Movies like Wishin' and Hopin'

If you like "Wishin' and Hopin'" you are looking for humorous, semi serious and light movies about / with coming of age, christmas, youth, small town, substitute teacher, catholic school and teachers and students themes of Comedy, Drama and Family genre shot in USA.
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Wishin' and Hopin' (2014)
 6.5
 800
Wishin' and Hopin' (2014)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min.
Story: Based on the New York Times best-selling novel by award winning author Wally Lamb. A vivid slice of 1960s life, Wishin' and Hopin' is a wise-and-witty holiday tale that celebrates where we've been-and how far we've come. In the small town of Three Rivers, Connecticut, we go straight into the halls of St. Aloysius Gonzaga Parochial School with Felix Funicello, a Catholic school fifth-grader in 1964, whose claim to fame is his cousin Annette Funicello, the famous Mouseketeer and teen movie queen. But grammar and arithmetic move to the back burner this holiday season with the sudden arrivals of substitute teacher Madame Frechette and feisty Russian student Zhenya Kabakova. While Felix learns the meaning of French kissing, cultural misunderstanding, and tableaux vivants, Wishin' and Hopin' barrels toward one outrageous Christmas!
Style: humorous, semi serious, light, sincere, captivating, entertaining, sentimental, touching, realistic
Plot: coming of age, christmas, youth, small town, substitute teacher, catholic school, teachers and students, parents and children, family relations, friendship, social relations, redheaded woman, exchange student, student life, elementary school, small town life, power relations, religion, schoolboy, nun, happy ending, childhood, high school life, sin, redhead girl ...
Time: 60s, 20th century, year 1964, 1960s
Place: connecticut, usa

Movie in categories

Most similar movies to Wishin' and Hopin'

The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out semi serious, realistic, humorous and feel good films with plots about family relations, youth, friendship, parents and children, christmas, coming of age and friends mostly in Drama, Family and Comedy genres. Some movies like Wishin' and Hopin': Angels Sing (2013), The Town That Banned Christmas (2006), Snowmen (2010), The Santa Con (2014), Chilly Christmas (2012). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
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 5.9
 2K
Angels Sing (2013)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min.
Story: As a child, Michael Walker wished every day could be Christmas. That is, until a tragic accident crushed his holiday spirit. Thirty years later, Michael still can't muster any joy for the holidays, despite encouragement from his playful wife ...
Style: touching, feel good, semi serious, realistic
Audience: family outing, pre-teens, kids
Plot: christmas, youth, haunted by the past, family relations, family life, parents and children, friendship, coming of age, holiday, mysterious character, christmas movie
Time: 21st century
Place: usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
95%
The Town That Banned Christmas (2006)
Genre: Comedy, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min.
Story: The competition heats up at the annual Greenlawn Christmas Decorating Contest when Norbert Bridges moves to town and stirs up trouble with the reigning champion Donnie Manning. But when the town outlaws Christmas after things get out of control it s ...
Style: feel good, entertaining, light, captivating, humorous ...
Audience: family outing
Plot: christmas, family relations, social relations, friendship, family life, rivalry, ambition, small town, uninhibited rivalry, contests and competitions, small town life, disorder ...
Time: 21st century
Place: usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
75%
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town (2003)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min.
Story: Zachary Beaver, a sideshow attraction also known as the world's fattest boy, arrives in the sleepy town of Granger, Texas.
Style: feel good, sentimental, humorous, semi serious, touching
Audience: family outing
Plot: youth, friendship, best friend, friendship between boys, teenage life, self discovery, mischievous children, family relations, parents and children, starting over, young heroes, fat boy ...
Place: texas, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
69%
 6.0
 753
Snowmen (2010)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min.
Story: Three young friends find adventure and purpose in their attempts to set a Guinness World Record. Set in a wintry mountain town, the unpopular trio pursues fame through a series of schemes and stunts that eventually imperil their own lives. Along the ...
Style: uplifting, touching, sentimental, feel good, semi serious ...
Audience: family outing, kids, pre-teens
Plot: youth, friendship, human spirit, elementary school, ambition, desire for fame, terminal illness, against the odds, social relations, life is a bitch, family problems, small town ...
Time: 21st century
Place: usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
66%
Movie in collections
 6.0
 748
The Santa Con (2014)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min.
Story: Small-time con man Nick DeMarco is ordered by his parole officer to take a minimum-wage job as a department store Santa during the holidays...and he hates it. Near the end of his first shift, he hastily promises a young boy, Billy, that Santa will ...
Style: sentimental, feel good, humorous, semi serious, sincere ...
