Movies like The River (2001)
The best movies like The River (2001) are The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2012), Under the Sea: A Descendants Story (2018) and One Hundred and One Nights (1995). If The River hooked you with its fantasy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHow to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming (2019)8.0/10 from 1,154 votes
- NewestThe Moddey Dhoo (2025)Released 2025
- In FrenchOne Hundred and One Nights (1995)Also in French
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2012)
After a hurricane levels his city, a young man wanders into a mysterious library where books literally come to life. This film won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 2012.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUnder the Sea: A Descendants Story (2018)
Mal emerges from the shadows of a mystical forest onto a dark coastline where she crosses paths with Dizzy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOne Hundred and One Nights (1995)
Monsieur Cinema, a hundred years old, lives alone in a large villa. His memories fade away, so he engages a young woman to tell him stories about all the movies ever made.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarvel One-Shot: All Hail the King (2014)
A documentary filmmaker interviews the now-famous Trevor Slattery from behind bars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming (2019)
It's been ten years since the dragons moved to the Hidden World, and even though Toothless doesn't live in New Berk anymore, Hiccup continues the holiday traditions he once shared with his best friend. But the Vikings of New Berk were beginning to forget about their friendship with dragons. Hiccup, Astrid, and Gobber know just what to do to keep the dragons in the villagers' hearts. And across the sea, the dragons have a plan of their own...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisOnce Upon a Snowman (2020)
The previously untold origins of Olaf, the innocent and insightful, summer-loving snowman are revealed as we follow Olaf’s first steps as he comes to life and searches for his identity in the snowy mountains outside Arendelle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZog (2018)
Zog is a keen young dragon who wants to learn to fly, roar, and breathe fire, so he studies at the Dragon School. He is desperate to impress his teacher and win a golden star, but he is prone to accidents and he has to be helped by a kind young girl who patches up his bumps and bruises.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThru the Mirror (1936)
Mickey has been reading Alice in Wonderland, and falls asleep. He finds himself on the other side of the mirror, where the furniture is alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Little Match Girl (1928)
An impoverished girl tries to sell matches on New Year's Eve. Shivering with cold and unable to sell her wares, she sits in a sheltered nook. Striking a match to keep warm, the flame shows her what's beyond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCiao Alberto (2021)
With his best friend Luca away at school, Alberto is enjoying his new life in Portorosso working alongside Massimo—the imposing, tattooed, one-armed fisherman of few words—who's quite possibly the coolest human in the entire world as far as Alberto is concerned. He wants more than anything to impress his mentor, but it's easier said than done.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies 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
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSketch (2025)
When a young girl’s sketchbook falls into a strange pond, her drawings come to life—chaotic, real, and on the loose. As the town descends into chaos, her family must reunite and stop the monsters they never meant to unleash.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLou (2017)
A lost-and-found box holds a mysterious and unseen monster within.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCosmos Laundromat (2015)
On a desolate island, a suicidal sheep named Franck meets his fate…in the form of a quirky salesman named Victor, who offers him the gift of a lifetime. The gift is many lifetimes, actually, in many different worlds – each lasting just a few minutes. In the sequel to the pilot, Franck will find a new reason to live…in the form of a bewitching female adventurer named Tara, who awakens his long-lost lust for life. But can Franck keep up with her?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDestino (2003)
Short film to a song of love lost and rediscovered, a woman sees and undergoes surreal transformations. Her lover's face melts off, she dons a dress from the shadow of a bell and becomes a dandelion, ants crawl out of a hand and become Frenchmen riding bicycles. Not to mention the turtles with faces on their backs that collide to form a ballerina, or the bizarre baseball game.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPirates of the Caribbean: Tales of the Code: Wedlocked (2011)
Wenches Scarlett and Giselle fix each other up for their wedding, in which they would each marry their groom. Upon realizing that both their grooms were the same man, Jack Sparrow, the two wenches found themselves in an auction led by the Auctioneer. This short film serves as a prequel to The Curse of the Black Pearl, and explains just why Jack Sparrow's boat the Jolly Mon was seen sinking at the beginning of the whole story; why the wenches were so upset with him; and how Cotton lost his tongue.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Pagemaster (1994)
