Movies like The Bather (2009)
The best movies like The Bather (2009) are Arlo the Alligator Boy (2021), Melody Time (1948) and Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration (2022). If The Bather hooked you with its animation and music, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMichael Jackson's Thriller (1983)8.2/10 from 812 votes
- NewestApple Music Live: Lady Gaga MAYHEM Requiem (2026)Released 2026
Arlo the Alligator Boy (2021)
Upon learning that he is from New York City, a wide-eyed boy, who is half human and half alligator, decides to leave his sheltered life in the swamp and search for his long lost father. A musical adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMelody Time (1948)
In the grand tradition of Disney's great musical classics, Melody Time features seven timeless stories, each enhanced with high-spirited music and unforgettable characters. You'll be sure to tap your toes and clap your hands in this witty feast for the eyes and ears.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration (2022)
In honor of the 30th anniversary of the animated classic, this animated and live-action blended special showcases the fan-favorite movie, along with new musical performances, sets and costumes inspired by the classic story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Rainbow Rocks (2014)
Music rules and rainbows rock as Twilight Sparkle and pals compete for the top spot in the Canterlot High "Mane Event" talent show. The girls must rock their way to the top, and outshine rival Adagio Dazzle and her band The Dazzlings, to restore harmony back to Canterlot High.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHoney 3: Dare to Dance (2016)
While attending college in Cape Town, Melea Martin feels constrained by the school's strict policies, and decides to set out on her own. Searching for a way to use her talents as a dancer and inspire the community around her, Melea rents a failing theater in order to put on a Hip-Hop Romeo and Juliet performance. But much like the Capulets and Montagues, conflicts between cast members threaten to bring the whole performance to a halt...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHigh Strung (2016)
When a hip hop violinist busking in the New York subway encounters a classical dancer on scholarship at the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts, sparks fly. With the help of a hip hop dance crew they must find a common ground while preparing for a competition that could change their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAll Too Well: The Short Film (2021)
Short film featuring the extended version of the song “All Too Well” by Taylor Swift. A troubled couple's romance blossoms before it eventually falls apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisApple Music Live: Lady Gaga MAYHEM Requiem (2026)
For Apple Music Live, Gaga presents MAYHEM Requiem, a celebration and musical reimagining of MAYHEM.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisYankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
A film of the life of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer and singer George M. Cohan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBrigadoon (1954)
Americans Jeff and Tommy, hunting in Scotland, stumble upon a village - Brigadoon. They soon learn that the town appears once every 100 years in order to preserve its peace and special beauty. The citizens go to bed at night and when they wake up, it's 100 years later. Tommy falls in love with a beautiful young woman, Fiona, and is torn between staying or going back to his hectic life in New York.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFootloose (2011)
Ren MacCormack is transplanted from Boston to the small southern town of Bomont where loud music and dancing are prohibited. Not one to bow to the status quo, Ren challenges the ban, revitalizing the town and falling in love with the minister’s troubled daughter Ariel in the process.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHigh Strung Free Dance (2018)
Zander Raines, a dazzling and tempestuous young choreographer, gives the break of a lifetime to two hopeful artists when he casts a stunning contemporary dancer, Barlow, and innovative pianist, Charlie, in New York’s most-anticipated new Broadway show: Free Dance. But the move throws off the show’s delicate creative balance when Charlie falls hard for Barlow, while Zander embraces her as his muse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Tales of Hoffmann (1951)
A melancholy poet reflects on three women he loved and lost in the past: a mechanical performing doll, a Venetian courtesan, and the consumptive daughter of a celebrated composer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStep Up (2006)
Delinquent Tyler Gage receives the opportunity of a lifetime after vandalizing a performing arts school, gaining him the chance to earn a scholarship and dance with up-and-coming dancer Nora.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThat's Entertainment! (1974)
Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50 year history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIndustrial Symphony No. 1: The Dream of the Brokenhearted (1990)
After her boyfriend ends their relationship, the dreamself of a heartbroken woman floats through the air over an industrial wasteland singing ballads of love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSave the Last Dance (2001)
After the death of her mother, Sara moves to the South Side of Chicago to live with her father and gets transferred to a majority-black school. Her life takes a turn for the better when befriends Chenille and her brother Derek, who helps her with her dancing skills.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMichael Jackson's Thriller (1983)
