Movies like Angel of Despair (2017)
The best movies like Angel of Despair (2017) are Chips Ahoy (1956), Dr. Strange (1978) and The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2012). If Angel of Despair hooked you with its fantasy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex (2013)7.9/10 from 1,096 votes
- NewestÉiru (2025)Released 2025
Chips Ahoy (1956)
Chip and Dale are starving in their tree home when they notice a plentiful supply of acorns on an island in a lake. To get to the island, they borrow a miniature model ship of Donald's to sail on. The irate Donald, however, doesn't appreciate them stealing his ship and makes several attempts to get it back and thwart their scheme to get to their acorn paradise. Chip and Dale are, of course, always one step ahead of Donald.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDr. Strange (1978)
A psychiatrist becomes the new Sorcerer Supreme of the Earth in order to battle an evil Sorceress from the past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2012)
After a hurricane levels his city, a young man wanders into a mysterious library where books literally come to life. This film won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 2012.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLou (2017)
A lost-and-found box holds a mysterious and unseen monster within.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies 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
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 fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisBeat the Devil (2002)
The Driver drag-races the Devil, in order to earn James Brown his soul.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDC Showcase: The Phantom Stranger (2020)
Jess joins her friends at a party in a dilapidated mansion hosted by the mysterious Seth. When odd things begin to happen to Jess and her friends, the Phantom Stranger intervenes to save her from a dreary fate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNaughty or Nice (2012)
Krissy Kringle receives a delivery intended for Santa Claus. A magical book that shows if a person has been naughty or nice. She uses the book's power to find out about those around her, which leads to some very unusual and unintended results. Krissy realizes that everyone has some good and some not so good in them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex (2013)
While trying to prove to her family she can be mature and responsible, teen wizard Alex Russo conjures up a spell to rid herself of her bad qualities, unintentionally creating a Good and Evil Alex. When Evil Alex gets involved in a plan to take over the world by a dark wizard, Good Alex must find a way to save her family, humankind, and ultimately herself in an epic Good vs. Evil battle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisTwo of a Kind (1983)
God has had enough of the bad behavior and attitude of humankind, and has decided to start it all over. It is up to a struggling inventor and a bank teller, both with very amateur criminal minds, to save the world by falling in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Prophecy (1995)
The angel Gabriel comes to Earth to collect a soul which will end the stalemated war in Heaven. However, it is hidden inside of a Native American girl and only a former priest and a schoolteacher can stop him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBorrowed Hearts (1997)
Single mom Kathleen Russell (Roma Downey) and her daughter Zoey pretend to be Kathleen's boss's "family" so he can close a major business deal with the mysterious Mexican financier Javier Del Campo.
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 thisSnow Queen (2002)
Since a bitter winter storm stole the life of Gerda's mother, she and her father have sadly continued to run the remote hotel they call home. Lonely and isolated, Gerda's only joy is Kai, the handsome bellboy. A mysterious guest with an icy stare arrives at the hotel one night, wrapped in fur and diamonds. By daybreak, the "Snow Queen" has vanished with Kai! Gerda embarks on a journey of morphing seasons, fantastical creatures, and long-frozen mysteries in a desperate quest to find her stolen love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSnowglobe (2007)
A young woman discovers a Christmas-themed dreamworld inside a magical snowglobe. Angela loves Christmas more than anything. However, her family does not share her love for the holiday at all. When she is about to breakdown because of her family, she receives a snowglobe in the mail. When she opens up the snowglobe, she is transported into the world inside, where Christmas is the heart and soul for everyone who lives there. She discovers she can return to her world by going down a small path in the small forest at the edge of the village, and can return whenever she winds up the snowglobe. After a long set of visits to the globe, she accidentally gets trapped inside.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThru the Mirror (1936)
Mickey has been reading Alice in Wonderland, and falls asleep. He finds himself on the other side of the mirror, where the furniture is alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe 12 Days of Christmas Eve (2022)
When Brian Conway, a successful businessman whose family relationships have suffered, gets in a car accident on Christmas Eve, Santa gives him twelve chances to redo the day and repair the relationships in his life, including with his daughter Michelle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
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 fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKristin's Christmas Past (2013)
Kristin, a cynical 34-year-old, drinks a mysterious champagne on Christmas Eve and wakes up seventeen years in the past, sharing a room with her 17-year-old self. Given the chance to change the worst Christmas of her life, she attempts to fix past mistakes, only to discover surprising truths about her family that may help her mend her present-day relationships.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisHomesick Scientists (2011)
Four field researchers want to go home. Unfortunately, one of them apparently lost his mind. Since the return is not possible, as long as they remain in this state, ignited a controversy about what to do with him. Where do they come back and what was the object of their research, now becomes a much more important question.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Lilies (2014)
On a lonely night, at an unnamed town, Charlotte sits in a diner after a long drive from the middle of-nowhere. As she drinks her cup of stale coffee and reminisces about her journey, the door suddenly opens, and in come her ex girlfriend, Cleo, with a new male lover.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Purple Dictatorship (2020)
Yeda, the green-faced woman, sells homemade bread to support the house where she lives with her sick husband. Through the context of green-faced people, we know the reality of those who live on the fringes of a purple-faced society.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Éiru (2025)
Éiru is the smallest child of an Iron-Age clan. All she wants is to be a mighty warrior who is taken seriously by her kinfolk. But when the village’s well mysteriously dries up, only she is small enough to descend into the belly of the earth to investigate and bring the water of life back to her people. Éiru is the story of a child in search of a quest, and a goddess in search of a champion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Wolfman vs. Baragon (1972)
Wolfman instantly appears from behind some trees where he is reputedly abused by armed Japanese army tanks, he allegedly flees and later battles Baragon at a burning construction site.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
BIGFEET (2023)
We're all searching for something! Explorer Reed Randle goes deep into the woods on an adventure looking for the "Bigfoot" creature. Lost within himself, can he find meaning again?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
The Moddey Dhoo (2025)
Past and present collide when a mythical beast is reawakened by a couple exploring a historic castle on the Isle of Man.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
The Heretic (2020)
The Heretic is a short film created by Unity’s Demo team. With ”The Heretic”, the team used every aspect of Unity’s High Definition Rendering Pipeline, created advanced effects with the VFX Graph, and undertook the challenge of creating a realistic digital human.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Wrath of God: Confrontation (2012)
WRATH OF GOD: CONFRONTATION is the first in a series of films with overarching stories that take us from the dawn of human civilization all the way to its technological epitome. A mysterious relic lies at the heart of their pursuit. Some want power to dominate. Others want peace and freedom. In the end, the choice is our own... Adam is a man with a violent past and a desire to escape the terrible wrath he has wrought on many others. Hurt and betrayed, he turns his anger on those who gave him up in search of the relic he helped steal. Kruger is a man whose allegiance lies to whomever pays him the most. Having lost his family to war early in life, Kruger's innocence was twisted into a solitary desire for self preservation at any cost.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Angel of Despair?
The closest matches to Angel of Despair are Chips Ahoy (1956), Dr. Strange (1978) and The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Angel of Despair?
Start with Chips Ahoy (1956), the closest match to Angel of Despair.
What is the highest-rated movie like Angel of Despair?
The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex (2013), rated 7.9/10 by 1,096 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Angel of Despair?
Éiru (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Angel of Despair?
Yes: Chips Ahoy (1956), Dr. Strange (1978) and The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2012).
How are movies similar to Angel of Despair chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Angel of Despair, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.