Movies like When the Moon Returns (2024)
The best movies like When the Moon Returns (2024) are The Spine of Night (2021), Strings (2004) and Cranston Academy: Monster Zone (2020). If When the Moon Returns hooked you with its animation and drama, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAvatar Aang: The Last Airbender (2026)9.0/10 from 1,431 votes
- NewestAvatar Aang: The Last Airbender (2026)Released 2026
The Spine of Night (2021)
When ancient dark magic falls into sinister hands and unleashes ages of suffering onto mankind, a group of heroes from different eras and cultures must band together in order to defeat it at all costs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrings (2004)
The story of Prince Hal who sets out to avenge his dead father against the city's rivals, the Zeriths, little knowing it was his wicked uncle Nezo who is the real killer, with his own designs on the throne.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCranston Academy: Monster Zone (2020)
An intelligent 15-year-old high school student is unexpectedly transferred to a boarding school where he opens a portal of monsters from another dimension.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHilda and the Mountain King (2021)
When Hilda wakes up in the body of a troll, she must use her wits and courage to get back home, become human again — and save the city of Trolberg.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & 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 animation & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 & animation
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMedusa (2020)
After being bitten by a lethal snake, a young woman experiences changes in her senses and appearance, as she sheds her old self and slowly turns into a deadly weapon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Such Thing (2002)
A young journalist journeys to Iceland to find her missing fiancé only to encounter a mythical creature who longs to die.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Unhealer (2021)
A botched faith healing bestows supernatural Shaman powers on a bullied teenager. When his lifelong tormentors pull a prank that kills someone he loves, he uses his powers for revenge and goes on a bloody rampage to settle the score.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisPrimal: Tales of Savagery (2019)
Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal: Tales of Savagery features a caveman and a dinosaur on the brink of extinction. Bonded by tragedy, this unlikely friendship becomes the only hope of survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Surrender (2025)
A fraught mother-daughter relationship is put to a terrifying test when the family patriarch dies, and the grieving mother hires a mysterious stranger to bring her husband back from the dead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisVesper (2022)
After the collapse of Earth's ecosystem, Vesper, a 13-year-old girl struggling to survive with her paralyzed Father, meets a mysterious Woman with a secret that forces Vesper to use her wits, strength and bio-hacking abilities to fight for the possibility of a future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWelcome to Smelliville (2021)
The Oggly family arrive at the municipal rubbish dump of Smelliville and must look for a new home, but they never feel really welcome anywhere. They stink and are for most humans just a tad too oggly. When Firebottom, the family dragon, crash-lands on the run-down rubbish tip of the small town of Smelliville, the Ogglies at once feel at home. And it's here they want to stay.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEpic (2013)
A teenager finds herself transported to a deep forest setting where a battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil is taking place. She bands together with a rag-tag group characters in order to save their world—and ours.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
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 & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFire and Ice (1983)
The villainous Nekron and his mother, Queen Juliana, plot against the human race from their frigid fortress. Creating mass destruction with huge glaciers, mother and son incur the wrath of Larn, a warrior whose entire village was destroyed by ice. When Nekron's underlings kidnap the beautiful Princess Teegra, Larn sets out to rescue her, assisted by the fierce and enigmatic Darkwolf.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCharlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure (2003)
Wilbur the pig knows how important friendship is - he learned that from a spider named Charlotte. So when Wilbur meets Cardigan, a lonely lamb, Wilbur immediately makes him his friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBasilisk: The Serpent King (2006)
Two millennia ago, a Lybian king has a basilisk (snake-shaped dragon), which petrifies people, subjected to the same fate with a golden scepter during a solar eclipse. Both these and several victims are dug up by modern archaeologist Harrison 'Harry' McColl's expedition. Despite a cryptic warning from tribal locals, everything goes to his Colorado university's museum. It's all exhibited during another eclipse, which leads to the monster reviving. Harry and some of his friends must try to petrify the monster again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAvatar Aang: The Last Airbender (2026)
Avatar Aang, the world's last Airbender, learns of an ancient power that could save his culture from extinction. With the help of his friends, he embarks on a global quest to find it before it falls into the wrong hands and threatens to upend the peace they sacrificed everything to achieve.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMonster High: Frights, Camera, Action! (2014)
When Draculaura is led to believe she's the rightful heir to the vampire throne, she and her best ghoulfriends are whisked away to Transylvania for a royal coronation to die for. But they soon discover the hunt for the queen is not over yet. The Ghouls must locate an ancient artifact known as the Vampire's Heart in order to discover the identity of the true Vampire Queen. It's a fangtastic adventure that will lead them from the Tower of Londoom, to a haunted river boat in New Goreleans and finally to the glamorous boo-vie lots of Hauntlywood. Could this be the moment when Draculara finally receives her vampire powers and discovers screams really can come true?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like When the Moon Returns?
The closest matches to When the Moon Returns are The Spine of Night (2021), Strings (2004) and Cranston Academy: Monster Zone (2020). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after When the Moon Returns?
Start with The Spine of Night (2021), the closest match to When the Moon Returns.
What is the highest-rated movie like When the Moon Returns?
Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender (2026), rated 9.0/10 by 1,431 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like When the Moon Returns?
Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like When the Moon Returns?
Yes: The Spine of Night (2021), Strings (2004) and Cranston Academy: Monster Zone (2020).
How are movies similar to When the Moon Returns chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside When the Moon Returns, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.