Movies like We Were Just Little Boys (2022)
The best movies like We Were Just Little Boys (2022) are Ryan (2004), Showbiz Kids (2020) and Van Gogh: Painted with Words (2010). If We Were Just Little Boys hooked you with its animation and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTower (2016)7.6/10 from 213 votes
- NewestSaint Paisios (2026)Released 2026
Ryan (2004)
Centres on Canadian animator Ryan Larkin, who in later years lived on skid row in Montreal following a history of drug and alcohol abuse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShowbiz Kids (2020)
A documentary chronicling the shared experiences of prominent former child stars and the personal and professional price of fame and failure on a child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVan Gogh: Painted with Words (2010)
A drama-documentary presented by Alan Yentob, with Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role. Every word spoken by the actors in this film is sourced from the letters that Van Gogh sent to his younger brother Theo, and of those around him. What emerges is a complex portrait of a sophisticated, civilised and yet tormented man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTower (2016)
Combining archival footage with rotoscopic animation, Tower reveals the action-packed untold stories of the witnesses, heroes and survivors of America's first mass school shooting, when the worst in one man brought out the best in so many others.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDetainment (2018)
Two ten year-old boys are detained by police under suspicion of abducting and murdering a toddler.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWho Are You, Charlie Brown? (2021)
Lupita Nyong'o narrates a documentary about Peanuts and its creator, Charles M. Schulz. Famous fans—including Drew Barrymore, Kevin Smith, and Al Roker—share its influence on them, and a new animated story finds Charlie Brown on a quest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Arbor (2010)
The lives of the late Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar and Lorraine, one of her daughters, and the community of Bradford, in the 30 years since the 18-year-old Andrea penned a play about growing up in the community titled "The Arbor".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Devil on Trial (2023)
Explore the first – and only – time “demonic possession” has officially been used as a defense in a U.S. murder trial. Including firsthand accounts of alleged devil possession and a shocking murder, this extraordinary story forces reflection on our fear of the unknown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisGrand Theft Hamlet (2024)
Two unemployed friends have a fresh idea: they want to stage Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' in Grand Theft Auto. But even in a virtual world, reality intrudes in a wild and trippy film shot entirely inside the ultra-violent video game.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTen Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002)
Ten Minutes Older is a 2002 film project consisting of two compilation feature films entitled The Trumpet and The Cello. The project was conceived by the producer Nicolas McClintock as a reflection on the theme of time at the turn of the Millennium. Fifteen celebrated film-makers were invited to create their own vision of what time means in ten minutes of film.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCamp Confidential: America's Secret Nazis (2021)
Camp Confidential: America's Secret Nazis, is a documentary short featuring animation that focuses on the story of a top secret POW camp that was classified for over 5 decades. In the midst of WWII, a group of young Jewish refugees are assigned to guard a top secret POW camp near Washington D.C. The Jewish soldiers soon discover that their prisoners are no other than Hitler's top scientists - What starts out as an intelligence mission to gather information from the Nazis, soon gets a shocking twist when the Jewish soldiers are tasked with a very different mission altogether. A mission that would question their moral values - exposing a dark secret from America's past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll That Breathes (2022)
Against the darkening backdrop of New Delhi's apocalyptic air and escalating violence, two brothers devote their lives to protecting one casualty of the turbulent times: the bird known as the black kite.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTell Me Who I Am (2019)
In this documentary, Alex trusts his twin, Marcus, to tell him about his past after he loses his memory. But Marcus is hiding a dark family secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPiece by Piece (2024)
A unique cinematic experience that invites audiences on a vibrant journey through the life of cultural icon Pharrell Williams. Told through the lens of LEGO® animation, turn up the volume on your imagination and witness the evolution of one of music's most innovative minds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee (2016)
The strange story of John McAfee, who went from millionaire software mogul to yogi, Kurtz-like jungle recluse to potential murderer, and most recently a prospective presidential candidate for the American Libertarian Party.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTarnation (2003)
