12 Best Movies like Wild Child

Looking for something new to watch?

I recently came across Wild Child an Emma Roberts film directed by Nick Moore, in which she plays Poppy Moore, a rich and naturally wild teenager sent by her widowed father to a new boarding school in England.

Like every other boarding school movie, the new place and people change her, and she discovers the true meaning of friendship, staying true to herself, and more.

However, the film inspired me to seek out something similar to Wild Child, and I found a number of candidates to recommend.

Monte Carlo, where a young girl gets mistaken for a British heiress; Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging for those who want a love story and failing marriages or Confessions Of A Shopaholic, where a college grad lands a job as a financial journalist to nurture her shopping addiction.

However, while all of these are definitely similar to Wild Child, I have an even better list of 12 films that you should definitely watch if Wild Child is a film you liked.

Ready to dive in? Keep scrolling down.

Mean Girls (2004)

The first on our list of movies like Wild Child is Mean Girls, from 2004.

The film is a teen movie comedy that deals with the life of a high school girl, and everything that comes with it. That means high school girls’ drama, petty school politics, and more.

The film follows a young teenage girl called Cady, who was homeschooled by her parents, but has now joined a new school.

While trying to land on her feet after transfer, she gets noticed about the “queen bee” of a group of girls called “Plastics”. An A-list girl clique at the school, each considered a spoiled brat by the rest of their peers.

The alpha Plastic Regina George, is the original mean girl. While Cady’s new friends wish to dismantle Regina’s reign, Cady herself vows for superiority, and loses everyone along the way.

By the end of it, Regina does end up losing her throne and the Plastics get disbanded, while new rivalries arise.

The Guardian described Mean Girls as “a standard-issue high-school comedy, all set to dominate the multiplexes this summer, focused on the perennially fascinating subject of cruelty and bullying and generally being a bitch – or, as this film coyly rephrases it, a “by-otch”.”

The film stars Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tina Fey, Amanda Seyfried, Lacey Chabert, Jonathan Bennett, and others.

The DUFF (2015)

Moving on to the second spot on the list of movies like Wild Child, we have The DUFF, where “DUFF” apparently stands for “Designated Ugly Fat Friend.”

The expression refers to those individuals who make others feel better about themselves, whether or not they actually deserve to feel that way.

The film follows a group of teenagers, including Bianca, Casey, Jess, Wesley, Toby, and Madison, where Bianca is the prevalent DUFF.

This, obviously, doesn’t make her feel that great, and she eventually decides to overcome her social issues, try to become the popular girl and dethrone this film’s queen teenage girl, Madison.

Her goal is to prove that anyone can be a DUFF to someone, irrespective of who they are.

The film belongs on a list of the best movies like Wild Child because it has the right message on some level, which is to simply appreciate others, and not use them. How it goes about delivering it, however, is a different matter.

The film stars Mae Whitman, Robbie Amell, Bella Thorne, Bianca A. Santos, Skyler Samuels, Ken Jeong, and others.

The Princess Diaries (2001)

The third on our list of movies like Wild Child is The Princess Diaries, a film that is often referenced as the reason why Anne Hathaway became a Hollywood icon that she is today.

The film follows a young woman from San Francisco called Mia Thermopolis. Mia is a bit of an odd girl and a messy teenager, but also, unknown to her, the heiress to the throne of Genovia.

She’s surprised when she gets approached by her estranged grandma, and the current Queen of Genovia. Understandably, her life gets flipped upside down, and everything changes.

Her grandmother teaches her how to be a princess, and prepares her to eventually become the next queen.

The Princess Diaries’ story is fairly predictable for the most part, but it does have moments when it is authentically funny, similar to other movies in this genre.

Generally, it is a sweet movie, and if you liked Wild Child, I believe that you will appreciate this one, as well.

The film stars Anne Hathaway, Julie Andrews, Mandy Moore, Robert Schwartzman, Heather Matarazzo, and others.

Legally Blonde (2001)

In the fourth spot, we have a film that is potentially the most popular and best-known on this list, Legally Blonde.

