Movies like Empty Little People (2021)
The best movies like Empty Little People (2021) are Lord of the Flies (1963), Robinson Crusoe (1954) and Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965). If Empty Little People hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedInner Workings (2016)7.8/10 from 314 votes
- NewestRose of Nevada (2026)Released 2026
Lord of the Flies (1963)
Following a plane crash a group of schoolboys find themselves on a deserted island. They appoint a leader and attempt to create an organized society for the sake of their survival. Democracy and order soon begin to crumble when a breakaway faction regresses to savagery with horrifying consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRobinson Crusoe (1954)
The titular adventurer, after defying his parents to go to sea, survives a shipwreck and becomes a castaway on a deserted island for nearly thirty years, learning to build a new life from scratch, discovering companionship with a native man he names Friday, and eventually returning to civilisation a changed man, finding wealth and new challenges.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBunny Lake Is Missing (1965)
A woman reports that her young daughter is missing, but there seems to be no evidence that she ever existed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Rescuers (1977)
Two agents of the mouse-run International Rescue Aid Society search for a little orphan girl kidnapped by sinister treasure hunters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPollyanna (1960)
A young girl comes to an embittered town and confronts its attitude with her determination to see the best in life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dark Crystal (1982)
On another planet in the distant past, a Gelfling embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal and restore order to his world, before the grotesque race of Skeksis find and use the crystal for evil.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Gruffalo's Child (2011)
A follow up to the 2009 animated feature and adapted from the childrens' book by Julia Donaldson and Alex Scheffler. The Gruffalo's child explores the deep dark wood in search of the big bad mouse and meets the Snake, Owl and Fox in the process. She eventually finds the mouse, who manages to outwit her like the Gruffalo before!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Station Agent (2003)
When his only friend dies, a man born with dwarfism moves to rural New Jersey to live a life of solitude, only to meet a chatty hot dog vendor and a woman dealing with her own personal loss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Passage to India (1984)
Cultural mistrust and false accusations doom a friendship in British colonial India between an Indian doctor, an Englishwoman engaged to marry a city magistrate, and an English educator.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInvasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSquanto: A Warrior's Tale (1994)
It's the 17th century, and Native American Squanto roams free in the New World until he's captured by visiting sailors who take him back to England. Monk Brother Daniel teaches him social customs, but other Englishmen aren't as kind. Squanto becomes the unwilling star of performances that highlight his fighting skills, but he eventually engineers a return trip to America. He finds that his home has changed forever, and he must chart a new path for his people.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInner Workings (2016)
This is the story of the internal struggle between a man's Brain—a pragmatic protector who calculates his every move, and his Heart—a free-spirited adventurer who wants to let loose.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisScooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000)
A cosmic case of flying saucers, intergalactic intrigue and out-of-this-world romance launches Scooby-Doo! and the Mystery Inc., Gang into their most unearthly adventure ever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOnce Upon a Forest (1993)
A young mouse, mole and hedgehog risk their lives to find a cure for their badger friend, who's been poisoned by men.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStand by Me (1986)
After learning that a boy their age has been accidentally killed near their rural homes, four boys decide to go see the body. Gordie, Vern, Chris, and Teddy encounter a mean junk man and a marsh full of leeches, but they also learn more about one another and their very different home lives. Just a lark at first, the boys' adventure evolves into a defining event in their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRose of Nevada (2026)
When a fishing boat, the Rose of Nevada, lost with all hands 30 years ago, mysteriously reappears in the old harbour of a forgotten Cornish village, for those who remember, it’s surely a sign. The boat must go out to sea again and maybe then the luck of the devastated village will turn. Young father Nick and enigmatic newcomer Liam join captain Murgey, and they head to sea. But when they return, satisfied with their haul, something is amiss – they’ve slipped back in time, and the villagers greet them as if they are the original crew.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Borrowers (2011)
Family adventure based on Mary Norton's classic children's books about a race of tiny people who live under the floorboards, resourcefully surviving by borrowing bits and pieces from the large residents who dwell above. After being discovered by 'human beans', borrower Arrietty and her parents are forced to leave their home while attempting to evade the clutches of obsessive scientist Professor Mildeye.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisPaper Towns (2015)
Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge, he follows. After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Quentin arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Quentin soon learns that there are clues, and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer Quentin gets, the less he sees of the girl he thought he knew.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)
In 1900, young widow Lucy Muir learns that her seaside cottage is haunted and forms a unique relationship with the ghost.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret of Moonacre (2009)
When 13 year old Maria Merryweather's father dies, leaving her orphaned and homeless, she is forced to leave her luxurious London life to go and live with Sir Benjamin, an eccentric uncle she didn't know she had, at the mysterious Moonacre Manor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Empty Little People?
The closest matches to Empty Little People are Lord of the Flies (1963), Robinson Crusoe (1954) and Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Empty Little People?
Start with Lord of the Flies (1963), the closest match to Empty Little People.
What is the highest-rated movie like Empty Little People?
Inner Workings (2016), rated 7.8/10 by 314 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Empty Little People?
Rose of Nevada (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Empty Little People?
Yes: Lord of the Flies (1963), Robinson Crusoe (1954) and Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965).
How are movies similar to Empty Little People chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Empty Little People, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.