Filmmaker Jonathan Caouette's documentary on growing up with his schizophrenic mother -- a mixture of snapshots, Super-8, answering machine messages, video diaries, early short films, and more -- culled from 19 years of his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLead Me Home (2021)
Poignant stories of homelessness on the West Coast of the US frame this cinematic portrait of a surging humanitarian crisis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFraming John DeLorean (2019)
A documentary interspersed with acted scenes, this portrait of John DeLorean covers the brilliant but tragically flawed automaker's rise to stardom and shocking down fall.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLife in a Day (2011)
A documentary shot by filmmakers all over the world that serves as a time capsule to show future generations what it was like to be alive on the 24th of July, 2010.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTrainwreck: Poop Cruise (2025)
An engine fire leaves 4,000 passengers stranded at sea without power and plumbing in this wild documentary about the infamous "poop cruise" of 2013.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisShark Terror: The Real Jaws (2019)
On a hot summer day, a young man from Philadelphia goes for an afternoon dip; when he is 40 feet from shore he gets attacked and dies; five days later, the Bell Captain at a popular beachside resort is also attacked.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & drama
La Rafle du Vieux-Port (2023)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & drama
Justice (2021)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & documentary
The History Boys (2006)
The story of an unruly class of bright, funny history students at a Yorkshire grammar school in pursuit of an undergraduate place at Oxford or Cambridge. Bounced between their maverick English master, a young and shrewd teacher hired to up their test scores, a grossly out-numbered history teacher, and a headmaster obsessed with results, the boys attempt to pass.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe UFO Battle of Los Angeles (2023)
On the night of February 24-25, 1942, amid terror and neurosis caused by the terrible Pearl Harbor attack only two months earlier, a huge flying object of unknown origin appears in the sky over Los Angeles. The military reacts by imposing a total blackout in the area and firing more than 1440 artillery rounds. However, despite the firepower, no object was shot down. We will try to understand what actually happened and who or what flew over the skies of Los Angeles that night of February 24, 1942.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Westerborkfilm (1944)
In 1944 Rudolf Breslauer documented the everyday life in the Westerbork transit camp on film, commissioned by the German camp commander Albert Gemmeker. The Westerbork Film was never completed, but much of the raw footage is preserved.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Saint Paisios (2026)
The story of Saint Paisios, or else known as Arsenios Eznepidis. After being uprooted from Farasa of Cappadocia as refugees, the family of young Arsenios settles in Konitsa, Epirus where he grows up with his mother and grandmother, who inherit to him their deep faith in Christ as well as their love for all people. Fast forward to many years later, his time in Mounth Athos and his move to Filotheos monastery play a catalytic role in his religious journey. Eventually, he sends a photograph of himself to his mother, bidding her farewell and telling her that from then on the Virgin Mary will be his mother. He no longer signs using the name Arsenios, but Paisios.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Ripple Effect (2021)
The Ripple Effect is a powerful documentary primarily centred around St Kilda legend and proud Noongar Nicky Winmar's generation-defining stand against racism at Victoria Park in 1993.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Australia Says Yes (2018)
Packed with drama, high emotions and cliff-hanger moments, Australia Says Yes is the intimate and personal history of struggle and perseverance that propelled Australia to say Yes to marriage equality. The film shows how a group of determined individuals fought tirelessly against unjust laws that treated LGBTIQ people as second-class citizens, creating a movement that saw them go from criminals to legally equal over the course of five decades.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like We Were Just Little Boys?
The closest matches to We Were Just Little Boys are Ryan (2004), Showbiz Kids (2020) and Van Gogh: Painted with Words (2010). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after We Were Just Little Boys?
Start with Ryan (2004), the closest match to We Were Just Little Boys.
What is the highest-rated movie like We Were Just Little Boys?
Tower (2016), rated 7.6/10 by 213 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like We Were Just Little Boys?
Saint Paisios (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like We Were Just Little Boys?
Yes: Ryan (2004), Showbiz Kids (2020) and Van Gogh: Painted with Words (2010).
How are movies similar to We Were Just Little Boys chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside We Were Just Little Boys, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.