Movies like History of the World: Part I (1981)
The best movies like History of the World: Part I (1981) are Hamlet 2 (2008), Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical (2006) and Bo Burnham: Make Happy (2016). If History of the World: Part I hooked you with its comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBo Burnham: Make Happy (2016)8.0/10 from 460 votes
- NewestBad Apples (2026)Released 2026
Hamlet 2 (2008)
Failed actor-turned-worse-high-school-drama-teacher Dana Marschz rallies his Tucson students as he conceives and stages a politically incorrect musical sequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisReefer Madness: The Movie Musical (2006)
From an ominous Lecturer, a small 1930s middle American community learns of the Harper Affair, in which young Jimmy Harper finds his life of promise turn into a life of debauchery and murder thanks to the new drug menace marijuana. Along the way, he receives help from his girlfriend Mary and Jesus Himself, but always finds himself in the arms of the Reefer Man and the rest of the denizens of the Reefer Den.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBo Burnham: Make Happy (2016)
Combining his trademark wit and self-deprecating humor with original music, Bo Burnham offers up his unique twist on life in this stand-up special about life, death, sexuality, hypocrisy, mental illness and Pringles cans.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Onion Movie (2008)
Venerable newscaster Norm Archer reports the latest news in politics, health, culture and entertainment - such as an automotive recall of decapitation-inducing "Neckbelts" and a study finding that "depression hits losers hardest". This compilation of bogus news stories, celebrity profiles, movie trailers and skits come courtesy of the ace satirists at The Onion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
A wily slave must unite a virgin courtesan and his young smitten master to earn his freedom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLouis C.K.: Ridiculous (2026)
From a bee getting shot in New York City to paying strangers to take his aging father, Louis C.K. unleashes the ridiculous thoughts in his mind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Night at the Opera (1935)
The Marx Brothers take on high society and the opera world to bring two lovers together. A sly business manager and two wacky friends of two opera singers help them achieve success while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGoltzius & the Pelican Company (2012)
Hendrik Goltzius, a late-16th-century Dutch printer and engraver of erotic prints, seduces the Margrave of Alsace into paying for a printing press to make and publish illustrated books.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
Vignettes weaving together the stories of six individuals in the old West at the end of the Civil War. Following the tales of a sharp-shooting songster, a wannabe bank robber, two weary traveling performers, a lone gold prospector, a woman traveling the West to an uncertain future, and a motley crew of strangers undertaking a carriage ride.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSeriously Single (2020)
While her free-living bestie urges her to embrace singlehood, a commitment-craving social media expert can't stop following the life of a former love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEverything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex *But Were Afraid to Ask (1972)
A collection of seven vignettes, which each address a question concerning human sexuality. From aphrodisiacs to sexual perversion to the mystery of the male orgasm, characters like a court jester, a doctor, a queen and a journalist adventure through lab experiments and game shows, all seeking answers to common questions that many would never ask.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLife of Brian (1979)
Brian Cohen is an average young Jewish man, but through a series of ridiculous events, he gains a reputation as the Messiah. When he's not dodging his followers or being scolded by his shrill mother, the hapless Brian has to contend with the pompous Pontius Pilate and acronym-obsessed members of a separatist movement. Rife with Monty Python's signature absurdity, the tale finds Brian's life paralleling Biblical lore, albeit with many more laughs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe F**k-It List (2020)
After a prank blows up a studious high school senior's life, he shares a list of certain things he wishes he'd done differently — and maybe still can.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCB4 (1993)
A "rockumentary", covering the rise to fame of MC Gusto, Stab Master Arson, and Dead Mike: members of the rap group "CB4". We soon learn that these three are not what they seem and don't appear to know as much about rap music as they claim... but a lack of musical ability in an artist never hurts sales, does it? You've just got to play the part of a rap star...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad Apples (2026)
A struggling primary school teacher is forced to take drastic action because of a foul-mouthed, violent student, and uncovers how her community will turn a blind eye to the most outrageous events to preserve harmony and their sense of safety.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLisztomania (1975)
In 19th-century Hungary, Romantic composer/pianist Franz Liszt struggles to end his hedonistic ways but keeps getting sucked back in by his seductive fellow composer, Richard Wagner.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman (2012)
John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam pay tribute to their late Monty Python colleague Graham Chapman in this hilarious, 3-D animated adaptation of Chapman's brazenly fictionalized life story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisFear of a Black Hat (1994)
