Best movies like The Boy and the Star

A young boy, in an effort to have a normal childhood in 1980s El Salvador, is caught up in a dramatic fight for his life as he desperately tries to avoid the war which is raging all around him

After her father's ship is carried off by a sudden storm, the spunky Pippi Longstocking is stranded with her horse, Alfonso,and her pet monkey, Mr. Neilson, and takes up residence in the old family home, which is thought by neighborhood children to be haunted. Soon, two children, Tommy and his sister Anika, venture into the house only to meet up with Pippi. The three soon become friends and get into various adventures together, including cleaning the floor with scrubbing shoes, dodging the "splunks", going down a waterfall in barrels, and helping Pippi with the problem of having to go to an orphanage. Older children will probably get the most out of this movie.

Frenchman Abel Tiffauges is a naive man who lives a simple life working as a mechanic. Falsely accused of being a child abuser, he is recruited as a soldier when World War II begins, but is captured soon and taken to the heart of Nazi Germany.

After losing their baby, a married couple adopt 9-year old Esther, who may not be as innocent as she seems.

Based on a true story, an eleven year old boy left home alone, kills two intruders in self defense. He and his family then try to cope with the boy's anguish and the dead intruders' friends who want revenge.

Based on the experiences of Agu, a child fighting in the civil war of an unnamed, fictional West African country. Follows Agu's journey as he's forced to join a group of soldiers. While he fears his commander and many of the men around him, his fledgling childhood has been brutally shattered by the war raging through his country, and he is at first torn between conflicting revulsion and fascination.

During World War II, an American mission hospital is headed up by Dr. Gray Thompson and Dr. Sara Durand. Sara is secretly in love with Gray but hides her feelings as his new wife, Louise, arrives at the hospital. Sparks fly, however, when Louise becomes jealous of Sara, and then tries to convince her husband to leave war-torn China behind for a calmer life in the United States. But Thompson is attached to both Sara and the people who need his help.

Veronica, the new girl in town, is lured into the woods by a group of senior boys looking to make her a victim. But the boys don't know that Veronica's been trained to handle herself in surprisingly lethal ways.

From the producers of Paranormal Activity, Insidious, and Sinister comes Dark Skies: a supernatural thriller that follows a young family living in the suburbs. As husband and wife Daniel and Lacey Barret witness an escalating series of disturbing events involving their family, their safe and peaceful home quickly unravels. When it becomes clear that the Barret family is being targeted by an unimaginably terrifying and deadly force, Daniel and Lacey take matters in their own hands to solve the mystery of what is after their family.

Julian Albans, the bully who left Beecher Prep, is visited by his Grandmère from Paris and is transformed by her remarkable story of compassion and courage. As a girl in Nazi-occupied France, the young Grandmère goes into hiding with the help of a schoolmate, a young man who risks everything to give her the chance to survive. Together, they find beauty and love in the secret world of their own creation.

Soren, a young barn owl, is kidnapped by owls of St. Aggie's, ostensibly an orphanage, where owlets are brainwashed into becoming soldiers. He and his new friends escape to the island of Ga'Hoole, to assist its noble, wise owls who fight the army being created by the wicked rulers of St. Aggie's. The film is based on the first three books in the series.

Amy is only 13 years old when her mother is killed. She goes to Canada to live with her father, an eccentric inventor who she barely knows. Amy is miserable in her new life... until she discovers a nest of goose eggs that were abandoned when a local forest was torn down. The eggs hatch and Amy becomes "Mama Goose". When Winter comes, Amy, and her dad must find a way to lead the birds South….

An American girl, sent to the English countryside to stay with relatives, finds love and purpose while fighting for her survival as war envelops the world around her.

The true story of Sam Childers, a former drug-dealing biker who finds God and became a crusader for hundreds of Sudanese children who've been kidnapped and pressed into duty as soldiers.

Five prisoners of war escape captivity in a Confederate prison camp only to land in an uncharted Pacific island where time stands still and dastardly pirates don't take kindly to strangers in director Russell Mulcahy's screen adaptation of fantasy author Jules Verne's literary classic. They thought they were on their way to freedom when they leapt into a balloon and took to the skies, but upon landing on an island where nothing is as it seems, these escapees are about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. From bloodthirsty beasts to murderous pirates and a mad genius named Captain Nemo (Patrick Stewart), treachery lurks behind every corner on this island, and if these five survivors have any hope of staying alive, they'll have to fight to their dying breaths to escape the island and get back to the modern world.

