Movies like First the Music, then the Words (2003)
The best movies like First the Music, then the Words (2003) are Not Without Hope (2025), Doctor Dolittle (1967) and Project Nim (2011). If First the Music, then the Words hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
First the Music, then the Words
Quick picks
- Highest ratedA Dog's Journey (2019)8.1/10 from 1,669 votes
- NewestThe AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026)Released 2026
Not Without Hope (2025)
A group of friends' fishing boat capsizes off the coast of Mexico and they're left alone stranded at sea and struggling for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDoctor Dolittle (1967)
A veterinarian who can communicate with animals travels abroad to search for a giant sea snail.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisProject Nim (2011)
From the team behind Man on Wire comes the story of Nim, the chimpanzee who in the 1970s became the focus of a landmark experiment which aimed to show that an ape could learn to communicate with language if raised and nurtured like a human child. Following Nim's extraordinary journey through human society, and the enduring impact he makes on the people he meets along the way, the film is an unflinching and unsentimental biography of an animal we tried to make human. What we learn about his true nature - and indeed our own - is comic, revealing and profoundly unsettling.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Battered Bastards of Baseball (2014)
Hollywood veteran Bing Russell creates the only independent baseball team in the country—alarming the baseball establishment and sparking the meteoric rise of the 1970s Portland Mavericks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
Dr. Henryk Savaard is a scientist working on experiments to restore life to the dead. When he is unjustly hanged for murder, he is brought back to life by his trusted assistant. Re-animated he turns decidedly nasty and sets about murdering the jury that convicted him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Dog's Journey (2019)
A dog finds the meaning of his own existence through the lives of the humans he meets.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMake Mine Music (1946)
In the tradition of Fantasia, Make Mine Music is a glorious collection of musically charged animated shorts featuring such fun-filled favorites as "Peter and the Wolf", narrated by the beloved voice behind Winnie the Pooh. In addition you'll enjoy such classic cartoon hits as "Casey at the Bat," "The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met" and "Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisHappy Feet (2006)
Into the world of the Emperor Penguins, who find their soul mates through song, a penguin is born who cannot sing. But he can tap dance something fierce!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
A highly intelligent chimpanzee named Caesar has been living a peaceful suburban life ever since he was born. But when he gets taken to a cruel primate facility, Caesar decides to revolt against those who have harmed him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZappa (2020)
With the help of more than 10,000 dedicated Zappa fans, this is the long-awaited definitive documentary project of Alex Winter documenting the life and career of enigmatic groundbreaking rock star Frank Zappa. Alex also utilizes in this picture thousands of hours of painstakingly digitized videos, photos, audio, writing, and everything in between from Zappa's private archives. These chronicles have never been brought to a public audience before, until now.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLittle Voice (1998)
After the death of her father, Little Voice or LV becomes a virtual recluse, never going out and hardly ever saying a word. She just sits in her bedroom listening to her father's collection of old records of Shirley Bassey, Marilyn Monroe and various other famous female singers. But at night time, LV sings, imitating these great singers with surprising accuracy. One night she is overheard by one of her mother's boyfriends, who happens to be a talent agent. He manages to convince her that her talent is special and arranges for her to perform at the local night club, but several problems arise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSing (2016)
A koala named Buster recruits his best friend to help him drum up business for his theater by hosting a singing competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHappy Feet Two (2011)
Mumble the penguin has a problem: his son Erik, who is reluctant to dance, encounters the Mighty Sven — a penguin who can fly! Things get worse for Mumble when the world is shaken by powerful forces, causing him to bring together the penguin nations and their allies to set things right.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChevalier (2023)
The illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner, Joseph Bologne rises to improbable heights in French society as a celebrated violinist-composer and fencer, complete with an ill-fated love affair and a falling out with Marie Antoinette and her court.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPiper (2016)
A mother bird tries to teach her little one how to find food by herself. In the process, she encounters a traumatic experience that she must overcome in order to survive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisPenguins (2019)
The story of Steve, an Adélie penguin, on a quest to find a life partner and start a family. When Steve meets with Wuzzo the emperor penguin they become friends. But nothing comes easy in the icy Antarctic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFierce People (2006)
A massage therapist looking to overcome her addictions and reconnect with her son, whose father is an anthropologist in South America studying the Yanomani people, moves in with a wealthy ex-client in New Jersey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026)
A father-to-be tries to figure out what is happening with all this AI insanity, and explores the most powerful technology humanity has ever created... and what's at stake if we get it wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTom Sawyer (2000)
Tom Sawyer and his best buddy Huck Finn love going fishing, daydreaming about pirates and stolen gold, and thinking about Becky Thatcher - the pretty new girl at school. But when these pals set out on a quest for buried treasure, they end up face to face with the town's most "grizzly" bear, Injurin' Joe. Giving Joe the slip, they find themselves in the middle of a fantastic adventure that takes them from the mighty Mississippi to the mysterious caverns of a secret hideout where they discover fun, excitement... and a fortune beyond their wildest dreams!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLeo (2023)
Jaded 74-year-old reptile Leo has been stuck in the same Florida classroom for decades with his terrarium-mate turtle. When he learns he only has one year left to live, he plans to escape to experience life on the outside but instead gets caught up in the problems of his anxious students — including an impossibly mean substitute teacher.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like First the Music, then the Words?
The closest matches to First the Music, then the Words are Not Without Hope (2025), Doctor Dolittle (1967) and Project Nim (2011). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after First the Music, then the Words?
Start with Not Without Hope (2025), the closest match to First the Music, then the Words.
What is the highest-rated movie like First the Music, then the Words?
A Dog's Journey (2019), rated 8.1/10 by 1,669 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like First the Music, then the Words?
The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there German movies like First the Music, then the Words?
The closest matches are in other languages.
How are movies similar to First the Music, then the Words chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside First the Music, then the Words, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.