20 best movies like Summer Rental (1985)

When an overachieving high school student decides to travel around the country to choose the perfect college, her overprotective cop father also decides to accompany her in order to keep her on the straight and narrow.

Ivan is a 400-pound silverback gorilla who shares a communal habitat in a suburban shopping mall with Stella the elephant, Bob the dog, and various other animals. He has few memories of the jungle where he was captured, but when a baby elephant named Ruby arrives, it touches something deep within him. Ruby is recently separated from her family in the wild, which causes him to question his life, where he comes from and where he ultimately wants to be.

Single mom Laura, along with her awkward 14 year-old son Henry is forced to drive Jack, her estranged, care-free pot dealing father across country after he's kicked out of yet another nursing home.

When Chef Carl Casper suddenly quits his job at a prominent Los Angeles restaurant after refusing to compromise his creative integrity for its controlling owner, he is left to figure out what's next. Finding himself in Miami, he teams up with his ex-wife, his friend and his son to launch a food truck. Taking to the road, Chef Carl goes back to his roots to reignite his passion for the kitchen -- and zest for life and love.

A Heffley family road trip to attend Meemaw's 90th birthday party goes hilariously off course thanks to Greg's newest scheme to get to a video gaming convention.

Bingo, the runaway circus dog, is off the leash and saving Chuckie's life! Bingo and the boy become the best of friends in this canine comedy featuring doggy disguises and skateboarding, pinball and prison. Chuckie and his parents (Cindy Williams and David Rasche) are moving house, a thousand miles away, but Bingo won't be allowed to join them. Chuckie and Bingo's determination to be reunited is t

A boy goes on an adventure of a lifetime when Luna, a baby tiger cub, escapes from an animal sanctuary and follows him home. It is up to one boy, his friend, and his dog to return Luna to her home before she destroys his parents' home.

Manny has moved to a new school, and it's not easy to fit in. After wishing he had more friends, Manny finds a mysterious collar and puts it on Rufus, the family dog. Suddenly, Rufus turns into a boy! Manny's not sure what to do, so he enrolls Rufus in school. When the other students notice Rufus's silly dog antics -- chasing squirrels, eating without utensils, asking for belly rubs, and catching a soccer ball with his mouth -- he immediately becomes the most popular kid around. Manny is jealous of his new best friend but eventually learns that a dog's loyalty to his owner always comes first.

When Steve Dallas, a womanizing local weatherman, hears that his off-the-grid best friend Ben Baker has lost his estranged father, the two return to Ben's childhood home. Once there, they discover Ben has inherited the family fortune, and the ill-equipped duo must battle Ben's formidable sister and deal with his father's gorgeous 25-year old widow.

Motivational Speaker Jack Corcoran is determined to get his career off the ground, but the biggest gigs he can get are the ones nobody wants. Then one day, he receives a telegram that his circus clown father has passed away, and has left a "huge" inheritance. When he gets there, he finds that his inheritance has come in the form of an elephant that was his father's pride and joy in circus acts. His main intention is to sell the pachyderm off. Jack must choose between loud and rude zookeeper Mo or attractive animal show owner Terry. As the two treks through the country Jack and the elephant develop a bond, and it changes his approach on life for the better.

Fall into puppy love with “the world’s worst dog”, who now has a frisky voice and an attitude to match. Join Marley for his mischievous puppy years, as he and his summer pal, Bodie Grogan, wreak havoc on a neighborhood dog contest. Marley outwits Dobermans, Shepherds and Collies, while stealing hearts in his own unique and lovable way. Get your paws on MARLEY & ME: THE PUPPY YEARS and fetch big laughs for the whole family!

Beatriz, an immigrant from a poor town in Mexico, has drawn on her innate kindness to build a career as a health practitioner. Doug Strutt is a cutthroat, self-satisfied billionaire. When these two opposites meet at a dinner party, their worlds collide, and neither will ever be the same.

The film follows a man with an unwanted gift for healing who meets a teenager with cancer who helps him to find himself.

Boyd Mitchler and his family must spend Christmas with his estranged family of misfits. Upon realizing that he left all his son's gifts at home, he hits the road with his dad in an attempt to make the 8-hour round trip before sunrise.

Third-grader Judy Moody sets out to have the most thrilling summer of her life.

Stevie is a sweet 13-year-old about to explode. His mom is loving and attentive, but a little too forthcoming about her romantic life. His big brother is a taciturn and violent bully. So Stevie searches his working-class Los Angeles suburb for somewhere to belong. He finds it at the Motor Avenue skate shop.