It doesn’t often happen that a pink Barbie goes to Harvard Law School to impress a guy, and even less often that she succeeds in getting there. And it almost never happens that she becomes a star of Harvard, and then also the courtroom.

All of these things happened to Elle Woods, a sorority queen who dominated the high school life until her boyfriend leaves her believing that she is empty and that there is nothing special about her.

So, she decides to prove him wrong by applying for Harvard, and actually getting in. Now, she’s blonde, dressed in pink, and she’s ready to show her ex boyfriend, Warner Huntington III, (who attends the same school) that she can be better than him.

Of course, there is a massive cultural shock at first, but Elle adjusts remarkably well, and at the end of the film, we see her as a college grad, holding a speech after successfully finishing the course.

Legally Blonde even had a Golden Globe Nomination, which definitely means that this musical comedy deserves a place on the list.

The film stars Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Coolidge, Selma Blair, Luke Wilson, Holland Taylor, Victor Garber, and others.

The House Bunny (2008)

Up next, we have a fantastic comedy called The House Bunny.

The film follows a Playboy bunny Shelley, who gets kicked out of the playboy mansion. In need of work, she decides to take a job of acting as the house mother for a sorority filled with socially awkward girls.

While not an ideal situation, and being far from Shelley’s carefree life that she got to live up to that point, Shelley finds a way to use her skills about makeup and men to help her girls rise up to the challenge and keep their house from a rivaling sorority.

However, Shelley also needs something that the girls have and she doesn’t, a sense of individuality. By the end of it, they help each other grow, and the film has a happy ending.

The film stars Emma Stone, Anna Faris, Colin Hanks, Kat Dennings, Katharine McPhee, Rumer Willis, and others.

LOL (2012)

Halfway down the list, we have LOL, a film that shows the challenges of being a teenager and leading a high school life in a world constantly connected by social media, such as Facebook, iTunes, YouTube, and more.

In this situation, Lola and her friends are trying to go through high school, through romance and friendship, and at the same time, dodge their parents who seem too confused by the modern world to be able to offer any help.

However, when the new year at school begins, Lola gets her heart broken by her boyfriend. Meanwhile, her best friend, a promising musician Kyle, confuses her even more by admitting that he has feelings for her.

Lola is not even safe at home, as her mom decides to “accidentally” read her journal.

The film is quite an emotional roller coaster, and it works well when it comes to getting an insight into a modern teen’s life.

The film stars Miley Cyrus, Douglas Booth, Demi Moore, Ashley Hinshaw, Ashley Greene, Thomas Jane, and others.

A Cinderella Story (2004)

For those who wish to revisit the early 2000s and see exactly what a teenager’s life was like in 2004, I recommend A Cinderella Story.

This is a romantic comedy that actually does serve as a modern take on the classic Disney fairy tale, revolving around two teens who never met, but have maintained contact over the internet.

The pair was supposed to meet for the first time at the school’s Halloween dance.

Of course, there is an exploiting stepmother, as well as some things that were modernized, such as Hilary Duff’s character losing her phone instead of a shoe.

A Cinderella Story has become a cult classic since release, although the critics did not like it. In fact, Roger Ebert said that “this is a lame, stupid movie, but Warner Bros. is spending a fortune to persuade you to see it.”

The film stars Hilary Duff, Chad Michael Murray, Jennifer Coolidge, Selena Gomez, Drew Seeley, Lucy Hale, and others.

Flipped (2010)

Moving on with our list of movies like Wild Child, we have Flipped. This is one of the more underestimated movies like Wild Child, and it plays out as a story of two adolescents and their raging emotions for one another.

Juli has been attracted by Bryce ever since second grade, but Bryce always thought of her as somewhat unusual. However, as they grew, he started developing curiosity in her interests, even though never really noticing Juli’s attraction to him.

Eventually, Juli decides that her feelings will never be returned, and that they might even be an exaggeration.

This is where they become flipped, and their emotional thought-process reverses.

