Movies like Back to school (2024)
The best movies like Back to school (2024) are Erik the Viking (1989), Pirates of the Caribbean: Tales of the Code: Wedlocked (2011) and Touchback (2011). If Back to school hooked you with its family and adventure, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedA Little Princess (1995)7.6/10 from 1,080 votes
- NewestDeathstalker (2025)Released 2025
Erik the Viking (1989)
Erik the Viking gathers warriors from his village and sets out on a dangerous journey to Valhalla, to ask the gods to end the Age of Ragnorok and allow his people to see sunlight again. A Pythonesque satire of Viking life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies 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 adventure & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTouchback (2011)
A former high-school football star loses his shot at a college scholarship due to a devastating gridiron injury, but gets a second chance at living his dream.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
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 & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisCirque du Soleil: Worlds Away (2012)
An original story featuring performances by Cirque du Soleil. A young woman is entranced by an Aerialist. When they fall into the dreamlike world of Cirque du Soleil and are separated, they travel through the different tent worlds trying to find each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBurn Your Maps (2016)
A family in emotional turmoil is taken by surprise in this quirky adventure where an eccentric 8-year-old American boy, Wes, has an existential epiphany - He believes that he is in fact a Mongolian goat herder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSwiss Family Robinson (1960)
After being shipwrecked, the Robinson family is marooned on an island inhabited only by an impressive array of wildlife. In true pioneer spirit, they quickly make themselves at home but soon face a danger even greater than nature: dastardly pirates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVesper (2022)
After the collapse of Earth's ecosystem, Vesper, a 13-year-old girl struggling to survive with her paralyzed Father, meets a mysterious Woman with a secret that forces Vesper to use her wits, strength and bio-hacking abilities to fight for the possibility of a future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisForbidden Empire (2014)
Early 18th century. Cartographer Jonathan Green undertakes a scientific voyage from Europe to the East. Having passed through Transylvania and crossed the Carpathian Mountains, he finds himself in a small village lost in impassible woods. Nothing but chance and heavy fog could bring him to this cursed place. People who live here do not resemble any other people which the traveler saw before that. The villagers, having dug a deep moat to fend themselves from the rest of the world, share a naive belief that they could save themselves from evil, failing to understand that evil has made its nest in their souls and is waiting for an opportunity to gush out upon the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisConan the Destroyer (1984)
Conan is commissioned by the evil queen Taramis to safely escort a teen princess and her powerful bodyguard to a far away castle to retrieve the magic Horn of Dagoth. Unknown to Conan, the queen plans to sacrifice the princess when she returns and inherit her kingdom after the bodyguard kills Conan. The queen's plans fail to take into consideration Conan's strength and cunning and the abilities of his sidekicks: the eccentric wizard Akiro, the warrior woman Zula, and the inept Malak. Together the hero and his allies must defeat both mortal and supernatural foes in this voyage to sword-and-sorcery land.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlyosha Popovich and Tugarin the Serpent (2004)
When the fearsome Tugarin the Serpent steals the city's gold, the young hero Alyosha Popovich sets out on a daring quest to recover the treasure and bring the villain to justice. Along the way, he is joined by an unlikely group of companions: his loyal mentor Tikhon, a talking horse named Julius, the wise grandmother Babusya, a mischievous donkey, and the beautiful Lyubava. Together, they embark on an adventure filled with unexpected challenges, humor, and heroic deeds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThree Heroes and the Shamakhan Queen (2010)
When a mysterious and cunning foreign queen arrives in Kyiv, she sets her sights on the Prince, hoping to win his heart and use him to restore her fading youth and beauty. Unaware of her true intentions, the Prince falls under her spell, placing the entire kingdom in danger. With their homeland threatened by the queen's sinister ambitions, three legendary bogatyrs — Alyosha Popovich, Dobrynya Nikitich, and Ilya Muromets — must join forces once again to save their ruler, expose the deception, and protect Kyiv from disaster.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSilver Skates (2020)
1899, the Christmas-time St.Petersburg. Ice-covered rivers and canals of the capital seethe with festive activities. On the eve of the new century those who should not be destined to meet, come together. They are people from different worlds: Matvey, the son of a lamplighter, whose only treasure is his silver-plated skates; Alice is the daughter of a high-ranking official dreaming of science. Each of them has his own difficult life-story, but having accidentally met they rush forward together in pursuit of their dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisScorpion King: Book of Souls (2018)
The Scorpion King teams up with a female warrior named Tala, who is the sister of The Nubian King. Together they search for a legendary relic known as The Book of Souls, which will allow them to put an end to an evil warlord.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisConan the Barbarian (1982)
A horde of rampaging warriors massacre the parents of young Conan and enslave the young child for years on The Wheel of Pain. As the sole survivor of the childhood massacre, Conan is released from slavery and taught the ancient arts of fighting. Transforming himself into a killing machine, Conan travels into the wilderness to seek vengeance on Thulsa Doom, the man responsible for killing his family. In the wilderness, Conan takes up with the thieves Valeria and Subotai. The group comes upon King Osric, who wants the trio of warriors to help rescue his daughter who has joined Doom in the hills.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeavy Metal (1981)
