Movies like Al Niente (2023)
The best movies like Al Niente (2023) are Save the Last Dance (2001), Arlo the Alligator Boy (2021) and Sneakerella (2022). If Al Niente hooked you with its family and music, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSteven Universe: The Movie (2019)8.2/10 from 889 votes
- NewestAl Coda (2025)Released 2025
Save the Last Dance (2001)
After the death of her mother, Sara moves to the South Side of Chicago to live with her father and gets transferred to a majority-black school. Her life takes a turn for the better when befriends Chenille and her brother Derek, who helps her with her dancing skills.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArlo the Alligator Boy (2021)
Upon learning that he is from New York City, a wide-eyed boy, who is half human and half alligator, decides to leave his sheltered life in the swamp and search for his long lost father. A musical adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSneakerella (2022)
When El, an aspiring sneaker designer from Queens, meets Kira King, the fiercely independent daughter of legendary basketball star and sneaker tycoon Darius King, sparks fly as the two bond over their mutual affinity for sneakers. With a little nudge from his best friend and a sprinkle of Fairy Godfather magic, El finds the courage to use his talent to pursue his dream of becoming a ‘legit’ sneaker designer in the industry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & family
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Nutcracker (1993)
On Christmas Eve, a little girl named Marie falls asleep and dreams herself into a fantastic world in which her toys become larger than life. She meets up with the Nutcracker Prince who takes her on a journey to his kingdom and defends her from the Mouse King.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & family
SnoozefestMovies like thisMariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special (2020)
Faced with a holiday cheer crisis, the North Pole knows there's only one person who can save the day: Santa's great friend Mariah Carey. The Queen of Christmas creates a fabulous and star-studded spectacular to make the whole world merry!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue's Big City Adventure (2022)
When Josh gets the opportunity of a lifetime to audition for Rainbow Puppy’s Broadway musical, Josh and Blue skidoo to NYC for the very first time where they meet new friends and discover the magic of music, dance, and following one’s dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. (1953)
Young Bart Collins lives with his widowed mother Heloise. The major blight on Bart's existence is the hated piano lessons he is forced to endure under the tutelage of the autocratic Dr. Terwilliker. Bart feels that his mother has fallen under Terwilliker's sinister influence, and gripes to visiting plumber August Zabladowski, without much result. While grimly hammering away at his lessons, Bart dozes off and enters a fantastical musical dream.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTeacher's Pet (2004)
Meet Spot, a clever little dog with big dreams of becoming a real boy. When Spot finds out that a crazy scientist can make his wish come true, he takes a cross-country trek with Leonard, his best friend and master, and their mom. However, Dr. Krank's experiments are a little less than perfect, and it will take Leonard and his pet pals to right this genetic wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCurly Top (1935)
Wealthy Edward Morgan becomes charmed with a curly-haired orphan and her pretty older sister Mary and arranges to adopt both under the alias of "Mr. Jones". As he spends more time with them, he soon finds himself falling in love with Mary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960)
Doctor Gulliver is poor, so nothing - not even his charming fiancée Elisabeth - keeps him in the town he lives. He signs on to a ship to India, but in a storm he's washed off the ship and ends up on an island, which is inhibitated by very tiny people. After he managed to convince them he's harmless and is accepted as one of their citizens, their king wants to use him in war against a people of giants. Compared to them, even Gulliver is a gnome.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & family
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 music & family
SnoozefestMovies like thisAugust Rush (2007)
Evan, a musically gifted orphan, runs away from his orphanage and searches New York City for his birth parents. On his journey, he's taken under the wing of the Wizard, a homeless man who lives in an abandoned theater. After discovering his talent, the Wizard gives Evan the name "August Rush" and devises a plan to profit from his talent. Little does Evan know that his parents, Lyla and Louis, are searching for him too.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJohn Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch (2019)
John Mulaney and his kid pals tackle existential topics for all ages with catchy songs, comedy sketches and special guests in a nostalgic variety special.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSteven Universe: The Movie (2019)
Two years after bringing peace to the galaxy, Steven Universe sees his past come back to haunt him in the form of a deranged Gem who wants to destroy the Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCoda (2020)