Audience: family outing, girls' night, pre-teens
Plot: christmas, moral dilemma, parents and children, family relations, wish come true, introspection, store, santa claus, love, friendship, new year, xmas ...
Time: 21st century
Place: usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
63%
Chilly Christmas (2012)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min.
Story: Eleven-year-old Bobby Cole and his dog Chilly are best friends, living happily in their Southern California beach house. But when Bobby's father Patrick (C. Thomas Howell), a single parent and police detective, accepts a job in New York City, ...
Style: humorous, feel good, captivating, light, entertaining ...
Audience: family outing, pre-teens, kids
Plot: christmas, dog, youth, pets, family relations, disorder, parents and children, father son relationship, holiday, save the day, best friend, single parent ...
Time: 21st century
Place: california, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
62%
A Christmas Story 2 (2012)
Genre: Comedy, Family
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 85 min.
Story: The original traditional one-hundred-percent red-blooded two-fisted all-american christmas continues five years later with Ralphie, Randy mom and the old man. This time Ralphie has his eyes fixed on a car. But trouble is sure to follow.
Style: feel good, humorous, light, sincere, semi serious ...
Audience: family outing, kids, teens
Plot: christmas, family life, holiday, youth, eccentric family, coming of age, society, love, adaptation, destiny, escapades, happy ending ...
Time: 2010s, year 1946, 21st century
Place: usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
60%
 5.7
 696
Mayor Cupcake (2011)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min.
Story: A hard-working cupcake maker is inadvertently elected mayor of a small town burdened with debt. Uneducated, she relies on her street smarts to clean up the town.
Style: humorous, sincere, captivating, entertaining, independent film ...
Audience: family outing
Plot: rise to the top, campaign, small town life, family life, society, small town, uneducated, ambition, family relations, parents and children, food, restaurant ...
Time: 21st century
Place: usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
52%
Movie in collections
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The Christmas Bunny (2010)
Genre: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story: The Christmas Bunny tells the story of a lonely foster child (Sophie Bolen) who finds a lost, injured rabbit in the woods on Christmas Eve. The rabbit is nursed back to health by The Bunny Lady (Florence Henderson), who runs a rabbit rescue in an ...
Style: uplifting, sentimental, touching, captivating, sincere ...
Audience: family outing, kids, girls' night
Plot: christmas, family relations, friendship, nursing, family life, pets, coming of age, orphan, youth, farm, rabbit, holiday ...
Time: 21st century
Place: michigan, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
46%
 5.9
 766
Lloyd (2001)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 74 min.
Story: A boy learns that confidence and self-esteem are the greatest gifts.
Style: feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Audience: pre-teens, kids
Plot: youth, misfit, love and romance, friendship, friends, school, teachers and students, fall in love, mischievous children, hopes, win over, disorder ...
Time: 2000s, 21st century
⇓ similarity ⇓
43%
Children on Their Birthdays (2002)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story: Havoc is created in a small Southern community when a 12-year-old shows up, causing a couple 13-year-old friends to fall in love with her, thus possibly jeopardizing their friendship.
Style: sentimental, touching, feel good, humorous, independent film ...
Audience: family outing
Plot: youth, coming of age, love triangle, friendship, small town, teenage life, teenage love, social relations, fall in love, society, mute, teenage girl ...
Time: 1940s, 20th century, year 1947
Place: alabama, usa, chicago
⇓ similarity ⇓
43%
 5.3
 666
Smitty (2012)
Genre: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min.
Story: SMITTY is a family film about a rescue dog. When life gets tough for Ben, a friendly paw is all it takes to pull him through. Mischievous thirteen-year-old Ben is sent to his grandfather's farm for the summer, where he crosses paths with a ...
Style: sincere, captivating, light, feel good, touching ...
Audience: family outing, kids
Plot: youth, family relations, friendship, pets, coming of age, single parent, farm, dog, redemption, hopes, teaching the ways of the world, friends ...
Time: year 2010, 21st century
Place: iowa, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
41%
 6.6
 223
Mo (2007)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min.
Story: Every kid wants to be cool and fit in - life's a blast even when you're different. When Mo's reflection is revealed, he sees a body that doesn't quite resemble any of his peers. Here, he tells the tale of his youth, growing up on ...
Style: sentimental, semi serious, feel good, touching, realistic ...
Plot: youth, family relations, friendship, teenage life, family problems, disability, optimism, hopes, society, social misfits, parents and children, physical appearance ...
Time: 21st century
Place: new york, usa, long island
⇓ similarity ⇓
41%
 5.9
 144
Hier is Lola! (2010)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family, Musical
Country: Germany
Duration: 96 min.
