Movies like The Wheels on the Bus Video: Mango and Papaya's Animal Adventures (2003)
The best movies like The Wheels on the Bus Video: Mango and Papaya's Animal Adventures (2003) are The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) and Bustin' Loose (1981). If The Wheels on the Bus Video: Mango and Papaya's Animal Adventures hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBig Fish (2003)7.7/10 from 8,047 votes
- NewestWildlife on the Edge 2: Bears (2025)Released 2025
The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
To ensure a full profitable season, circus manager Brad Braden engages The Great Sebastian, though this moves his girlfriend Holly from her hard-won center trapeze spot. Holly and Sebastian begin a dangerous one-upmanship duel in the ring, while he pursues her on the ground.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMadagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)
Animal pals Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria are still trying to make it back to New York's Central Park Zoo. They are forced to take a detour to Europe to find the penguins and chimps who broke the bank at a Monte Carlo casino. When French animal-control officer Capitaine Chantel DuBois picks up their scent, Alex and company are forced to hide out in a traveling circus.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBustin' Loose (1981)
After ex-con Joe Braxton violates his probation, he is given a second chance. All he has to do is drive a group of special kids across the country.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMadagascar (2005)
Four animal friends get a taste of the wild life when they break out of captivity at the Central Park Zoo and wash ashore on the island of Madagascar.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWe Bought a Zoo (2011)
Benjamin has lost his wife and, in a bid to start his life over, purchases a large house that has a zoo – welcome news for his daughter, but his son is not happy about it. The zoo is in need of renovation and Benjamin sets about the work with the head keeper and the rest of the staff, but, the zoo soon runs into financial trouble.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRacing Stripes (2005)
Shattered illusions are hard to repair -- especially for a good-hearted zebra named Stripes who's spent his life on a Kentucky farm amidst the sorely mistaken notion that he's a debonair thoroughbred. Once he faces the fact that his stark stripes mark him as different, he decides he'll race anyway. And with help from the young girl who raised him, he just might end up in the winner's circle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCurious George (2006)
When The Man in the Yellow Hat befriends Curious George in the jungle, they set off on a non-stop, fun-filled journey through the wonders of the big city toward the warmth of true friendship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCurious George: Go West, Go Wild (2020)
While farm-sitting, George accidentally lets the farm animals escape. Ted, George and wannabe cowboy Emmett must round 'em up, accounting for every animal -- and emerging with some new skills, to boot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCircus World (1964)
Circus owner Matt Masters is beset by disasters as he attempts a European tour of his circus. At the same time, he is caught in an emotional bind between his adopted daughter and her mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnimal Crackers (2018)
A family must use a magical box of Animal Crackers to save a rundown circus from being taken over by their evil uncle Horatio P. Huntington.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe One and Only Ivan (2020)
A gorilla named Ivan who’s living in a suburban shopping mall tries to piece together his past, with the help of other animals, as they hatch a plan to escape from captivity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKhumba (2013)
A half-striped zebra is blamed for the drought and leaves his herd in search of his missing stripes. He is joined on his quest by an overprotective wildebeest and a flamboyant ostrich; they defeat the tyrannical leopard and save his herd.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBus Stop (1956)
Cowboys Beauregard Decker and Virgil Blessing attend a rodeo in Phoenix, where Decker falls in love with beautiful cafe singer Cherie. He wants to take Cherie back to his native Montana and marry her, but she dreams of traveling to Hollywood and becoming famous. When she resists his advances, Decker forces Cherie onto the bus back to Montana with him, but, when the bus makes an unscheduled stop due to bad weather, the tables are turned.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWater for Elephants (2011)
In this captivating Depression-era melodrama, impetuous veterinary student Jacob Jankowski joins a celebrated circus as an animal caretaker but faces a wrenching dilemma when he's transfixed by angelic married performer Marlena.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTarzan's New York Adventure (1942)
Circus owner Buck Rand kidnaps Boy to perform in his show. He forces a pilot to fly him, Boy and his animal trainer out of the jungle. Tarzan and Jane follow them to New York.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBig Fish (2003)
Throughout his life Edward Bloom has always been a man of big appetites, enormous passions and tall tales. In his later years, he remains a huge mystery to his son, William. Now, to get to know the real man, Will begins piecing together a true picture of his father from flashbacks of his amazing adventures.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOne from the Heart (1982)
In a dazzling, dreamlike Las Vegas, longtime couple Hank and Frannie break up on their fifth anniversary and each pursue the fantasy of new love over one neon-soaked night—he with a free-spirited acrobat, she with a seductive musician. But as illusion and reality blur, both must decide whether passion or devotion truly defines the heart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMerry Madagascar (2009)
While trapped on the island of Madagascar, the Central Park Zoo escapees receive a visit from Santa--crash landing on their territory and getting amnesia to boot! The animals must help Santa assume his rightful place in the universe, while King Julian laps up the opportunity for his subjects.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisConquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
In a futuristic world that has embraced ape slavery, a chimpanzee named Caesar resurfaces after almost twenty years of hiding from the authorities, and prepares for a revolt against humanity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrapeze (1956)
A pair of men try to perform the dangerous "triple" in their trapeze act. Problems arise when the duo is made into a trio following the addition of a sexy female performer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWildlife on the Edge 2: Bears (2025)
Narrated by actor Tim Daly, the show looks at the dilemma of Black Bears living so close Los Angeles. Film features homeowners Brian and Rick who are dealing with Bears swimming in their pool; and features state Fish and Wildlife Officers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Shark 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
Foxes of Chironup (1987)
Foxes Ken and Chin become the proud parents of cubs, Koro and Kan, who enjoy a carefree life on the northern Japanese island of Chironup. They befriend a fisherman and his wife but are forced to run for their lives when soldiers on a military exercise decide to take home some fox pelts as souvenirs. A sweet little film that obliquely symbolizes the plight of Japan's aboriginal Ainu people and the northern islands that have been contested with Russia since they were occupied by Stalin's soldiers in 1945.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Babe: Pig in the City (1998)
Babe, fresh from his victory in the sheepherding contest, returns to Farmer Hoggett's farm, but after Farmer Hoggett is injured and unable to work, Babe has to go to the big city to save the farm.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisSurf's Up (2007)
With a documentary crew in tow, Cody Maverick—a young surfer from Antarctica—travels to the pacific for his first professional competition. Determined to earn respect and live up to his idol, Big Z, Cody pushes himself to the limit. But all that changes when an encounter with a laid-back local forces him to rethink his values.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGarfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006)
Jon and Garfield visit the United Kingdom, where a case of mistaken cat identity finds Garfield ruling over a castle. His reign is soon jeopardized by the nefarious Lord Dargis, who has designs on the estate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisAlle Alle (2007)
Ina, just released from prison, returns to the place of her childhood in search of life and meets the occasional desperado Domühl in her mother's house, which has been empty for thirty years. Hagen, a mentally handicapped resident, also ends up in this unusual landscape somewhere in the middle of nowhere south of Berlin in search of his uncle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Music and Lyrics (2007)
A washed-up '80s pop star gets a chance at a comeback when reigning pop diva Cora Corman invites him to write & record a duet with her, but there's a problem--Alex hasn't written a song in years; he's never written lyrics and he has to come up with a hit in a matter of days.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPelle the Conqueror (1987)
In the late 19th century, two Swedish emigrants, Lasse Karlsson and his son Pelle, arrive on the Danish island of Bornholm hoping to find work on a farm and save enough money to travel to the United States of America.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTriple Trouble (2014)
A team of three pets, a playful ferret, a sweet canary bird and a know-it-all stick insect, head out to ask Saint Nicolas presents for their animal friends and themselves. The journey is filled with adventures and their friendship is severely tested.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Wheels on the Bus Video: Mango and Papaya's Animal Adventures?
The closest matches to The Wheels on the Bus Video: Mango and Papaya's Animal Adventures are The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) and Bustin' Loose (1981). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Wheels on the Bus Video: Mango and Papaya's Animal Adventures?
Start with The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), the closest match to The Wheels on the Bus Video: Mango and Papaya's Animal Adventures.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Wheels on the Bus Video: Mango and Papaya's Animal Adventures?
Big Fish (2003), rated 7.7/10 by 8,047 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Wheels on the Bus Video: Mango and Papaya's Animal Adventures?
Wildlife on the Edge 2: Bears (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Wheels on the Bus Video: Mango and Papaya's Animal Adventures?
Yes: The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) and Bustin' Loose (1981).
How are movies similar to The Wheels on the Bus Video: Mango and Papaya's Animal Adventures chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Wheels on the Bus Video: Mango and Papaya's Animal Adventures, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.