Movies like Walt Disney: Behind the Magic (2024)

Waking Sleeping Beauty (2010)

By the mid-1980s, the fabled animation studios of Walt Disney had fallen on hard times. The artists were polarized between newcomers hungry to innovate and old timers not yet ready to relinquish control. These conditions produced a series of box-office flops and pessimistic forecasts: maybe the best days of animation were over. Maybe the public didn't care. Only a miracle or a magic spell could produce a happy ending. Waking Sleeping Beauty is no fairy tale. It's the true story of how Disney regained its magic with a staggering output of hits - "Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast ," "Aladdin," "The Lion King," and more - over a 10-year period.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Ozzy: No Escape from Now (2025)

Ozzy Osbourne faces his identity and mortality after his world stops. Dealing with health issues and Parkinson's, he questions if he can perform again while music remains his life's cornerstone.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Cuba and the Cameraman (2017)

This revealing portrait of Cuba follows the lives of Fidel Castro and three Cuban families affected by his policies over the last four decades.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022)

An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Camp Confidential: America's Secret Nazis (2021)

Camp Confidential: America's Secret Nazis, is a documentary short featuring animation that focuses on the story of a top secret POW camp that was classified for over 5 decades. In the midst of WWII, a group of young Jewish refugees are assigned to guard a top secret POW camp near Washington D.C. The Jewish soldiers soon discover that their prisoners are no other than Hitler's top scientists - What starts out as an intelligence mission to gather information from the Nazis, soon gets a shocking twist when the Jewish soldiers are tasked with a very different mission altogether. A mission that would question their moral values - exposing a dark secret from America's past.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

HyperNormalisation (2016)

We live in a world where the powerful deceive us. We know they lie. They know we know they lie. They do not care. We say we care, but we do nothing, and nothing ever changes. It is normal. Welcome to the post-truth world. How we got to where we are now…

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Spider-Man: All Roads Lead to No Way Home (2022)

JB Smoove and Martin Starr host a celebration of 20 years of "Spider-Man" movies, from the Sam Raimi trilogy to Marc Webb's movies and the trio from Jon Watts.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Heart of a Dog (2015)

Musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother and her beloved dog.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition (2026)

With unprecedented access to the official archives and intimate recollections from the band, both current and past, Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition invites fans to experience one of the most iconic journeys in music history. Spanning five decades, this electrifying documentary charts the band’s rise from the pubs of East London to the world’s biggest stadiums. Featuring exclusive interviews with band members and contributors such as Javier Bardem, Lars Ulrich and Chuck D, as well as all-new animated sequences of the band's legendary mascot, Eddie, the film offers a rare and intimate look at Iron Maiden’s uncompromising vision and unwavering connection with their truly global army of fans.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Class Action Park (2020)

Class Action Park explores the legend, legacy, and truth behind the 1980s water park in Vernon, New Jersey that long ago entered the realm of myth. Known for its dangerous, unsupervised rides and lack of regulation, guests of Action Park expected to walk away with injuries and were lucky if they made it out alive. Shirking the trappings of nostalgia, the film uses investigative journalism, original animations, recordings, and interviews with the people who lived it to reveal the true story of Action Park.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Some Kind of Heaven (2021)

Behind the gates of a palm-tree-lined fantasyland, three residents and one interloper at America's largest retirement community strive to find happiness.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

The Last Repair Shop (2024)

In a warehouse in the heart of Los Angeles, a dwindling handful of devoted craftspeople maintain more than 80,000 student musical instruments, the largest remaining workshop in America of its kind. Meet four unforgettable characters whose broken-and-repaired lives have been dedicated to bringing so much more than music to the schoolchildren of this city.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Samsara (2011)

Filmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Oprah Winfrey Presents: When They See Us Now (2019)

Oprah Winfrey talks with the exonerated men once known as the Central Park Five, plus the cast and producers who tell their story in "When They See Us."

