Movies like Sperm Whales: Dealing with the Unexpected (2005)
The best movies like Sperm Whales: Dealing with the Unexpected (2005) are Blackfish (2013), Earth (2007) and Dolphin Reef (2018). If Sperm Whales: Dealing with the Unexpected hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMy Octopus Teacher (2020)7.9/10 from 1,115 votes
- NewestA Wolf in the Suburbs (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchWhispers in the Woods (2025)Also in French
Blackfish (2013)
Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEarth (2007)
An epic story of adventure, starring some of the most magnificent and courageous creatures alive, awaits you in EARTH. Disneynature brings you a remarkable story of three animal families on a journey across our planet – polar bears, elephants and humpback whales.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDolphin Reef (2018)
Echo is a youngster who can't quite decide if it's time to grow up and take on new responsibilities-or give in to her silly side and just have fun. Dolphin society is tricky, and the coral reef that Echo and his family call home depends on all of its inhabitants to keep it healthy. But Echo has a tough time resisting the many adventures the ocean has to offer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Octopus Teacher (2020)
After years of swimming every day in the freezing ocean at the tip of Africa, Craig Foster meets an unlikely teacher: a young octopus who displays remarkable curiosity. Visiting her den and tracking her movements for months on end he eventually wins the animal’s trust and they develop a never-before-seen bond between human and wild animal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisPenguins (2019)
The story of Steve, an Adélie penguin, on a quest to find a life partner and start a family. When Steve meets with Wuzzo the emperor penguin they become friends. But nothing comes easy in the icy Antarctic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeep Blue (2003)
Deep Blue is a major documentary feature film shot by the BBC Natural History Unit. An epic cinematic rollercoaster ride for all ages, Deep Blue uses amazing footage to tell us the story of our oceans and the life they support.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisElephant (2020)
Disneynature’s Elephant follows African elephant Shani and her spirited son Jomo as their herd make an epic journey hundreds of miles across the vast Kalahari Desert. Led by their great matriarch, Gaia, the family faces brutal heat, dwindling resources and persistent predators, as they follow in their ancestors’ footsteps on a quest to reach a lush, green paradise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhispers in the Woods (2025)
In the heart of the tranquil Vosges forests, where lynxes, bears and deer roam freely, Vincent Munier accompanies his father on his expeditions. He not only seeks to capture the visual wonders of this forest kingdom, but also aims to make its sounds audible. Every whisper of the forest is a reminder of the knowledge of nature that his father once imbued in him – knowledge that Vincent now passes on to his own son. Vincent Munier combines breathtaking footage of nature and its sounds to create a fairytale-like cinematic experience that slows time down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisPuff: Wonders of the Reef (2021)
A baby pufferfish travels through a wondrous microworld full of fantastical creatures as he searches for a home on the Great Barrier Reef.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Elephant Queen (2019)
Embark on an epic journey of family, courage, and coming home in this feature-length documentary. Join Athena, the majestic matriarch, as she leads her elephant herd across an unforgiving African landscape filled with vibrant wildlife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGod Grew Tired of Us (2006)
Filmmaker Christopher Quinn observes the ordeal of three Sudanese refugees -- Jon Bul Dau, Daniel Abul Pach and Panther Bior -- as they try to come to terms with the horrors they experienced in their homeland, while adjusting to their new lives in the United States.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Meerkats (2008)
A coming of age story following a young meerkat pup, Kolo, growing up in the Kalahari desert; and an inspiring look at how one family's connection to each other and their surroundings is a model of resilience and fortitude for us all. Shot using ground-breaking techniques, this dramatised documentary is a one-of-a-kind presentation from The Weinstein Company and the BBC, featuring narration by Paul Newman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPowaqqatsi (1988)
An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShark Whisperer (2025)
Marine conservationist and social media activist Ocean Ramsey fearlessly swims with sharks in this documentary about her risky mission to protect them.
