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Marley & Me poster

Movies that feel likeMarley & Me (2008)

A newly married couple, in the process of starting a family, learn many of life's important lessons from their trouble-loving retriever, Marley. Packed with plenty of laughs to lighten the load, the film explores the highs and lows of marriage, maturity and confronting one's own mortality, as seen through the lens of family life with a dog.

If you loved Marley & Me, the closest films we have are High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008), Monica and Friends: Bonds (2019) and We Bought a Zoo (2011). All three share Marley & Me's witty and playful feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is English Vinglish (2012).

🍅 64% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. David Frankelwittyplayfulwarmcozywistfulromantic
7 of 12 streaming nowDisney Plus · Apple TV · Paramount Plus Premium

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See it on the Mood Map

If Marley & Me hit the spot, these will too

High School Musical 3: Senior Year poster
High School Musical 3: Senior Year
2008 · dir. Kenny Ortega
🍅 64%★ 5.1comedy · drama · familyDisney+

Witty and playful in the same breath

The difference: Easier on the romance than Marley & Me

As seniors in high school, Troy and Gabriella struggle with the idea of being separated from one another as college approaches. Along with the rest of the Wildcats, they stage a spring musical to address their experiences, hopes and fears about their future.

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

Both keep coming back to the same thing: nostalgic

The difference: Trades the romance of Marley & Me for an angle of its own

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.

We Bought a Zoo poster
We Bought a Zoo
2011 · dir. Cameron Crowe
🍅 64%★ 7drama · comedy · familyDisney+

The same preoccupation in both: love

The difference: Leans harder into drama than Marley & Me does

Benjamin has lost his wife and, in a bid to start his life over, purchases a large house that has a zoo – welcome news for his daughter, but his son is not happy about it. The zoo is in need of renovation and Benjamin sets about the work with the head keeper and the rest of the staff, but, the zoo soon runs into financial trouble.

Easy A poster
Easy A
2010 · dir. Will Gluck
🍅 85%★ 7comedyApple TV+Paramount+

The same mix in both: comfort, then wistfulness

Olive, an average high school student, sees her below-the-radar existence turn around overnight once she decides to use the school's gossip grapevine to advance her social standing. Now her classmates are turning against her and the school board is becoming concerned, including her favorite teacher and the distracted guidance counselor. With the support of her hilariously idiosyncratic parents and a little help from a long-time crush, Olive attempts to take on her notorious new identity and crush the rumor mill once and for all.

English Vinglish poster
English Vinglish
2012 · dir. Gauri Shinde
🍅 83%★ 7.8comedy · drama · family

Warm where it counts, romantic underneath

In the United States for the first time, an Indian housewife with a limited command of English turns Manhattan into her personal language school.

Elf poster
Elf
2003 · dir. Jon Favreau
🍅 85%★ 7.1comedy · family · fantasyRent or buy

Comedy built on wit, twice over

When young Buddy falls into Santa's gift sack on Christmas Eve, he's transported back to the North Pole and raised as a toy-making elf by Santa's helpers. But as he grows into adulthood, he can't shake the nagging feeling that he doesn't belong. Buddy vows to visit Manhattan and find his real dad, a workaholic.

101 Dalmatians poster
101 Dalmatians
1996 · dir. Stephen Herek
🍅 39%★ 5.8family · comedyDisney+

Two things both keep coming back to: puppy and dog

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

An evil, high-fashion designer plots to steal Dalmatian puppies in order to make an extravagant fur coat, but instead creates an extravagant mess.

Mr. Popper's Penguins poster
Mr. Popper's Penguins
2011 · dir. Mark Waters
🍅 47%★ 6comedy · family

Playful family in both cases

Tom Popper is a successful businessman who’s clueless when it comes to the really important things in life...until he inherits six “adorable” penguins, each with its own unique personality. Soon Tom’s rambunctious roommates turn his swank New York apartment into a snowy winter wonderland — and the rest of his world upside-down.

The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement poster
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
2004 · dir. Garry Marshall
🍅 25%★ 5.9comedy · drama · familyDisney+

Warm comedy, and it commits to that

Mia Thermopolis is now a college graduate and on her way to Genovia to take up her duties as princess. Accompanied by her friend Lilly, Mia continues her 'princess lessons', like riding horses side-saddle and archery. But her already complicated life is turned upside down once again when she learns that she is to take the crown as queen earlier than expected, all while she meets a mysteriously charming young man.

Mr. Bean's Holiday poster
Mr. Bean's Holiday
2007 · dir. Steve Bendelack
🍅 50%★ 6.4family · comedy

Family with a pulse of comfort, in both cases

Mr. Bean wins a trip to Cannes where he unwittingly separates a young boy from his father and must help the two reunite. On the way he discovers France, bicycling and true love, among other things.

American Wedding poster
American Wedding
2003 · dir. Jesse Dylan
🍅 53%★ 6.3comedy · romance

Common ground: nostalgic

With high school a distant memory, Jim and Michelle are getting married — and in a hurry, since Jim's grandmother is sick and wants to see him walk down the aisle — prompting Stifler to throw the ultimate bachelor party. And Jim's dad is reliable as ever, doling out advice no one wants to hear.

Garfield poster
Garfield
2004 · dir. Peter Hewitt
🍅 14%★ 5.1comedy · familyDisney+

One thread runs through both: pets

Garfield, the fat, lazy, lasagna lover, has everything a cat could want. But when Jon, in an effort to impress the Liz - the vet and an old high-school crush - adopts a dog named Odie and brings him home, Garfield gets the one thing he doesn't want. Competition.

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The best-reviewed films that share Marley & Me’s defining feeling.