Best movies like Max
Best Friend. Hero. Marine.
A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like Max Starring Thomas Haden Church, Josh Wiggins, Lauren Graham, Robbie Amell, and more. If you liked Max then you may also like: Eight Below, Air Bud: Golden Receiver, Andre, Beethoven's 2nd, Benji and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.
A dog that helped soldiers in Afghanistan returns to the U.S. and is adopted by his handler's family after suffering a traumatic experience.
Max
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Air Bud: Golden Receiver
Josh and Buddy move from basketball to football in this first of several sequels to the original Air Bud.
Beethoven's 2nd
Beethoven is back -- and this time, he has a whole brood with him now that he's met his canine match, Missy, and fathered a family. The only problem is that Missy's owner, Regina, wants to sell the puppies and tear the clan apart. It's up to Beethoven and the Newton kids to save the day and keep everyone together.
Benji
Benji is a stray who has nonetheless worked his way into the hearts of a number of the townspeople, who give him food and attention whenever he stops by. His particular favorites are a pair of children who feed and play with him against the wishes of their parents. When the children are kidnapped, however, the parents and the police are at a loss to find them. Only Benji can track them down, but will he be in time? If he can save the day, he may just find the permanent home he's been longing for.
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
A pampered Beverly Hills chihuahua named Chloe who, while on vacation in Mexico with her owner Viv's niece, Rachel, gets lost and must rely on her friends to help her get back home before she is caught by a dognapper who wants to ransom her.
The Biscuit Eater
Nothing warms the heart like the story of a boy and his dog. Lonnie (Johnny Whitaker) and Text (George Spell) are two friends determined, against all odds, to turn a misfit hound into a hero. Tennessee farmer and dog trainer Harve McNeil (Earl Holliman) tells his son Lonnie that his dog, Moreover, is a good-for-nothing "biscuit eater."
Cheetah
An American boy and girl, spending six months in Kenya with their scientist parents adopt a cheetah, only to realize that they must set it loose so that it can learn to hunt and be free. However, when the animal is captured by poachers planning to race it against greyhounds, the two city kids, together with a young African goat herder they befriended, head off into the wild to rescue the cheetah.
The Incredible Journey
The story of three pets, a cat and two dogs, who lose their owners when they are all on vacation. Can they find their way home?
Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey
Remake of the popular Disney classic, this time featuring some well known voices as two dogs and a cat trek across America encountering all sorts of adventures in the quest to be reunited with their owners.
Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco
When the pets accidentally get separated from their vacationing owners, Chance, Shadow, and Sassy navigate the mean streets of San Francisco, trying to find their home across the Golden Gate Bridge. But the road is blocked by a series of hazards, both man and beast.
Man Down
When a U.S. Marine returns home from Afghanistan, he finds that the place he once called home is no better than the battlefields he fought on overseas. Accompanied by his best friend, he searches desperately for the whereabouts of his estranged son and wife. In their search, the two intercept a man carrying vital information about his family.
Legends of the Fall
An epic tale of three brothers and their father living in the remote wilderness of 1900s USA and how their lives are affected by nature, history, war, and love.
A Dog's Purpose
A dog goes on quest to discover his purpose in life over the course of several lifetimes with multiple owners.
Hachi: A Dog's Tale
A drama based on the true story of a college professor's bond with the abandoned dog he takes into his home.
Distant Thunder
A troubled Vietnam war vet deserts his wife and child shortly after he returns from the war. He returns after 10 years, where he's been living like an animal in the forest. He finds himself unprepared for the changes that he will have to cope with, and when the vet tries to contact his son, he realizes that he has caused more damage than he had imagined.
Flicka
Katy McLaughlin desires to work on her family's mountainside horse ranch, although her father insists she finish boarding school. Katy finds a mustang in the hills near her ranch. The headstrong 16 year old then sets her mind to tame a mustang and prove to her father she can run the ranch. But when tragedy happens, it will take all the love and strength the family can muster to restore hope.
Fluke
Workaholic Thomas Johnson dies in an auto accident and comes back to life as a dog. Remembering some of who he was, he returns to his wife and son to protect them from the man who caused his accident. But, as time goes by, he remembers more of his life, and realizes he wasn't such a good husband and father.
Free Willy
When maladjusted orphan Jesse vandalizes a theme park, he is placed with foster parents and must work at the park to make amends. There he meets Willy, a young Orca whale who has been separated from his family. Sensing kinship, they form a bond and, with the help of kindly whale trainer Rae Lindley, develop a routine of tricks. However, greedy park owner Dial soon catches wind of the duo and makes plans to profit from them.
Free Willy 3: The Rescue
Willy the whale is back, this time threatened by illegal whalers making money off sushi. Jesse, now 16, has taken a job on an orca-researching ship, along with old friend Randolph and a sarcastic scientist, Drew. On the whaler's ship is captain John Wesley and his son, Max, who isn't really pleased about his father's job, but doesn't have the gut to say so. Along the way, Willy reunites with Jesse
My Dog Skip
A shy boy is unable to make friends in Yazoo City, Mississippi in 1942, until his parents give him a terrier puppy for his ninth birthday. The dog, which he names Skip, becomes well known and loved throughout the community and enriches the life of the boy, Willie, as he grows into manhood. Based on the best-selling Mississippi memoir by the late Willie Morris.
Where the Red Fern Grows
Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for two years to achieve his dream of buying two red-bone coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in life as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with his dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann.
