Movies like Laughter in My Soul (1983)
The best movies like Laughter in My Soul (1983) are More Than Miyagi: The Pat Morita Story (2021), LA Originals (2020) and Dear Mr. Watterson (2013). If Laughter in My Soul hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWinter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom (2015)7.9/10 from 332 votes
- Newest2000 Meters to Andriivka (2025)Released 2025
More Than Miyagi: The Pat Morita Story (2021)
The Oscar nominated actor best known for his role of Mr. Miyagi, left behind a painfully revealing autobiographical record of his much-too-brief time here on earth. Tracing his journey from being bed bound as a boy to the bright lights and discrimination in Hollywood. Deep inside that sweet, generous, multi-talented performer seethed an army of demons, that even alcohol and drugs couldn't mask.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLA Originals (2020)
Photographer Estevan Oriol and artist Mister Cartoon turned their Chicano roots into gritty art, impacting street culture, hip hop and beyond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDear Mr. Watterson (2013)
20 years after Calvin and Hobbes stopped appearing in daily newspapers, filmmaker Joel Allen Schroeder has set out to explore the reasons behind the comic strip's loyal and devoted following.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Eyes of Orson Welles (2018)
A poetic journey into the visual world of the legendary filmmaker and actor Orson Welles (1915-85) that reveals a new portrait of a unique genius, both of his life and of his monumental work: through his own eyes, drawn by his own hand, painted with his own brush.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like this2000 Meters to Andriivka (2025)
Amid the failing counteroffensive, a journalist follows a Ukrainian platoon on their mission to traverse one mile of heavily fortified forest and liberate a strategic village from Russian occupation. But the farther they advance through their destroyed homeland, the more they realize that this war may never end.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisStan Lee (2023)
Celebrate the legacy of Stan Lee as the co-creator of such legendary characters as Fantastic Four, Iron Man, the X-Men, The Avengers, and hundreds more.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBruce Lee, the Legend (1984)
The Official Golden Harvest tribute to the Master of the Martial Arts Film, Bruce Lee.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWho Are You, Charlie Brown? (2021)
Lupita Nyong'o narrates a documentary about Peanuts and its creator, Charles M. Schulz. Famous fans—including Drew Barrymore, Kevin Smith, and Al Roker—share its influence on them, and a new animated story finds Charlie Brown on a quest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDrew: The Man Behind the Poster (2013)
A documentary on legendary movie-poster artist Drew Struzan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMarvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye (2022)
Join the likes of Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Florence Pugh, and Vincent D’Onofrio as they reveal how Marvel Studios’ “Hawkeye” was conceived and created. Witness firsthand what it took to pull off the show’s pulse-pounding action set pieces, and discover how iconic characters from the pages of Marvel Comics such as Kate Bishop were adapted and brought to life for the six-episode series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Curse of the Dragon (1993)
A 1993 documentary film about Bruce Lee. The film includes interviews from some of his fellow students and opponents who worked alongside him in his movies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBatman & Bill (2017)
Everyone thinks that Bob Kane created Batman, but that’s not the whole truth. One author makes it his crusade to make it known that Bill Finger, a struggling writer, actually helped invent the iconic superhero, from concept to costume to the very character we all know and love. Bruce Wayne may be Batman’s secret identity, but his creator was always a true mystery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStruggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018)
Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King (2020)
A tribute to Chadwick Boseman, celebrating his life and legacy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWinter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom (2015)
Over 93 days in Ukraine, what started as peaceful student demonstrations became a violent revolution and full-fledged civil rights movement.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (2016)
Nude men in rubber suits, close-ups of erections, objects shoved in the most intimate of places—these are photographs taken by Robert Mapplethorpe, known by many as the most controversial photographer of the twentieth century. Openly gay, Mapplethorpe took images of male sex, nudity, and fetish to extremes that resulted in his work still being labelled by some as pornography masquerading as art. But less talked about are the more serene, yet striking portraits of flowers, sculptures, and perfectly framed human forms that are equally pioneering and powerful.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFor the Love of Spock (2016)
The life of Mr. Spock, as well as that of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played him for almost fifty years, written and directed by his son: Adam.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSherman's March (1986)
Documentarian Ross McElwee originally set out to make a travelogue of sorts tracing General William T. Sherman's infamous scorched-earth march through the Confederacy in the latter stages of the Civil War. Instead, haunted by a recent breakup with a girlfriend, McElwee ends up documenting his progress -- or lack thereof -- in starting a new relationship. His journey then becomes one of self-reflection and self-discovery rather than a historical/sociological exploration.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Accountant of Auschwitz (2018)
