Best movies like Swallows and Amazons

Some summers you treasure forever

A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like Swallows and Amazons Starring Dane Hughes, Orla Hill, Teddie-Rose Malleson-Allen, Bobby McCulloch, and more. If you liked Swallows and Amazons then you may also like: War of the Buttons, The Water Horse, Wild America, Napoleon and Samantha, North Shore 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.

Four children dream of escaping the tedium of a summer holiday with their mother. When finally given permission to camp on their own on an island in the middle of a vast lake, they are overjoyed. But when they get there they discover they may not be alone… The battle for ownership of a lonely island teaches them the skills of survival, the value of friendship and the importance of holding your nerve.

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War of the Buttons

War between two Irish youth gangs consists of removing and retrieving buttons from each other's clothing.

The Water Horse

A lonely boy discovers a mysterious egg that hatches a sea creature of Scottish legend.

Wild America

Three brothers - Marshall, Marty and Mark dream of becoming naturalists and portraying animal life of America. One summer their dream comes true, they travel through America, filming alligators, bears and moose.

Napoleon and Samantha

Two young children, who, rather than part with an old pet lion who was once a circus performer, go on a perilous mountain trek to stay with a recluse friend.

North Shore

On a small stretch of coastline as powerful as a man's will, Rick Kane came to surf the big waves. He found a woman who would show him how to survive, and a challenge unlike any other.

On Golden Pond

For Norman and Ethel Thayer, this summer on golden pond is filled with conflict and resolution. When their daughter Chelsea arrives, the family is forced to renew the bonds of love and overcome the generational friction that has existed for years.

Rascal

A comedy filled with tenderness as a baby raccoon snuggles his way into the life of a lonely boy. He becomes the boy's only companion during his father's frequent absences. Because of Rascal, both father and son realize their responsibility to each other

Rugrats Go Wild

When the Rugrats find themselves stranded on a deserted island, they meet the Thornberrys, a family who agrees to help them escape.

Jumping Ship

Joseph, Matthew and Andrew Lawrence (TV's Brotherly Love) star in this thrilling, action-packed sequel to the Disney Channel Original Movie Horse Sense. It's first-class adventure on the high seas for Michael Woods (Joseph Lawrence) and his cousin (Andrew Lawrence) when they charter a private yacht for a fun-filled cruise off the coast of Australia. But the yacht turns out to be a broken-down fishing boat complete with rusting hull! When they find themselves being chased by modern-day pirates, they decide that Jumping Ship with the boat's captain Jake Hunter (Matthew Lawrence) is the only option. Stranded on a desert island without any conveniences from home, these three castaways must work together as a team if they hope to survive and be rescued.

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

The Great Depression hits home for nine year old Kit Kittredge when her dad loses his business and leaves to find work. Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin stars as Kit, leading a splendid cast in the first ever "American Girl" theatrical movie. In order to keep their home, Kit and her mother must take in boarders - paying house - guests who turn out to be full of fascinating stories. When mother's lockbox containing all their money is stolen, Kit's new hobo friend Will is the prime suspect. Kit refuses to believe that Will would steal, and her efforts to sniff out the real story get her and friends into big trouble. The police say the robbery was an inside job, committed by someone they know. So if it wasn't Will, then who did it.

All Is Lost

During a solo voyage in the Indian Ocean, a veteran mariner awakes to find his vessel taking on water after a collision with a stray shipping container. With his radio and navigation equipment disabled, he sails unknowingly into a violent storm and barely escapes with his life. With any luck, the ocean currents may carry him into a shipping lane -- but, with supplies dwindling and the sharks circling, the sailor is forced to face his own mortality.

suggested by: ShadowySalamander

Andre

The true story of how a marine seal named Andre befriended a little girl and her family, circa 1962.

Benji the Hunted

Benji has become stranded on a remote island after a boating accident. He finds himself struggling to survive in the wilderness, avoiding close encounters with a wolf, a bear, and a territorial female cougar with her cub.

The Black Stallion

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.

Buffalo Dreams

Josh Townsend finds himself living in New Mexico after his father's new job requires the family to move from their home in Utah. While acclimating to his new surroundings, Josh becomes involved with a group of teens attempting to preserve the buffalo and Navajo traditions. Along the way he makes friends and learns important lessons about life in this Disney Channel Original movie.

