Movies like We Were Once a Fairytale (2009)
The best movies like We Were Once a Fairytale (2009) are The Shepherd (2023), Nine Days (2021) and DC Showcase: Death (2019). If We Were Once a Fairytale hooked you with its drama and fantasy, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedNine Days (2021)6.8/10 from 307 votes
- NewestMexicali (2026)Released 2026
The Shepherd (2023)
On Christmas Eve, a fighter pilot on his way home becomes lost while flying over water and needs a miracle to land safely.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNine Days (2021)
A bureaucrat interviews five souls to decide which of them will be given a life on Earth. But he soon faces an existential challenge of his own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDC Showcase: Death (2019)
Vincent, an artist with unresolved inner demons, meets a mysterious girl who helps him come to terms with his creative legacy… and eventual death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisGame of Thrones The IMAX Experience (2015)
The first episode of this IMAX screening takes place entirely at The Wall with the Night’s Watch (S4 EP9) hopelessly outnumbered as they attempt to defend Castle Black from the Wildings and features one the fiercest and most intense battle scenes ever filmed for television. The second episode (S4 EP10), features Dany coming to grips with the realities of ruling a kingdom, Bran learning the startling reality of his destiny and Tyrion facing the truth of his unfortunate situation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHow Sarah Got Her Wings (2015)
Good Samaritan Sarah Fitzpatrick has a fatal accident just before Christmas, and finds herself in the lobby before the gates of Heaven. Certain that she will be let in, she is shocked to find that her name is not on the reservation list. However, she is granted the chance to return to Earth as an "angel in training" with the requirement to help a soul in need. Sarah has the 12 days before Christmas to secure her place on the list leaving her in the race for her after-life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisNorthfork (2003)
The year is 1955, and a great flood is coming to Northfork, Montana. A new hydroelectric dam is about to be installed in the mountains above the town, ready to submerge the valley in the name of progress. It is the responsibility of a six-man Evacuation Committee to relocate the townsfolk to higher ground. Most have duly departed, but a few stubborn stragglers remain – among them a priest caring for a sickly orphan, a boy whose fevered visions are leading him to believe he is a member of a roaming band of lost angels desperately searching for a way home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAníkúlápó (2022)
After an affair with a queen leads to his demise, an eager traveler encounters a mystical bird with the power to give him another life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAll That Money Can Buy (1941)
Farmer Jabez Stone, about to lose his land, agrees to sell his soul to the devil, known as Mr. Scratch, who gives Jabez seven years to enjoy the fruits of his sale before he collects. Over that time, Jabez pays off his debts and helps many neighboring farmers, then becomes an advocate for the upstanding Sen. Daniel Webster. When Jabez's contract with Mr. Scratch concludes, he desperately turns to Webster to represent him in a trial for his soul.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPinocchio (2009)
The enchanted story of Pinocchio.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good Witch's Gift (2010)
Almost as soon as Jake and Cassie decide to get married on Christmas Eve, complications arise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMythica: A Quest for Heroes (2014)
Stuck in a life of indentured servitude, Marek dreams of becoming a wizard. When she meets the beautiful priestess Teela in need of help, she offers her assistance and provides a motley troupe. Together they go in search of Teela's sister, who was kidnapped by a wild ogre.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisMexicali (2026)
A former special forces contractor is forced out of retirement as an avocado farmer in Mexico when local gangsters try to force him and his family off their farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDirt (2018)
In search of a lifeline for his struggling off road racing team, a man takes on a young car thief looking for a second chance, but as their worlds collide, they must struggle to forge a successful alliance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWalkaway Joe (2020)
A young boy named Dallas goes on a search for his pool-hustling father after he abandons their family. Dallas is determined to bring his father home when he meets Joe Haley, a drifter wrestling with a past he'd rather forget, who feels responsible for Dallas' safety and reluctantly takes him in.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Warrior (2001)
In feudal India, a warrior who renounces his role as the longtime enforcer to a local lord becomes the prey in a murderous hunt through the Himalayan mountains.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl in the Box (2016)
The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBright (2017)
In an alternate present-day where magical creatures live among us, two L.A. cops become embroiled in a prophesied turf battle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPirates of the Caribbean: Tales of the Code: Wedlocked (2011)
Wenches Scarlett and Giselle fix each other up for their wedding, in which they would each marry their groom. Upon realizing that both their grooms were the same man, Jack Sparrow, the two wenches found themselves in an auction led by the Auctioneer. This short film serves as a prequel to The Curse of the Black Pearl, and explains just why Jack Sparrow's boat the Jolly Mon was seen sinking at the beginning of the whole story; why the wenches were so upset with him; and how Cotton lost his tongue.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Fairy Tale After All (2022)
A stubborn teenage girl finds herself confronted by whimsical characters when she is transported into a world of fantasy and fairy tales while attending a school marionette show.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui (2004)
In the time before time, six unlikely Matoran find themselves transformed into mighty Toa. The new Toa Metru must prove themselves as true heroes, find the missing Toa Lhikan, and uncover a plot that threatens the heart of Metru Nui.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like We Were Once a Fairytale?
The closest matches to We Were Once a Fairytale are The Shepherd (2023), Nine Days (2021) and DC Showcase: Death (2019). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after We Were Once a Fairytale?
Start with The Shepherd (2023), the closest match to We Were Once a Fairytale.
What is the highest-rated movie like We Were Once a Fairytale?
Nine Days (2021), rated 6.8/10 by 307 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like We Were Once a Fairytale?
Mexicali (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like We Were Once a Fairytale?
Yes: The Shepherd (2023), Nine Days (2021) and DC Showcase: Death (2019).
How are movies similar to We Were Once a Fairytale chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside We Were Once a Fairytale, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.