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Movies that feel like The Secret Garden (1993)

If you loved The Secret Garden, the closest films we have are A Little Princess (1995), It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and A Christmas Carol (2009). All three share The Secret Garden's contemplative and warm feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 9 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads and Disney Plus and others, checked against today's data.

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.

πŸ… 89% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.3 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Agnieszka Hollandcontemplativewarmcozydreamlike

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If The Secret Garden hit the spot, these will too

A Little Princess poster
A Little Princess
1995 Β· dir. Alfonso CuarΓ³n
πŸ… 97%β˜… 7.6drama Β· family Β· fantasy

Servant and little girl, at the center of both

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.

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It's a Wonderful Life poster
It's a Wonderful Life
1946 Β· dir. Frank Capra
πŸ… 94%β˜… 8.6drama Β· family Β· fantasy

Contemplative where it counts, warm underneath

The difference: 47 years apart, and the 1940s show

George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8,000 is lost and George's troubles begin.

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A Christmas Carol poster
A Christmas Carol
2009 Β· dir. Robert Zemeckis
πŸ… 52%β˜… 6.8animation Β· drama Β· family

Both land comfort and dream logic at once

The difference: Reviewed a good deal more coolly

Miser Ebenezer Scrooge is awakened on Christmas Eve by spirits who reveal to him his own miserable existence, what opportunities he wasted in his youth, his current cruelties, and the dire fate that awaits him if he does not change his ways. Scrooge is faced with his own story of growing bitterness and meanness, and must decide what his own future will hold: death or redemption.

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Avalon High poster
Avalon High
2011 Β· dir. Stuart Gillard
β˜… 5.6fantasy Β· family Β· drama

Contemplative drama in both cases

The difference: Leans tv movie where The Secret Garden does not

Elaine "Ellie" Harrison has just moved from Minnesota to Annapolis, Maryland while her parents take a year-long sabbatical to continue their medieval studies in nearby Washington D.C. Her new high school, Avalon High, seems like a typical high school with the stereotypical students: Lance the jock, Jennifer the cheerleader, Marco, the bad boy/desperado, and Will, the senior class president, quarterback, and all around good guy. But not everyone at Avalon High is who they appear to be, not even Ellie herself. Eventually, it becomes apparent that Avalon High is a situation where the ancient Arthurian legend is repeating itself.

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Babe poster
Babe
1995 Β· dir. Chris Noonan
πŸ… 98%β˜… 6.9fantasy Β· drama Β· comedy

Warm family, and it commits to that

The difference: Plays it as comedy more than The Secret Garden does

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.

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Wonder poster
Wonder
2017 Β· dir. Stephen Chbosky
πŸ… 86%β˜… 7.9family Β· drama

Fantasy built on comfort, twice over

The difference: None of the dream logic that defines The Secret Garden

The story of August Pullman – a boy with facial differences – who enters fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time.

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Cinderella poster
Cinderella
2015 Β· dir. Kenneth Branagh
πŸ… 84%β˜… 6.9romance Β· fantasy Β· family

The same preoccupation in both: orphan

When her father unexpectedly passes away, young Ella finds herself at the mercy of her cruel stepmother and her daughters. Never one to give up hope, Ella's fortunes begin to change after meeting a dashing stranger in the woods.

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The Red Turtle poster
The Red Turtle
2016 Β· dir. Michael Dudok de Wit
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.5animation Β· drama Β· fantasy

Both trade on dream logic more than on being drama

The dialogue-less film follows the major life stages of a castaway on a deserted tropical island populated by turtles, crabs and birds.

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The Cat Returns poster
The Cat Returns
2002 Β· dir. Hiroyuki Morita
πŸ… 88%β˜… 7.1adventure Β· fantasy Β· animation

Family with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

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.

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Whisper of the Heart poster
Whisper of the Heart
1995 Β· dir. Yoshifumi Kondo
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7.8animation Β· drama Β· family

Warm fantasy, and it commits to that

Shizuku lives a simple life, dominated by her love for stories and writing. One day she notices that all the library books she has have been previously checked out by the same person: "Seiji Amasawa."

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Twitches poster
Twitches
2005 Β· dir. Stuart Gillard
πŸ… 60%β˜… 5.8comedy Β· drama Β· family

Uncle is the engine of both

Twins separated at birth, Camryn and Alex meet by chance for the first time on their 21st birthday and discover they're witches with the power to save their homeland of Coventry from the evil that threatens it. But when Camryn leaves Alex to face the darkness alone, will Coventry be doomed? Or will the sisters multiply their magic by standing together?

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Luca poster
Luca
2021 Β· dir. Enrico Casarosa
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.4animation Β· family Β· fantasy

Drama with a pulse of comfort, in both cases

Luca and his best friend Alberto experience an unforgettable summer on the Italian Riviera. But all the fun is threatened by a deeply-held secret: they are sea monsters from another world just below the water’s surface.

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In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share The Secret Garden's defining feeling.