Lassie
On their way to start a new life at a sheep farm in rural Virginia, the Turner family are halted by a wreck on the highway that has claimed the life of a truck driver. Spotting the trucker's now-abandoned collie on the side of the road, they take pity on the dog and adopt her. As the city family copes with the change to rural life, including a feud with a neighboring farm family who resent the city interlopers, the ever-loyal Lassie helps them adjust to their new surroundings.
Max 2: White House Hero
Max is assigned to the White House while Butch, the secret service dog, is on maternity leave. He meets TJ, a 12 year old boy, who is the President's son. Due to his father's high profile, he is trying hard to fit in and lead a normal life. During a state visit by the Russian President and his daughter, Alexandra (Alex), TJ is asked to accompany her, during their stay. TJ befriends Alex, but when they get into trouble, Max comes to the rescue!
Son of Lassie
Laddie (Son of Lassie) and his master are trapped in Norway during WW2 - has he inherited his mothers famous courage?
Fort Bliss
After returning home from an extended tour in Afghanistan, a decorated U.S. Army medic and single mother struggles to rebuild her relationship with her young son.
Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog
Teenager Angus adopts a stray dog and names him Yellow. Several days later, while travelling along the coast of British Columbia with Angus's father, John, the boy and dog become stranded when turbulent waters capsize their boat. Angus's parents relentlessly badger rescue teams. Angus, schooled by his father in wilderness survival skills, and assisted by the intelligent Yellow Dog, tries to attract rescuers.
Firehouse Dog
Rexxx, Hollywood's top canine star, gets lost and is adopted into a shabby firehouse. He teams up with a young kid to get the station back on its feet.
Dance 'Til Dawn
It's prom night and the kids of Hoover High will be having a night they will never forget. Popular girl Shelley ditches her prom and ends up spending the night with unpopular Dan; Popular guy Kevin goes out with nerdy Angela because he heard she was easy; Patrice continues to blame her boyfriend Roger for everything that doesn't go the way she wants it to.
A Dog's Way Home
The adventure of Bella, a dog who embarks on an epic 400-mile journey home after she is separated from her beloved human.
A Shine of Rainbows
An orphaned boy named Tomás is adopted by Maire O’Donnell to live on a whimsical Irish isle filled with new friends, secret caves and a lost baby pup seal stranded on the coast. But when Maire's reluctant husband Alec refuses to accept Tomás as his own son, the boy drifts down a fateful path of adventure and self-discovery, illuminating how rainbows can shine around - and within - us all.
A Christmas Visitor
The Boyajian family learned of 18-year-old John's death in the Persian Gulf War on Christmas Eve eleven years earlier and have not celebrated Christmas since. They have been so consumed by his death that they have forgotten the joys of the holidays, until a mysterious visitor enters their lives and rekindles the spirit of the season.
Shiloh
An abused beagle runs away from his owner. On the road, he meets young Marty Preston and follows him home. The boy immediately forms a bond with the dog and names him Shiloh. His stern father won't let him keep the dog because it belongs to Judd Travers, a local hunter. After Shiloh is mistreated again, he runs away and returns to Marty. Knowing his father will once again make him bring Shiloh back to Judd, he makes a home for the dog in an old shed up the hill from the Prestons' house and hides him from his family. His secret is soon discovered when a stray attacks the dog one night and he must turn to his father for help.
Saving Shiloh
In this third movie about Shiloh, Judd Travers is accused of killing a man he once fought in a bar. Everyone in the town consider Judd to be guilty except Marty Preston, but even him has some doubts. Trying to clear Judd's name Marty and his friend searches the woods to find the criminal.
A Dog's Journey
A dog finds the meaning of his own existence through the lives of the humans he meets.
Megan Leavey
The true story of Marine Corporal Megan Leavey, who forms a powerful bond with an aggressive combat dog, Rex. While deployed in Iraq, the two complete more than 100 missions and save countless lives, until an IED explosion puts their faithfulness to the test.
Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season
When Shiloh's abusive previous owner, Judd Travers, tries to retake Shiloh again, Ray tries to find a way to end the rivalry and open up the hidden kindness within the town drunk.
Rescued by Ruby
Chasing his dream to join an elite K-9 unit, a state trooper partners with a fellow underdog: clever but naughty shelter pup Ruby. Based on a true story.
A Belle for Christmas
Family film about a pair of children whose father's girlfriend has kidnapped their dog. Dean Cain stars as Glenn Barrows, a recent widower doing his best to raise his young kids Elliot and Phoebe, who really miss their mother. Things start to look up when the Barrows adopt an adorable puppy named Belle during the holiday season. Just as the healing seems to have begun, Glenn's dog-hating, gold-digging new girlfriend spoils their newfound happiness by sending Belle away. Will the young kids pull off a daring Christmas Eve rescue of their beloved new pet? Haylie Duff co-stars in this heartwarming comedy about family, friendship, and a four-legged holiday miracle.
A Veteran's Christmas
Captain Grace Garland, a decorated U.S. veteran, returns home after two tours of Search and Rescue in Afghanistan. After being separated from her beloved K9 partner, Grace must rediscover the magic of Christmas. When she finds herself stranded in the town of River’s Crossing a couple weeks before Christmas, the local judge, Joe Peterson, offers her a place to stay on his property and takes it upon himself to show Grace everything she has been missing; Christmas, family, community, and love.
Eight Below
In the Antarctic, after an expedition with Dr. Davis McClaren, the sled dog trainer Jerry Shepherd has to leave the polar base with his colleagues due to the proximity of a heavy snow storm. He ties his dogs to be rescued after, but the mission is called-off and the dogs are left alone at their own fortune. For six months, Jerry tries to find a sponsor for a rescue mission.