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Hugo poster

Movies that feel likeHugo (2011)

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.

If you loved Hugo, the closest films we have are Bridge to Terabithia (2007), The Call of the Wild (2020) and A Dog's Purpose (2017). All three share Hugo's epic and contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The White Balloon (1995).

🍅 93% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.5 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Martin Scorseseepiccontemplativewarmcozy
11 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Disney Plus · Criterion Channel

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If Hugo hit the spot, these will too

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

Epic where it counts, contemplative underneath

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.

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

Warm and cozy in the same breath

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

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.

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

Adventure built on scale, twice over

The difference: Leans harder into fantasy than Hugo does

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

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

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

The difference: Takes it somewhere less epic than Hugo does

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

The Irishman poster
The Irishman
2019 · dir. Martin Scorsese
🍅 95%★ 7.8crime · drama · historyNetflix

Martin Scorsese directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

The difference: Trades the comfort of Hugo for an angle of its own

Pennsylvania, 1956. Frank Sheeran, a war veteran of Irish origin who works as a truck driver, accidentally meets mobster Russell Bufalino. Once Frank becomes his trusted man, Bufalino sends him to Chicago with the task of helping Jimmy Hoffa, a powerful union leader related to organized crime, with whom Frank will maintain a close friendship for nearly twenty years.

Cars 3 poster
Cars 3
2017 · dir. Brian Fee
🍅 70%★ 6.7animation · drama · familyDisney+

Family with a pulse of warmth, in both cases

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.

The Jungle Book poster
The Jungle Book
2016 · dir. Jon Favreau
🍅 94%★ 7.3adventure · family · fantasyDisney+

Both are built on the same subject: orphan

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.

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

Both lean on comfort more than on drama

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.

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

One thread runs through both: clock

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

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

The same preoccupation in both: 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.

The Black Stallion poster
The Black Stallion
1979 · dir. Carroll Ballard
🍅 90%★ 7.4family · adventure

Epic adventure in both cases

The difference: 32 years apart, and the 1970s show

While traveling with his father, young Alec becomes fascinated by a mysterious Arabian stallion that is brought on board and stabled in the ship he is sailing on. When it tragically sinks both he and the horse survive only to be stranded on a deserted island. He befriends it, so when finally rescued both return to his home where they soon meet Henry Dailey, a once successful trainer. Together they begin training the horse to race against the fastest ones in the world.

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

Family built on stillness, twice over

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.

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