Movies like Kung Pao Chicken (1997)
The best movies like Kung Pao Chicken (1997) are Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), Migration (2023) and Big Trouble in Little China (1986). If Kung Pao Chicken hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMigration (2023)7.3/10 from 2,351 votes
- NewestThe Way to the Heart (2024)Released 2024
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)
A hapless inventor finally finds success with a flying car, which a dictator from a foreign government sets out to take for himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMigration (2023)
After a migrating duck family alights on their pond with thrilling tales of far-flung places, the Mallard family embarks on a family road trip, from New England, to New York City, to tropical Jamaica.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBig Trouble in Little China (1986)
Truck driver Jack Burton gets embroiled in a supernatural battle when his best friend Wang Chi's green-eyed fiancée is kidnapped by henchmen of the sorcerer Lo Pan, who must marry a girl with green eyes in order to return to the human realm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Absent-Minded Professor (1961)
Bumbling professor Ned Brainard accidentally invents flying rubber, or "Flubber", an incredible material that gains energy every time it strikes a hard surface. It allows for the invention of shoes that can allow jumps of amazing heights and enables a modified Model-T to fly. Unfortunately, no one is interested in the material except for Alonzo Hawk, a corrupt businessman who wants to steal the material for himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChef (2014)
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.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Hoax (2006)
In what would cause a fantastic media frenzy, Clifford Irving sells his bogus biography of Howard Hughes to a premiere publishing house in the early 1970s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOn a Wing and a Prayer (2023)
After their pilot dies unexpectedly mid-flight, passenger Doug White must safely land a plane and save his entire family from insurmountable danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisAlways Be My Maybe (2019)
Reunited after 15 years, famous chef Sasha and hometown musician Marcus feel the old sparks of attraction, but struggle to adapt to each other's worlds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Karate Kid (2010)
12-year-old Dre Parker could've been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother's latest career move has landed him in China. Dre immediately falls for his classmate Mei Ying but the cultural differences make such a friendship impossible. Even worse, Dre's feelings make him an enemy of the class bully, Cheng. With no friends in a strange land, Dre has nowhere to turn but maintenance man Mr. Han, who is a kung fu master. As Han teaches Dre that kung fu is not about punches and parries, but maturity and calm, Dre realizes that facing down the bullies will be the fight of his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Forbidden Kingdom (2008)
An American teenager who is obsessed with Hong Kong cinema and kung-fu classics makes an extraordinary discovery in a Chinatown pawnshop: the legendary stick weapon of the Chinese sage and warrior, the Monkey King. With the lost relic in hand, the teenager unexpectedly finds himself travelling back to ancient China to join a crew of warriors from martial arts lore on a dangerous quest to free the imprisoned Monkey King.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKung Fu Panda (2008)
Chosen by prophecy but doubted by all, Po is an unlikely choice for the mystical title of the Dragon Warrior—a clumsy panda thrust into the world of kung fu as a deadly enemy threatens the Valley of Peace. Under reluctant guidance by Master Shifu and the Furious Five, Po must embrace who he is to unlock the power that no scroll can teach.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Aeronauts (2019)
In 1862, daredevil balloon pilot Amelia Wren teams up with pioneering meteorologist James Glaisher to advance human knowledge of the weather and fly higher than anyone in history. While breaking records and advancing scientific discovery, their voyage to the very edge of existence helps the unlikely pair find their place in the world they have left far below them. But they face physical and emotional challenges in the thin air, as the ascent becomes a fight for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man From Snowy River II (1988)
After a few years trying to earn money to marry Jessica Harrison, Jim Craig returns to Snowy River. But he finds that a lot of things have changed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Way to the Heart (2024)
Ava, an award-winning chef at a big-city restaurant, has lost her spark. Her boss sends her out to find herself to save her menu and her job. She returns home and finds little to inspire her, but when she reunites with her childhood friend Logan, Ava has to get her head out of the clouds and her foot out of her mouth to rediscover her passion for food.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFate Is the Hunter (1964)
An airline executive refuses to believe that pilot error, by his friend, caused a fatal crash and persists in looking for another reason.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfter Yang (2022)
When his young daughter's beloved companion — an android named Yang — malfunctions, Jake searches for a way to repair him. In the process, Jake discovers the life that has been passing in front of him, reconnecting with his wife and daughter across a distance he didn't know was there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJetsons: The Movie (1990)
George Jetson is forced to uproot his family when Mr. Spacely promotes him to take charge of a new factory on a distant planet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Missing (2003)
When rancher and single mother of two Maggie Gilkeson sees her teenage daughter, Lily, kidnapped by Apache rebels, she reluctantly accepts the help of her estranged father, Samuel, in tracking down the kidnappers. Along the way, the two must learn to reconcile the past and work together if they are going to have any hope of getting Lily back before she is taken over the border and forced to become a prostitute.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSon of Flubber (1963)
Beleaguered professor Ned Brainard has already run into a pile of misfortunes with his discovery of the super-elastic substance "Flubber." Now he hopes to have better luck with a gravity-busting derivative he's dubbed "Flubbergas." Ned's experiments, constantly hampered by government obstruction, earn the consternation of his wife, Betsy. But a game-winning modification to a football uniform may help Ned make the case for his fantastic new invention.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Power of One (1992)
PK, an English orphan terrorized for his family's political beliefs in Africa, turns to his only friend, a kindly world-wise prisoner, Geel Piet. Geel teaches him how to box with the motto “fight with your fists and lead with your heart”. As he grows to manhood, PK uses these words to take on the system and the injustices he sees around him - and finds that one person really can make a difference.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Kung Pao Chicken?
The closest matches to Kung Pao Chicken are Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), Migration (2023) and Big Trouble in Little China (1986). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Kung Pao Chicken?
Start with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), the closest match to Kung Pao Chicken.
What is the highest-rated movie like Kung Pao Chicken?
Migration (2023), rated 7.3/10 by 2,351 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Kung Pao Chicken?
The Way to the Heart (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Kung Pao Chicken?
Yes: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), Migration (2023) and Big Trouble in Little China (1986).
How are movies similar to Kung Pao Chicken chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Kung Pao Chicken, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.