Oskar Gröning, known as the "Accountant of Auschwitz," was charged with the murder of 300,000 Jews. When he took the stand in 2015, at the age of 94, his trial made headlines worldwide.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove, Antosha (2019)
From a prolific career in film and television, Anton Yelchin left an indelible legacy as an actor. Through his journals and other writings, his photography, the original music he wrote, and interviews with his family, friends, and colleagues, this film looks not just at Anton's impressive career, but at a broader portrait of the man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrumb (1995)
This movie chronicles the life and times of R. Crumb. Robert Crumb is the cartoonist/artist who drew Keep On Truckin', Fritz the Cat, and played a major pioneering role in the genesis of underground comix. Through interviews with his mother, two brothers, wife, ex-wife and ex-girlfriends, as well as selections from his vast quantity of graphic art, we are treated to a darkly comic ride through one man's subconscious mind.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWomen in the Shadows (1991)
Filmed on location in Saskatchewan from the Qu'Appelle Valley to Hudson Bay, the documentary traces the filmmaker's quest for her Native foremothers in spite of the reluctance to speak about Native roots on the part of her relatives. The film articulates Métis women's experience with racism in both current and historical context, and examines the forces that pushed them into the shadows.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Beothuk Story (2021)
For over 200 years, European history has taught us that Newfoundland's Beothuk people are extinct. Giving voice to the Indigenous people, archaeologists, genealogists, and historians from across Atlantic Canada, The Beothuk Story debunks this myth. Here, for the first time in Canadian documentary history, the Beothuk people speak for themselves. This is their story.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Black October (2000)
A documentary recounting the kidnappings of British Trade Commissioner James Cross and Quebec Vice-Premier & Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte by the FLQ on October 5, 1970 in Quebec.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
European Tour '73 (2020)
A 15 minute documentary utilizing archival Super 8 film footage and original animation about a father fulfilling his dream of reconnecting his 5 small children to the steps of his own father when he fought for the Canadian military in WW2 through a trip to Europe in 1973.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Leunig Fragments (2019)
With an anarchic and life-affirming heart, this documentary feature celebrates self-expression, friendship, life and death, and the power of the imagination to ignite, enrage, heal and inspire. With exclusive, intimate access to Michael Leunig - one of Australia’s most renowned artists - we reveal the man behind the household name.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Hugo in Argentina (2021)
A promising Italian cartoonist lands in Buenos Aires in 1950, with the dream of reaching the United States, to discover that, for him, America will be Argentina. The country immediately overwhelms him with its massive economic boom and a cultural scene among the most vibrant in the world. We are at the dawn of Argentina's most delirious decade, and the young immigrant feels that the vast promise of this country is within his grasp. His name will indeed make itself known: Hugo Pratt.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Postcards from Canada (2000)
Sweeping in from the frozen vistas of the Arctic to the frenzy of rush-hour traffic, from deep within the Canadian Shield to the orbiting Radarsat satellite, Postcards from Canada takes us on a whimsical trip through this magnificent nation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
My Mother's Village (2001)
In a documentary that spans two continents and several generations, acclaimed director John Paskievich delves into the experience of exile and its impact on the human spirit. Almost fifty years after his family fled Ukraine for freedom in Canada, the filmmaker visits his parents' homeland. It's a place both familiar and foreign. Drawing on his years growing up in Winnipeg, Paskievich explores how children of refugees and immigrants are caught between two worlds. While they struggle to put down roots in a new country, they must also preserve traditions of a distant land they have never known. Paskievich's journey through Ukraine is interwoven with stories of displacement from other prominent Ukrainian Canadians--authors George Melnyk and Fran Ponomarenko, filmmaker Bohdana Bashuk, director Halya Kuchmij and dancer Lecia Polujan. A rich tapestry of memory and history, My Mother's Village brings to light the humour, anger, joy and complexity of living between borders.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Grandmother Told Grandmother (2018)
The little-known story of Ukrainian children torn from their homes in the crush between the Nazi and Soviet fronts in World War II. Spending their childhood as refugees in Europe, these inspiring individuals later immigrated to the United States, creating new homes and communities through their grit, faith and deep belief in the importance of preserving culture.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Laughter in My Soul?
The closest matches to Laughter in My Soul are More Than Miyagi: The Pat Morita Story (2021), LA Originals (2020) and Dear Mr. Watterson (2013). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Laughter in My Soul?
Start with More Than Miyagi: The Pat Morita Story (2021), the closest match to Laughter in My Soul.
What is the highest-rated movie like Laughter in My Soul?
Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom (2015), rated 7.9/10 by 332 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Laughter in My Soul?
2000 Meters to Andriivka (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Laughter in My Soul?
Yes: More Than Miyagi: The Pat Morita Story (2021), LA Originals (2020) and Dear Mr. Watterson (2013).
How are movies similar to Laughter in My Soul chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Laughter in My Soul, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.