Movies like The Carroll Formula (1956)
The best movies like The Carroll Formula (1956) are Innerspace (1987), The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989). If The Carroll Formula hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
The Carroll Formula
Quick picks
- Highest ratedEvery Day (2018)7.2/10 from 2,334 votes
- NewestFingernails (2023)Released 2023
Innerspace (1987)
Test pilot Tuck Pendleton volunteers to test a special vessel for a miniaturization experiment. Accidentally injected into a neurotic hypochondriac, Jack Putter, Tuck must convince Jack to find his ex-girlfriend, Lydia Maxwell, to help him extract Tuck and his ship and re-enlarge them before his oxygen runs out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Absent-Minded Professor (1961)
Bumbling professor Ned Brainard accidentally invents flying rubber, or "Flubber", an incredible material that gains energy every time it strikes a hard surface. It allows for the invention of shoes that can allow jumps of amazing heights and enables a modified Model-T to fly. Unfortunately, no one is interested in the material except for Alonzo Hawk, a corrupt businessman who wants to steal the material for himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHoney, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)
The scientist father of a teenage girl and boy accidentally shrinks his and two other neighborhood teens to the size of insects. Now the teens must fight diminutive dangers as the father searches for them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Devil-Doll (1936)
Respected Parisian banker Paul Lavond is framed for robbery and murder by crooked associates and sent to prison. Years later, he escapes with a friend, a scientist who was working on a method to reduce humans to a height of mere inches (all for the good of humanity, of course). Lavond, however, is consumed with hatred for those who betrayed him, and takes the scientist's methods back to Paris to exact painful revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Nutty Professor (1963)
A timid, nearsighted chemistry teacher discovers a magical potion that can transform him into a suave and handsome Romeo. The Jekyll and Hyde game works well enough until the concoction starts to wear off at the most embarrassing times.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShallow Hal (2001)
After taking his dying father's advice, Hal dates only the embodiments of female physical perfection. But that all changes after Hal has an unexpected run-in with self-help guru Tony Robbins. Intrigued by Hal's shallowness, Robbins hypnotizes him into seeing the beauty that exists even in the least physically appealing women. Hal soon falls for Rosemary, but he doesn't realize that his gorgeous girlfriend is actually a 300-pound-not-so-hottie.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNow You See Him, Now You Don't (1972)
Dexter Riley is a science student at Medfield College who inadvertently invents a liquid capable of rendering objects and people invisible. Before Dexter and his friends, Debbie and Richard Schuyler, can even enjoy their spectacular discovery, corrupt businessman A.J. Arno plots to get his greedy hands on it. Slapstick hijinks ensue as Dexter and his pals try to thwart the evil Arno before he can use the invisibility spray to rob a bank.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVivacious Lady (1938)
College town life gets turned upside down after a button-down botany professor secretly weds a sizzling night-club singer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCreator (1985)
With the help of student assistant Boris and stolen university equipment, Dr. Harry Wolper plans to clone his dead wife. But then he meets Meli, an egg donor for his experiment, and they fall in love. Faced with choosing between his deceased wife and Meli, Dr. Wolper sees his situation in a new light when Boris' own new love, Barbara, falls into a coma. Meanwhile, another professor tries shutting down the cloning project.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJust Friends (2005)
While visiting his hometown during Christmas, a man comes face-to-face with his old high school crush whom he was best friends with – a woman whose rejection of him turned him into a ferocious womanizer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI'll Follow You Down (2013)
After the disappearance of a young scientist on a business trip, his son and wife struggle to cope, only to make a bizarre discovery years later – one that may bring him home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMemoirs of an Invisible Man (1992)
After a freak accident, an invisible yuppie runs for his life from a treacherous CIA official while trying to cope with his new life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Rewrite (2014)
An Oscar-winning writer in a slump leaves Hollywood to teach screenwriting at a college on the East Coast, where he falls for a single mom taking classes there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrom Beyond (1986)
The Resonator, a powerful machine that can control the sixth sense, has killed its creator and sent his associate into an insane asylum. When a psychiatrist becomes determined to continue the experiment, she unwittingly opens the door to a hostile parallel universe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEvery Day (2018)
16-year old Rhiannon falls in love with a mysterious spirit named “A” that inhabits a different body every day. Feeling an unmatched connection, Rhiannon and “A” work each day to find each other, not knowing what the next day will bring.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFingernails (2023)
Anna and Ryan have found true love together. It's been proven by a controversial test. There's just one problem: Anna still isn't sure. Then she meets Amir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisOdd Thomas (2013)
In a California desert town, a short-order cook with clairvoyant abilities encounters a mysterious man with a link to dark, threatening forces.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCocoon: The Return (1988)
The reinvigorated elderly group that left Earth comes back to visit their relatives. Will they all decide to go back to the planet where no one grows old, or will they be tempted to remain on Earth?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSailing Into Love (2019)
A biology teacher’s crusade to save a nearby island from development leads to unexpected romance with the handsome and mysterious young sea captain who is new to the seaside town of Willow Bay.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonkey Business (1952)
Research chemist Barnaby Fulton works on a fountain of youth pill for a chemical company. One of the labs chimps gets loose in the laboratory and mixes chemicals, but then pours the mix into the water cooler. When trying one of his own samples, washed down with water from the cooler, Fulton begins to act just like a twenty-year-old and believes his potion is working. Soon his wife and boss are also behaving like children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Carroll Formula?
The closest matches to The Carroll Formula are Innerspace (1987), The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Carroll Formula?
Start with Innerspace (1987), the closest match to The Carroll Formula.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Carroll Formula?
Every Day (2018), rated 7.2/10 by 2,334 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Carroll Formula?
Fingernails (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Carroll Formula?
Yes: Innerspace (1987), The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989).
How are movies similar to The Carroll Formula chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Carroll Formula, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.



















