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Mrs. Doubtfire poster

Movies that feel likeMrs. Doubtfire (1993)

Loving but irresponsible dad Daniel Hillard, estranged from his exasperated spouse, is crushed by a court order allowing only weekly visits with his kids. When Daniel learns his ex needs a housekeeper, he gets the job -- disguised as a British nanny. Soon he becomes not only his children's best pal but the kind of parent he should have been from the start.

If you loved Mrs. Doubtfire, the closest films we have are Home Alone (1990), Paper Planes (2014) and Babe (1995). All three share Mrs. Doubtfire'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 Miracle on 34th Street (1947).

🍅 71% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.1 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Chris Columbuswittyplayfulcontemplativewarmcozy
7 of 12 streaming nowAmazon Prime Video · Hulu · Disney Plus

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If Mrs. Doubtfire hit the spot, these will too

Home Alone poster
Home Alone
1990 · dir. Chris Columbus
🍅 66%★ 7.8comedy · familyDisney+

Columbus's warm, mischievous take on family chaos and outsized schemes

The difference: A kid defending a house alone, not a dad reinventing himself to stay close

Eight-year-old Kevin McCallister makes the most of the situation after his family unwittingly leaves him behind when they go on Christmas vacation. When thieves try to break into his home, he puts up a fight like no other.

Paper Planes poster
Paper Planes
2014 · dir. Robert Connolly
🍅 85%★ 6.2comedy · family · dramaStarz

A warm, contemplative family story about resilience against long odds

The difference: A kid's competition drama, no parent in disguise or custody fight

Dylan discovers he has a talent for making paper planes. He has a chance to compete in a world championship, but he'll have to face bullies and self-doubt to do so.

Babe poster
Babe
1995 · dir. Chris Noonan
🍅 98%★ 6.9fantasy · drama · comedy

Gentle, cozy comedy about an underdog finding their place in a family

The difference: A farm fable with animals, not a father fighting for custody

Babe is a little pig who doesn't quite know his place in the world. With a bunch of odd friends, like Ferdinand the duck who thinks he is a rooster and Fly the dog he calls mum, Babe realises that he has the makings to become the greatest sheep pig of all time, and Farmer Hoggett knows it. With the help of the sheep dogs, Babe learns that a pig can be anything that he wants to be.

The Santa Clause poster
The Santa Clause
1994 · dir. John Pasquin
🍅 73%★ 6.6fantasy · drama · comedyDisney+

A divorced dad drawn back into his kids' lives through a magical disguise

The difference: Santa-powered fantasy, not a schemer risking everything to stay close

On Christmas Eve, divorced dad Scott Calvin and his son discover Santa Claus has fallen off their roof. When Scott takes the reins of the magical sleigh, he finds he is now the new Santa, and must convince a world of disbelievers, including himself.

Addams Family Values poster
Addams Family Values
1993 · dir. Barry Sonnenfeld
🍅 76%★ 6.9comedy · family · fantasyParamount+

A nanny plot and household chaos played for both laughs and heart

The difference: A macabre comic sensibility, not a father's earnest disguise

Siblings Wednesday and Pugsley Addams will stop at nothing to get rid of Pubert, the new baby boy adored by parents Gomez and Morticia. Things go from bad to worse when the new "black widow" nanny, Debbie Jellinsky, launches her plan to add Fester to her collection of dead husbands.

Miracle on 34th Street poster
Miracle on 34th Street
1947 · dir. George Seaton
🍅 96%★ 7.9comedy · drama · familyPrime VideoDisney+

Both are built on the same subject: parents and children

The difference: Reviewed even better

Kris Kringle, seemingly the embodiment of Santa Claus, is asked to portray the jolly old fellow at Macy's following his performance in the Thanksgiving Day parade. His portrayal is so complete that many begin to question if he truly is Santa Claus, while others question his sanity.

Ri¢hie Ri¢h poster
Ri¢hie Ri¢h
1994 · dir. Donald Petrie
🍅 27%★ 5.5comedy · family

The same cozy, playful family-comedy register, mischief and all

The difference: A rich-kid fantasy with no divorce, disguise or real stakes at home

Billionaire heir Richie Rich has it all, including Reggie Jackson as a batting coach and Claudia Schiffer as a personal trainer -- but no playmates. What's more, scoundrel Laurence Van Dough is scheming to take over the family empire. Uh-oh! Enter faithful butler Cadbury to save the day.

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

Broad slapstick comedy wrapped in genuine warmth for family viewing

The difference: A dognapping caper, nothing about parenting or estranged families

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

A clueless adult whose life gets upended by an unlikely houseful of chaos

The difference: Penguins replace the custody battle — lighter stakes, no family court

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.

Cheaper by the Dozen poster
Cheaper by the Dozen
2003 · dir. Shawn Levy
🍅 25%★ 5.9comedy · familyHuluDisney+

Both land wit and play at once

The difference: Takes it somewhere less contemplative than Mrs. Doubtfire does

The Baker brood moves to Chicago after patriarch Tom gets a job coaching football at Northwestern University, forcing his writer wife, Kate, and the couple's 12 children to make a major adjustment. The transition works well until work demands pull the parents away from home, leaving the kids bored -- and increasingly mischievous.

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

Warm where it counts, cozy underneath

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.

Tolo Tolo poster
Tolo Tolo
2020 · dir. Checco Zalone
★ 5.7comedy · drama · family

Comedy built on stillness, twice over

The difference: Made in the 2020s, in a different era of the craft

Checco is a young Apulian entrepreneur dreamer who has opened a sushi restaurant in his Apulia. However, after one month, the restaurant went bankrupt and he chose to emigrate to Africa to escape from debt. Here he adapts to being a waiter in a resort in Kenya, but at the outbreak of a civil war he decides to embark on a stowaway trip on a boat for migrants to Europe and chooses to do it with his African friends. However, he would not like to return to Italy, but rather to go to Liechtenstein where banking secrecy is in force and there is a lower tax burden than in Italy.

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