Aglaé, a young factory worker, has only one focus in life: her job at a car crash test site. When she learns that the factory is going to be relocated abroad, she accepts, to everyone's surprise, to go to India in order to hold on to her job. Accompanied by two colleagues, she sets out on a perilous road trip to the other side of the world.

The four-inch-tall Clock family secretly share a house with the normal-sized Lender family, "borrowing" such items as thread, safety pins, batteries and scraps of food. However, their peaceful co-existence is disturbed when evil lawyer Ocious P. Potter steals the will granting title to the house, which he plans to demolish in order to build apartments. The Lenders are forced to move, and the Clocks face the risk of being exposed to the normal-sized world.

Maggie Peyton, the new owner of Number 53 - the free-wheelin' Volkswagen bug with a mind of its own - puts the car through its paces on the road to becoming a NASCAR competitor.

Estranged from his father, college student Jake is lured home to New York for Christmas with the promise of receiving a classic Porsche as a gift. When the bullying football team dumps him in the desert in a Santa suit, Jake is left without identification or money to help him make the journey. Meanwhile, his girlfriend, Allie, does not know where he is, and accepts a cross-country ride from Jake's rival, Eddie.

The story follows five disparate high school students - Olivia, Mo, Charlie, Stella, and Wen who meet in detention. They realize they are destined to rock, and ultimately form a band that becomes a champion for students sidelined by the high school elite.

What happens when three sets of BFF's become enemies?

In a depressed Texas town, British foreign exchange teacher Anna attempts to inject some life into her hopeless kids by introducing them to soccer. They're terrible at first, but Anna and her football-hero assistant whip them into shape. As they work overtime, the pair help kids build their self-esteem and also get involved in solving family squabbles.

Two outsiders travel around the countryside during school holidays.

When the five puppies stumble upon the Five Power Rings of Inspiron (alien artifacts abandoned on Earth 16 years ago), they all develop super powers, and are enlisted in Captain Canine's battle against the evil Darkon alien Commander Drex. Captain Canine is commander of space ship Megasis and is from the planet Inspiron. He is the mortal enemy of the Commander Drex. In charge of protecting Princess Jorala and the Five Power Rings from Drex, Megasis places the rings in hiding on the planet Earth, and takes the form of a German Shepherd, intending to stay on earth in very deep cover. Adopted by aspiring young comic book artist Ian Shaeffer, and renamed Captain Canine, he spends 16 happy years on Earth, as Ian recounts the stories of his space adventures. But when the five Buddies discover the Power Rings and instantly develop superpowers, Captain Canine has to train them very quickly indeed - for Commander Drex is headed back to earth, and this time he's determined to succeed.

Shakey is a family film about a 35-year-old widower named J.T. O'Neil, his precocious 10-year-old daughter and their devoted mutt Shakey. After moving from a small town to Chicago and missing the fine print in their rental contract, J.T. is forced to try and get rid of his lovable pooch. Shakey and Chandler won't have it and hatch a plan to keep Shakey and teach J.T. a valuable lesson about loyalty and the importance of keeping family together.

A family dog—with a near-human soul and a philosopher's mind—evaluates his life through the lessons learned by his human owner, a race-car driver.

Story revolves around a young boxer, Izzy Daniels, who trains to follow in his father's footsteps by winning the Golden Glove. When his friend, Mary, however, asks him to substitute for a team member in a Double Dutch tournament, the young man discovers a hidden passion for jump roping

The film centers on a fight promoter (Mark Feuerstein) deeply in debt to his crooked rival. Desperate for a new fighter that will help him win back everything he owes, the promoter catches a break when a 450-pound church handyman (Paul "Big Show" Wight) who has spent his entire life in an orphanage agrees to wrestle on behalf of his fellow orphans.

Climbing aboard their mammoth recreational vehicle for a cross-country road trip to the Colorado Rockies, the McNeive family – led by dysfunctional patriarch, Bob – prepares for the adventure of a lifetime. But spending two weeks together in one seriously small space has a way of cramping their style.

A bet pits a British inventor, a Chinese thief and a French artist on a worldwide adventure that they can circle the globe in 80 days.

Two neighbors have it out after one of them decorates his house for the holidays so brightly that it can be seen from space.

An inventor and his mom hit the road together so he can sell his latest invention.