Story: A nine-year-old girl who has just moved with her parents to Hamburg, Germany, is desperate for finding a best friend.
Style: semi serious, humorous, light, captivating, entertaining ...
Audience: family outing, kids
Plot: racial slur, single mother, friendship, family relations, parents and children, elementary school, youth, little girl, children, working mom, racism, rock star ...
Time: 21st century
Place: germany, hamburg germany
⇓ similarity ⇓
40%
Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas! (2011)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story: Teddy Duncan's middle-class family embarks on a road trip from their home in Denver to visit Mrs. Duncans Parents, the Blankenhoopers, in Palm Springs. When they find themselves stranded between Denver and Utah, they try to hitch a ride to Las ...
Style: semi serious, sentimental, realistic, humorous, feel good ...
Audience: family outing, girls' night, teens, family friendly, pre-teens ...
Plot: christmas, parents and children, family relations, family life, on the road, teenager, youth, holiday, christmas season, children, santa claus, full moon ...
Time: 21st century
Place: las vegas, utah, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
39%
 6.2
 374
Just a Dream (2002)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story: Film crew arrives in a small town in Nevada desert. Ends up changing the life of a 12-year-old kid and a friend of his, a movie lover.
Style: semi serious, feel good, humorous, realistic, sentimental ...
Audience: kids
Plot: youth, coming of age, desert, filmmaking, friendship, friends, obsession, interracial relations, family life, family relations, social relations, society ...
Time: 60s
Place: nevada, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
39%
Frankie & Hazel (2000)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family, Sport
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 92 min.
Story: Actress JoBeth Williams directed this Showtime family feature starring The Sixth Sense's Mischa Barton for Barbra Streisand's Barwood Films. Barton is Frankie and Ingrid Uribe is Hazel, Frankie's neighbor and best friend. Frankie is ...
Style: semi serious, touching, humorous, feel good, realistic ...
Plot: friendship, youth, ballet, baseball, small town, ambition, follow your dream, family relations, hopes, dancer's life, feminism, teenage life ...
Time: 90s, 20th century
Place: new jersey
⇓ similarity ⇓
38%
Raspberry Magic (2010)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min.
Story: Eleven-year-old Monica Shah is a brainy schoolgirl whose science fair project about growing raspberries becomes a touching emotional crusade. After her dad leaves and her mother falls into a funk, Monica decides it's her job to rescue the ...
Style: sincere, sentimental, captivating, humorous, sad ...
Plot: coming of age, family relations, dysfunctional family, unemployment, parents and children, teaching the ways of the world, woods, single parent, society, school, child's point of view, nature ...
Time: 21st century
⇓ similarity ⇓
37%
Movie in collections
 6.8
 22K
Simon Birch (1998)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min.
Story: Simon Birch tells the story of Joe and Simon's heart-warming journey of friendship. Simon Birch was born with a condition that makes him much smaller than all the other kids in town. Now, due to his condition, Simon thinks God made him this way ...
Style: sentimental, feel good, inspirational, touching, sweet ...
Audience: kids, family outing, teen drama
Plot: coming of age, illegitimate son, friendship, destiny, disability, family relations, small town, justice, happy ending, life philosophy, obsessive quest, buddies ...
Time: year 1998, 90s, 60s, 1950s, 20th century
Place: maine
⇓ similarity ⇓
36%
Charlie: A Toy Story (2012)
Genre: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min.
Story: Get ready for a hilarious fun-filled adventure as 10 year old Caden and his best friend, Charlie, a golden retriever, set out on a wild escapade around town thwarting the evil plans of the bumbling town bullies who are out to break into Caden's ...
Style: humorous, captivating, light, entertaining, feel good ...
Audience: family outing, kids
Plot: save the day, friendship, escapades, parents and children, family relations, small town, youth, attempted robbery, burglar, boy and dog, home alone, nothing goes right ...
Time: 21st century
Place: usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
36%
One Christmas Eve (2014)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min.
Story: A series of mishaps threaten a recently divorced mom's attempts to make her two kids' first Christmas "without dad" perfect.
Style: sentimental, feel good, semi serious, humorous, emotional ...
Audience: family outing
Plot: christmas, family relations, disorder, single parent, parents and children, dog, christmas eve, life turned upside down, fall in love, puppy, youth, xmas ...
Time: 21st century
Place: usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
35%
The Santa Incident (2010)
Genre: Comedy, Family
Country: USA, Ireland
Duration: 88 min.
