Movies like Short Circuit 2 (1988)
The best movies like Short Circuit 2 (1988) are Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip (1999), Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972) and Robots (2005). If Short Circuit 2 hooked you with its comedy and family, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTransformers One (2024)8.0/10 from 1,850 votes
- NewestThe SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (2025)Released 2025
Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip (1999)
After Dexter is confronted with robots who wish to "destroy the one who saved the future," he uses his time machine to see how he saved it. They declare that they are here to destroy the one who saved the future, and make ready to attack Dexter. Dexter easily destroys them with the use of various tools and gadgets from his lab. However, news that he is "The One Who Saved the Future" intrigues him, and he decides to travel through time to discover how cool he is. In the first time period he visits, Dexter finds a tall, skinny, weak version of himself working in office-designing cubicles, with Mandark as his rich, successful boss. The child Dexter unwittingly reveals the existence of blueprints regarding the "Neurotomic Protocore", and Mandark steals it after the two Dexters move forward in time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNow You See Him, Now You Don't (1972)
Dexter Riley is a science student at Medfield College who inadvertently invents a liquid capable of rendering objects and people invisible. Before Dexter and his friends, Debbie and Richard Schuyler, can even enjoy their spectacular discovery, corrupt businessman A.J. Arno plots to get his greedy hands on it. Slapstick hijinks ensue as Dexter and his pals try to thwart the evil Arno before he can use the invisibility spray to rob a bank.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRobots (2005)
Rodney Copperbottom is a young robot inventor who dreams of making the world a better place, until the evil Ratchet takes over Bigweld Industries. Now, Rodney's dreams – and those of his friends – are in danger of becoming obsolete.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHenry Danger: The Movie (2025)
Henry Hart meets a superfan—eager to fight crime with Kid Danger—who comes into possession of a device that can open up alternate realities. Facing a wild ride, Henry will need his best friend Jasper and his new superfan sidekick to find his way out or be stuck in another dimension forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRon's Gone Wrong (2021)
In a world where walking, talking, digitally connected bots have become children's best friends, an 11-year-old finds that his robot buddy doesn't quite work the same as the others do.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLEGO Star Wars Terrifying Tales (2021)
Poe Dameron and BB-8 must face the greedy crime boss Graballa the Hutt, who has purchased Darth Vader’s castle and is renovating it into the galaxy’s first all-inclusive Sith-inspired luxury hotel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (2015)
Through a series of misunderstandings, Alvin, Simon and Theodore come to believe that Dave is going to propose to his new girlfriend in New York City - and dump them. They have three days to get to him and stop the proposal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLooney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
Fed up with all the attention going to Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck quits Hollywood, teams up with recently-fired stuntman Damien Drake Jr. and embarks on a round-the-world adventure, along with Bugs and The VP of Warner Bros. Their mission? Find Damien's father, and the missing blue diamond... and stay one step ahead of The Acme Corp., who wants the diamond for their own purposes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (2025)
Desperate to be a big guy, SpongeBob sets out to prove his bravery to Mr. Krabs by following The Flying Dutchman – a mysterious swashbuckling ghost pirate – on a seafaring adventure that takes him to the deepest depths of the deep sea, where no Sponge has gone before.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBatman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2019)
Batman, Batgirl, and Robin forge an alliance with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to fight against the Turtles' sworn enemy, The Shredder, who has apparently teamed up with Ra's Al Ghul and The League of Assassins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTransformers One (2024)
The untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, better known as sworn enemies, but once were friends bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013)
After the disastrous food storm in the first film, Flint and his friends are forced to leave the town. Flint accepts the invitation from his idol Chester V to join The Live Corp Company, which has been tasked to clean the island, and where the best inventors in the world create technologies for the betterment of mankind. When Flint discovers that his machine still operates and now creates mutant food beasts like living pickles, hungry tacodiles, shrimpanzees and apple pie-thons, he and his friends must return to save the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023)
A band of fearless chickens flock together to save poultry-kind from an unsettling new threat: a nearby farm that's cooking up something suspicious.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTeen Titans Go! To the Movies (2018)
All the major DC superheroes are starring in their own films, all but the Teen Titans, so Robin is determined to remedy this situation by getting over his role as a sidekick and becoming a movie star. Thus, with a few madcap ideas and an inspirational song in their hearts, the Teen Titans head to Hollywood to fulfill their dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists (1996)
When Littlefoot's grandfather falls ill, the only way to cure him is with a flower from the forbidding land of the mists, which holds unexpected perils and danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bad Guys 2 (2025)