The embodiment of ultimate evil, a glowing orb terrorizes a young girl with bizarre stories of dark fantasy, eroticism and horror.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Primevals (2023)
Deep in the Himalayas, a group of sherpas kills a gigantic humanoid creature. Convinced that it is the legendary Yeti, Dr. Claire Collier organizes an expedition with her former student Matt Connor and hunter Rondo Montana, among others, to search for more specimens. But what awaits them is something that none of them could have imagined. A colorful fusion of real image and stop-motion that is reminiscent of fantastic films from the 1980s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey (1988)
Cumberland, 1348. The plague is spreading in medieval England. The remote village of little Griffin is also threatened. But the 9-year-old boy has a recurring dream that holds the key to a tiny hope of survival: a lake with a coffin floating on it. A white church with an iron cross. A falling glove. A falling silhouette. A torch tumble through a dark shaft into infinity. With his brother he recognizes in it a prophecy to escape the Black Death. So they embark with a few men on a journey to a distant cathedral, where they want to set up an iron cross as an offering to God. Her path leads them through a deep and dark mine shaft into an unknown land and completely outlandish time - into the present-day New Zealand of the 1980s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeathstalker (2025)
A powerful swordsman known as Deathstalker recovers a cursed amulet from a corpse-strewn battlefield. Marked by dark magic and hunted by monstrous assassins, he must face the rising evil and break the curse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisInterstate 60 (2002)
An aspiring painter meets various characters and learns valuable lessons while traveling across America.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Adventures of Pinocchio (1996)
One of puppet-maker Geppetto's creations comes magically to life. This puppet, Pinocchio, has one major desire and that is to become a real boy someday. In order to accomplish this goal he has to learn to act responsibly. This film shows you the adventures on which he learns valuable lessons.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisGulliver's Travels (1939)
Gulliver washes ashore on Lilliput and attempts to prevent war between that tiny kingdom and its equally-miniscule rival, Blefiscu, as well as smooth the way for the romance between the Princess and Prince of the opposing lands. In this he is alternately aided and hampered by the Lilliputian town crier and general fussbudget, Gabby. A life-threatening situation develops when the bumbling trio of Blefiscu spies, Sneak, Snoop, and Snitch, manage to steal Gulliver's pistol.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHenkka & Kivimutka Detective Agency (2022)
Henkka Virtanen finds evidence of a possible crime on his way to school. With his friend J.K. Kivimutka, the boys decide to investigate what has happened, because these criminal cases are the responsibility of the detective agency they have set up. When it turns out that mailboxes in the area have disappeared during the night, the detective bureau has already two crimes to solve. A fun and exciting adventure begins, in which the boys also have to face their own fears.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & adventure
A Little Princess (1995)
When her father enlists to fight for the British in WWI, young Sara Crewe goes to New York to attend the same boarding school her late mother attended. She soon clashes with the severe headmistress, Miss Minchin, who attempts to stifle Sara's creativity and sense of self-worth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAabra Ka Daabra (2004)
A young wizarding student sets out on a quest for a magic potion that can bring back his missing father. He faces several hardships while trying to find and rescue his father.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy & family
Monica and Friends: Lessons (2021)
In the sequel to Turma da Mônica: Laços, we follow Mônica, Jimmy Five, Maggy and Smudge dealing with the consequences of a mistake made at school. At the same time, they face transformations from childhood to adolescence and are about to discover the value of friendship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & adventure
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFlay (2017)
After the death of her mother, an estranged daughter struggles to save her brother, and those around her from a malevolent faceless spirit.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Guardians of Night: The Demon Hunting Academy (2016)
Demons and humans share a planet near Earth. The humans occupy the planet by day and the demons occupy it at night. They live in harmony until some of the demons scheme against the humans. The Guardians rid the planet of the troublesome demonic creatures to preserve the peace.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
The Magic School (2020)
The Fantasy Movie "The Magic School 魔力學院之我是麻瓜" is about a fantasy story in a magical school, where generations of elemental magicians were trained. Their mission is to seal the evil Dark Messenger (An Ying). However, there is a traitor in this generation. In order to get more power, the Wind Elemental Magician agreed a soul deal with the Dark Messenger and released it. So the war between the magicians and the Dark Messenger begin...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Nussa (2021)
Planning to impress his father who is coming home after being abroad for a year, Nussa the smart 9-year-old kid participates in his school’s science competition. But when he receives news that his father cancelled his trip home and is unable to attend the competition, and at the same time a new, smart student named Jonni quickly becomes his rival in the school's science competition, Nussa learns the true meaning of gratitude.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Back to school?
The closest matches to Back to school are Erik the Viking (1989), Pirates of the Caribbean: Tales of the Code: Wedlocked (2011) and Touchback (2011). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Back to school?
Start with Erik the Viking (1989), the closest match to Back to school.
What is the highest-rated movie like Back to school?
A Little Princess (1995), rated 7.6/10 by 1,080 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Back to school?
Deathstalker (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Back to school chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Back to school, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.