Chronicling the controversial career of bad boys N.W.H. (Niggaz With Hats), this uproarious 'mockumentary' lampoons all of hardcore rap's hot-button issues. This underground laugh riot recounts the rise, fall and resurrection of a clueless bunch of would-be rappers, Ice Cold, Tone-Def & Tasty Taste performing as N.W.H.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChris Rock: Selective Outrage (2023)
Chris Rock delivers an electric stand-up set on non-racist yoga pants, spoiling his kids, the Kardashians and his thoughts on the Will Smith fiasco.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDark Shadows (2012)
Vampire Barnabas Collins is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate and family have fallen into ruin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBugsy Malone (1976)
New York, 1929, a war rages between two rival gangsters, Fat Sam and Dandy Dan. Dan is in possession of a new and deadly weapon, the dreaded "splurge gun". As the custard pies fly, Bugsy Malone, an all-round nice guy, falls for Blousey Brown, a singer at Fat Sam's speakeasy. His designs on her are disrupted by the seductive songstress Tallulah who wants Bugsy for herself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo One Called Ahead (2019)
Ben seeks a weekend getaway but gets more than he bargained for when he begins to receive a series of visits from several astonishing women from the great beyond. Each encounter further rocks his world view. Will this night forever change the way he lives, loves and creates? Or will he make it to daybreak at all?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Asterix vs. Caesar (1985)
Obelix falls for a new arrival in his home village in Gaul, but is heartbroken when her true love arrives to visit her. However, the lovers are kidnapped by Romans; Asterix and Obelix set out to rescue them on a dangerous journey that will involve gladiators, slavers and beauracracy - and a personal encounter with the Emperor himself, Julius Caesar...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrease 2 (1982)
It's 1961, two years after the original Grease gang graduated, and there's a new crop of seniors and new members of the coolest cliques on campus, the Pink Ladies and T-Birds. Michael Carrington is the new kid in school - but he's been branded a brainiac. Can he fix up an old motorcycle, don a leather jacket, avoid a rumble with the leader of the T-Birds, and win the heart of Pink Lady Stephanie?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisWhen the Masks are Taken Off (1975)
A satirical anthology film transforms popular humorous and sarcastic stage songs into standalone vignettes that lampoon the absurdities of bureaucratic officials and the liberal attitudes that were systematically targeted and suppressed in that era.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Prom Party Massacre (2025)
A gay high school student throws a swinging prom party in the hopes of finally wooing the football captain - but when popular kids start turning up dead, the partygoers discover a slasher killer amongst the student body!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Tokyo! (2008)
Three distinct tales unfold in the bustling city of Tokyo. Merde, a bizarre sewer-dweller, emerges from a manhole and begins terrorizing pedestrians. After his arrest, he stands trial and lashes out at a hostile courtroom. A man who has resigned himself to a life of solitude reconsiders after meeting a charming pizza delivery woman. And finally, a happy young couple find themselves undergoing a series of frightening metamorphoses.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNot Another Church Movie (2024)
Taylor Pherry is given a mission from God Himself: to tell his family's stories and inspire his community. What he doesn't know is that the Devil has plans of his own.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Meet the Feebles (1989)
Heidi the Hippo, star of 'The Feebles Variety Hour', discovers her lover Bletch the Walrus is cheating on her. And with all the world waiting for the big show, the assorted co-stars must contend with drug addiction, extortion, robbery, disease, Vietnam flashbacks, drug dealing, and murder.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAir: The Musical (2010)
AIR follows three stories of people who feel out of place in the world, and their longing to find a connection with someone else. A middle-aged African American sings to a new love as they both cope with secret pasts in a country western bar. A young goth girl sings a 50s style ballad as she wanders the streets with a broken heart. A punk croons a modern doo wop at a punk rock show. Featuring all original music, AIR is a heartwarming drama, a romantic comedy, and an exciting musical.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Like History of the World: Part I and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like History of the World: Part I?
The closest matches to History of the World: Part I are Hamlet 2 (2008), Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical (2006) and Bo Burnham: Make Happy (2016). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after History of the World: Part I?
Start with Hamlet 2 (2008), the closest match to History of the World: Part I.
What is the highest-rated movie like History of the World: Part I?
Bo Burnham: Make Happy (2016), rated 8.0/10 by 460 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like History of the World: Part I?
Bad Apples (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like History of the World: Part I?
Yes: Hamlet 2 (2008), Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical (2006) and Bo Burnham: Make Happy (2016).
How are movies similar to History of the World: Part I chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside History of the World: Part I, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.