Movies like The Tinder Box (1959)
The best movies like The Tinder Box (1959) are The Story of Little Mook (1953), FairyTale: A True Story (1997) and Hansel and Gretel (1988). If The Tinder Box hooked you with its fantasy and family, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDescendants (2015)7.2/10 from 2,601 votes
- NewestDashing Through the Snow (2023)Released 2023
- In GermanThe Story of Little Mook (1953)Also in German
The Story of Little Mook (1953)
An old man living in an oriental city tells the story of his life to a group of kids: He too was once a young boy by the name of Little Muck - much like them, but with better manners and a heap of problems. Having lost his father at early age, little Muck is expelled from home by his greedy relatives. He wanders off into the desert hoping to find the merchant who sells good fortune. Amidst the dunes of sand he comes across a small house owned by a wicked woman and her many cats. She wants to make Little Muck her servant, but he manages to escape by stealing a pair of magic shoes which enable him to run faster than any man in the country. From there he heads right into the next set of challenges...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFairyTale: A True Story (1997)
In 1917, two children take a photograph, which is soon believed by some to be the first scientific evidence of the existence of fairies. Based on the true story of the Cottingley Fairies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHansel and Gretel (1988)
Hansel and Gretel tells the tale of two young children driven from home by their scolding mother. Losing their way in the dark forest they stumble upon the cottage of a kindly old woman. But is this kindly old woman everything she seems...?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFour Kids and It (2020)
A group of kids on holiday in Cornwall meet a magical creature on the beach with the power to grant wishes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShorts (2009)
A young boy's discovery of a colorful, wish-granting rock causes chaos in the suburban town of Black Falls when jealous kids and scheming adults alike set out to get their hands on it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisPan (2015)
Living a bleak existence at a London orphanage, 12-year-old Peter finds himself whisked away to the fantastical world of Neverland. Adventure awaits as he meets new friend James Hook and the warrior Tiger Lily. They must band together to save Neverland from the ruthless pirate Blackbeard. Along the way, the rebellious and mischievous boy discovers his true destiny, becoming the hero forever known as Peter Pan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Blue Bird (1940)
Peasant children Mytyl and Tyltyl are led on a magical quest for the fabulous Blue Bird of Happiness by the fairy Berylune. On their journey, they're accompanied by the anthropomorphized presences of a Dog, a Cat, Light, Fire, and Bread, among other entities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisAlice in Wonderland (1999)
Alice follows a white rabbit down a rabbit-hole into a whimsical Wonderland, where she meets characters like the delightful Cheshire Cat, the clumsy White Knight, a rude caterpillar, and the hot-tempered Queen of Hearts and can grow ten feet tall or shrink to three inches. But will she ever be able to return home?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrancer: A Christmas Tale (2022)
Ten-year-old Gloria and her recently widowed grandfather Bud befriend a mysterious reindeer when the family gather for Christmas. Bud comes to believe that Prancer may actually be magical, but Gloria fears his theory will send him straight to a retirement home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Nutcracker (1993)
On Christmas Eve, a little girl named Marie falls asleep and dreams herself into a fantastic world in which her toys become larger than life. She meets up with the Nutcracker Prince who takes her on a journey to his kingdom and defends her from the Mouse King.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & family
SnoozefestMovies like thisKermit's Swamp Years (2002)
At 12 years old, Kermit the Frog and best friends Goggles and Croaker travel outside their homes in the swamps of the Deep South to do something extraordinary with their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & family
SnoozefestMovies like thisAnastasia: Once Upon a Time (2020)
Anastasia Romanov escapes through a portal when her family is threatened by Vladimir Lenin, and she finds herself in the year 1988, befriended by a young American girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisGodmothered (2020)
A young and unskilled fairy godmother that ventures out on her own to prove her worth by tracking down a young girl whose request for help was ignored. What she discovers is that the girl has now become a grown woman in need of something very different than a "prince charming."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBibi & Tina: Bewildered and Bewitched (2014)
When robbers hit Falkenstein castle, teen witch Bibi and pal Tina hunt for the crooks, then devise a plan to save the neighbors' failing ranch.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAladdin (1992)
A young man's life is turned around with the help of a genie inside a lamp.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDashing Through the Snow (2023)
Eddie Garrick is a good-hearted man who has lost his belief in the wonder of Christmas. While spending time with his nine-year-old daughter Charlotte on Christmas Eve, he befriends a mysterious man in a red suit named Nick.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe School of the Magical Animals (2021)
Ida Kronenberg must transfer to a new school, where she soon realizes the students are unkind to each other. However, that all changes when a new teacher, Miss Cornfield, begins to educate them on the value of friendship and magic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dirt Bike Kid (1985)
When his mother sends Jack off with money to buy groceries, he comes home with a magic supercharged dirt bike instead. His mother is furious, but when Jack uses the magic bike to save the local hot dog stand from the clutches of corrupt big business, he becomes the town hero.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLassie Come Home (2020)