With that, Bryce becomes more and more in love, while Juli’s feelings for him start to disappear. If you want to know what happens by the end of the film, I definitely recommend to give it a go yourself.

The film stars Callan McAuliffe, Madeline Carroll, Morgan Lily, Israel Broussard, Stefanie Scott, Ryan Ketzner, and others.

Bring It On (2000)

Moving on to the ninth spot, we have Bring It On, and it is easy to see what makes it fun for those who want more films like Wild Child.

The plot kicks off when an award-winning cheerleading squad discovered that their perfect routines were stolen by an other squad. With the yearly championship inching closer and closer, they need to find something new and original for themselves.

However, while the plot might not be so impressive when described like that, I actually enjoyed this movie and its writing.

More than that, the actors actually speak like teenagers, instead of 30-year-olds pretending to be teens.

Not only that, but the movie somehow managed to skip the pitfalls of most other teen movies, as well as the tropes that everyone is tired of seeing at this point.

The film is legitimately enjoyable, so if you are in for the best high school drama from early 2000s, definitely check it out.

The film stars Kirsten Dunst, Gabrielle Union, Eliza Dushku, Jesse Bradford, Peyton Reed, Clare Kramer, and others.

Easy A (2010)

If you are a fan of Wild Child, then you will also love Easy A, commonly considered to be one of the best Emma Stone movies before La La Land, and definitely one of the best overall.

The film focuses on Olive Penderghast, who is a 17-year-old virgin, and pretty much anonymous and unknown in her own high school.

When her best friend asks her about it, she lies, saying that she lost her virginity during the previous weekend. The only problem is that their conversation is overheard, and the rumor of Olive’s most adventurous nights spreads around the school.

Then, Olive’s gay friend asks her to say that they slept together in order for him to become more popular, and she agrees. Before long, all the boys at the school come with the same plea, all wishing to become popular, and asking her to lie about sleeping with them.

By the end of the film, Olive has supposedly slept with half the school, when in reality, she is still a virgin.

The film stars Emma Stone, Penn Badgley, Amanda Bynes, Stanley Tucci, Lisa Kudrow, Aly Michalka, and others.

The Parent Trap (1961)

Nearing the end of the list, we have The Parent Trap, the oldest film like Wild Child on this list, dating back to 1961. This pre-teens movie can be considered the forefather of all other popular teenage movies that will emerge in decades to come.

In and of itself, it is a story about two identical twins, Sharon and Susan, who got separated at birth after their parents got a divorce.

Not even knowing about one another, they accidentally meet in summer camp years later. After realizing the truth, the pair starts plotting how to bring their parents back together, and they decide to change places.

As a result, Susan becomes Sharon and goes home with their father, while Sharon becomes Susan, and goes home to their mother.

Soon, however, the twins uncover the father’s plans to remarry, and they end up conspiring with their mother to sabotage the father’s wedding plans.

The film is definitely a great choice for Wild Child fans, and also quite ahead of its time.

The film was remade in 1998 starring Lindsay Lohan, Natasha Richardson, Dennis Quaid, Elaine Hendrix, Lisa Ann Walter, and others.

This 1961 edition stars Hayley Mills, Maureen O’Hara, Brian Keith, Charles Ruggles and Una Merkel.

Sydney White (2007)

Last, but not least on our list of films like Wild Child, we have Sydney White, a film about the daughter of a plumber who is also an aspiring sorority member who wishes to join the same sorority in her freshman year in San Francisco that her mother was in years ago.

However, along the way, she discovers the treacherous ways of modern-day sororities, and vows to cleanse the prevailing social hierarchy of her boarding school.

She befriends seven others, all of which are outcasts, and embarks on the way of becoming the sorority queen, which will grant her greater influence.

The film aptly utilizes the otherwise left-over sub-plot, bringing forth a rather unique and fresh premise. Definitely worth a watch.

The film stars Amanda Bynes, Mat Long, Sara Paxton, Jack Carpenter, Jeremy Howard, Danny Strong, and others.

What’s your favorite movie on the list? Or did I miss it out? Let me know in the comments section below as I would love to know.