15 Movies Like Netflix’s ‘Allen’ That You Can’t Skip

Netflix’s sci-fi comedy-drama ‘Allen‘ (2026), directed by Daley Pearson and Jeffrey Walker, provides a unique perspective on alien encounters by following an adult named Petey who has never moved on from his childhood friendship with an extraterrestrial visitor. When his alien friend unexpectedly returns to Queensland twenty years later, the film blends retro 1990s nostalgia with an exploration of adult arrested development and lingering youth.

Viewers drawn to this heartfelt balance of extraterrestrial camaraderie, emotional longing, and comedic domestic disruption have a wide selection of cinematic works to explore. The following fifteen films explore the bonds between humans and cosmic visitors, the difficulty of moving forward after magical childhood events, and the lasting impact of the extraordinary.

‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’ (1982)

Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi classic follows Elliott, a lonely suburban boy who discovers an extraterrestrial botanist accidentally left behind on Earth. Elliott shelters the creature in his bedroom, establishing a telepathic and emotional bond that mirrors their physical sensations. Alongside his siblings, Elliott constructs a makeshift communication system out of household items to transmit a distress signal into deep space. When government agents close in on the neighborhood, the children orchestrate a bicycle escape to return the visitor to his mothership. The feature established the cinematic foundation for heartfelt narratives about youthful companionship with extraterrestrial visitors.

‘Jules’ (2023)

Directed by Marc Turtletaub, the sci-fi comedy-drama centers on Milton Robinson, an elderly widower leading an isolated life in a quiet Pennsylvania town. Milton’s predictable routine is upended when a flying saucer crash-lands in his backyard garden, carrying a mute extraterrestrial visitor. Milton and two neighboring women take the extraterrestrial into their care, feeding him apples while helping him repair his damaged vessel. The shared secret provides the isolated retirees with a revitalized sense of purpose and mutual companionship in their twilight years. The narrative explores themes of aging, domestic loneliness, and the unexpected comfort of cosmic connections.

‘Paul’ (2011)

Directed by Greg Mottola, this sci-fi road comedy stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as two British pop-culture enthusiasts touring notable American UFO sites. Near Area 51, the pair encounters Paul, an irreverent extraterrestrial voiced by Seth Rogen who has spent decades assisting government scientists. Facing impending vivisection, Paul recruits the travelers to drive him across the American Southwest to an extraction rendezvous point. Pursued by federal agents, the trio navigates cross-country obstacles while forging a genuine bond across species lines. The film blends adult humor with affection for classic extraterrestrial cinema and enduring friendship.

‘The Iron Giant’ (1999)

Set in 1957 coastal Maine during the Cold War, Brad Bird’s animated drama follows nine-year-old Hogarth Hughes after he discovers a massive metallic entity that fell from space. Hogarth conceals the mechanical visitor in a local scrapyard, reading him comic books and explaining that individuals possess the free will to choose their own moral destiny. When a paranoid federal investigator uncovers the creature’s presence, the United States military arrives to destroy the titan. Facing total annihilation from an incoming military weapon, the giant makes a conscious decision to defend the town. The feature examines innocence, the fear of the unknown, and the emotional power of cross-species connection.

‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ (1977)

Directed by Steven Spielberg, this sci-fi drama centers on Roy Neary, an Indiana power company employee whose life is altered after an encounter with unidentified aerial phenomena. The event leaves Roy with an obsessive vision of an unfamiliar mountain, straining his marriage and isolating him from his suburban peers. Unable to function in ordinary domestic life, Roy follows an intuitive pull toward Devils Tower in Wyoming alongside others experiencing identical visions. The narrative culminates in a monumental meeting where scientists communicate with an extraterrestrial mothership through light sequences and musical tones. The story presents a detailed study of how extraterrestrial contact can foster unyielding obsession and upend ordinary adult responsibilities.

‘Flight of the Navigator’ (1986)

Directed by Randal Kleiser, the film follows twelve-year-old David Freeman, who falls into a ravine in 1978 and awakens to discover that eight years have passed without him aging. After David reunites with his now-aged family, researchers discover that his brain contains star charts linked to an extraterrestrial spacecraft held in isolation. David escapes confinement by boarding the chrome vessel, which is piloted by a sentient artificial intelligence named Max. Together, David and Max complete a high-speed journey across the country to recalibrate the data required to return the boy to his proper year. The narrative explores the disorientation of lost time, childhood disruption, and unconventional extraterrestrial guidance.

‘Earth to Echo’ (2014)

Directed by Dave Green, this adventure follows three inseparable neighborhood friends facing separation due to a suburban highway construction project in Nevada. After their mobile phones begin displaying coordinates, the boys embark on a nighttime bicycle trek into the desert to locate the source of the transmission. They discover a small robotic extraterrestrial named Echo, who uses electronic frequencies to communicate and requires missing parts to rebuild his ship. Racing against covert government agents and construction crews, the trio spends their final night together helping the alien take flight. The found-footage story focuses on childhood camaraderie, the reality of growing up, and the lasting impact of shared adventure.