12-year-old Florian and his beloved dog Lassie live in an idyllic village in the German countryside. When Florian's father loses his job, the family have to move into a small apartment where there are no dogs allowed. Lassie is given away to another family, but Florian and Lassie yearn to be reunited again so Florian sets out on an adventure to find his best friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCinderfella (1960)
When his father dies, poor Fella is left at the mercy of his snobbish stepmother and her two no-good sons Maximilian and Rupert. As he slaves away for his nasty step-family, Maximilian and Rupert attempt to find a treasure Fella's father has supposedly hidden on the estate. Hoping to restore her dwindling fortunes, the stepmother plans a fancy ball in honor of the visiting Princess Charmein whom she hopes will marry Rupert. Eventually, Fella's Fairy Godfather shows up to convince him that he has a shot at winning the Princess himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhile the Clocks Are Ticking (1977)
Schoolgirl Masha gets into the fabulous city cheerful workers, which with the help of servants and cap of invisibility inhibits the evil Korol Kropodin I. Before the townspeople finally get rid of oppressors, Masha is a party to the exciting events and adventures.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & fantasy
O Terezce a paní Madam (1976)
Princess Terezka was a girl like a pod until the moment when Mrs. Madam took over her upbringing. The princess even cries from her etiquette. Famous doctors and their potions do not help. However, when Terezka is secretly taken from the castle by her beloved Tonek to her parents in a country cottage, her illness is over. The king promises that whoever finds Terezka and brings her back to the castle will get her hand in marriage and half the kingdom to go with it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy & family
Sokoliarova dcéra (1981)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy & family
O nebojácné Bětce (1990)
A story about how it is sometimes very easy to make a bad decision, but very difficult to make up for it... Prince Philip managed to sacrifice his friend's life quite easily, but it was not so easy to deal with his own conscience. Although the prince regrets his action, he does not know how to make amends. It is only the fearless and clever Bětka who manages the seemingly impossible and together with the prince rescues Martin from the captivity of the evil sleigh.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & fantasy
O princi, který měl smůlu (1990)
About Prince Leopold, who is not independent due to the poor upbringing of his royal parents. He makes up thousands of excuses for whatever he has to do. He likes to claim that he is unlucky and that if he had a dwarf, he would grow up too. The White Lady from the painting wants to help the maid Lidka, who loves the prince. So she conjures up a real dwarf for him, who makes Leopold's life "unpleasant". Will the prince's love help him grow up and get rid of the dwarf and his excuses?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy & family
Descendants (2015)
A present-day idyllic kingdom where the benevolent teenage son of King Adam and Queen Belle offers a chance of redemption for the troublemaking offspring of Disney's classic villains: Cruella De Vil (Carlos), Maleficent (Mal), the Evil Queen (Evie) and Jafar (Jay).
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMasha and the Beasts (1995)
The girl Masha lives in modern Moscow. One day she went on vacation to the village to her grandmother. When she went to the forest to pick mushrooms with her friends, she got lost and got into a fairy tale. Masha finds a house where three bears live, and their neighbors live next to the house - an unknown animal, a cat, a fox, a chicken and a parrot. She enters the house, tastes the honey. When she wants to sleep, she hears the music of the fox and looks out the window. At this time, the owners come to the house - the bear Mikhail Ivanovich, the bear Nastasya Petrovna and the bear cub Mishutka, and Masha is hiding...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy & family
Aschenputtel (2011)
Once upon a time there was a orphan. The new stepmother and her daughter, Annabella, treat her badly and let her sleep in the ashes. One morning, in the woods, Cinderella meets a hunter who turns out to be Prince Victor.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & fantasy
Die Sterntaler (2011)
Mina, a poor girl with a big heart sees stars falling from the sky and turning into Gold Talers before they land. With that money the girl can ask the king to let her parents go home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & fantasy
Die zertanzten Schuhe (2011)
Twelve princesses sleep in twelve beds in the same room; every night their doors are securely locked, but in the morning their shoes are found to be worn through as if they had been dancing all night. The king, in mourning, promises his kingdom and a daughter to any man who can discover the princesses'secret within three days and three nights, but those who fail within the set time limit will be put to death.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & fantasy
Like The Tinder Box and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Tinder Box?
The closest matches to The Tinder Box are The Story of Little Mook (1953), FairyTale: A True Story (1997) and Hansel and Gretel (1988). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Tinder Box?
Start with The Story of Little Mook (1953), the closest match to The Tinder Box.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Tinder Box?
Descendants (2015), rated 7.2/10 by 2,601 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Tinder Box?
Dashing Through the Snow (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there German movies like The Tinder Box?
Yes: The Story of Little Mook (1953), Bibi & Tina: Bewildered and Bewitched (2014) and The School of the Magical Animals (2021).
How are movies similar to The Tinder Box chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Tinder Box, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.