Movies Like How to Build a Better Boy
If you loved How to Build a Better Boy's Family and Science Fiction 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
The Electric State
An orphaned teen hits the road with a mysterious robot to find her long-lost brother, teaming up with a smuggler and his wisecracking sidekick.
Next Gen
A friendship with a top-secret robot turns a lonely girl's life into a thrilling adventure as they take on bullies, evil bots and a scheming madman.
Robots
Rodney Copperbottom is a young robot inventor who dreams of making the world a better place, until the evil Ratchet takes over Bigweld Industries. Now, Rodney's dreams – and those of his friends – are in danger of becoming obsolete.
D.A.R.Y.L.
Daryl is a normal 10-year-old boy in many ways. However, unbeknown to his foster parents and friends, Daryl is actually a government-created robot with superhuman reflexes and mental abilities. Even his name has a hidden meaning -- it's actually an acronym for Data Analyzing Robot Youth Life-form. When the organization that created him deems the "super soldier" experiment a failure and schedules Daryl to be disassembled, it is up to a few rogue scientists to help him escape.
Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama
Dr. Drakken has an evil new plot for world domination, but his ultimate success depends upon finding out KP's weakness which may involve a new hottie at Middleton High School named Eric, who suddenly sparks feelings in Ron about Kim that resemble much more than friendship. To make matters worse, Bueno Nacho, Ron's favorite fast food chain has turned sour on him by bombarding him with little Devils
Cadet Kelly
Hyperactive teenager Kelly is enrolled into a military school when her new stepfather becomes the Commandant. At first she has problems fitting in and taking orders until she tries out for the drill team.
Thunderstruck
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
F.R.E.D.I.
An intelligent, lovable robot known as "F.R.E.D.I." is stolen from a secret research facility by the project's lead scientist. The robot is found by a 15 year old teenager, James. Soon the two begin to communicate and create a bond in which F.R.E.D.I. learns about teenage life and James learns about some new values.
More Movies Like How to Build a Better Boy
A.R.C.H.I.E.
A recently orphaned 15-year-old who has moved to a small town to live with her uncle befriends a robotic canine with super strength, x-ray vision and the ability to talk and the pair take on a military complex, bullies, kidnappers, romance and the world.
Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 3
Zed and Addison are beginning their final year at Seabrook High in the town that’s become a safe haven for monsters and humans alike. Zed is anticipating an athletic scholarship that will make him the first Zombie to attend college, while Addison is gearing up for Seabrook’s first international cheer-off competition. Then suddenly, extraterrestrial beings appear around Seabrook, provoking something other than friendly competition.
Sleeper
Miles Monroe, a clarinet-playing health food store proprietor, is revived out of cryostasis 200 years into a future world in order to help rebels fight an oppressive government regime.
Zapped
Zoey is a talented dancer whose organized life is rudely disrupted when she moves in with her new step-dad and three step-brothers, until she discovers a dog-training app that can get boys to obey her every command. But she soon learns that it isn't the cure-all she had hoped for.
Zoe
Two colleagues at a revolutionary research lab design technology to improve and perfect romantic relationships. As their work progresses, their discoveries become more profound.
Date with Love
When a boy’s video to a female star goes viral, it scores him a date with his celebrity crush to the prom. Complications arise when the famous starlet falls for the boy’s small-town teacher.
Electric Dreams
Miles Harding buys a state-of-the-art computer that starts expressing conscious thought and emotion after an interaction with spilled champagne. Things begin getting out of hand when both Miles and Edgar, the computer, fall in love with beautiful neighbor Madeline Robistat.
Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip
After Dexter is confronted with robots who wish to "destroy the one who saved the future," he uses his time machine to see how he saved it. They declare that they are here to destroy the one who saved the future, and make ready to attack Dexter. Dexter easily destroys them with the use of various tools and gadgets from his lab. However, news that he is "The One Who Saved the Future" intrigues him, and he decides to travel through time to discover how cool he is. In the first time period he visits, Dexter finds a tall, skinny, weak version of himself working in office-designing cubicles, with Mandark as his rich, successful boss. The child Dexter unwittingly reveals the existence of blueprints regarding the "Neurotomic Protocore", and Mandark steals it after the two Dexters move forward in time.
Astro Boy
Set in the futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy (Atom) is a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist in the image of the son he had lost. Unable to fulfill his creator's expectations, Astro embarks on a journey in search of acceptance, experiencing betrayal and a netherworld of robot gladiators, before returning to save Metro City and reconcile with the father who rejected him.
Playdate
When out-of-work accountant Brian joins stay-at-home dad Jeff for a playdate with their sons, he expects a laid-back afternoon. Instead, they're chased by mercenaries, and Brian—totally unprepared—must survive one absurd obstacle after another.
Z-O-M-B-I-E-S
Two star-crossed freshmen – a zombie, Zed and a cheerleader, Addison – each outsiders in their unique ways, befriend each other and work together to show their high school and the Seabrook community what they can achieve when they embrace their differences.
Why These Movies Are Similar
These recommendations share core qualities with How to Build a Better Boy (2014): Family and Science Fiction 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 How to Build a Better Boy.
See full details for How to Build a Better Boy (2014)