Movies like PAINSTAR (2023)
The best movies like PAINSTAR (2023) are Sing: Thriller (2024), No Time for Nuts (2006) and Thriller Night (2011). If PAINSTAR hooked you with its science fiction and music, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedRegular Show: The Movie (2015)7.9/10 from 455 votes
- NewestLEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian (2026)Released 2026
Sing: Thriller (2024)
Buster Moon dreams up a star-studded spectacle set to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" in this animated short featuring characters from the hit "Sing" films.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNo Time for Nuts (2006)
Scrat comes across a time machine and is transported to various times all in pursuit of his beloved acorn.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThriller Night (2011)
A Shrek parody of Michael Jackson's Thriller song and music video, with Donkey singing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScrat: Spaced Out (2016)
In the main events of Ice Age: Collision Course, Scrat is captured by Scratazons who take away his acorn. Now, Scrat must rescue his Acorn and escape before the aliens can catch him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFar Far Away Idol (2004)
Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, Puss in Boots, and the rest of the Far Far Away Kingdom battle it out in a singing competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMooned (2023)
Villainous Vector must figure out how to get off the moon and return to Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMake Mine Music (1946)
In the tradition of Fantasia, Make Mine Music is a glorious collection of musically charged animated shorts featuring such fun-filled favorites as "Peter and the Wolf", narrated by the beloved voice behind Winnie the Pooh. In addition you'll enjoy such classic cartoon hits as "Casey at the Bat," "The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met" and "Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & music
SnoozefestMovies like thisPhineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe (2020)
Phineas and Ferb travel across the galaxy to rescue their older sister Candace, who has been abducted by aliens and taken to a utopia in a far-off planet, free of her pesky little brothers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTime Travel Mater (2012)
When a clock lands on Mater's engine, he travels back in time to 1909 where he meets Stanley, an ambitious young car on his way to California. With the help of Lightning McQueen, Mater alters history by convincing Stanley to stay and build Radiator Springs. Stanley meets Lizzie and they commemorate the opening of the new courthouse with their wedding.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDonald's Dilemma (1947)
Donald and Daisy are walking when he is hit by a flowerpot. He's convinced he's a famous singer, and he croons divinely, but does not recognize Daisy. He in fact does become famous. Daisy is devastated by her inability to get over him and sees a psychiatrist. He tells her she has to choose between the world having Donald, or her getting him back. She picks herself, and drops another flowerpot, which restores him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian (2026)
The Mandalorian and Grogu join their misfit allies for an epic party, celebrating their heroism. As friends regale the crowd with tales of their adventures, a pirate threat looms.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUglyDolls (2019)
In the adorably different town of Uglyville, weirdness is celebrated, strangeness is special and beauty is embraced as more than meets the eye. After traveling to the other side of a mountain, Moxy and her UglyDoll friends discover Perfection -- a town where more conventional dolls receive training before entering the real world to find the love of a child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlowers and Trees (1932)
A jealous stump threatens two trees that are in love by starting a forest fire. When the rain comes and puts out the fire the forest revives and celebrates the wedding.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMickey's Grand Opera (1936)
Mickey is preparing to conduct an opera when he chases Pluto away. Pluto crashes into a magician's props backstage and spars with the hat, its rabbits, and its doves. The opera begins: Clarabelle plays flute, Clara and Donald are the leads in Romeo and Juliet. Pluto follows the magic hat onstage, to Mickey's growing annoyance. The hat falls into a tuba, and soon the animals are filling the stage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRobot Chicken: Star Wars (2007)
A series of 30 sketches, following the hilarious antics of various characters from a galaxy, far, far away.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGroot's Pursuit (2022)
Groot investigates a spooky noise that’s been haunting the Quadrant, which leads to an intense dance off.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBarbie and the Rockers: Out of This World (1987)
Rock sensation Barbie and her band The Rockers, beloved by everyone all around the world, decide to do something no band has ever done before - preform a charity rock concert in outer space.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrange World (2022)
A journey deep into an uncharted and treacherous land, where fantastical creatures await the legendary Clades—a family of explorers whose differences threaten to topple their latest, and by far most crucial, mission.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRegular Show: The Movie (2015)
After a high school lab experiment goes horribly wrong, Mordecai and Rigby must go back in time to battle an evil volleyball coach in order to save the universe — and their friendship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisStewie Griffin: The Untold Story (2005)
The maniacal baby of the Griffin family, Stewie, meets his future self. In doing this he discovers that his future image is not what he has anticipated because of a near death experience.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Grand Day Out (1990)
Wallace and Gromit have run out of cheese, and this provides an excellent excuse for the duo to take their holiday to the moon, where, as everyone knows, there is ample cheese.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLuxna (2016)
A man named Tom, who as a young boy, was passionate about astronomy and always dreaming about outer space.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & animation
Batman Beyond (2014)
This short celebrating 75 years of Batman from artist Darwyn Cooke returns fans to the world of Batman Beyond as Terry McGinnis' futuristic Dark Knight faces his most formidable foe of all - himself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReturn (2008)
Polish animator Anna Błaszczyk’s humorous short—a collage of drawing, cut-out, and computer animation—was inspired by Stanisław Lem’s 1961 novel Return from the Stars, a time-paradox tale of an astronaut who returns to Earth after many years away.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wrong Trousers (1993)
Wallace rents out Gromit's former bedroom to a penguin, who takes up an interest in the techno trousers created by Wallace. However, Gromit later learns that the penguin is a wanted criminal.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Close Shave (1996)
Wallace's whirlwind romance with the proprietor of the local wool shop puts his head in a spin, and Gromit is framed for sheep-rustling in a fiendish criminal plot.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMotor Tour (1982)
Animated hijinks of a man whose car just will not start, no matter what he does.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Dog Day - Rome (2010)
A woman wakes up after a car accident in a strange world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Monomyth - Patsy (2014)
A very unusual wedding unfolds in front of a woman.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
I Know Everybody and Everybody's Racket (1933)
Walter Winchell meets a budding country journalist and shows her around the Biltmore Hotel.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like PAINSTAR?
The closest matches to PAINSTAR are Sing: Thriller (2024), No Time for Nuts (2006) and Thriller Night (2011). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after PAINSTAR?
Start with Sing: Thriller (2024), the closest match to PAINSTAR.
What is the highest-rated movie like PAINSTAR?
Regular Show: The Movie (2015), rated 7.9/10 by 455 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like PAINSTAR?
LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like PAINSTAR?
Yes: Sing: Thriller (2024), No Time for Nuts (2006) and Thriller Night (2011).
How are movies similar to PAINSTAR chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside PAINSTAR, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.