Movies Like Time Travel Mater
If you loved Time Travel Mater's Animation and Family storytelling, these films deliver a similar experience — carefully selected for tone, themes, and emotional depth. Each pick includes where to watch it right now.
★ Top Picks

Extinct
Op and Ed, two adorable donut-shaped animals - flummels - accidentally time-travel from 1835 to modern-day Shanghai. There they discover traffic, trans fats, and worst of all, that flummels are now extinct. It's up to this bumbling pair to save themselves and their species...and, just maybe, change the course of history.

The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones
Elroy Jetson invents a time machine that takes him back to prehistoric times, where he meets the Flintstone family.

Groot's Pursuit
Groot investigates a spooky noise that’s been haunting the Quadrant, which leads to an intense dance off.

Meet the Robinsons
Lewis, a brilliant young inventor, is keen on creating a time machine to find his mother, who abandoned him in an orphanage. Things take a turn when he meets Wilbur Robinson and his family.

Magnum Opus
Groot sets out to paint a family portrait of himself and the Guardians, only to discover just how messy the artistic process can be.

Mr. Peabody & Sherman
A young boy and his dog, who happens to have a genius-level IQ, spring into action when their time-machine is stolen and moments in history begin to be changed.

The Little Guy
Groot discovers a miniature civilization that believes the seemingly enormous tree toddler is the hero they’ve been waiting for.

LEGO Star Wars Terrifying Tales
Poe Dameron and BB-8 must face the greedy crime boss Graballa the Hutt, who has purchased Darth Vader’s castle and is renovating it into the galaxy’s first all-inclusive Sith-inspired luxury hotel.
More Movies Like Time Travel Mater

Lamp Life
Bo Peep explains what happened to herself and her sheep between the events of Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 4.

Puppy!: A Hotel Transylvania Short
The residents of Hotel Transylvania find their world turned upside-down when youngster Dennis gets a surprise monster-sized pet.

Rescue Squad Mater
Lightning McQueen and Mater are driving in Radiator Springs and drive past Red, who is hosing some plants near Stanley. Mater tells Lightning that he used to be a firetruck, but Lightning doesn't believe Mater.

Puppy
A Minion, longing for a puppy, humorously tries to catch a dog, a squirrel, and even a ladybug, but none of his attempts succeed. Just as his hopes fade, a tiny UFO swoops down and abducts the ladybug. The Minion watches in fascination as the UFO, making adorable beeping noises, forms an unexpected bond with him, becoming his new "puppy." They share fun adventures, with the UFO using its space powers to entertain, playing music and enlarging snacks like cheese puffs and bananas. One evening, the UFO puppy shows the Minion its home in the stars and expresses a longing to return. The Minion, determined to help, sends an email with their picture to the UFO's home planet, triggering a rescue party. Before leaving, the UFO uses its grow-ray to enlarge the ladybug into a puppy-sized companion. The Minion, surrounded by friends, joyfully accepts the new “puppy,” ready for more adventures together.

Sing: Thriller
Buster Moon dreams up a star-studded spectacle set to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" in this animated short featuring characters from the hit "Sing" films.

Stitch! The Movie
The continuing adventures of Lilo, a little Hawaiian girl, and Stitch, the galaxy's most-wanted extraterrestrial. Stitch, Pleakley, and Dr. Jumba are all part of the household now, but what Lilo and Stitch don't know is that Dr. Jumba brought his other alien "experiments" to Hawaiʻi as well.

Groot Takes a Bath
Everybody needs some alone time to relax and wash up, but things go quite differently when you’re a Flora Colossi toddler.

Mater Private Eye
Detective Mater is hot on the trail of a dastardly car-napping! When Tia's sister goes missing, Mater is the only car she can turn to. With this tow truck on the case, anything can happen.

LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special
As her friends prep for a Life Day holiday celebration, Rey journeys with BB-8 on a quest to gain a deeper knowledge of the Force at a mysterious Jedi Temple. There, she embarks on a cross-timeline adventure through beloved moments in Star Wars history, coming into contact with iconic heroes and villains from all eras of the saga. But will she make it back in time for the Life Day feast?

LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation
Looking for a much-needed break, Finn arranges a surprise vacation for his friends Rey, Poe, Rose, Chewie, BB-8, R2-D2, and C-3PO, aboard the luxurious Halcyon. However, Finn's plan to have one last hurrah together quickly goes awry.

Mater and the Ghostlight
Mater, the rusty but trusty tow truck from Cars, spends a day in Radiator Springs playing scary pranks on his fellow townsfolk. That night at Flo's V8 Café, the Sheriff tells the story of the legend of the Ghostlight, and as everyone races home Mater is left alone primed for a good old-fashioned scare.

Minions & More Volume 1
This collection of 10 short films produced by Illumination includes: From the "Despicable Me" franchise: Puppy (2013); Minion Scouts (2019); Training Wheels (2013); The Secret Life of Kyle (2017); Santa's Little Helpers (2019). From the "Grinch" franchise: The Dog Days of Winter (2019). From the "Secret Life of Pets" franchise: Norman Television (2016); Weenie (2016). From the "Sing" franchise: Love at First Sight (2017). From the "Lorax" franchise: Forces of Nature (2012).
Why These Movies Are Similar
These recommendations share core qualities with Time Travel Mater (2012): Animation and Family themes, similar narrative structure, and comparable emotional depth. NoBadPicks uses a combination of TMDB collaborative filtering, genre matching, and AI analysis to surface films most likely to resonate with fans of Time Travel Mater.
See full details for Time Travel Mater (2012)