Movies like Hatifa (1960)
The best movies like Hatifa (1960) are Black Gold (2011), I Am David (2003) and The Legend of Timm Thaler: or The Boy Who Sold His Laughter (2017). If Hatifa hooked you with its adventure and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBig Fish (2003)7.7/10 from 8,039 votes
- NewestMomo (2025)Released 2025
- In GermanThe Legend of Timm Thaler: or The Boy Who Sold His Laughter (2017)Also in German
Black Gold (2011)
On the Arabian Peninsula in the 1930s, two warring leaders come face to face. The victorious Nesib, Emir of Hobeika, lays down his peace terms to rival Amar, Sultan of Salmaah. The two men agree that neither can lay claim to the area of no man’s land between them called The Yellow Belt. In return, Nesib adopts Amar’s two boys Saleeh and Auda as a guarantee against invasion. Twelve years later, Saleeh and Auda have grown into young men. Saleeh, the warrior, itches to escape his gilded cage and return to his father’s land. Auda cares only for books and the pursuit of knowledge. One day, their adopted father Nesib is visited by an American from Texas. He tells the Emir that his land is blessed with oil and promises him riches beyond his wildest imagination. Nesib imagines a realm of infinite possibility, a kingdom with roads, schools and hospitals all paid for by the black gold beneath the barren sand. There is only one problem. The precious oil is located in the Yellow Belt.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Am David (2003)
A 12-year-old boy manages to flee a Communist concentration camp on his own, through sheer will and determination. All he has in his possession is a loaf of bread, a letter to deliver to someone in Denmark, and a compass to help get him there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Legend of Timm Thaler: or The Boy Who Sold His Laughter (2017)
The devil tricks a little boy off his laughter in exchange for assured wins in all his bets. It depicts his journey after the deal with the devil, how he loses his soul bit by bit with each win.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Warrior (2001)
In feudal India, a warrior who renounces his role as the longtime enforcer to a local lord becomes the prey in a murderous hunt through the Himalayan mountains.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUntil the End of the World (1991)
In 1999, a woman's life is forever changed after she survives a car crash with two bank robbers, who enlist her help to take the money to a drop in Paris. On the way, she runs into another fugitive from the law — an American doctor on the run from the CIA. They want to confiscate his father's invention – a device which allows anyone to record their dreams and visions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJim Button and the Wild 13 (2020)
A year has gone by since Jim Button and his best friend, the engine driver Luke, returned from their dangerous adventure in Dragon City. Life on Morrowland goes its leisurely way again. Suddenly, dark clouds are gathering over the tranquil island of Morrowland: the notorious pirate gang "The Wild 13" has learned that the dragon Mrs Grindtooth has been conquered by Jim and Luke and now swears revenge. To protect Morrowland from another threat, the two of them set off with their steam engines Emma and Molly on a dangerous journey where they meet old friends like princess Li Si, Mr. Tur Tur and Nepomuk and make new friends with Sursulapichi, a real mermaid. On their adventure, Jim's most fervent wish might also come true: to find out the truth about his mysterious origins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisBibi & Tina (2014)
Bibi Blocksberg visits her friend Tina Martin at the riding stables during the summer vacation. This year there is to be a special horse race organized by Count Falko. However, the two friends run into trouble when Sophia von Gelenberg from an elite boarding school at Falkenstein Castle, a participant and close acquaintance of the house, arrives and tries to steal Tina's boyfriend Alexander. The shady businessman Hans Kakmann is also up to no good, and it's not just the foal Socrates, known as "Socke", he's after. Bibi tries to save Alex and Tina's relationship on the one hand and expose Kakmann's business practices on the other. But even witchcraft can't prevent her from turning everyone against her, Count Falko enrolling his son in boarding school and Kakman offering to buy the foal "Socke".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome Away (2020)
Before Alice went to Wonderland, and before Peter became Pan, they were brother and sister. When their eldest brother dies in a tragic accident, they each seek to save their parents from their downward spirals of despair until finally they are forced to choose between home and imagination, setting the stage for their iconic journeys into Wonderland and Neverland.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
SnoozefestMovies 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 adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMythica: A Quest for Heroes (2014)
Stuck in a life of indentured servitude, Marek dreams of becoming a wizard. When she meets the beautiful priestess Teela in need of help, she offers her assistance and provides a motley troupe. Together they go in search of Teela's sister, who was kidnapped by a wild ogre.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Water Man (2020)
Hoping to save his sick mother, a boy named Gunner and his friend Jo venture into the remote Wild Horse forest to search for a mythical figure who possesses the secret to immortality. When they go missing, Gunner's father Amos must immerse himself in his son's world to find them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 adventure
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 adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJim Button and Luke the Engine Driver (2018)
A young orphan boy Jim Button, his best friend Luke and a magical steam engine called Emma travel across the world in search of the truth about where Jim came from. Battling pirates and dragons, outsmarting make-believe giants, they must travel through the Forest of a Thousand Wonders, beyond the End of the World to find the hidden Dragon City.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStolen Girl (2025)
In 1993, Maureen’s six-year-old daughter Amina is snuck out of the country by her ex-husband, Karim. After years of unsuccessful attempts to find her, Maureen intersects with a professional retriever of internationally abducted children who promises to help her find Amina in exchange for her collaboration.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