‘*batteries not included’ (1987)

Directed by Matthew Robbins, the narrative revolves around elderly residents of a New York City tenement resisting forced eviction by aggressive property developers. Their fortune turns when a pair of living, miniature extraterrestrial spacecraft arrive through an apartment window and nest in the rooftop maintenance shed. The mechanical visitors fix broken appliances and form domestic attachments to the residents, eventually producing offspring. Working with the extraterrestrial family, the diverse tenants unite to protect their home against demolition crews. The film explores community solidarity, aging, and the restorative influence of benevolent otherworldly guests.

‘CJ7’ (2008)

Directed by Stephen Chow, this sci-fi family comedy-drama focuses on Ti, an impoverished construction worker struggling to afford private school tuition for his son, Dicky. While searching a local landfill for discarded items, Ti retrieves a strange orb that transforms into an expressive extraterrestrial creature. Dicky names the dog-like visitor CJ7 and attempts to use the alien’s supernatural abilities to navigate school challenges and earn peer approval. When an accident strikes Ti at his construction job, the alien expends its vital energy to restore the father and preserve the household. The feature blends physical comedy with themes of parental devotion and the healing role of an affectionate alien companion.

‘Cocoon’ (1985)

Directed by Ron Howard, the film centers on three residents of a Florida retirement community who secretly swim in the pool of a nearby unoccupied property. A group of peaceful extraterrestrials known as Antareans lease the estate to store cocoons containing dormant comrades in the water. The alien energy field within the pool revitalizes the elderly swimmers, relieving their ailments and restoring their youthful physical abilities. When word spreads through the retirement complex, the community must confront the realities of mortality and decide whether to journey into deep space. The narrative examines aging, loss, and the renewed purpose that can accompany extraterrestrial contact.

‘Super 8’ (2011)

Directed by J.J. Abrams, the film is set in an Ohio industrial town during 1979, following young Joe Lamb and his friends as they produce an amateur film on an 8mm camera. While shooting near a railroad track at night, the youths witness a catastrophic train collision that releases an extraterrestrial prisoner into the community. As military forces occupy the town and residents disappear, Joe investigates the creature’s origins while working through grief following his mother’s death. Joe ultimately realizes the misunderstood creature is seeking materials to assemble a craft and escape Earth. The film pairs creature-feature suspense with a nostalgic exploration of childhood loss and shared creative passions.

‘Lilo & Stitch’ (2002)

Directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, this animated feature follows Lilo Pelekai, an isolated Hawaiian girl raised by her older sister following the death of their parents. Lilo visits an animal shelter and adopts Experiment 626, a destructive extraterrestrial fugitive disguised as a dog whom she names Stitch. Stitch uses Lilo’s home as a sanctuary to avoid pursuing galactic bounty hunters, causing chaos with his aggressive genetic programming. Through Lilo’s persistence and the cultural concept of family, Stitch develops empathy and rejects his destructive nature. The film highlights non-traditional households, emotional isolation, and the transformative power of acceptance.

‘Starman’ (1984)

Directed by John Carpenter, this sci-fi drama begins when an extraterrestrial explorer responds to the Voyager Golden Record and crashes in Wisconsin. The visitor clones the physical body of a widow’s deceased husband and asks her to transport him to a designated extraction site in Arizona. Grieving widow Jenny Hayden embarks on the cross-country drive with the alien while government agents track their movements across several states. As they travel westward, the visitor absorbs human speech, emotional depth, and moral concepts through his relationship with Jenny. The road-trip narrative focuses on cross-species understanding, the processing of grief, and mutual emotional healing.

‘Explorers’ (1985)

Directed by Joe Dante, the adventure follows Ben Crandall, an imaginative schoolboy whose recurring dreams of electronic circuitry inspire his friend Wolfgang to build a functional circuit. Joined by their friend Darren, the boys install the device inside a discarded amusement park car to construct a craft capable of atmospheric travel. Their flight takes them into space, where they are brought aboard an alien ship piloted by two extraterrestrial youths. The boys discover that the extraterrestrials intercepted broadcast signals from Earth and developed an affectionate fascination with human entertainment. The story highlights retro-futuristic imagination, adolescent invention, and the playful side of extraterrestrial contact.

‘Mac and Me’ (1988)

Directed by Stewart Raffill, the film follows a juvenile extraterrestrial who escapes from a military facility after being accidentally transported from his desert homeworld. The creature finds refuge in suburban California, where he is discovered by Eric Cruise, a boy who uses a wheelchair and has recently relocated to the area. Eric names the visitor Mac and conceals him from authorities with the help of his family and neighborhood friends. The children stage an expedition into the desert to reunite Mac with his family members, who are concealed inside a nearby cave. The family film focuses on protective childhood loyalty, physical accessibility, and cross-species companionship.

Which of these extraterrestrial friendship stories is your favorite, and what other heartwarming alien films would you recommend to fellow movie fans in the comments?