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The Cat Returns poster

Movies that feel likeThe Cat Returns (2002)

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.

If you loved The Cat Returns, the closest films we have are A Dog's Purpose (2017), Peter Pan (2003) and Pete's Dragon (2016). All three share The Cat Returns' epic and dreamlike feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Secret of NIMH (1982).

🍅 88% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.1 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Hiroyuki Moritaepicdreamlikecontemplativewarmcozy
8 of 12 streaming nowDisney Plus · Peacock Premium · Night Flight Plus

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If The Cat Returns hit the spot, these will too

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

Epic where it counts, dreamlike underneath

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

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

Peter Pan poster
Peter Pan
2003 · dir. P.J. Hogan
🍅 77%★ 6.8adventure · fantasy · family

Warm and cozy in the same breath

The difference: Trades the stillness of The Cat Returns for an angle of its own

In stifling Edwardian London, Wendy Darling mesmerizes her brothers every night with bedtime tales of swordplay, swashbuckling and the fearsome Captain Hook. But the children become the heroes of an even greater story, when Peter Pan flies into their nursery one night and leads them over moonlit rooftops through a galaxy of stars and to the lush jungles of Neverland.

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

Epic adventure in both cases

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 Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian poster
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
2008 · dir. Andrew Adamson
🍅 66%★ 6.5adventure · family · fantasyDisney+

The same preoccupation in both: prince

One year after their incredible adventures in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Peter, Edmund, Lucy and Susan Pevensie return to Narnia to aid a young prince whose life has been threatened by the evil King Miraz. Now, with the help of a colorful cast of new characters, including Trufflehunter the badger and Nikabrik the dwarf, the Pevensie clan embarks on an incredible quest to ensure that Narnia is returned to its rightful heir.

The Dark Crystal poster
The Dark Crystal
1982 · dir. Frank Oz
🍅 78%★ 7.1adventure · family · fantasyPeacock

Dreamlike fantasy, and it commits to that

The difference: 20 years apart, and the 1980s show

On another planet in the distant past, a Gelfling embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal and restore order to his world, before the grotesque race of Skeksis find and use the crystal for evil.

A Little Princess poster
A Little Princess
1995 · dir. Alfonso Cuarón
🍅 97%★ 7.6drama · family · fantasy

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

When her father enlists to fight for the British in WWI, young Sara Crewe goes to New York to attend the same boarding school her late mother attended. She soon clashes with the severe headmistress, Miss Minchin, who attempts to stifle Sara's creativity and sense of self-worth.

The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter poster
The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter
1990 · dir. George T. Miller
🍅 14%★ 5.1family · fantasy · adventure

Both lean on stillness more than on family

Once again, Bastian is transported to the world of Fantasia which he recently managed to save from destruction. However, the land is now being destroyed by an evil sorceress, Xayide, so he must join up with Atreyu and face the Emptiness once more.

Return to Oz poster
Return to Oz
1985 · dir. Walter Murch
🍅 59%★ 6.7adventure · family · fantasyDisney+

Animation built on warmth, twice over

Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, finds herself back in the land of her dreams, and makes delightful new friends, and dangerous new enemies.

The Secret Garden poster
The Secret Garden
1993 · dir. Agnieszka Holland
🍅 89%★ 7.3drama · family · fantasy

Both lean on comfort more than on fantasy

A young British girl born and reared in India loses her neglectful parents in an earthquake. She is returned to England to live at her uncle's castle. Her uncle is very distant due to the loss of his wife ten years before. Neglected once again, she begins exploring the estate and discovers a garden that has been locked and forgotten. Aided by one of the servants' boys, she begins restoring the garden, and eventually discovers some other secrets of the manor.

The Secret of NIMH poster
The Secret of NIMH
1982 · dir. Don Bluth
🍅 93%★ 7.5adventure · animation · drama

One thread runs through both: crow

The difference: Sits closer to mystery than The Cat Returns does

A widowed field mouse must move her family -- including an ailing son -- to escape a farmer's plow. Aided by a crow and a pack of superintelligent, escaped lab rats, the brave mother struggles to transplant her home to firmer ground.

Dinosaur poster
Dinosaur
2000 · dir. Ralph Zondag
🍅 65%★ 6.4adventure · animation · dramaDisney+

A 2000s answer to the same itch

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

The BFG poster
The BFG
2016 · dir. Steven Spielberg
🍅 74%★ 6.3adventure · family · fantasyDisney+

Both lean on dream logic more than on family

An orphan little girl befriends a benevolent giant who takes her to Giant Country, where they attempt to stop the man-eating giants that are invading the human world.

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The best-reviewed films that share The Cat Returns’ defining feeling.