Movies like The way things are (2018)
The best movies like The way things are (2018) are Waking Life (2001), The House (2022) and Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet (2014). If The way things are hooked you with its animation, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAvatar Aang: The Last Airbender (2026)9.0/10 from 1,437 votes
- NewestAvatar Aang: The Last Airbender (2026)Released 2026
- In SpanishLas leyendas: El origen (2021)Also in Spanish
Waking Life (2001)
Waking Life is about a young man in a persistent lucid dream-like state. The film follows its protagonist as he initially observes and later participates in philosophical discussions that weave together issues like reality, free will, our relationships with others, and the meaning of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe House (2022)
Across different eras, a poor family, an anxious developer and a fed-up landlady become tied to the same mysterious house in this animated dark comedy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKahlil Gibran's The Prophet (2014)
Exiled artist and poet Mustafa embarks on a journey home with his housekeeper and her daughter; together the trio must evade the authorities who fear that the truth in Mustafa's words will incite rebellion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhere Is Anne Frank (2021)
The film follows the journey of Kitty, the imaginary friend to whom Anne Frank dedicated her diary. A fiery teenager, Kitty wakes up in the near future in Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam and embarks on a journey to find Anne, who she believes is still alive, in today's Europe. While the young girl is shocked by the modern world, she also comes across Anne's legacy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCranston Academy: Monster Zone (2020)
An intelligent 15-year-old high school student is unexpectedly transferred to a boarding school where he opens a portal of monsters from another dimension.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKoati (2021)
Three unlikely heroes - Nachi, a free-spirited coati; Xochi, a fearless monarch butterfly and Pako, a hyperactive glass frog - embark on an adventure to stop wicked coral snake Zaina from destroying their rain forest homeland.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Tidal Zone: SpongeBob Universe Special (2023)
GrandPat travels through alternate dimensions and timelines to get home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStar Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)
As the Clone Wars sweep through the galaxy, Anakin Skywalker and his new Padawan learner Ahsoka Tano plunge into a dangerous mission to rescue the kidnapped son of crime lord Jabba the Hutt.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRed Hot Riding Hood (1943)
Tired of always playing the same roles, Little Red Riding Hood, her grandmother and the Wolf demand a new version of the tale. The story then plays out in a more contemporary urban environment, with Little Red Riding Hood working as a pin-up girl in a night club.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJimmy Timmy Power Hour 2: When Nerds Collide (2006)
Cartoon worlds collide in this hourlong adventure starring whiz kid Jimmy Neutron and Timmy Turner from "The Fairly OddParents." When the boys duel over Cindy Vortex, it draws the attention of Jimmy's archenemy, Prof. Calamitous, who teams with Wanda and Cosmo, forcing Jimmy and Timmy to work together to save the world from the all-powerful villain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRegular Show: The Movie (2015)
After a high school lab experiment goes horribly wrong, Mordecai and Rigby must go back in time to battle an evil volleyball coach in order to save the universe — and their friendship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Little Prince (2015)
Based on the best-seller book 'The Little Prince', the movie tells the story of a little girl that lives with resignation in a world where efficiency and work are the only dogmas. Everything will change when accidentally she discovers her neighbor that will tell her about the story of the Little Prince that he once met.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAvatar Aang: The Last Airbender (2026)
Avatar Aang, the world's last Airbender, learns of an ancient power that could save his culture from extinction. With the help of his friends, he embarks on a global quest to find it before it falls into the wrong hands and threatens to upend the peace they sacrificed everything to achieve.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisNona (2021)
A grandmother is caught between her two favorite things when her granddaughter is unexpectedly dropped off during the day she was planning to spend watching her favorite TV show.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLas leyendas: El origen (2021)
When a human baby crosses the Eternal Mirror, the portal between the living and the dead opens its path to the beings from the underworld.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisNullarbor (2011)
An animated road-movie set across the vast and barren landscape of Australia's Nullarbor Plain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLa Leyenda de los Chaneques (2023)
Five years after giving up his powers and separating from his friends, Leo San Juan has started a new life trying to focus on his family and their bakery, staying away from danger and adventures. However, Leo knows that his plans are rarely fulfilled and this time is no exception: while traveling with Nando to Veracruz, things start to get weird, and from the depths of the Tuxtlas jungle, an ancient curse has returned and only Leo can face it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSuper Monsters: Once Upon a Rhyme (2021)
From Goldilocks to Hansel and Gretel, the Super Monsters reimagine classic fairy tales and favorite nursery rhymes with a musical, magical spin!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAssassin's Creed: Embers (2011)
Taking place after the events of Assassin's Creed: Revelations in the year 1524 in Tuscany, follow the retired Assassin Ezio Auditore as he teams up with Shao Jun during his final battles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnomalisa (2015)
An inspirational speaker becomes reinvigorated after meeting a lively woman who shakes up his mundane existence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The way things are?
The closest matches to The way things are are Waking Life (2001), The House (2022) and Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet (2014). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The way things are?
Start with Waking Life (2001), the closest match to The way things are.
What is the highest-rated movie like The way things are?
Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender (2026), rated 9.0/10 by 1,437 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The way things are?
Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like The way things are?
Yes: Las leyendas: El origen (2021) and La Leyenda de los Chaneques (2023).
How are movies similar to The way things are chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The way things are, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.