Story: During a ride on his sleigh Santa is mistaken for an alien in a UFO. After an attack, he ends up seriously injured in a small town. Two children must help him, so Christmas is not jeopardized.
Style: humorous, semi serious, sincere, captivating, light ...
Audience: family outing
Plot: christmas, parents and children, hidden identity, government agent, santa claus, surveillance, save the day, xmas, friendship, society, couples, youth ...
Time: 21st century
Place: ireland
⇓ similarity ⇓
35%
The Boy in the Dress (2014)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: UK
Duration: 63 min.
Story: Based on David Walliams' best-selling children's book, with an all-star cast including Jennifer Saunders, James Buckley, David Walliams and Kate Moss, The Boy in the Dress is a celebration of creativity, difference, football and fashion. ...
Style: humorous, light, feel good, captivating, comedy drama ...
Plot: contests and competitions, friendship, parents and children, cross dressing, disorder, eccentric family, youth, sport team, coming of age, family relations, transvestite, gay interest ...
Time: 21st century
Place: england, europe
⇓ similarity ⇓
35%
Movie in collections
Long Lost Christmas (2022)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min.
Story: Hayley is an interior designer who plans to surprise her recently widowed mother Patricia with the perfect holiday present: the extended family she knows her mom yearns for.
Style: entertaining, touching, light, captivating, sincere
Plot: christmas, family relations, relationships, designer, female protagonist, parents and children, gift, christmas present, mother daughter relationship, christmas movie
⇓ similarity ⇓
35%
 5.2
 274
Quitters (2015)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story: Quitters tells the story of the Raymans, a wealthy Jewish family that's falling apart. The son, Clark, is a bright and curious high schooler with a talent for manipulation. As his mother May enters treatment for a pill addiction, and he and his ...
Style: realistic, humorous, semi serious, captivating, independent film
Plot: family relations, dysfunctional family, family problems, parents and children, life turned upside down, youth, family life, disorder, social relations, high school life, innocence lost, girl man relationship ...
Time: 21st century
Place: san francisco, usa, california
⇓ similarity ⇓
35%
Change of Plans (2011)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 125 min.
Story: Sally and Jason Danville's life are turned upside down when a tragic accident suddenly names them the caretakers of four young children.
Style: humorous, sincere, captivating, light, feel good ...
Audience: family outing
Plot: custody, adoption, parents and children, life turned upside down, couple relations, disorder, family life, couples, youth, orphan, girl, siblings relations ...
Time: 21st century
Place: usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
35%
A Grandpa for Christmas (2007)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min.
Story: An old-time movie-star singer/ hoofer rebonds with his estranged daughter and 9-year-old granddaughter.
Style: semi serious, sentimental, touching, humorous, realistic ...
Audience: family outing
Plot: christmas, family relations, elderly, youth, mother daughter relationship, father daughter estrangement, grandfather granddaughter relationship, holiday, chess, xmas, estrangement, age-gap relationship ...
Time: 21st century
Place: usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
34%
A Christmas Memory (1997)
Genre: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story: A boy, Buddy, whose parents have split and whose mother is an actress in New York, has been dumped in the south at the small-town home of some older cousins, all of whom are unmarried.
Style: christmas classics, realistic, semi serious, uplifting, touching ...
Audience: kids, family outing
Plot: christmas, youth, friendship, small town, family relations, buddies, love and romance, small town life, countryside, adult virgin, family life, family gatherings ...
Time: 1930s
Place: southern usa, alabama
⇓ similarity ⇓
34%
My Dog's Christmas Miracle (2011)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story: University professor Madeline Walters isn’t doing too well in the dating game. Good men are hard to find, so she’s happy spending time with her Maltese puppy Cinnamon, and her precocious teenage daughter Chloe.
Style: feel good, humorous, captivating, light, semi serious
Audience: family outing, pre-teens, kids
Plot: christmas, dog, pets, save the day, fall in love, family relations, parents and children, single parent, nothing goes right, friendship, rivalry, talking dog ...
Time: 21st century
Place: usa, california, los angeles
⇓ similarity ⇓
33%
A Dog Named Christmas (2009)
Genre: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story: A developmentally challenged young man with a penchant for caring for animals in need sets out to convince his family - and their whole rural community - to participate in a local shelter's inaugural "Adopt a Dog for Christmas ...
Style: touching, feel good, sincere, sentimental, captivating ...
Audience: family outing, kids
Plot: christmas, dog, adoption, boy dog relationship, animal, pets, holiday, family relations, friendship, social relations, society, social issues ...
Time: 50s
Place: vietnam
⇓ similarity ⇓
32%
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