A night at the movies turns terrifying when Michael and his date are attacked by zombies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDance with Me (1998)
Young Cuban Rafael just buried his mother, and comes to Houston to meet his father John for the first time. The difficult part is that John doesn't know he is Rafael's father. John runs a dance studio, and everyone prepares for the World Open Dance championship in Las Vegas. It soon becomes clear Rafael is a very good dancer, and Ruby is the biggest hope for the studio at the championship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonster High: Why Do Ghouls Fall in Love? (2012)
Draculaura’s Sweet 1600th birthday is an extra special occasion to party at Monster High! But her high expectations lead to deadly results when she’s faced with the choice between practical boyfriend Clawd, and new vampire heartthrob, Valentine, a romantic blast from her past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! (2017)
The older boys are graduating school and recount their memories together. The next day everyone defends the graduation ceremony against Zundar and Dadacha's Second-Button Monster, but Yumoto struggles using his love power.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & music
I HAD A... (DREAM) (2026)
I HAD A... (DREAM) unfolds as a trip where dance, stop-motion animation, sound, and imagery interplay, far from established dimensions and expectations. Mushrooms immerse the viewer in a dreamlike space, where the film becomes a site for deviation and disruption.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Coming SoonMovies like thisNewsies (2017)
A week in the life of the exploited, child newspaper sellers in turn-of-the-century New York. When their publisher, Joseph Pulitzer, tries to squeeze a little more profit out of their labours, they organize a strike, only to be confronted with the Pulitzer's hard-ball tactics.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSin piedad (2025)
Under the relentless sun, a killer stalks through the mountains, where the innocence of a young couple becomes prey. With no shadows to hide their fate, the hunt is a macabre game in broad daylight, where fear is not hidden in the darkness, but burns with the rawness of the unperturbed noon.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991)
From the rains of Japan, through threats of arrest for 'public indecency' in Canada, and a birthday tribute to her father in Detroit, this documentary follows Madonna on her 1990 'Blond Ambition' concert tour. Filmed in black and white, with the concert pieces in glittering MTV color, it is an intimate look at the work of the icon, from a prayer circle before each performance to bed games with the dance troupe afterwards.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHoney (2003)
Honey Daniels dreams of making a name for herself as a hip-hop choreographer. When she's not busy hitting downtown clubs with her friends, she teaches dance classes at a nearby community center in Harlem, N.Y., as a way to keep kids off the streets. Honey thinks she's hit the jackpot when she meets a hotshot director casts her in one of his music videos. But, when he starts demanding sexual favors from her, Honey makes a decision that will change her life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFootrot Flats: The Dog's Tale (1986)
Dog lives with his owner Wal on a farm. While the good-natured Wal dreams of becoming a famous rugby player, Dog has other things on his mind: The ruthless Murphys have stolen an award-winning breeding stag from Wal’s best friend, Andy. Together with his friend, Dog sets out on a perilous mission to free all the captive animals from the Murphys’ farm.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Ocean Waves (1993)
At Kichijōji Station, Tokyo, Taku Morisaki glimpses a familiar woman on the platform opposite boarding a train. Later, her photo falls from a shelf as he exits his apartment before flying to Kōchi Prefecture. Picking it up, he looks at it briefly before leaving. As the aeroplane takes off, he narrates the events that brought her into his life...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAh! My Goddess: The Movie (2000)
It has been three spring-times since Belldandy came to Earth to grant Keiichi one wish. Things seem to be fine with them while living in the temple with Belldandy's sisters Urd and Skuld, but little do they know that a fallen god from Belldandy's past has escaped from his lunar prison. He has plans for everyone which do not include what the goddess and her human lover wanted for themselves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMera Naam Joker (1970)
Raju faces many hurdles and disappointments in matters of the heart throughout his life. But as a clown in a circus, he tries to make his audience laugh at the cost of his own sorrows. Along the way, Raju loves and loses, but must always keep a smile on his face because, in the words of his circus manager, "The show must go on."
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Bather?
The closest matches to The Bather are Arlo the Alligator Boy (2021), Melody Time (1948) and Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Bather?
Start with Arlo the Alligator Boy (2021), the closest match to The Bather.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Bather?
Michael Jackson's Thriller (1983), rated 8.2/10 by 812 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Bather?
Apple Music Live: Lady Gaga MAYHEM Requiem (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Bather?
Yes: Arlo the Alligator Boy (2021), Melody Time (1948) and Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration (2022).
How are movies similar to The Bather chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Bather, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.