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Movies that feel like The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)

If you loved The Spiderwick Chronicles, the closest films we have are The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008), Freaky Friday (2003) and The Cat Returns (2002). All three share The Spiderwick Chronicles' warm and cozy feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 8 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Netflix, HBO Max and Disney Plus and others, checked against today's data.

Upon moving into the run-down Spiderwick Estate with their mother, twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace, along with their sister Mallory, find themselves pulled into an alternate world full of faeries and other creatures.

🍅 81% Rotten Tomatoes6.5 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Mark Waterswarmcozyepicdreamlikecontemplative
Stream it:Paramount+
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If The Spiderwick Chronicles hit the spot, these will too

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

Common ground in both: brothers and sisters and family relationships

The difference: Without the same stillness

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.

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Freaky Friday poster
Freaky Friday
2003 · dir. Mark Waters
🍅 88%6.4comedy · family · fantasy

Mark Waters working the same nerve twice

The difference: Lighter on scale

Mother and daughter bicker over everything -- what Anna wears, whom she likes and what she wants to do when she's older. In turn, Anna detests Tess's fiancé. When a magical fortune cookie switches their personalities, they each get a peek at how the other person feels, thinks and lives.

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The Cat Returns poster
The Cat Returns
2002 · dir. Hiroyuki Morita
🍅 88%7.1adventure · fantasy · animation

The same mix in both: warmth, then comfort

The difference: Leans further into animation

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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Maleficent: Mistress of Evil poster
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
2019 · dir. Joachim Rønning
🍅 40%6.6family · fantasy · adventure

Both are built on the same subject: fairy

The difference: Critics were much harder on this one

Maleficent and her goddaughter Aurora begin to question the complex family ties that bind them as they are pulled in different directions by impending nuptials, unexpected allies, and dark new forces at play.

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

Epic where it counts, dreamlike underneath

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

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A Letter to Momo poster
A Letter to Momo
2012 · dir. Hiroyuki Okiura
🍅 80%7.2comedy · fantasy · animation

One thread runs through both: parents and children

A shy 11-year-old's life takes a strange turn when she discovers three hungry goblins living in the attic of her new house. She misses her old life. She misses her father so very much. Until she makes some new ghoulish friends.

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The BFG poster
The BFG
2016 · dir. Steven Spielberg
🍅 74%6.3adventure · family · fantasy

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

Contemplative adventure in both cases

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.

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

Common ground: parents and children

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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The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader poster
🍅 49%6.3adventure · family · fantasy

Fantasy with a pulse of comfort, in both cases

This time around Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, along with their pesky cousin Eustace Scrubb find themselves swallowed into a painting and on to a fantastic Narnian ship headed for the very edges of the world.

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

Drama built on scale, twice over

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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Bridge to Terabithia poster
Bridge to Terabithia
2007 · dir. Gábor Csupó
🍅 85%7.2adventure · drama · family

The same preoccupation in both: brothers and sisters

Jesse Aarons trained all summer to become the fastest runner in school. So he's very upset when newcomer Leslie Burke outruns him and everyone else. Despite this and other differences including that she's rich, he's poor, she's a city girl, and he's a country boy the two become fast friends. Together they create Terabithia, a land of monsters, trolls, ogres, and giants where they rule as king and queen.

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The best-reviewed films that share The Spiderwick Chronicles’ defining feeling.