Movies Like The One and Only Ivan
If you loved The One and Only Ivan's Family and Comedy 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
Big Top Scooby-Doo!
When Scooby and the gang hear of a werewolf plaguing a traveling circus, they go undercover as circus performers to get to the bottom.
Flora & Ulysses
When Flora rescues a squirrel she names Ulysses, she is amazed to discover he possesses unique superhero powers, which take them on an adventure of humorous complications that ultimately change Flora's life--and her outlook--forever.
Animal Crackers
A family must use a magical box of Animal Crackers to save a rundown circus from being taken over by their evil uncle Horatio P. Huntington.
Mighty Joe Young
As a child living in Africa, Jill Young saw her mother killed while protecting wild gorillas from poachers led by Andrei Strasser. Now an adult, Jill cares for an orphaned gorilla named Joe -- who, due to a genetic anomaly, is 15 feet tall. When Gregg O'Hara arrives from California and sees the animal, he convinces Jill that Joe would be safest at his wildlife refuge. But Strasser follows them to the U.S., intent on capturing Joe for himself.
Clifford the Big Red Dog
As Emily struggles to fit in at home and at school, she discovers a small red puppy who is destined to become her best friend. When Clifford magically undergoes one heck of a growth spurt, becomes a gigantic dog and attracts the attention of a genetics company, Emily and her Uncle Casey have to fight the forces of greed as they go on the run across New York City. Along the way, Clifford affects the lives of everyone around him and teaches Emily and her uncle the true meaning of acceptance and unconditional love.
Water for Elephants
In this captivating Depression-era melodrama, impetuous veterinary student Jacob Jankowski joins a celebrated circus as an animal caretaker but faces a wrenching dilemma when he's transfixed by angelic married performer Marlena.
Sketch
When a young girl’s sketchbook falls into a strange pond, her drawings come to life—chaotic, real, and on the loose. As the town descends into chaos, her family must reunite and stop the monsters they never meant to unleash.
The Secret Life of Pets 2
Max the terrier must cope with some major life changes when his owner gets married and has a baby. When the family takes a trip to the countryside, nervous Max has numerous run-ins with canine-intolerant cows, hostile foxes and a scary turkey. Luckily for Max, he soon catches a break when he meets Rooster, a gruff farm dog who tries to cure the lovable pooch of his neuroses.
More Movies Like The One and Only Ivan
The Twits
When the meanest, nastiest villains pull a trick to take over their town, two brave children team up with a family of magical animals to bring them down.
Godmothered
A young and unskilled fairy godmother that ventures out on her own to prove her worth by tracking down a young girl whose request for help was ignored. What she discovers is that the girl has now become a grown woman in need of something very different than a "prince charming."
A Dog's Purpose
A dog goes on quest to discover his purpose in life over the course of several lifetimes with multiple owners.
The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature
When the evil mayor of Oakton decides to bulldoze Liberty Park and build a dangerous amusement park in its place, Surly Squirrel and his ragtag group of animal friends need to band together to save their home, defeat the mayor, and take back the park.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
The Grinch decides to rob Whoville of Christmas - but a dash of kindness from little Cindy Lou Who and her family may be enough to melt his heart...
Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical
An extraordinary young girl discovers her superpower and summons the remarkable courage, against all odds, to help others change their stories, whilst also taking charge of her own destiny. Standing up for what's right, she's met with miraculous results.
Penguins of Madagascar
Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private join forces with undercover organization The North Wind to stop the villainous Dr. Octavius Brine from destroying the world as we know it.
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile
When the Primm family moves to New York City, their young son Josh struggles to adapt to his new school and new friends. All of that changes when he discovers Lyle — a singing crocodile who loves baths, caviar and great music — living in the attic of his new home. But when Lyle’s existence is threatened by evil neighbor Mr. Grumps, the Primms must band together to show the world that family can come from the most unexpected places.
Blue's Big City Adventure
When Josh gets the opportunity of a lifetime to audition for Rainbow Puppy’s Broadway musical, Josh and Blue skidoo to NYC for the very first time where they meet new friends and discover the magic of music, dance, and following one’s dreams.
Roll Bounce
In the summer of 1978, a teenager and his group of friends face new challenges when their neighborhood roller-skating rink closes, forcing them to visit a different rink.
Where the Wild Things Are
Max imagines running away from his mom and sailing to a far-off land where large talking beasts—Ira, Carol, Douglas, the Bull, Judith and Alexander—crown him as their king, play rumpus, build forts and discover secret hideaways.
Why These Movies Are Similar
These recommendations share core qualities with The One and Only Ivan (2020): Family and Comedy 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 The One and Only Ivan.
See full details for The One and Only Ivan (2020)