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Movies that feel like Wolf Children (2012)

If you loved Wolf Children, the closest films we have are A Christmas Carol (2009), The Red Turtle (2016) and Soul (2020). All three share Wolf Children's whimsical 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, Disney Plus and Amazon Prime Video with Ads and others, checked against today's data.

After her werewolf lover unexpectedly dies in an accident, a woman must find a way to raise the son and daughter that she had with him. However, their inheritance of their father's traits prove to be a challenge for her.

πŸ… 95% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 8.1 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Mamoru Hosodawhimsicalwarmcozycontemplativedreamlikemelancholy
Stream it:HBO Max β†—

When is Wolf Children streaming? β†’

If Wolf Children hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016)

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

The same mix in both: whimsy, then warmth

The difference: Critics were much harder on this one

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.

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

Cozy and contemplative in the same breath

The difference: Missing the melancholy of Wolf Children

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

Feels alike?
Soul poster
Soul
2020 Β· dir. Pete Docter
πŸ… 95%β˜… 8animation Β· family Β· drama

Animation built on dream logic, twice over

The difference: Not nearly as melancholy as Wolf Children

Joe Gardner is a middle school teacher with a love for jazz music. After a successful audition at the Half Note Club, he suddenly gets into an accident that separates his soul from his body and is transported to the You Seminar, a center in which souls develop and gain passions before being transported to a newborn child. Joe must enlist help from the other souls-in-training, like 22, a soul who has spent eons in the You Seminar, in order to get back to Earth.

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

Family with a pulse of whimsy, in both cases

The difference: None of the melancholy that defines Wolf Children

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.

Feels alike?
The Lion King poster
The Lion King
1994 Β· dir. Roger Allers
πŸ… 92%β˜… 8.5animation Β· family Β· drama

Both trade on melancholy more than on being drama

Young lion prince Simba, eager to one day become king of the Pride Lands, grows up under the watchful eye of his father Mufasa; all the while his villainous uncle Scar conspires to take the throne for himself. Amid betrayal and tragedy, Simba must confront his past and find his rightful place in the Circle of Life.

Feels alike?
Coraline poster
Coraline
2009 Β· dir. Henry Selick
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.8animation Β· family Β· fantasy

Warm fantasy in both cases

Wandering her rambling old house in her boring new town, 11-year-old Coraline discovers a hidden door to a strangely idealized version of her life. In order to stay in the fantasy, she must make a frighteningly real sacrifice.

Feels alike?
Spirited Away poster
Spirited Away
2001 Β· dir. Hayao Miyazaki
πŸ… 96%β˜… 8.6animation Β· family Β· fantasy

The same preoccupation in both: anime

A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.

Feels alike?
Ponyo poster
Ponyo
2008 Β· dir. Hayao Miyazaki
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.6animation Β· fantasy Β· family

Both built around anime

When Sosuke, a young boy who lives on a clifftop overlooking the sea, rescues a stranded goldfish named Ponyo, he discovers more than he bargained for. Ponyo is a curious, energetic young creature who yearns to be human, but even as she causes chaos around the house, her father, a powerful sorcerer, schemes to return Ponyo to the sea.

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

Cozy animation, and it commits to that

The difference: Plays it as adventure more than Wolf Children does

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.

Feels alike?
Song of the Sea poster
Song of the Sea
2014 Β· dir. Tomm Moore
πŸ… 99%β˜… 8family Β· animation Β· fantasy

Family built on dream logic, twice over

The story of the last Seal Child’s journey home. After their mother’s disappearance, Ben and Saoirse are sent to live with Granny in the city. When they resolve to return to their home by the sea, their journey becomes a race against time as they are drawn into a world Ben knows only from his mother’s folktales. But this is no bedtime story; these fairy folk have been in our world far too long. It soon becomes clear to Ben that Saoirse is the key to their survival.

Feels alike?
Steven Universe: The Movie poster
Steven Universe: The Movie
2019 Β· dir. Rebecca Sugar
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.7animation Β· family Β· adventure

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

Two years after bringing peace to the galaxy, Steven Universe sees his past come back to haunt him in the form of a deranged Gem who wants to destroy the Earth.

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

Whimsical fantasy in both cases

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."

Feels alike?

In the mood for more whimsical?

all whimsical movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Wolf Children's defining feeling.