Movies like Autism and Cake (2012)
The best movies like Autism and Cake (2012) are Miracle Run (2004), Jack of the Red Hearts (2016) and Adam (2009). If Autism and Cake hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPiper (2016)8.1/10 from 1,791 votes
- NewestThe Unbreakable Boy (2025)Released 2025
Miracle Run (2004)
Corinne is a single mother of twin 5-year-old boys, Steven and Phillip, who are diagnosed with autism. Public school officials threaten to remove them from school due to their behavior, but through therapy, the boys are able to make major strides in their capabilities. A decade later, teens Steven and Phillip seek to prove they can handle high school while still struggling with their disorder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJack of the Red Hearts (2016)
A teenage con artist tricks a desperate mother into hiring her as a live-in companion for her autistic daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAdam (2009)
Adam, a lonely man with Asperger's Syndrome, develops a relationship with his upstairs neighbor, Beth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Unbreakable Boy (2025)
When Scott and Teresa LeRette learn that their son Austin is both autistic and has brittle bone disease, they initially worry for their son’s future. But with Scott’s growing faith and Austin’s incredible spirit, they become 'unbreakable', finding joy, gratitude, and courage even in the most trying times.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHome Makeover (2010)
When a social worker visits Gru’s house to assess its suitability for children, chaos ensues. Margo, Edith, and Agnes, along with the ever-mischievous Minions, scramble to give the home a makeover in record time. Their attempts to create a warm and inviting environment quickly spiral into hilarity as the Minions’ unorthodox methods lead to outrageous results. This short captures the Minions’ inventive, albeit chaotic, solutions, blending humor with heartwarming moments of teamwork.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHouse of Cards (1993)
When Ruth Matthews's husband is killed in a fall at an archaeological dig, her daughter Sally handles her father's death in a very odd manner. As Sally's condition worsens, Ruth takes her to see Jake, an expert in childhood autism. Jake attempts to bring Sally out of her mental disarray through traditional therapy methods, but Ruth takes a different route. She risks her own sanity by attempting to enter her daughter's mind and make sense of the seemingly bizarre things that Sally does, including building a wondrous house of cards
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome Play (2020)
Oliver, a lonely autistic boy, seeks solace and refuge in his ever-present cell phone and tablet. When a mysterious creature uses the boy's devices against him, his parents must fight to save their son from the monster beyond the screen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLife, Animated (2016)
At three years old, a chatty, energetic little boy named Owen Suskind ceased to speak, disappearing into autism with apparently no way out. Almost four years passed and the only stimuli that engaged Owen were Disney films. Then one day, his father donned a puppet—Iago, the wisecracking parrot from Aladdin—and asked “what’s it like to be you?” And poof! Owen replied, with dialogue from the movie. Life, Animated tells the remarkable story of how Owen found in Disney animation a pathway to language and a framework for making sense of the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Boy Called Po (2016)
A recently widowed, now single father struggles to raise his sixth-grade son with autism. The pressure of his job and coping with the loss of his wife proves to push him nearly to the breaking point.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSanjay's Super Team (2015)
SANJAY'S SUPER TEAM follows the daydream of a young Indian boy, bored with his father's religious meditation, who imagines "a kind of ancient, Hindu version of The Avengers," with the gods appearing like superheros.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Story of Luke (2013)
Sheltered by his grandparents, Luke, a young man with autism, is thrust into a world that doesn't expect anything from him. But Luke is on a quest for a job and true love. And he isn't taking no for an answer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisX+Y (2015)
Struggling to connect with those around him, a teenage math prodigy trains for the International Mathematical Olympiad, where a budding romance with a fellow contestant breaks through his emotional walls and teaches him that love cannot be calculated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Boy Who Could Fly (1986)
Milly and Louis, and their recently-widowed mom, Charlene, move to a new neighborhood. Once there, they all deal with a variety of personal problems, but Milly finds a friend in Eric, her autistic next door neighbor. Eric has a fascination with flight, and as the story progresses, he exerts an enthralling force of change on all those around him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMozart and the Whale (2005)
A love story between two savants with Asperger's syndrome, a kind of autism, whose conditions sabotage their budding relationship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRufus (2016)
Manny has moved to a new school, and it's not easy to fit in. After wishing he had more friends, Manny finds a mysterious collar and puts it on Rufus, the family dog. Suddenly, Rufus turns into a boy! Manny's not sure what to do, so he enrolls Rufus in school. When the other students notice Rufus's silly dog antics -- chasing squirrels, eating without utensils, asking for belly rubs, and catching a soccer ball with his mouth -- he immediately becomes the most popular kid around. Manny is jealous of his new best friend but eventually learns that a dog's loyalty to his owner always comes first.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Present (2014)