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

The U.S. vs. John Lennon (2006)

A documentary on the life of John Lennon, with a focus on the time in his life when he transformed from a musician into an antiwar activist.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return (2022)

This special explores the return of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to the screen, as well as Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen to their classic roles. Director Deborah Chow leads the cast and crew as they create new heroes and villains that live alongside new incarnations of beloved Star Wars characters, and an epic story that dramatically bridges the saga films.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

Join visionary director Sam Raimi and the cast of the film as they recount their experiences bringing Marvel’s darkest story to life. From world-building to universe-building, hear first hand accounts from the cast and crew on what it took to design, create and make each universe unique and believable.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

American Factory (2019)

In post-industrial Ohio, a Chinese billionaire opens a new factory in the husk of an abandoned General Motors plant, hiring two thousand blue-collar Americans. Early days of hope and optimism give way to setbacks as high-tech China clashes with working-class America.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Cutie and the Boxer (2013)

This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband's assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Frank and Ollie (1995)

Before computer graphics, special effects wizardry, and out-of-this world technology, the magic of animation flowed from the pencils of two of the greatest animators The Walt Disney Company ever produced -- Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. Frank and Ollie, the talent behind BAMBI, PINOCCHIO, LADY AND THE TRAMP, THE JUNGLE BOOK, and others, set the standard for such modern-day hits as THE LION KING. It was their creative genius that helped make Disney synonymous with brilliant animation, magnificent music, and emotional storytelling. Take a journey with these extraordinary artists as they share secrets, insights, and the inspiration behind some of the greatest animated movies the world has ever known!

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Victor Fainberg. Madly in Dissent (2023)

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

The Miners' Strike and Me (2014)

Documentary marking the 30th anniversary of the 1984 miners' strike, one of the bitterest industrial disputes in British history, with stories from both sides of the conflict.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Mirapolis (2026)

In 1987, Mirapolis opened its doors in the Parisian suburbs with the ambition of becoming the great French theme park capable of rivaling Disney. Driven by a spectacular vision and an imagination inspired by national tales and legends, the project quickly turned into a nightmare. Through archival footage and firsthand testimonies, the documentary retraces the meteoric rise and dramatic fall of this outsized dream, which shut down just five years after its inauguration.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Stolen Kingdom (2026)

A look into the underground community of rule-breakers at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida and how their actions led to the disappearance of an Audio-Animatronic named Buzzy.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

The Beast Is Still Alive (2016)

A young Bulgarian girl digs into her grandfather's turbulent life in an attempt to unravel the past and find answers and explanations for the catastrophic fall of communism.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

The Flickering Flame (1996)

Documentary following dockers of Liverpool sacked in a labour dispute and their supporters’ group, Women of the Waterfront, as they receive support from around the world and seek solidarity at the TUC conference.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Miners Shot Down (2014)

In August 2012, mineworkers in one of South Africa’s biggest platinum mines began a wildcat strike for better wages. Six days later the police used live ammunition to brutally suppress the strike, killing 34 and injuring many more. Using the point of view of the Marikana miners, Miners Shot Down follows the strike from day one, showing the courageous but isolated fight waged by a group of low-paid workers against the combined forces of the mining company Lonmin, the ANC government and their allies in the National Union of Mineworkers.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Gala Day at Disneyland (1960)

The gala dedication ceremonies at the opening of three new major attractions at Disneyland—Matterhorn Bobsleds, Submarine Voyage, and the new Monorail—include a parade down Main Street with appearances by Walt and Roy Disney and members of their families, along with Vice President Richard Nixon and family, and numerous film stars. The celebrations end at night with a fireworks display.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Disney Presents: Main Street Electrical Parade - Farewell Season (1996)

Catch the spark after dark at Disneyland Park. And say farewell to one of the Magic Kingdom's most celebrated traditions - The Main Street Electrical Parade. Where else, but in The Main Street Electrical Parade, could you see an illuminated 40-foot-long fire-breathing dragon? And hear the energy of its legendary melody one last time? It's unforgettable after-dark magic that will glow in your heart long after the last float has disappeared.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

The Birth of Korea (2024)

Since South and North Korea's liberation in 1945, North Korea, a communist dictatorship that suppresses freedom and oppresses human rights, and South Korea, which has entered the path of economic prosperity and advanced countries based on freedom and democracy, have taken different paths. How did the two countries with the same language, history, and race, become divided into two extreme countries? A work that highlights the sacrifices and struggles of President Syngman Rhee and the first generation of founding members who worked to create and protect today's Republic of Korea over the past 70 years of history.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary