Movies like Elephant in a Haystack (2022)
The best movies like Elephant in a Haystack (2022) are The Grandmother (1970), The House (2022) and Mike's New Car (2002). If Elephant in a Haystack hooked you with its animation, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSwapped (2026)8.8/10 from 2,296 votes
- NewestCreation (2026)Released 2026
The Grandmother (1970)
To escape neglect and abuse from his parents, a young boy plants some strange seeds and they grow into a grandmother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisMike's New Car (2002)
Mike discovers that being the top-ranking laugh collector at Monsters, Inc. has its benefits – in particular, earning enough money to buy a six-wheel-drive car that's loaded with gadgets. That new-car smell doesn't last long enough, however, as Sulley jump-starts an ill-fated road test that teaches Mike the true meaning of buyer's remorse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind (2022)
The vicious, power-mad Kano is determined to take over Earthrealm, one soul at a time. Assisted by a trio of cold Black Dragon mercenaries, he embarks on a brutal assault from town to defenseless town. The choice is simple: kneel or be annihilated. Kenshi, a rebel warrior, calls on Kuai Liang, the only one powerful enough to challenge the malevolent Kano. But Kuai Liang has given up the ways of the warrior, and Kenshi is too undisciplined to defeat Kano himself. If Kuai Liang cannot break through the glacier of doubt that holds him back, Earthrealm will fall.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHeavy Traffic (1973)
A white dropout struggles to become a cartoonist and filmmaker, drawing inspiration from the harsh, gritty world around him. Still sharing his rundown apartment with his middle-aged parents, an oafish slob of an Italian father and a ditzy nutcase of a Jewish mother, he's ridiculed and looked down upon by his friends, hypocrites who run with violent gangs and the Italian Mafia, and a shallow Black girl who makes her living downtown with the pimps and pushers. The cartoonist gets a chance to pitch a film idea to a movie mogul, but the story proves too outrageous: a far-future Earth, depleted by war and pollution, where a mutant antihero challenges and kills God.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters (2007)
An action epic that explores the origins of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force (better known as Master Shake, Frylock, and Meatwad,) who somehow become pitted in a battle over an immortal piece of exercise equipment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlinkity Blank (1955)
A playful exercise in intermittent animation and spasmodic imagery. Playing with the laws relating to persistence of vision and after-image on the retina of the eye, McLaren engraves pictures on blank film creating vivid, percussive effects.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMad God (2021)
A silent figure known as The Assassin travels through a nightmare underworld of tortured souls, ruined cities and wretched monstrosities forged from the primordial horrors of the unconscious mind of Phil Tippett, the world's preeminent stop-motion animator.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSturgill Simpson Presents Sound & Fury (2019)
In this anime visual album, a mysterious driver heads deep into a postapocalyptic hellscape toward a ferocious showdown with two monstrous opponents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDuck Amuck (1953)
The short-tempered Daffy Duck must improvise madly as the backgrounds, his costumes, the soundtrack, even his physical form, shifts and changes at the whim of the animator.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisInception: The Cobol Job (2010)
Cobb, Arthur and Nash are enlisted by Cobol Engineering.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSwapped (2026)
A small woodland creature and a majestic bird, two natural sworn enemies of the Valley, magically trade places and set off on an adventure of a lifetime to switch back. Their journey soon uncovers a greater threat—one that could endanger not only their species, but the entire valley they call home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSouth Park the Streaming Wars (2022)
Cartman locks horns with his mom in a battle of wills while an epic conflict unfolds that threatens South Park’s very existence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMonster High: Friday Night Frights (2012)
After Monster High’s roller skating team is defeated at the Skulltimate Roller Maze tournament, the ghouls team up to face an all-boys league, with the hope of winning back the school crest and restoring school spirit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match (2023)
In 1980s Hollywood, action star Johnny Cage is looking to become an A-list actor. But when his costar, Jennifer, goes missing from set, Johnny finds himself thrust into a world filled with shadows, danger, and deceit. As he embarks on a bloody journey, Johnny quickly discovers the City of Angels has more than a few devils in its midst. He faces off against a sinister secret society plotting a nefarious scheme, but the brutal fight against the bloodthirsty warriors of the Netherrealm is just beginning.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Brave Little Toaster (1987)
A group of dated appliances, finding themselves stranded in a summer home that their family had just sold, decide to seek out their eight year old 'master'.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThriller Night (2011)
A Shrek parody of Michael Jackson's Thriller song and music video, with Donkey singing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDon't Hug Me I'm Scared 6 (2016)
All alone, Yellow Guy tries to stop a lamp from teaching him about dreams. While Red Guy finds out the truth about the puppets' existence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDestino (2003)
Short film to a song of love lost and rediscovered, a woman sees and undergoes surreal transformations. Her lover's face melts off, she dons a dress from the shadow of a bell and becomes a dandelion, ants crawl out of a hand and become Frenchmen riding bicycles. Not to mention the turtles with faces on their backs that collide to form a ballerina, or the bizarre baseball game.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWelcome to the Club (2022)
Heart set on becoming a princess, Lisa Simpson is surprised to learn being bad might be more fun.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArtificial Intelligence, 2023 (2024)
Composed entirely of AI-generated visuals and providing an abstract representation of the evolution of AI video, processed entirely through a VCR.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Rhythm (1934)
A comfortable rhythm composed of light and shadow. Director Ogino-style absolute movie which freely manipulates geometric figures.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Creation (2026)
The Hungarian word "alkotás" (artwork) has a dual meaning – it can refer both to the process of creation and to the finished artwork. The film tells the story of how a canvas comes alive, how playful, abstract forms are created, each one carrying its own human narrative.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
If the stars were to light up (2025)
In a hot, deserted neighborhood on the outskirts of the city, three kids and a dog rest in the shade of a tree. The deep, drowsy hum of siesta is in the air, but the calm is broken by small cracks in the everyday routine. Suddenly a strange light floods everything, and time seems to shatter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
2:30 (2025)
In a dark and cramped attic, Luna, a moth with dreams of becoming a dentist, sets up her first professional practice from home. As she works, she discovers an intoxicating euphoria in the glow of her dental light, forming an obsession that fuels her craft and enhances her skills. As the days blur together, her fixation deepens and her artistry decays along with her sanity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Wandsey (2025)
A mixed media film exploring the sweet & tender relationship between a family and their dog, Wandsey. Named after the borough of their home, Wandsworth, the film tenderly explores what home means, and how the presence & relationship of a pet can transform what home can be. With its scrapbook-like form, each memory turns like a page, as Gabby and her dad lovingly revisit the 17 beautiful years they shared with Wandsey. Softly and sweetly, the film asks what it means to love — and shows how the love we give & receive from our pets can truly transform a home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Drums West (1961)
This newly rediscovered short was created in Jim's home studio in Bethesda, MD around 1961. It is one of several experimental shorts inspired by the music of jazz great Chico Hamilton. At the end, in footage probably shot by Jerry Juhl, Jim demonstrates his working method.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Shearing Animation (1962)
An abstract animated film inspired by the work of jazz musician Chico Hamilton.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Cranberry Juice (2023)
After a threesome proposal, Beatrix drinks cranberry juice non-stop hoping it will improve her sexual life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Elephant in a Haystack?
The closest matches to Elephant in a Haystack are The Grandmother (1970), The House (2022) and Mike's New Car (2002). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Elephant in a Haystack?
Start with The Grandmother (1970), the closest match to Elephant in a Haystack.
What is the highest-rated movie like Elephant in a Haystack?
Swapped (2026), rated 8.8/10 by 2,296 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Elephant in a Haystack?
Creation (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Elephant in a Haystack?
Yes: The Grandmother (1970), The House (2022) and Mike's New Car (2002).
How are movies similar to Elephant in a Haystack chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Elephant in a Haystack, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.