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 thisAtlantis (1991)
Atlantis is filmmaker Luc Besson's celebration of the beauty and wonder of the world beneath the sea, expanding upon themes touched on in his film The Big Blue. Combining stunning underwater cinematography and a hypnotic score by Eric Serra, Besson's singular vision defies dialogue or narrative structure to explore ocean life as you've never seen it before. Following the colossal success of The Big Blue, Luc Besson crisscrossed the world's seas and oceans to film the beauty and diversity of marine life: from the giant octopuses of Vancouver to the manta rays of the Pacific (New Caledonia), and the grey sharks of Tahiti. A film with no actors or sets other than the underwater world. A breathtaking view of marine species: sharks, dolphins, manatees, octopuses. An exploration of the seabed in the Bahamas, the Galapagos, Vancouver, and Tahiti.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBorn to Be Wild (2011)
Born to Be Wild observes various orphaned jungle animals and their day-to-day behavioural interactions with the individuals who rescue them and raise them to adulthood. The film unfurls in two separate geographic spheres. Half of it takes place in the rain forests of Borneo, where celebrated primatologist Dr. Birute Galdikas assists baby orangutans; the other half takes place on the arid savannahs of Kenya, where zoologist Dame Daphne Sheldrick works with baby elephant calves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Plastic Ocean (2016)
A documentary focused on plastic pollution in the world's oceans.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMarch of the Penguins (2005)
Every year, thousands of Antarctica's emperor penguins make an astonishing journey to breed their young. They walk, marching day and night in single file 70 miles into the darkest, driest and coldest continent on Earth. This amazing, true-life tale is touched with humour and alive with thrills. Breathtaking photography captures the transcendent beauty and staggering drama of devoted parent penguins who, in the fierce polar winter, take turns guarding their egg and trekking to the ocean in search of food. Predators hunt them, storms lash them. But the safety of their adorable chicks makes it all worthwhile. So follow the leader... to adventure!!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos (2008)
In the remote and forgotten wilderness of Lake Natron, in northern Tanzania, one of nature's last great mysteries unfolds: the birth, life and death of a million crimson-winged flamingos.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGrizzly Man (2005)
Follows the story of "Grizzly Man" Timothy Treadwell and what the thirteen summers in a National Park in Alaska were like in his attempt to protect the grizzly bears. The film is full of unique images and a look into the spirit of a man who sacrificed himself for nature.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDas geheime Leben der Rothirsche (2020)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Following the Tundra Wolf (1975)
The life cycle of the tundra wolf is a complex and balanced relationship with other animals that inhabit the tundra region. Preying on the caribou, the wolf kills just enough for the pack to survive.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
BE WILD - NORMALITY IS RADICAL (2019)
A young film crew searches for ways out of the climate crisis. In different cities they meet people who commit their lives to preserving our environment in different ways. In inspiring conversations they talk about their thoughts, motivation and hope and why we have to break out of our comfort zone. 8 protagonists try to reach out for solutions for climate justice in our future and open up perspectives of hope.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Untamed Albania (2018)
Albania in the southeast of Europe – situated between Greece, Macedonia, Kosovo and Montenegro – hosts an astonishingly diverse landscape. Harmonic coastal areas lead to harsh karst landscapes. Snow-covered mountain regions, wild canyons, waterfalls, deep-blue lakes and untouched rivers are perfect conditions for an immensely rich flora and fauna. Decades of war preserved wide areas of the country from industrial exploitation, so the natural environment is still untouched.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Australia: Land Beyond Time (2002)
Australia: Land Beyond Time takes viewers on a breathtaking journey back in time to witness the birth and evolution of a mysterious land that harbors remnants of Earth's earliest life and many of it's strangest creatures that exist nowhere else on the planet.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk (2008)
A documentary about a 15-day river-rafting trip on the Colorado River aimed at highlighting water conservation issues.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Into the Abyss: Chemosynthetic Oases (2022)
Deep Sea Chemosynthetic Oases Full Movie. This film exploring hydrothermal vents, cold-seep habitats, and food-falls including whale-falls and the communities at shipwrecks. Footage used belongs to the incredible marine conservation societies of Ocean Networks Canada, CSSF-ROPOS, Schmidt Ocean Institute, MBARI, WHOI and the Ocean Exploration Institute.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Into the Midnight Zone (2024)
In the deep ocean, life is divided between very different worlds. In the midwater, pelagic wanderers tread migratory routes that span entire oceans, and planktonic drifters and their predators take part in bioluminescent light shows. And below, lies the deep sea floor. A kingdom of mud and ooze, where sessile creatures cling to any solid outcrop and corals craft kingdoms on the seamount crusts. The worlds of the deep sea could not be more different, and yet their stories are fundamentally intertwined.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
A Wolf in the Suburbs (2026)
Welcome to Mississauga where lawns are clipped, neighbors are watchful and no blade of grass dares misbehave. Except at Wolf Ruck’s place. His lawn grows wild, and so does the trouble.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Sperm Whales: Dealing with the Unexpected?
The closest matches to Sperm Whales: Dealing with the Unexpected are Blackfish (2013), Earth (2007) and Dolphin Reef (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Sperm Whales: Dealing with the Unexpected?
Start with Blackfish (2013), the closest match to Sperm Whales: Dealing with the Unexpected.
What is the highest-rated movie like Sperm Whales: Dealing with the Unexpected?
My Octopus Teacher (2020), rated 7.9/10 by 1,115 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Sperm Whales: Dealing with the Unexpected?
A Wolf in the Suburbs (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Sperm Whales: Dealing with the Unexpected?
Yes: Whispers in the Woods (2025), Atlantis (1991) and March of the Penguins (2005).
How are movies similar to Sperm Whales: Dealing with the Unexpected chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Sperm Whales: Dealing with the Unexpected, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.