The short tells the story of a boy who rather spends his time indoors playing videogames instead of discovering whats waiting in front of the door. One day his Mum decides to get a little surprise for her son, which makes it hard for him to concentrate on his video game.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThree Blind Mouseketeers (1936)
As the title implies, the three blind mice are musketeers. The cat sets a number of traps for them, which they all evade (apparently without realizing it) while he sleeps. The cat eventually wakes up and begins chasing them unsuccessfully, thanks to their teamwork.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPiper (2016)
A mother bird tries to teach her little one how to find food by herself. In the process, she encounters a traumatic experience that she must overcome in order to survive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRobin Robin (2021)
A bird raised by mice begins to question where she belongs and sets off on a daring journey of self-discovery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhite Frog (2013)
When Nick, who has Asperger's syndrome, struggles to carry on after the death of his brother Chaz, Chaz's best friend Randy takes Nick under his wing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisB.Selvi & Daughters (2020)
B. Selvi & Daughters is the story of Selvi, a 50-year old woman in Chennai, India who is trying to get her fledgling online saree store off the ground. Like any Good Indian Mother, Selvi gave up her career aspirations for family life, and left all major decisions to her husband. Now, a year after his death, Selvi has taken her hobby of selling sarees door-to-door to the next level via Whatsapp, and is struggling with the confidence to build it into a real business. When Kavitha - Selvi's fiercely independent, idealistic daughter comes home for Pongal - she discovers her mother's secret with pleasant surprise, and runs an ad for the sari business without consulting her. Now, with close to a hundred orders to fulfill overnight, Selvi is overwhelmed. Can she do this? Is she capable of handling a business on her own? She needs to take the plunge in order to find out.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Hallo Mabuse (2017)
Hallo Mabuse captivates through its reduction, in which a conspiratorial narrative takes place, but even more so, the images themselves appear ambiguous, obscure, untrustworthy. A nod of the head, which seems treacherous in its mechanical repetition, meets the profile of a bearded man who does not appear to react at all in a suggested counter shot. The slight flickering of the image further intensifies the impression of an illicit agreement, of witnessing a crooked handshake. The ringing of the unseen telephone and the constant ticking of a clock lend the events a limited temporality. Something is running out, and in doing so, is also already reaching its end, a ghostly final act, which is anticipated by an explosion and breaks off with the sound of a falling guillotine.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Moon Streams (2000)
The film builds up a surface tension that seems quite rocky and solid. This surface gradually begins to crumble and a bubbling of dusty gold begins, like a geyser, to break up this tension. The surface of paints and rhythms flows with the water and everything inside of the body of work spills out until electrical creative charges accompany the liquid gold and rock. Suddenly, out of this storm comes a red and yellow explosion of warmth and creativity, spilling out over the body like a lava flow.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Shabbat Dinner (2012)
Shabbat Dinner is boring as usual for William Shore. His mother has invited two crazy hippies and their son and is doing her best to show off, his father is drunk and berating their oddball guests, and he doesn't have much in common with their son Virgo. That is, until Virgo tells him that he has just come out as gay.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Somewhat Agree (2004)
Jérémie has a job recruiting subjects for testing. He'd rather recruit Rodrigue for something else entirely.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Caught Red Handed (2009)
An ambivalent meeting between two friends. Classmates Victor and Amanda meet at a cafe in Stockholm one afternoon before Christmas to study for an exam. Amanda wants to talk about what they read, but Victor steers the conversation into something completely different, and suddenly they both run the risk of losing their face.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Last Day of December (2008)
A man tries to reconcile a harrowing tale from his past and confront old questions that will keep on haunting him forever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Butterflies Do Not Drink Coffee (2009)
Pierre is a very shy man in his sixties, with no family or friends and who just retired. What will he do now?
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Myth of the Water Goddess (2022)
A little girl will have to sing to the mythical goddess of water so that this valuable liquid can reach her community.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Empty (2022)
The impact of the pandemic has left a void in places that were once teeming with people. Spaces for education, sports, religion, culture and entertainment were desolate, waiting for humanity to fill these spaces again.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Autism and Cake?
The closest matches to Autism and Cake are Miracle Run (2004), Jack of the Red Hearts (2016) and Adam (2009). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Autism and Cake?
Start with Miracle Run (2004), the closest match to Autism and Cake.
What is the highest-rated movie like Autism and Cake?
Piper (2016), rated 8.1/10 by 1,791 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Autism and Cake?
The Unbreakable Boy (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Autism and Cake?
Yes: Miracle Run (2004), Jack of the Red Hearts (2016) and Adam (2009).
How are movies similar to Autism and Cake chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Autism and Cake, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.