Movies like Those Dear Departed (1987)
The best movies like Those Dear Departed (1987) are Blithe Spirit (1945), Kristin's Christmas Past (2013) and Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost (1999). If Those Dear Departed hooked you with its comedy and fantasy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)7.5/10 from 1,236 votes
- NewestCandy Cane Lane (2023)Released 2023
Blithe Spirit (1945)
While holding a séance for skeptical novelist Charles Condomine, self-proclaimed 'spiritualist medium' Madame Arcati inadvertently summons the spirit of his deceased first wife Elvira, leading to an increasingly complex love triangle with Ruth, his current wife of five years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKristin's Christmas Past (2013)
Kristin, a cynical 34-year-old, drinks a mysterious champagne on Christmas Eve and wakes up seventeen years in the past, sharing a room with her 17-year-old self. Given the chance to change the worst Christmas of her life, she attempts to fix past mistakes, only to discover surprising truths about her family that may help her mend her present-day relationships.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisScooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost (1999)
Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Gang visit Oakhaven, Massachusetts to seek strange goings on involving a famous horror novelist and his ancestor who is rumored to have been a witch.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Book of Life (1998)
New Year's Eve takes on new meaning when the Devil, Jesus Christ, and Christ's assistant Magdalena discuss and debate the End of the World.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTopper Returns (1941)
Topper is once again tormented by a fun-loving spirit. This time, it's Gail Richards, accidentally murdered while vacationing at the home of her wealthy friend, Ann Carrington, the intended victim. With Topper's help, Gail sets out to find her killer with the expected zany results.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCasper Meets Wendy (1998)
When a warlock threatens Wendy the Good Little Witch, she and her aunts hide out at a resort where Casper the Ghost is vacationing with his uncles. Although Casper and Wendy are told ghosts and witches don't get along, the two are kindred spirits! This spooky family-friendly adventure finds Casper and Wendy bridging the ghost-witch divide to battle the warlock who is intent on destroying Wendy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Scream Team (2002)
Eccentric Frank Carlyle ran a horror shop in small-town Steeple Falls, which takes pride in and profit from its Halloween traditions. Frank's widower grandson Richard grudgingly returns there from Boston with his own kids, bright Ian and bratty Claire, to settle the inheritance. Ian discovers great-grandpa's house is really haunted, and not just, as legend holds, by historic owner Zachariah Kull, who was burned on the stake.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCandy Cane Lane (2023)
Determined to win the neighborhood's annual Christmas decorating contest, family man Chris makes a pact with an elf to help him out-do the competition. However, the elf casts a spell bringing the twelve days of Christmas to life, unleashing chaos on the small unsuspecting town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeetlejuice (1988)
A newly dead New England couple seeks help from a deranged demon exorcist to scare an affluent New York family out of their home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDark Shadows (2012)
Vampire Barnabas Collins is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate and family have fallen into ruin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDashing Through the Snow (2023)
Eddie Garrick is a good-hearted man who has lost his belief in the wonder of Christmas. While spending time with his nine-year-old daughter Charlotte on Christmas Eve, he befriends a mysterious man in a red suit named Nick.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLadyhawke (1985)
Captain Etienne Navarre is a man on whose shoulders lies a cruel curse. Punished for loving each other, Navarre must become a wolf by night whilst his lover, Lady Isabeau, takes the form of a hawk by day. Together, with the thief Philippe Gaston, they must try to overthrow the corrupt Bishop and in doing so break the spell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Monster Squad (1987)
Count Dracula returns to the world of humans accompanied by Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolfman, the Mummy, and the Gillman. The uglies are in search of a powerful amulet that will grant them the ability to rule the world. A group of horror-loving heroes are the only ones daring to stand in their way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHalloweentown (1998)
On her 13th birthday, Marnie learns she's a witch, discovers a secret portal, and is transported to Halloweentown — a magical place where ghosts and ghouls, witches and werewolves live apart from the human world. But she soon finds herself battling wicked warlocks, evil curses, and endless surprises.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWonder Man (1945)
Boisterous nightclub entertainer Buzzy Bellew was the witness to a murder committed by gangster Ten Grand Jackson. One night, two of Jackson's thugs kill Buzzy and dump his body in the lake at Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Buzzy comes back as a ghost and summons his bookworm twin, Edwin Dingle, to Prospect Park so that he can help the police nail Jackson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Court Jester (1955)
A hapless carnival performer masquerades as the court jester as part of a plot against a usurper who has overthrown the rightful king of England.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPhantom of the Megaplex (2000)
Pete Riley is a 17-year-old who lands a part-time job at a multiplex in his neighbourhood. He and his friends are excited when it's announced that the theatre will play host to the premier of a major motion picture, with a number of Hollywood celebrities in attendance. However, when the big night comes, Pete has to contend with disappearing staff, malfunctioning equipment, and a broken popcorn machine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHansel and Gretel (1988)
Hansel and Gretel tells the tale of two young children driven from home by their scolding mother. Losing their way in the dark forest they stumble upon the cottage of a kindly old woman. But is this kindly old woman everything she seems...?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFour Kids and It (2020)
A group of kids on holiday in Cornwall meet a magical creature on the beach with the power to grant wishes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnastasia: Once Upon a Time (2020)
Anastasia Romanov escapes through a portal when her family is threatened by Vladimir Lenin, and she finds herself in the year 1988, befriended by a young American girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Canterville Ghost (2023)
An American family moves in to the Canterville Chase, a London mansion that has been haunted by ghost Sir Simon De Canterville for 300 years.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhost Dad (1990)
Elliot Hopper, a widower with three children, is working on a business deal to get his family out of financial straits when he is suddenly killed in a taxi accident. With the aid of a paranormal researcher, Elliott attempts to complete the deal from the beyond, ensuring his family will be taken care of.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Haunted Mansion (2003)
Workaholic Jim Evers and his wife/business partner Sara get a call one night from a mansion owner, Edward Gracey, who wants to sell his house. Once the Evers family arrive at the mansion, a torrential thunderstorm of mysterious origin strands them with the brooding, eccentric Gracey, his mysterious butler, and a variety of residents both seen and unseen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
A retelling of the classic Dickens tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, miser extraordinaire. He is held accountable for his dastardly ways during nighttime visitations by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGhostbusters (1984)
After losing their university jobs, three parapsychologists start a ghost-catching business in New York City and uncover a supernatural threat that could destroy the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFugitivos del paraíso (1998)
Three ghostly compadres try to finish their earthly business before moving on to the afterlife.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Polterguest (2022)
When Halloween enthusiasts JESS and ZACH BRYER move into their new home, they focus their attention on transforming it into a spectacular haunted house as per their family tradition. As they continue to move in, Jess begins to notice odd disturbances regarding a family photo that came with the house. This culminates in the revelation that a pair of ghosts, ROBERT and MARGE occupy the residence. Though the ghosts clearly dislike the new occupants, Jess and Zach take this as a good omen. Jess and Zach beg the ghosts to help haunt their haunted house to which Robert and Marge take even more offense, and refuse the offer. Through trial and error, the humans attempt to scare the ghosts into helping them, though nothing works. At her breaking point, Jess destroys the ghost's picture frame, leading them into a fit of rage in which they resort to their supernatural powers. Impressed by their abilities, the humans flatter the ghosts into working with them, and the haunted house is a success.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
No Retreat, No Surrender (1986)
The mob is trying to strongarm local martial arts schools, forcing young Jason Stillwell and his family to move after his father is injured defending their dojo. With his father now rejecting violence, Jason is forced to train on his own to protect himself and his best friend from the members of a rival karate school.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScrooge (1951)
Ebenezer Scrooge malcontentedly shuffles through life as a cruel, miserly businessman, until he is visited by three spirits on Christmas Eve who show him how his unhappy childhood and adult behavior has left him a selfish, lonely old man.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Christmas Carol (1984)
Miser Ebenezer Scrooge is awakened on Christmas Eve by spirits who reveal to him his own miserable existence, what opportunities he wasted in his youth, his current cruelties, and the dire fate that awaits him if he does not change his ways. Scrooge is faced with his own story of growing bitterness and meanness, and must decide what his own future will hold: death or redemption.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Those Dear Departed?
The closest matches to Those Dear Departed are Blithe Spirit (1945), Kristin's Christmas Past (2013) and Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost (1999). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Those Dear Departed?
Start with Blithe Spirit (1945), the closest match to Those Dear Departed.
What is the highest-rated movie like Those Dear Departed?
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), rated 7.5/10 by 1,236 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Those Dear Departed?
Candy Cane Lane (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Those Dear Departed?
Yes: Blithe Spirit (1945), Kristin's Christmas Past (2013) and Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost (1999).
How are movies similar to Those Dear Departed chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Those Dear Departed, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.