The now-reformed Bad Guys are trying (very, very hard) to be good, but instead find themselves hijacked into a high-stakes, globe-trotting heist, masterminded by a new team of criminals they never saw coming: The Bad Girls.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPets United (2019)
When Roger (a Robin Hood-esque, stray dog) and Belle (an elegant yet spoilt pet cat) are thrown together amidst the chaos of a robot take-over of their home city, they must push all their preconceptions aside in order to survive, as they embark on a high-stakes, action-packed adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisMulan II (2004)
Fa Mulan gets the surprise of her young life when her love, Captain Li Shang asks for her hand in marriage. Before the two can have their happily ever after, the Emperor assigns them a secret mission, to escort three princesses to Chang'an, China. Mushu is determined to drive a wedge between the couple after he learns that he will lose his guardian job if Mulan marries into the Li family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League - Attack of the Legion of Doom! (2015)
Crime is on the run as the newly formed Justice League keeps Metropolis safe and this makes evil genius Lex Luthor very unhappy. Together with Black Manta, Sinestro and a gang of ruthless recruits, Lex builds his own league and declares them the Legion of Doom. With this super powered team of terror and a plan to attack the top-secret government site, Area 52, can Lex finally be on the verge of victory? Sound the alarm and get ready for the bricks to fly when Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the Justice League face off against the world's greatest Super-Villains! It's the next all-new original movie from LEGO® and DC Comics.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSee Spot Run (2001)
A drug sniffing agent canine is a target for an assassin boss so the FBI calls Witness Protection to send him somewhere else. Meanwhile a single Mom puts her 6 year old boy James in the care of her irresponsible, mailman, neighbor, Gordon, when the babysitter bails on her. Meanwhile, an assassin mob boss hires 2 goons to kill Agent 11. But when 11 escapes from the van when they tried to kill him, he hides in Gordon's Mailtruck that James is in too. And guess what they name him. Spot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlonde Crazy (1931)
The adventures of a cocky con man and his beautiful accomplice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRockville Morning (2017)
Follow struggling photographer Eddie through a regular morning in the town of Rockville Maryland
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
The Boatniks (1970)
Young and awkward, The Coast-Guard's ensign Thomas Garland suffers from the comparison with his late father, a war hero. Which does not prevent him from falling for pretty Kate Fairchild, a young woman who runs a sailing school. Of course the way he expresses his deep sympathy for the lady leaves to be desired. And the situation does not improve when a trio of bumbling jewel thieves interferes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & family
Arctic (2018)
A man stranded in the Arctic is finally about to receive his long awaited rescue. However, after a tragic accident, his opportunity is lost and he must then decide whether to remain in the relative safety of his camp or embark on a deadly trek through the unknown for potential salvation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDirty Dancing (1987)
Expecting the usual tedium that accompanies a summer in the Catskills with her family, 17-year-old Frances 'Baby' Houseman is surprised to find herself stepping into the shoes of a professional hoofer—and unexpectedly falling in love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKunstgriff (2002)
Kunstgriff is a brilliantly filmed black and white short film. Andre F. Nebe gives proof of his storytelling abilities in this 6 minute film.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
Axel Foley returns to the land of sunshine and palm trees to investigate the near-fatal shooting of police Captain Andrew Bogomil. With the help of Sgt. Taggart and Det. Rosewood, they soon uncover that the shooting is associated with a series of "alphabet" robberies masterminded by a heartless weapons kingpin—and the chase is on.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSanta Baby 2 (2009)
Santa's in the midst of a late-life crisis -- he's tired of the responsibilities of the job and is ready to pass on the reins to Mary, who feels torn between the family business and running her own high stakes firm in New York City, along with balancing a relationship with the love of her life, Luke (Dean McDermott). The situation gets increasingly dire when Teri, an ambitious new arrival to the North Pole, sows dissension at the workshop in an effort to take over Christmas.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Crossroads (1942)
A French diplomat who's recovered from amnesia is blackmailed over crimes he can't remember.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Three Can Play That Game (2007)
Shanté Smith has moved to Atlanta and become the Love Doctor, a relationship expert who uses her knowledge of the male psyche to help women get what they want.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Like Short Circuit 2 and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Short Circuit 2?
The closest matches to Short Circuit 2 are Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip (1999), Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972) and Robots (2005). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Short Circuit 2?
Start with Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip (1999), the closest match to Short Circuit 2.
What is the highest-rated movie like Short Circuit 2?
Transformers One (2024), rated 8.0/10 by 1,850 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Short Circuit 2?
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Short Circuit 2?
Yes: Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip (1999), Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972) and Robots (2005).
How are movies similar to Short Circuit 2 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Short Circuit 2, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.