A famous pianist at the twilight of his career meets a free-spirited music critic who soon becomes his rock as his mental state deteriorates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSnoopy Presents: It's the Small Things, Charlie Brown (2022)
Charlie Brown is determined to win the big baseball game. But things turn into a fiasco right before the matchup, when Sally bonds with a little flower on the pitcher's mound and vows to protect it at all costs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTeen Spirit (2019)
A shy teenager living on the Isle of Wight dreams of pop stardom. With the help of an unlikely mentor, she enters a singing competition that will test her integrity, talent, and ambition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Seventh Veil (1945)
A concert pianist with amnesia fights to regain her memory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Loud House Movie (2021)
The Loud family travel to Scotland and discover they are descendants of Scottish royalty as they move into their giant ancestral castle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Late Quartet (2012)
When the beloved cellist of a world-renowned string quartet is diagnosed with a life threatening illness, the group's future suddenly hangs in the balance as suppressed emotions, competing egos and uncontrollable passions threaten to derail years of friendship and collaboration. As they are about to play their 25th anniversary concert — quite possibly their last — only their intimate bond and the power of music can preserve their legacy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDissonance (2023)
A young boy must relearn piano in order to rekindle the broken relationship between him and his mother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Late Afternoon (2019)
Emily finds herself disconnected from the world around her. She goes on a journey through her memories and relives different moments from her life. Emily must look to her past so that she may fully embrace the present.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShut Up and Play the Piano (2018)
The documentary follows Chilly Gonzales from his native Canada to late '90s underground Berlin, and via Paris to the world's great philharmonic halls. Diving deep into the dichotomy of Gonzales' stage persona, where self-doubt and megalomania are just two sides of the same coin.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Ivo Pogorelich: Recital (2005)
In 1981, piano virtuoso Ivo Pogorelich took the stage at New York City's Carnegie Hall, and a musical star was born. This concert video features the pianist performing works from some of the world's greatest composers, including Johann Sebastian Bach's "English Suite No. 2 in A Minor" and Ludwig van Beethoven's "Fur Elise in A Minor." Pogorelich also plays selections from Frédéric Chopin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Sergey Prokofiev, among others.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Melbhattan (2013)
Melbhattan. Melbhattan is part homage, part pastiche of the opening sequence of Woody Allen's seminal 1979 film Manhattan. Melbhattan features more than sixty black and white tableaux of Melbourne each composed to mimic images in Allen's film.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Al Coda (2025)
A student at a prestigious music academy struggles to recreate a piece of sheet music stolen by an egocentric professor. After given just 2 hours to complete this task, he experiences the highs and lows of this process as it alters the way he thinks about the creation of art itself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
While working underground to fix a water main, Brooklyn plumbers—and brothers—Mario and Luigi are transported down a mysterious pipe and wander into a magical new world. But when the brothers are separated, Mario embarks on an epic quest to find Luigi.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisW.A. Mozart – Koncert pre klavír a orchester č. 20 d mol (2022)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Beethoven: The Complete Piano Sonatas (2012)
In this recording, seven-time GRAMMY® Award-winning pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim tackles the so-called 'New Testament' of music, Ludwig van Beethoven's thirty-two piano sonatas, composed over twenty-five years and embodying the shift of musical taste from the Classic to the Romantic, their performance requires a musician of extraordinary versatility. Daniel Barenboim is one such pianist his recordings run the gamut from Bach and Mozart to Bruckner and Bartók.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Chopin: The Space Concert (2012)
200 years after Chopin's birth, the Space Shuttle Endeavour, like a giant piano, took the music of Chopin into orbit.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Al Niente?
The closest matches to Al Niente are Save the Last Dance (2001), Arlo the Alligator Boy (2021) and Sneakerella (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Al Niente?
Start with Save the Last Dance (2001), the closest match to Al Niente.
What is the highest-rated movie like Al Niente?
Steven Universe: The Movie (2019), rated 8.2/10 by 889 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Al Niente?
Al Coda (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Al Niente chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Al Niente, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.