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 adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDragonheart: Vengeance (2021)
Lukas, a young farmer whose family is killed by savage raiders in the countryside, sets out on an epic quest for revenge, forming an unlikely trio with a majestic dragon and a swashbuckling, sword-fighting mercenary, Darius.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSchool of Magical Animals 2 (2022)
The students of the School of Magical Animals want to perform a musical for the school's anniversary. Will rehearsals end in chaos or will the class pull together? And what's up with the strange holes on the school grounds?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhite Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf (1994)
A boy and his dog, White Fang, must try to save the noble Haida tribe from evil white men in turn-of-the-century Alaska.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMomo (2025)
Momo is a young orphan girl who lives in the ruins of an old Roman amphitheater and becomes friends with everybody in the neighborhood. But when a powerful international corporation starts stealing everybody’s time, nobody has any time left for her, let alone their friends or families. Momo, together with Master Hora, the custodian of time, are the only ones who can go up against the time thieves before all is lost forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
David, a robotic boy—the first of his kind programmed to love—is adopted as a test case by a Cybertronics employee and his wife. Though he gradually becomes their child, a series of unexpected circumstances make this life impossible for David.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRonia: The Robber's Daughter (1984)
Ronia lives happily in her father's castle until she comes across a new playmate, Birk, in the nearby dark forest. The two explore the wilderness, braving dangerous Witchbirds and Rump-Gnomes. But when their families find out Birk and Ronia have been playing together, they forbid them to see each other again. Indeed, their fathers are competing robber chieftains and bitter enemies. Now the two spunky children must try to tear down the barriers that have kept their families apart for so long.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBig Fish (2003)
Throughout his life Edward Bloom has always been a man of big appetites, enormous passions and tall tales. In his later years, he remains a huge mystery to his son, William. Now, to get to know the real man, Will begins piecing together a true picture of his father from flashbacks of his amazing adventures.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Tale of Malchish-Kibalchish (1965)
The story is about a brave boy who never takes off his hat.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & drama
Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts (1973)
Screen adaptation of Eichendorff's famous novella. A penniless drifter roams the land with his violin and preferably sings his songs to beautiful women. Two of his female admirers get him employed as a gardener at a castle. Yet he doesn't settle down for long, and moves on to his next temporary job as a customs officer. Finally, he travels to Italy where he joins the gang of Rinaldo Rinaldini and eventually meets the love of his life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Super Elfkins (2024)
Helvi's world is turned upside down when she discovers the existence of a technically advanced Elfkin gang that, in stark contrast to Elfie’s own clan, is second to none when it comes to fun and thrill-seeking. Can Helvi’s friendship with Bo, the youngest gang member, reconcile the two Elfkin clans after more than 250 years?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
EverAfter (1998)
Danielle, a vibrant young woman, was forced into servitude after the death of her father when she was a young girl. Danielle's stepmother, Rodmilla, is a heartless woman who forces Danielle to do the cooking and cleaning, while she tries to marry off the eldest of her two daughters to the prince. But Danielle's life takes a wonderful turn when, under the guise of a visiting royal, she meets the charming Prince Henry.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHeart of Stone (1950)
Lavish adaptation of Wilhelm Hauff′s fairy tale: Young charburner Peter Munk dreams of joining the upper class. He makes a deal with the sinister Holländer-Michel, who offers to trade Peter′s human heart for one made of stone. Once he has the "cold heart" in his body, Peter eventually strikes a fortune and enjoys great wealth, but at the same time, he becomes a bitter and emotionless man – and, having lost all traces of humanity, even murders his wife Lisbeth. Only then does Peter Munk finally realize what has become of him, and he decides to regain his real heart from Holländer-Michel.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Golden Bird (1987)
"Kin no Tori" is an adaptation of the homonymous fairy tale "The Golden Bird" by Brothers Grimm. A golden apple is stolen from the King's garden. The King orders his three sons to guard the apples in turn and to find out who is the thief. When the youngest son, Hans, presents a feather that he got from the golden bird that stole the apple the king sends his three sons to bring this bird to him and so Hans' journey begins.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
A small suburban town receives a visit from a castaway unfinished science experiment named Edward.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Hatifa?
The closest matches to Hatifa are Black Gold (2011), I Am David (2003) and The Legend of Timm Thaler: or The Boy Who Sold His Laughter (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Hatifa?
Start with Black Gold (2011), the closest match to Hatifa.
What is the highest-rated movie like Hatifa?
Big Fish (2003), rated 7.7/10 by 8,039 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Hatifa?
Momo (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there German movies like Hatifa?
Yes: The Legend of Timm Thaler: or The Boy Who Sold His Laughter (2017), Until the End of the World (1991) and Jim Button and the Wild 13 (2020).
How are movies similar to Hatifa chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Hatifa, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.