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Cars 3 poster

Movies that feel likeCars 3 (2017)

Blindsided by a new generation of blazing-fast racers, the legendary Lightning McQueen finds himself pushed to the brink—and suddenly, the champion who once ruled the track is fighting just to stay in the race. With his career hanging in the balance, McQueen must turn to an ambitious young race technician with a plan of her own, draw strength from the legacy of the late Fabulous Hudson Hornet, and risk everything on one last shot at glory.

If you loved Cars 3, the closest films we have are The Call of the Wild (2020), Dinosaur (2000) and Bridge to Terabithia (2007). All three share Cars 3's contemplative and warm feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is When Marnie Was There (2014).

🍅 70% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6.7 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Brian Feecontemplativewarmcozyepic
11 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Amazon Prime Video · Disney Plus

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If Cars 3 hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: Cars (2006) · Cars 2 (2011)

The Call of the Wild poster
The Call of the Wild
2020 · dir. Chris Sanders
🍅 62%★ 6.7adventure · family · dramaDisney+

A warm, wilderness-set story about proving yourself against the odds

The difference: A sled dog's survival tale, no racetrack or garage crew

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.

Dinosaur poster
Dinosaur
2000 · dir. Eric Leighton
🍅 65%★ 6.4adventure · animation · dramaDisney+

A lone figure finding belonging on a long, perilous journey

The difference: Prehistoric migration drama, no sports comeback arc

An orphaned dinosaur raised by lemurs joins an arduous trek to a sancturary after a meteorite shower destroys his family home.

Bridge to Terabithia poster
Bridge to Terabithia
2007 · dir. Gábor Csupó
🍅 85%★ 7.2adventure · drama · familyDisney+

A quiet, heartfelt story about a kid pushed to outrun their limits

The difference: Childhood friendship and grief, no racing or mentorship arc

Jesse Aarons trained all summer to become the fastest runner in school. So he's very upset when newcomer Leslie Burke outruns him and everyone else. Despite this and other differences including that she's rich, he's poor, she's a city girl, and he's a country boy the two become fast friends. Together they create Terabithia, a land of monsters, trolls, ogres, and giants where they rule as king and queen.

Hugo poster
Hugo
2011 · dir. Martin Scorsese
🍅 93%★ 7.5adventure · drama · family

A meticulously crafted family tale about honoring what came before

The difference: A Parisian clockwork mystery, nothing to do with racing

Orphaned and alone except for an uncle, Hugo Cabret lives in the walls of a train station in 1930s Paris. Hugo's job is to oil and maintain the station's clocks, but to him, his more important task is to protect a broken automaton and notebook left to him by his late father. Accompanied by the goddaughter of an embittered toy merchant, Hugo embarks on a quest to solve the mystery of the automaton and find a place he can call home.

Monsters vs Aliens poster
Monsters vs Aliens
2009 · dir. Rob Letterman
🍅 73%★ 6.4animation · family · adventureParamount+Peacock

Bright, polished animated adventure built for the whole family

The difference: Alien-invasion comedy, nothing about racing or aging out

When Susan Murphy is unwittingly clobbered by a meteor full of outer space gunk on her wedding day, she mysteriously grows to 49-feet-11-inches. The military jumps into action and captures Susan, secreting her away to a covert government compound. She is renamed Ginormica and placed in confinement with a ragtag group of Monsters...

The Cat Returns poster
The Cat Returns
2002 · dir. Hiroyuki Morita
🍅 88%★ 7.1adventure · fantasy · animationMax

A gentle animated adventure about finding your place in a new world

The difference: A whimsical cat-kingdom fantasy, no sport or mentorship at all

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.

When Marnie Was There poster
When Marnie Was There
2014 · dir. Hiromasa Yonebayashi
🍅 92%★ 7.6animation · drama · familyMax

The same mix in both: stillness, then warmth

The difference: Takes it somewhere less epic than Cars 3 does

Upon being sent to live with relatives in the countryside due to an illness, an emotionally distant adolescent girl becomes obsessed with an abandoned mansion and infatuated with a girl who lives there - a girl who may or may not be real.

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

Cozy where it counts, epic underneath

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

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

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron poster
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
2002 · dir. Kelly Asbury
🍅 69%★ 7.2animation · adventure · family

Common ground: villain

The difference: Sits closer to western than Cars 3 does

A captured mustang remains determined to return to his herd no matter what.

Mira poster
Mira
2022 · dir. Dmitry Kiselyov
★ 5.8science fiction · drama · adventurePrime Video

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

The difference: Leans harder into science fiction than Cars 3 does

Near future. Lera Arabova is a 15-year-old girl who lives with her family in Vladivostok. Lera's father has been working at the orbiting space station "Mira" for many years and has long lost contact with his daughter, turning only into a voice on the phone. After a meteor shower hits the city, Lera has only one chance to save her loved ones and the city from a new disaster. Her father helps her in this - through satellite surveillance systems and the telephone, he uses every opportunity to send a message to his daughter, watching from above from the station her every step.

Wonder poster
Wonder
2017 · dir. Stephen Chbosky
🍅 86%★ 7.9family · dramaRent or buy

Warm family in both cases

The story of August Pullman – a boy with facial differences – who enters fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time.

Alice Through the Looking Glass poster
Alice Through the Looking Glass
2016 · dir. James Bobin
🍅 29%★ 6.2adventure · family · fantasyDisney+

A colorful sequel sending a beloved hero into unfamiliar territory

The difference: Time-bending fantasy whimsy, no sports or racing stakes

Alice Kingsleigh returns to Underland and faces a new adventure in saving the Mad Hatter.

In the mood for more contemplative?

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The best-reviewed films that share Cars 3’s defining feeling.