Movies like Uncovering Spirited Away (2024)
The best movies like Uncovering Spirited Away (2024) are As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000), Girl Rising (2013) and My Mom Jayne (2025). If Uncovering Spirited Away hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedInside the Mind of a Cat (2022)7.2/10 from 288 votes
- NewestA Toxic Love Story (2026)Released 2026
As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)
A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGirl Rising (2013)
Nine filmmakers each profile a young girl from a different part of the world to weave a global tapestry of youth in the 21st century.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Mom Jayne (2025)
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSeduced and Abandoned (2013)
SEDUCED AND ABANDONED combines acting legend Alec Baldwin with director James Toback as they lead us on a troublesome and often hilarious journey of raising financing for their next feature film. Moving from director to financier to star actor, the two players provide us with a unique look behind the curtain at the world's biggest and most glamourous film festival, shining a light on the bitter-sweet relationship filmmakers have with Cannes and the film business. Featuring insights from directors Martin Scorsese, 'Bernando Bertolucci' and Roman Polanski; actors Ryan Gosling and Jessica Chastain and a host of film distribution luminaries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDrew: The Man Behind the Poster (2013)
A documentary on legendary movie-poster artist Drew Struzan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019)
Go behind the scenes with stars, puppeteers and creators as they bring Jim Henson's magical world of Thra back to life in a sweeping fantasy series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Walking Dead: The Return (2024)
Stars of "The Walking Dead," Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira, walk down memory lane and visit iconic locations where pivotal moments between their characters, Rick and Michonne, were filmed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me (2023)
From the heights of her modeling fame to her tragic death, this documentary reveals Anna Nicole Smith through the eyes of the people closest to her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGilbert (2017)
The life and career of one of comedy's most inimitable modern voices, Mr. Gilbert Gottfried.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEvil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story (2025)
Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEx Libris: The New York Public Library (2017)
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012)
Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTrainwreck: The Real Project X (2025)
A night of drunken chaos rocks a quiet Dutch town in this shocking documentary about a teen's birthday invite that accidentally went viral on Facebook.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
SnoozefestMovies like thisStruggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018)
Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Toxic Love Story (2026)
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania (1972)
Jonas Mekas weaves an elegiac diary film from his 1971–72 return to Lithuania, chronicling a visit to his birthplace of Semeniškiai after decades in exile. Blending personal memory with documentary observation, the film becomes both a portrait of homecoming and a meditation on displacement, family, and the passage of time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAvatar: Creating the World of Pandora (2010)
The Making-of James Cameron's Avatar. It shows interesting parts of the work on the set.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNaqoyqatsi (2002)
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisObi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return (2022)
This special explores the return of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to the screen, as well as Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen to their classic roles. Director Deborah Chow leads the cast and crew as they create new heroes and villains that live alongside new incarnations of beloved Star Wars characters, and an epic story that dramatically bridges the saga films.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Love Song for Latasha (2019)
A dreamlike conversation with the past and the present, reimagining Latasha Harlins' story by excavating intimate memories shared by those who loved her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUntangling Your Name (2025)
Join me as I travel across Japan to every location which inspired Makoto Shinkai's "Your Name". A short documentary.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Pearl Button (2015)
The ocean contains the history of all humanity. The sea holds all the voices of the earth and those that come from outer space. Water receives impetus from the stars and transmits it to living creatures. Water, the longest border in Chile, also holds the secret of two mysterious buttons which were found on its ocean floor. Chile, with its 2,670 miles of coastline and the largest archipelago in the world, presents a supernatural landscape. In it are volcanoes, mountains and glaciers. In it are the voices of the Patagonian Indigenous people, the first English sailors and also those of its political prisoners. Some say that water has memory. This film shows that it also has a voice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn Three Acts (2015)
When an 80 year old intellectual is confronted with issues of old age and death, she reminisces the death of her mother that happened 30 years earlier. With dialogue inspired by Simone de Beauvoir mixed with contemporary dance, the cycle of life is exposed in a poetic manner.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
10 MPH (2007)
Two guys quit stodgy corporate jobs, scrounged up all the savings they could, collected credit cards, and stepped - or better yet - scooted forward to follow their biggest dream: to become filmmakers. Josh Caldwell rode a Segway from Seattle to Boston, while his buddy Hunter Weeks directed a film they both shot about the experience and about the moments leading up to this crazy twist on the Americ
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Lamp: For Lovers (2004)
An intimate short documentary of Lamp strolling beachside, wandering Ibaraki Prefecture, accompanied by songs from their 2004 album "For Lovers"
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Artem & Eva (2023)
Artem loves Yulia, Yulia loves Artem. They recently graduated from school, moved to Moscow and began an independent life. In search of part-time jobs, Artem comes up with the idea of creating another image from Yulia - Eva Elfie - and making an amateur video for Pornhub. Suddenly, the video becomes popular, Eva gets more and more job offers, and Artem becomes the boyfriend and producer of a world celebrity. The heroes seem to fall into the "American dream", but in their personal lives there are more and more problems and doubts.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Hortus Malabaricus (TBA)
Hortus Malabaricus is a poetic exploration of Kerala’s lost herbal heritage, unfolding the story of a 17th-century manuscript where native wisdom met colonial curiosity. Blending history, memory, and nature, the film journeys through forgotten texts and living voices, reviving the deep-rooted bond between people, plants, and place a timeless legacy etched in leaves and language.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Kujang Sasaka Bwaga Sunda (2024)
Kang Aries and Kang Oca are two cultural observers of Kujang who try to provide a justification perspective on the Kujang Philosophy made by one of the blacksmiths named Abah Jajang, where the general public often considers that Kujang is a sharp weapon. The two of them "Kang Aris & Kang Oca" entered the realm of the trial to defend the essence of Kujang, so as not to be considered misunderstood by the general public.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Inside the Mind of a Cat (2022)
Cat experts dive into the mind of the feline to reveal the true capabilities of the pouncing pet in this captivating and cuddly documentary.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Uncovering Spirited Away?
The closest matches to Uncovering Spirited Away are As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000), Girl Rising (2013) and My Mom Jayne (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Uncovering Spirited Away?
Start with As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000), the closest match to Uncovering Spirited Away.
What is the highest-rated movie like Uncovering Spirited Away?
Inside the Mind of a Cat (2022), rated 7.2/10 by 288 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Uncovering Spirited Away?
A Toxic Love Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Uncovering Spirited Away?
Yes: As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000), Girl Rising (2013) and My Mom Jayne (2025).
How are movies similar to Uncovering Spirited Away chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Uncovering Spirited Away, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.