Movies like Once Upon a Time (1990)
The best movies like Once Upon a Time (1990) are The House (2022), South Park: Joining the Panderverse (2023) and The Tidal Zone: SpongeBob Universe Special (2023). If Once Upon a Time hooked you with its animation, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSouth Park: Joining the Panderverse (2023)7.5/10 from 315 votes
- NewestAnimal Farm (2026)Released 2026
The 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 thisSouth Park: Joining the Panderverse (2023)
Cartman's deeply disturbing dreams portend the end of the life he knows and loves. Meanwhile, the adults in South Park are wrestling with their own life decisions, as the advent of AI is turning their world upside down.
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 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 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 thisAnimal Farm (2026)
A group of farm animals rise up against their neglectful owner, dreaming of equality and freedom. But as the pigs take control, the revolution turns into tyranny, with truth rewritten and dissent crushed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDer Fuehrer's Face (1943)
A marching band of Germans, Italians, and Japanese march through the streets of swastika-motif Nutziland, serenading "Der Fuehrer's Face." Donald Duck, not living in the region by choice, struggles to make do with disgusting Nazi food rations and then with his day of toil at a Nazi artillery factory. After a nervous breakdown, Donald awakens to find that his experience was in fact a nightmare.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSouth Park (Not Suitable for Children) (2023)
After it's discovered that a teacher at South Park Elementary has an OnlyFans page, Randy is compelled to take a closer look at the seedy underbelly of the world of online influencers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisArctic Dogs (2019)
Animals band together to save the day when the evil Otto Von Walrus hatches a sinister scheme to accelerate global warming and melt the Arctic Circle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
SnoozefestMovies like thisAn Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It (2022)
When a young telemarketer is confronted by a mysterious talking ostrich, he learns that the universe is stop motion animation. He must put aside his dwindling toaster sales and focus on convincing his colleagues of his terrifying discovery. It's scary business living in a stop motion world, where your faces come off and a giant hand controls your every move.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAmerica: The Motion Picture (2021)
A chainsaw-wielding George Washington teams with beer-loving bro Sam Adams to take down the Brits in a tongue-in-cheek riff on the American Revolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
SnoozefestMovies like thisSea Scouts (1939)
Donald is an admiral on a seagoing voyage with his nephews in which they encounter a ravenous shark.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPecos Pest (1955)
Jerry's eccentric uncle, Pecos, a Texan mouse, comes to spend the night with him before his musical performance on television the next day. He decides to rehearse with his guitar for the performance but each time he plays, one of his guitar strings snaps off. Fortunately, he is able to replace them by plucking off one of Tom's whiskers each time. Tom is rather reluctant about this and tries to hide to protect his whiskers from Uncle Pecos.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Yankee Doodle Mouse (1943)
As Tom and Jerry stage their typical fight sequences, the patriotic soldier theme of the title is evidenced by such things as a carton of eggs labeled "Hen Grenades"; Jerry dropping light bulbs from an airplane like bombs; and Jerry sending a telegram with the message "Sighted Cat - Sank Same." Musical phrasings from various patriotic war songs are heard throughout. The cut scene after Jerry hitting Tom with the board 4 times was cut from the 1950 reissue print for a war bond joke, and the original footage is currently considered "lost" due to the negatives destroyed in the 1978 George Eastman House fire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOut on a Limb (1950)
Donald's doing a little tree surgery when he spots Chip 'n' Dale gathering nuts. He saws off the branch outside their hole and paints it with tar, which Dale gets stuck in. Then Donald has a little fun with the long-handled pruning shears.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlitz Wolf (1942)
Yet another variation on the Three Little Pigs theme, this time told as WW2 anti-German propaganda (the US had just entered the war), with the wolf as a thinly-disguised Hitler.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMinions & More Volume 1 (2022)
This collection of 10 short films produced by Illumination includes: From the "Despicable Me" franchise: Puppy (2013); Minion Scouts (2019); Training Wheels (2013); The Secret Life of Kyle (2017); Santa's Little Helpers (2019). From the "Grinch" franchise: The Dog Days of Winter (2019). From the "Secret Life of Pets" franchise: Norman Television (2016); Weenie (2016). From the "Sing" franchise: Love at First Sight (2017). From the "Lorax" franchise: Forces of Nature (2012).
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPuss Gets the Boot (1940)
Jasper is given an ultimatum by his master: break one more thing and you're out. Rodent Jerry does his best to make sure that his tormentor "gets the boot".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRobot Chicken: Star Wars (2007)
A series of 30 sketches, following the hilarious antics of various characters from a galaxy, far, far away.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman (2012)
John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam pay tribute to their late Monty Python colleague Graham Chapman in this hilarious, 3-D animated adaptation of Chapman's brazenly fictionalized life story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Once Upon a Time?
The closest matches to Once Upon a Time are The House (2022), South Park: Joining the Panderverse (2023) and The Tidal Zone: SpongeBob Universe Special (2023). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Once Upon a Time?
Start with The House (2022), the closest match to Once Upon a Time.
What is the highest-rated movie like Once Upon a Time?
South Park: Joining the Panderverse (2023), rated 7.5/10 by 315 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Once Upon a Time?
Animal Farm (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Once Upon a Time chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Once Upon a Time, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.