Captain Ron

When mild-mannered Martin Harvey finds out that he has inherited a vintage yacht, he decides to take his family on a Caribbean vacation to retrieve the vessel. Upon arriving on a small island and realizing that the ship is in rough shape, Martin and his family end up with more than they bargained for as the roguish Captain Ron signs on to sail the boat to Miami. It doesn't take long before Ron's anything-goes antics get the Harveys into plenty of trouble.

Follow Me, Boys!

Lem Siddons is part of a traveling band who has a dream of becoming a lawyer. Deciding to settle down, he finds a job as a stockboy in the general store of a small town. Trying to fit in, he volunteers to become scoutmaster of the newly formed Troop 1. Becoming more and more involved with the scout troop, he finds his plans to become a lawyer being put on the back burner, until he realizes that his life has been fulfilled helping the youth of the small town.

The Last Flight of Noah's Ark

The only chance to escape a desert island is to convert the plane carrying many different animals into a boat.

The Thirteenth Year

A teen learns that his birth mother is a mermaid after he begins to grow fins and slimy scales on his thirteenth birthday.

Doctor Dolittle

A veterinarian who can communicate with animals travels abroad to search for a giant sea snail.

Dolphin Tale 2

The team of people who saved Winter's life reassemble in the wake of her surrogate mother's passing in order to find her a companion so she can remain at the Clearwater Marine Hospital.

Duma

An orphaned cheetah becomes the best friend and pet of a young boy living in South Africa.

Flipper

Sandy is distraught when, having saved Flipper by pulling out a spear, his father insists the dolphin be released. A grateful Flipper, however, returns the favor when Sandy is threatened by sharks.

5.5 / 10 1996 Adventure Family
suggested by: user791luplq5e8

Flipper

Sandy Ricks is sent by his mom to Coral Key, a rustic island in the Florida keys, to spend the summer with his uncle Porter Ricks. Sandy dislikes everything about his new environment until a new friend comes into his life, a dolphin named Flipper, that brings uncle and nephew together and leads Sandy on the summer adventure of a lifetime.

Franklin and the Turtle Lake Treasure

When his Granny comes down with a mysterious ailment, Franklin and his friends must search for the treasure of Turtle Lake. This is said to be a talisman that can cure the illness.

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: Escape from Pirate's Cove

After young Kirra leaves her Australian home to summer with her grandfather in South Africa, she soon discovers a baby orca stranded in the lagoon near her grandfather’s rundown seaside amusement park. She names the lonely whale Willy--and embarks on a great quest to lead the little guy back to his anxious pod.

Moonrise Kingdom

Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, Moonrise Kingdom tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore – and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle.

December Boys

For many years, four teenage orphans at an Australian outback convent have watched their younger comrades find new parents, and realize that they may never be adopted. The Reverend Mother sends the four boys away on a seaside vacation, where they meet Teresa and Fearless, a couple who would make perfect parents. The youths compete with one another to be the one Teresa and Fearless decide to adopt.

Standing Up

Based on one of the most beloved Young Adult novels of all time: Two kids are stripped naked and left together on an island in a lake - victims of a vicious summer camp prank; But rather than have to return to camp and face the humiliation, they decide to take off, on the run together. What follows is a three day odyssey of discovery and self-discovery.

suggested by: user545egdybcdo

Heidi

Heidi is an orphaned girl initially raised by her aunt Dete in Maienfeld, Switzerland. In order to get a job in Frankfurt, Dete brings 5-year-old Heidi to her grandfather, who has been at odds with the villagers for years and lives in seclusion on the alm. He at first resents Heidi's arrival, but the girl manages to penetrate his harsh exterior and subsequently has a delightful stay with him and her best friend, young Peter the goat-herd.

5.5 / 10 2005 Animation Family
suggested by: user8829wk19h9w

Heidi

Based on the ever-popular children's' novel by Johanna Spyri, "Heidi" follows the adventures of an indomitable young girl, forced to move to her grandfather's hovel high up in the Swiss Alps, where she she surprises all by settling in to a firm friendship, not only with her somewhat grouchy relative, but also with a new friend Peter, the goat-herder.

A High Wind in Jamaica

In 1870, a Jamaican colonial family sends its children to Britain for proper schooling, but their ship is taken over by pirates, who become fond of the kids.

The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water

Littlefoot befriends with a mysterious, fun-loving dolphin-like creature named Mo, who is trapped in "new water" caused by heavy rain. The gang then goes on an adventure to the "big water" to bring Mo home.