The world is closing in on Greta Driscoll. On the cusp of turning fifteen she can't bear to leave her childhood, it contains all the things that give her comfort in this incomprehensible new world. She floats in a bubble of loserdom with her only friend Elliott, until her parents throw her a surprise 15th birthday party and she's flung into a parallel place; a world that's weirdly erotic, a little bit violent and thoroughly ludicrous - only there can she find herself.

Shattered illusions are hard to repair -- especially for a good-hearted zebra named Stripes who's spent his life on a Kentucky farm amidst the sorely mistaken notion that he's a debonair thoroughbred. Once he faces the fact that his stark stripes mark him as different, he decides he'll race anyway. And with help from the young girl who raised him, he just might end up in the winner's circle.

Spain, 1966. An English teacher who travels to Almería when he hears that John Lennon is making a film there befriends with a 16-year-old boy who has run away from home and a young girl who also seems to be running away from something.

Corey refuses to let his emotionally disturbed younger brother Jimmy be institutionalized, and the two run away together. They soon join forces with a resourceful girl, who notices that Jimmy has a special talent: he is a "wizard" at video games and can achieve the high score on absolutely everything he plays. Evading their parents and a sinister bounty hunter, the trio head for a climactic showdown at the national video game championships in California.

The story revolves around three soldiers — Colee, T.K. and Cheaver — who return from the Iraq War after suffering injuries and learn that life has moved on without them. They end up on an unexpected road trip across the U.S.

A gang of innocent but feisty kids who lead carefree lives in Chandan Nagar colony, take on the big bad world of politics when one of their friend's life is endangered.

Whenever trouble strikes in one of her relationships, single mother Mary Jo Walker and her daughter, Ava, pack up and move to another city, a routine Ava is tiring of. This time, they are helped on their move to San Diego by trucker Jack Ranson. While Ava settles in, getting a leading part in the school play, Jack starts dating Mary Jo but soon reveals himself to be controlling and aggressive. Mary Jo prepares to flee again, angering Ava.

After discovering a magical mask, an 11-year-old aspiring wrestler enters a competition to become the next WWE superstar by using special powers from a magical mask.

When Ross is diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and given six weeks to live, his newly engaged older brother Seth offers to spend his $50,000 wedding fund on a final trip of a lifetime. Their plans are complicated when Ross invites a call girl to join the group and Seth’s uptight fiancée insists on tagging along. This raucous road trip comedy features hip-hop star Asher Roth.

David Portnoy, a 15-year-old birding fanatic, thinks that he's made the discovery of a lifetime. So, on the eve of his father's remarriage, he escapes on an epic road trip with his best friends to solidify their place in birding history.

This film is about Mary-Kate and Ashley turning sixteen years old and going on a road trip without parents. They are headed to Utah for the Olympics and arrive late. There are also scenes in Las Vegas. The twins do not drive alone in this movie, they take a bus. Written by Anonymous Taylor and Kylie Hunter are celebrating their 16th birthday and now they are licensed to drive. They plan to go to Salt Lake City, Utah with their friends for the 2002 Winter Olympics. When they stop at a local restaurant on their way, they notice that their car is stolen and their adventure becomes a misadventure when they board the wrong plane to San Diego. They make it to Salt Lake City but they don't make it to the Olympics. Now they decide to create their own fun to celebrate their 16th birthday.

More interested in partying and flirting with young musicians than work, veteran rock journalist Ellie Klug has one last chance to prove her value to her magazine’s editor: a no-stone-unturned search to discover what really happened to long lost rock god, Matt Smith, who also happens to be her ex-boyfriend. Teaming up with an eccentric amateur documentary filmmaker, Ellie hits the road in search of answers.

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.

A foster boy is befriended by a lost dog who turns out to belong to the President of the United States. The boy decides to run away from the foster home to return the canine to the White House -- "Because it's the right thing to do!"

During the first day of his new school year, a fifth grade boy squares off against a bully and winds up accepting a dare that could change the balance of power within the class.

Clifford Peach, an easygoing teenager, is finding less than easy to fit in at his new high school, where a tough-talking bully terrorizes his classmates and extorts their lunch money. Refusing to pay up, Clifford enlist the aid of an overgrown misfit whose mere presence intimidates students and teachers alike. But their "business relationship" soon turns personal as Clifford and the troubled loner forge a winning alliance against their intimidators - and a very special friendship with each other.

In Depression-era London, a now-grown Jane and Michael Banks, along with Michael's three children, are visited by the enigmatic Mary Poppins following a personal loss. Through her unique magical skills, and with the aid of her friend Jack, she helps the family rediscover the joy and wonder missing in their lives.