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The Land Before Time poster

Movies that feel likeThe Land Before Time (1988)

An orphaned brontosaurus named Littlefoot sets off in search of the legendary Great Valley. A land of lush vegetation where the dinosaurs can thrive and live in peace. Along the way he meets four other young dinosaurs, each one a different species, and they encounter several obstacles as they learn to work together in order to survive.

If you loved The Land Before Time, the closest films we have are Fly Away Home (1996), The Secret of NIMH (1982) and An American Tail (1986). All three share The Land Before Time's warm and cozy feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Journey of Natty Gann (1985).

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If The Land Before Time hit the spot, these will too

Fly Away Home poster
Fly Away Home
1996 · dir. Carroll Ballard
🍅 87%★ 6.9adventure · drama · family

One thread runs through both: grief

Amy is only 13 years old when her mother is killed. She goes to Canada to live with her father, an eccentric inventor whom she barely knows. Amy is miserable in her new life... until she discovers a nest of goose eggs that were abandoned when a local forest was torn down. The eggs hatch and Amy becomes "Mama Goose". When winter comes, Amy and her dad must find a way to lead the birds South.

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

Don Bluth directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

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.

An American Tail poster
An American Tail
1986 · dir. Don Bluth
🍅 76%★ 6.9adventure · animation · comedy

Both are Don Bluth's work, and they rhyme

The difference: Trades the melancholy of The Land Before Time for an angle of its own

A young mouse named Fievel and his family decide to migrate to America, a "land without cats," at the turn of the 20th century. But somehow, Fievel ends up in the New World alone and must fend off not only the felines he never thought he'd have to deal with again but also the loneliness of being away from home.

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

The same preoccupation in both: dinosaur

The difference: Takes it somewhere less melancholy than The Land Before Time does

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

Still Walking poster
Still Walking
2008 · dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda
🍅 100%★ 7.9drama · family

Both land warmth and comfort at once

The difference: 20 years apart, and the 2000s show

A family gathers together for a commemorative ritual whose nature only gradually becomes clear.

The Lion King poster
The Lion King
2019 · dir. Jon Favreau
🍅 52%★ 6.8adventure · drama · familyDisney+

Epic where it counts, contemplative underneath

Simba idolizes his father, King Mufasa, and takes to heart his own royal destiny. But not everyone in the kingdom celebrates the new cub's arrival. Scar, Mufasa's brother—and former heir to the throne—has plans of his own. The battle for Pride Rock is ravaged with betrayal, tragedy and drama, ultimately resulting in Simba's exile. With help from a curious pair of newfound friends, Simba will have to figure out how to grow up and take back what is rightfully his.

James and the Giant Peach poster
James and the Giant Peach
1996 · dir. Henry Selick
🍅 91%★ 6.7family · animation · adventureDisney+

Both are built on the same subject: grief

The difference: Leans harder into fantasy than The Land Before Time does

When the young orphan boy James spills a magic bag of crocodile tongues, he finds himself in possession of a giant peach that flies him away to strange lands.

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

Both lean on warmth more than on family

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.

Anastasia poster
Anastasia
1997 · dir. Don Bluth
🍅 83%★ 7.2animation · family · fantasyDisney+

Cozy animation in both cases

Ten years after she was separated from her family, an eighteen-year-old orphan with vague memories of the past sets out to Paris in hopes of reuniting with her grandmother. She is accompanied by two con men, who intend to pass her off as the Grand Duchess Anastasia to the Dowager Empress for a reward.

The Journey of Natty Gann poster
The Journey of Natty Gann
1985 · dir. Jeremy Kagan
🍅 91%★ 7adventure · family · dramaDisney+

Adventure built on scale, twice over

America is in the depths of the Great Depression. Families drift apart when faraway jobs beckon. A courageous young girl confronts overwhelming odds when she embarks on a cross-country search for her father. During her odyssey, she forms a close bond with two diverse traveling companions: a magnificent, protective wolf, and a hardened drifter.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial poster
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
1982 · dir. Steven Spielberg
🍅 99%★ 7.9adventure · science fiction · familyStarz

Melancholy drama, and it commits to that

An alien is left behind on Earth and saved by the 10-year-old Elliott who decides to keep him hidden in his home. While a task force hunts for the extra-terrestrial, Elliott, his brother, and his little sister Gertie form an emotional bond with their new friend, and try to help him find his way home.

A Monster Calls poster
A Monster Calls
2016 · dir. J. A. Bayona
🍅 86%★ 7.4fantasy · adventure · family

Family with a pulse of melancholy, in both cases

12-year-old Conor encounters an ancient tree monster who proceeds to help him cope with his mother's terminal illness and being bullied in school.

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The best-reviewed films that share The Land Before Time’s defining feeling.