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Pete's Dragon poster

Movies that feel likePete's Dragon (1977)

Pete, a young orphan, runs away to a Maine fishing town with his best friend a lovable, sometimes invisible dragon named Elliott! When they are taken in by a kind lighthouse keeper, Nora, and her father, Elliott's prank playing lands them in big trouble. Then, when crooked salesmen try to capture Elliott for their own gain, Pete must attempt a daring rescue.

If you loved Pete's Dragon, the closest films we have are Fun and Fancy Free (1947), My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999) and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966). All three share Pete's Dragon's dreamlike and whimsical feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Last Unicorn (1982).

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If Pete's Dragon hit the spot, these will too

Fun and Fancy Free poster
Fun and Fancy Free
1947 · dir. Hamilton Luske
🍅 73%★ 6.3animation · family · fantasyDisney+

Both land dream logic and whimsy at once

The difference: Leans harder into adventure than Pete's Dragon does

Jiminy Cricket hosts two Disney animated shorts: Bongo about a circus bear escaping to the wild, and Mickey and the Beanstalk, a take on the famous fairy tale.

My Neighbors the Yamadas poster
My Neighbors the Yamadas
1999 · dir. Isao Takahata
🍅 78%★ 7.1animation · comedy · familyMax

Witty where it counts, playful underneath

The difference: 22 years apart, and the 1990s show

The Yamadas are a typical middle class Japanese family in urban Tokyo and this film shows us a variety of episodes of their lives. With tales that range from the humorous to the heartbreaking, we see this family cope with life's little conflicts, problems, and joys in their own way.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! poster
How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
1966 · dir. Chuck Jones
★ 8.3animation · family · comedyPeacock

Warm and cozy in the same breath

Bitter and hateful, the Grinch is irritated at the thought of a nearby village having a happy time celebrating Christmas. Disguised as Santa Claus, with his dog made to look like a reindeer, he decides to raid the village to steal all the Christmas things.

Jason and the Argonauts poster
Jason and the Argonauts
1963 · dir. Don Chaffey
🍅 85%★ 7.3adventure · family · fantasy

Don Chaffey working the same nerve twice

The difference: Reviewed even better

Jason, a fearless sailor and explorer, returns to his home land of Thessaly after a long voyage to claim his rightful throne. He learns, however, that he must first find the magical Golden Fleece. To do so, he must embark on an epic quest fraught with fantastic monsters and terrible perils.

The Boxtrolls poster
The Boxtrolls
2014 · dir. Graham Annable
🍅 78%★ 6.8animation · comedy · familyMaxHulu

Fantasy with a pulse of dream logic, in both cases

An orphaned boy raised by underground creatures called Boxtrolls comes up from the sewers and out of his box to save his family and the town from the evil exterminator, Archibald Snatcher.

Asterix and Cleopatra poster
Asterix and Cleopatra
1968 · dir. Albert Uderzo
★ 7.2family · animation · adventure

Both lean on whimsy more than on animation

The difference: Takes it somewhere less dreamlike than Pete's Dragon does

Popular animated hero Asterix and his faithful sidekick Obelix travel to ancient Egypt to help Cleopatra build a new summer home. Cleopatra and Julius Caesar have made a bet, with Caesar wagering the project cannot be completed in a few weeks time. With the help of a magic potion, Asterix comes to the rescue of the Queen of the Nile as Caesar and an angry architect plot against them.

The Smurfs 2 poster
The Smurfs 2
2013 · dir. Raja Gosnell
🍅 14%★ 5.3fantasy · family · comedyNetflixParamount+

Witty comedy in both cases

The evil wizard Gargamel creates a couple of mischievous Smurf-like creatures called the Naughties that he hopes will let him harness the all-powerful, magical Smurf-essence. But when he discovers that only a real Smurf can give him what he wants, and only a secret spell that Smurfette knows can turn the Naughties into real Smurfs, Gargamel kidnaps Smurfette and brings her to Paris, where he has been winning the adoration of millions as the world¹s greatest sorcerer. It's up to Papa, Clumsy, Grouchy, and Vanity to return to our world, reunite with their human friends Patrick and Grace Winslow, and rescue her! Will Smurfette, who has always felt different from the other Smurfs, find a new connection with the Naughties Vexy and Hackus or will the Smurfs convince her that their love for her is True Blue?

Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs poster
Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs
2019 · dir. Hong Sung-ho
🍅 40%★ 6.5animation · fantasy · familyRent or buy

Playful family, and it commits to that

Princes who have been turned into Dwarfs seek the red shoes of a lady in order to break the spell, although it will not be easy.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel poster
🍅 21%★ 4.6comedy · family · animationDisney+

Fantasy built on warmth, twice over

Pop sensations Alvin, Simon and Theodore end up in the care of Dave Seville's twenty-something nephew Toby. The boys must put aside music super stardom to return to school, and are tasked with saving the school's music program by winning the $25,000 prize in a battle of the bands. But the Chipmunks unexpectedly meet their match in three singing chipmunks known as The Chipettes - Brittany, Eleanor and Jeanette. Romantic and musical sparks are ignited when the Chipmunks and Chipettes square off.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh poster
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
1977 · dir. John Lounsbery
🍅 100%★ 7.5animation · family · adventureDisney+

Both lean on comfort more than on animation

The difference: Trades the wit of Pete's Dragon for an angle of its own

Whether we’re young or forever young at heart, the Hundred Acre Wood calls to that place in each of us that still believes in magic. Join pals Pooh, Piglet, Kanga, Roo, Owl, Rabbit, Tigger and Christopher Robin as they enjoy their days together and sing their way through adventures.

The Addams Family poster
The Addams Family
2019 · dir. Conrad Vernon
🍅 46%★ 5.9family · animation · comedyPeacock

Comedy with a pulse of dream logic, in both cases

The Addams family's lives begin to unravel when they face-off against a treacherous, greedy crafty reality-TV host while also preparing for their extended family to arrive for a major celebration.

The Last Unicorn poster
The Last Unicorn
1982 · dir. Jules Bass
🍅 75%★ 7.3fantasy · animation · familyPrime Video

Family built on whimsy, twice over

A unicorn learns from a riddle-speaking butterfly that she is supposedly the last of her kind, all the others having been herded away by the monstrous Red Bull. The unicorn sets out to discover the truth behind the butterfly's words. She is eventually joined on her quest by Schmendrick, a second-rate magician, and Molly Grue, a middle-aged woman who dreamed all her life of seeing a unicorn. Their journey leads them far from home, all the way to the castle of King Haggard.

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The best-reviewed films that share Pete's Dragon’s defining feeling.