A tale about two young boys, Prosper and Bo, who flee to Venice after being orphaned and dumped in the care of a cruel auntie. Hiding in the canals and alleyways of the city, the boys are befriended by a gang of young urchins and their enigmatic leader, the Thief Lord. From their home base of an old cinema theater, the children steal from the rich to support themselves and soon capture the interest of a bumbling detective. However, a greater threat to the children is something from a forgotten past - a beautiful magical treasure with the power to spin time itself

TV movie based upon the true story of Calvin Graham, who, as a 12 year old boy, enlisted in the US Navy during WWII.

The eldest daughter of a pioneer family is kidnapped by a mysterious Indian tribe and the eldest son pursues. In order to win back his sister's freedom, he must sacrifice his own life by passing the test of "Crooked Sky" and shield his sister from an executioner's arrow. Along the way, he recruits a broken down, drunk prospector to help him track down the unknown tribe and rescue his sister

When an unlikely ally enters the Bloom family's world in the form of an injured baby magpie they name Penguin, the bird’s arrival makes a profound difference in the struggling family’s life.

A young boy dreams of someday becoming a detective just like his father.

In a cabin of the deep of the forest, a child and his father lead a wild and hard life in utmost isolation. The child grows up fearing and admiring his father, with the ghosts haunting the forest as his only companions. Until the day he discovers the neighbouring village and meets a young girl there, Manon. At her side, he discovers that love exists. From then on he won't cease to search for the place where his father's love for him is hiding.

The true story of boys being sexually abused at their orphanage, run by a religious community in Newfoundland.

Fifteen years after the events of The Boys of St. Vincent took place, the various boys involved are brought in to testify against the brothers, now finally standing trial, who assaulted them when they were children.

Oliver Twist the modern filmed version of Charles Dickens bestseller, a Roman Polanski adaptation. The classic Dickens tale, where an orphan meets a pickpocket on the streets of London. From there, he joins a household of boys who are trained to steal for their master.

Abandoned by her dreamer single mom, a teenage loner becomes obsessed with ecological disaster, forcing her and her grandmother, a functioning alcoholic, to rethink their futures.

A semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story set in the Cotswolds during and immediately after the First World War.

A 12-year-old boy and his single mother live separate lives. The boy spends his days alone while his mother works and goes out with her friends. The boy’s solitude is both a source of freedom and a cause for grief. His explorations slowly bring to light the dark contrast between the rules of society and the laws of nature. And before long, the delicate balance of his inner world becomes shattered by unforeseen events.

Ort Flack is 12 years old and lives with his mother and his sister Tegwyn in the Australian outback. The three of them also have to take care of their old grandma and their paralyzed father. It is not easy for one mother to take care of everybody. But one day a mysterious stranger, Henry, comes to their desolate house to help them...

BIRD IN THE SKY is a gritty, poetic tale of a young man’s spiritual struggle on the streets of New York City. Rob has been given a second chance to right the wrongs of his street-wise past; he must perform a miracle to be saved. His fate lies in his love for a young woman, Kay, who is coping with the loss of her child.

In one of the most dangerous missions of the war, an American B-17 pilot volunteers to fly a surrendered Messerschmitt 109 on a daring flight through the heart of Germany to try to prevent the people of London from being terrorized by the V-2 rockets. "Rocket Hunter" tells the story of an amazing pilot and his bombardier brother from the time they are teenagers dreaming of taking to the skies to the dark days of January 1945.

A royal relative steals a gem with the power to make things fly, the Paw Patrol takes to the skies to stop him and save Barkingburg.

A haunted soldier just back from war and a boy who has never known peace in his home life embark on a life-changing journey as they become unlikely friends — and one another’s last shot at redemption.

This drama features three stories about the bonds between children and absent parents. A Cuban boy who lives in poverty with his mother longs to visit his father in the United States, a Moroccan girl attempts to reunite with her father, and in Mexico, and a boy disobeys his father to visit a strange lagoon. These related vignettes showcase the powerful hold that parents have upon their children, which often remains strong despite their absence.

The story focuses in on three young boys who, arrested by the authorities, await sentencing in Mexico City's Juvenile Court. One boy has killed his stepfather to protect his mother; the second boy has been goaded into blinding his chief tormentor; and the third resorts to stealing to support his family.

"Slip" is the story of Sarah, a young woman who witnessed her mother's murder as a child. Now grown, Sarah is haunted by her mother's memory, her restless soul, opening a gateway for the spirits of the recently departed. Sarah is compelled to do their bidding so their souls may rest in peace. One of these souls leads her to Cal, a young car thief who is one car away from going legit. Unfortunately, Cal is wrongfully accused of stealing from his partners and now they want him dead.Sarah, drawn by the spirit of Cal's murdered nephew, becomes an avenging angel, awakening a dark spirit of her past while risking all to save a total stranger. Now in a race for their lives as well as their souls, Cal and Sarah soon discover that there are far more fearsome things than men with guns.