Misty

Every year the Chincoteague fire department rounds up the wild ponies of Assateague Island and holds an auction to thin out the herd. The young children set out to raise enough money in hopes that the Phantom will be caught in this years round up. They soon realize they will get more than they bargained for when the Phantom has a surprise for everyone: a foal named Misty.

Pippi Longstocking

Pippi is a little girl who lives alone in her house, while her father is sailing the seas. With Pippi we meet her horse, her monkey and her two friends Tommy and Anika. Together they go on many journeys through the neighborhood.

The Sandlot 2

A decade has passed in the small town where the original Sandlot gang banded together during the summer of ’62 to play baseball and battle the Beast. Now comes the sequel, a campy romp back to the dugout where nine new kids descend on the diamond only to discover that a descendant of the Beast lives in Mr. Mertle’s backyard--a monster of mythical proportions known as "The Great Fear."

The Secret of Roan Inish

Ten-year-old Fiona is sent to live with her grandparents in a small fishing village in Donegal, Ireland. She soon learns the local legend that an ancestor of hers married a Selkie – a seal who can turn into a human. Years earlier, her baby brother was washed out to sea and never seen again, so when Fiona spies a naked little boy on the abandoned Isle of Roan Inish, she is compelled to investigate.

The Triangle

This made-for-TV movie follows a group of friends as they try to find a boat lost for 50 years in the Bermuda Triangle.

Table for Five

J.P. Tannen (Jon Voight) wants a second chance to be a father to his children ... but someone else has taken his place. Determined not to just be a friendly 'uncle' in their lives, he gets permission from his ex-wife Kathleen (Millie Perkins) and her new husband (Richard Crenna) to take the kids on a Mediterranean cruise. On the journey he comes to realise it's not that easy and, feeling overwhelmed, begins to doubt his abilities until a tragedy back home forces him to become the father he always hoped to be.

The Sea Gypsies

A man and a woman and 3 children start to sail around the world. They are shipwrecked near an uninhabited isle. This island is full of wild animals and it is very dangerous for them in the begining. They live through a lot of wonderful adventure together and they become a big family.

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.

Second Best

The difficult relationship between a british postal officer and his adoptive son.

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.

Swallows and Amazons

On holiday with their mother in the Lake District in 1929 four children are allowed to sail over to the nearby island in their boat Swallow and set up camp for a few days. They soon realise this has been the territory of two other girls who sail the Amazon, and the scene is set for serious rivalry.

Booky & the Secret Santa

Booky does everything she can to make an enjoyable Christmas, for her family, during the depression as her father is out of work.

Adult Life Skills

Anna is stuck: she’s approaching 30 and has just moved back to her rural home-town, and into a shed in her mother’s backyard. She spends her time working a menial job at a local boating center and hides in the depths of her imagination, making movies with her thumbs. Irritated by her childish behavior, Anna's mother insists that she move out of her shed and on with her life. When a troubled young boy starts hanging around, the two form an unlikely bond. Through their strange yet mutually beneficial friendship, Anna slowly begins to confront her perpetual state of arrested development.

The Rainbow Tribe

Morgan Roberts, a middle aged adult in crisis, reunites with his best friend when he returns to the summer camp of his youth. His troubles seem to magnify when he is joined by a rag-tag group of 10 year old campers. Through their struggles they collectively overcome their personal problems and exchange them for one of the best summers of their lives.

7.8 / 10 2003 Drama Family
suggested by: constellations

Pollyanna

Pollyanna Whittier goes to live with her wealthy but bitter aunt after the tragic death of her father. Pollyanna shares a game her father taught her -- the 'Glad Game' -- in which everyone can find a silver lining in even the darkest cloud, and her sunny nature, good humor and determination to look on the bright side of life prove to have an astonishing effect on those around her. With the help of her orphaned friend, Jimmy Bean, she casts her spell on the grumpiest townsfolk of Beldingsville -- including the cynical shut-in Mrs. Snow, the morose millionaire Mr. Pendleton and the enigmatic Dr. Chilton. And Pollyanna masterminds the romance between her Aunt's maid, Nancy, and the handyman, Tim. It is only Aunt Polly, who cannot bring herself to embrace Pollyanna's innocence and joy. But all is not straightforward in Pollyanna's war against pessimism, since she must overcome a personal tragedy that threatens to banish "glad" from her vocabulary forever.

Calm at Sunset

Drama about a young man who defies his parents by dropping out of college to pursue his dream of owning a fishing boat, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.

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