Rich knows a lot about accidents. So much so, he is scared to do anything that might endanger him, like riding his bike, or climbing into his treehouse. While in an old library, he is mystically transported into the unknown world of books, and he has to try and get home again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDay & Night (2010)
When Day, a sunny fellow, encounters Night, a stranger of distinctly darker moods, sparks fly! Day and Night are frightened and suspicious of each other at first, and quickly get off on the wrong foot. But as they discover each other's unique qualities--and come to realize that each of them offers a different window onto the same world-the friendship helps both to gain a new perspective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYou Cast A Spell On Me (2015)
Despite agreeing to an arranged marriage to a childhood friend, a successful businessman tries to track down a beautiful woman that he met at a Halloween party.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Peek-a-Boo (1951)
Léon, a humble civil servant, has the unusual ability to walk through walls, however thick they are. One day, he falls madly in love with a charming hotel thief by the name of Suzan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Moddey Dhoo (2025)
Past and present collide when a mythical beast is reawakened by a couple exploring a historic castle on the Isle of Man.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Cactua (2011)
A short film collaboration between director Kristian Day and make up artist Patrick Boltinghouse. Patrick had created the make up for Pride Weekend 2010 in Des Moines, Iowa. After the parade, he called Kristian up explaining that he was in make up and had a bird on his shoulder. Kristian's only reply was "I'll get the camera ready". Filmed entire in his home, Kristian made two versions: a single play version and a "locked groove" version which played on a loop at the Resident Artists: Guns Blazin' show on July 9th, 2010 in Des Moines.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Travelling Through Brush and Ink (2017)
"Travelling Through Brush and Ink" is a stop-motion animation of a little modern man traveling through four significant ancient Chinese paintings, transforming himself into animals and plants, and becomes part of the nature. Each painting represents four important stages of landscape art in Chinese history. Based on the original paintings, we built the sets and animated little character inside- all frame by frame. The animation is the opening film of 2016 annual exhibition National Palace Museum Taiwan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
The Curve of Forgotten Things (2011)
A magical girl, who exists outside of space and time, inhabits an odd, timeless landscape that is both old and modern, and spends her days playing and collecting objects from history, things that she loves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Flesh of God (2023)
The 17th century. Somewhere in the Mexican mountains, a Catholic friar who has fallen victim to a strange disease is carried by his native disciple to the home of an indigenous healer. The old woman will try to cure him by performing an ancient ritual that will have unexpected effects in the body and mind of the evangelist.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
The spirit of the woods (2017)
Trying to prove her courage, little Joana accepts the challenge of entering the woods, supposedly haunted by an ancient spirit.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Dragon Chasers (2012)
A game of dungeons and dragons goes badly wrong when a group of misfits manage to bring a Celtic warrior back from the dead.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
All Small Bodies (2017)
'All Small Bodies' is a feminist, sci-fi take on the Grimm tale of Hansel and Gretel. It occurs in the distant future among the ruins of a planetary catastrophe, revealing the abuses of history and technology. In the wake of the chaotic aftermath, there are several resilient survivors including two young girls named Z and Bub. The film follows these curious adolescents who have long been lost and alone in the haunted, other-worldly woods, as they awaken their extrasensory abilities and reclaim their autonomy from a menacing dark presence.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Shrek the Halls (2007)
The Christmas tree isn't the only thing green in this new holiday classic. Shrek is back and trying to get into the spirit of the season. After promising Fiona and the kids a Christmas they'll remember, he is forced to take a crash course in the holiday. But just when he thinks he has everything for their quiet family Christmas just right, there is a knock at the door.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The River?
The closest matches to The River are The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2012), Under the Sea: A Descendants Story (2018) and One Hundred and One Nights (1995). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The River?
Start with The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2012), the closest match to The River.
What is the highest-rated movie like The River?
How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming (2019), rated 8.0/10 by 1,154 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The River?
The Moddey Dhoo (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like The River?
Yes: One Hundred and One Nights (1995), The Little Match Girl (1928) and Mr. Peek-a-Boo (1951).
How are movies similar to The River chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The River, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.