomes a race against time as they are drawn into a world Ben knows only from his mother’s folktales. But this is no bedtime story; these fairy folk have been in our world far too long. It soon becomes clear to Ben that Saoirse is the key to their survival.

Feels alike?
Ronal the Barbarian poster
Ronal the Barbarian
2011 · dir. Kresten Vestbjerg Andersen
6.5animation · adventure · fantasy

Fantasy with a pulse of dream logic, in both cases

Ronal is a young barbarian with low self-esteem, the polar opposite of all the muscular barbarians in his village. He's a real wuss. However, as fate would have it, responsibility for the tribe's survival falls on Ronal's scrawny shoulders, when the evil Lord Volcazar raids the village and abducts every living barbarian with the exception of Ronal, who is forced to go on a perilous quest to save his enslaved clan and thwart Volcazar’s plot to rule the world.

Feels alike?
Epic poster
Epic
2013 · dir. Chris Wedge
🍅 65%6.6animation · adventure · family

Both lean on scale more than on adventure

The difference: Reviewed a good deal more coolly

A teenager finds herself transported to a deep forest setting where a battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil is taking place. She bands together with a rag-tag group characters in order to save their world—and ours.

Feels alike?
Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard poster
🍅 14%5.3adventure · fantasy · animation

Warm family in both cases

Arthur answers a distress call from Princess Selenia, who is menaced by the nefarious Maltazard.

Feels alike?
The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales poster
The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales
2017 · dir. Patrick Imbert
🍅 97%7.4family · animation · comedy

Animation built on comfort, twice over

The difference: Leans harder into comedy than Boy & the World does

The countryside isn't always as calm and peaceful as it's made out to be, and the animals on this farm are particularly agitated: a fox who mothers a family of chicks, a rabbit who plays the stork, and a duck who wants to be Santa Claus.

Feels alike?
Kirikou and the Sorceress poster
Kirikou and the Sorceress
1998 · dir. Michel Ocelot
🍅 96%7.5fantasy · adventure · animation

Whimsical fantasy, and it commits to that

Drawn from elements of West African folk tales, it depicts how a newborn boy, Kirikou, saves his village from the evil witch Karaba.

Feels alike?
The Boy and the Beast poster
The Boy and the Beast
2015 · dir. Mamoru Hosoda
🍅 90%7.6action · adventure · animation

Wistful adventure, and it commits to that

Kyuta, a boy living in Shibuya, and Kumatetsu, a lonesome beast from Jutengai, an imaginary world. One day, Kyuta forays into the imaginary world and, as he's looking for his way back, meets Kumatetsu who becomes his spirit guide. That encounter leads them to many adventures.

Feels alike?

In the mood for more whimsical?

all whimsical movies →

The best-reviewed films that share Boy & the World’s defining feeling.