Movies like National Parks Exploration Series: Great Smoky Mountains (2011)
The best movies like National Parks Exploration Series: Great Smoky Mountains (2011) are The Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019), Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022) and My Mom Jayne (2025). If National Parks Exploration Series: Great Smoky Mountains hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGrizzly Man (2005)7.5/10 from 1,004 votes
- NewestWolves Up Close with Bertie Gregory (2026)Released 2026
The Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019)
Go behind the scenes with stars, puppeteers and creators as they bring Jim Henson's magical world of Thra back to life in a sweeping fantasy series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAvatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022)
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Mom Jayne (2025)
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisNo Half Measures: Creating the Final Season of Breaking Bad (2013)
A documentary about the making of season five of the acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWolves Up Close with Bertie Gregory (2026)
Reconnecting with a pack of wolves he has followed for seven years, Bertie sets out to capture one of the Arctic's most dangerous and rarely filmed hunts: wolves taking on a bull moose, prey roughly ten times their size. Led by Kona, a striking white breeding male, the pack faces a critical winter as dwindling food supplies, an encroaching rival wolf and an aging leader threaten its survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Curious Birth of Benjamin Button (2009)
A documentary about the making of David Fincher's 2008 film THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Virtually every element in the evolution of the Fincher's film is documented here, from the project's attachment to numerous other directors during the 1990s, to its shoot in 2006 and 2007 in New Orleans, to its complex, CGI-intensive postproduction process.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Mole: Undercover in North Korea (2020)
A real-life undercover thriller about two ordinary men who embark on an outrageously dangerous ten-year mission to penetrate the world's most secretive and brutal dictatorship: North Korea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012)
Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Toxic Love Story (2026)
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAs I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)
A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAvatar: Creating the World of Pandora (2010)
The Making-of James Cameron's Avatar. It shows interesting parts of the work on the set.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLionel Messi: Destiny (2023)
Behind-the-scenes documentary about how Lionel Messi succeeded in lifting the World Cup – the only trophy to have eluded him in an incredible career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMcQueen (2018)
Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBoys State (2020)
This raucous journey into the heart of democracy captures an unusual rite of passage: 1,100 teenage boys from across Texas coming together to build a representative government from the ground up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDownloaded (2013)
A documentary that explores the downloading revolution; the kids that created it, the bands and the businesses that were affected by it, and its impact on the world at large.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisScotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (2018)
A deliciously scandalous portrait of unsung Hollywood legend Scotty Bowers, whose bestselling memoir chronicled his decades spent as sexual procurer to the stars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbove Majestic (2018)
A look at the origins, history and conspiracies behind the "Majestic 12", a clandestine group of military and corporate figureheads charged with reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me (2023)
From the heights of her modeling fame to her tragic death, this documentary reveals Anna Nicole Smith through the eyes of the people closest to her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMade You Look: A True Story About Fake Art (2020)
A woman walks into a New York gallery with a cache of unknown masterworks. Thus begins a story of art world greed, willfulness and a high-stakes con.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYour Friend, Ranger Doug (2020)
A 94-year-old Glacier National Park ranger confronts the decline of the park he calls home as he reflects on his life and the legacy he will leave behind.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
National Parks Exploration Series: Yellowstone (2011)
On March 1, 1872 President Ulysses S. Grant signed into existence the world's first national park, Yellowstone National Park. The 2.2 million acres of wilderness is the only complete mid-latitude ecosystem left on the planet.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
National Parks Exploration Series: The Black Hills and The Badlands - Gateway to the West (2012)
Nestled in the heart of America s great plains are contrasting tastes of a sacred land that beckons the visitor to enter the nation's mysterious and glorious West. A land of soaring pinnacles, deep canyons, hidden caves, national monuments and countless wildlife sanctuaries. It is also the place of the inglorious death of famed gunslinger, Wild Bill Hickok and the most sacred spot for the Lakota Sioux. Enjoy breathtaking aerial views and amazing tours with park rangers. Discover the wonder and awe of these contrasting spectacles of the West, one soaring, rich in forest and water and other barren and deeply eroded, which are brought to together by a shared geology and history. They are the Gateway to the Great American West. They are the Black Hills and the Badlands.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Big Bend: The Wild Frontier of Texas (2021)
Roam the Wild West frontier land of the Rio Grande’s Big Bend alongside its iconic animals, including black bears, rattlesnakes and scorpions.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
National Parks Exploration Series: The Everglades (2011)
There is no place on the planet like the Everglades. This installment of the National Parks Exploration Series takes you to where two great biomes of life meet: the tropical and the temperate mid-latitude, which makes up much of the continental US.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Missing 411: The U.F.O. Connection (2023)
In Missing 411: The UFO Connection, David Paulides continues the story of people who vanish in the wild without a trace. In his third documentary, David reveals the first evidence documenting a link between UFOs and missing people.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Yellowstone: The Mystery of the Wolves (2018)
70 years after the last wolves roamed the national park, a total of 41 wolves were reintroduced between 1995 and 1997. A globally unique experiment that had many supporters, but also resolute opponents, then as now.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Rise of the Warrior Apes (2017)
Filmed over 23 years, Rise of the Warrior Apes tells the epic story of an extraordinary troop of chimpanzees in Ngogo, Uganda – featuring four mighty warriors who rule through moral ambiguity, questionable politics, strategic alliances and destroyed trust.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Grizzly Man (2005)
Follows the story of "Grizzly Man" Timothy Treadwell and what the thirteen summers in a National Park in Alaska were like in his attempt to protect the grizzly bears. The film is full of unique images and a look into the spirit of a man who sacrificed himself for nature.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYosemite: America's Treasure (2020)
Experience Yosemite's incredible wonders with breathtaking cinematography, including such icons as the granite monoliths El Capitan and Half Dome, and the spectacular Bridal Veil and Yosemite Falls. Learn about Yosemite's fascinating history as the first land set aside for preservation that inspired John Muir and photographer Ansel Adams and discover why Yosemite is one of America's Crown Jewels.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like National Parks Exploration Series: Great Smoky Mountains?
The closest matches to National Parks Exploration Series: Great Smoky Mountains are The Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019), Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022) and My Mom Jayne (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after National Parks Exploration Series: Great Smoky Mountains?
Start with The Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019), the closest match to National Parks Exploration Series: Great Smoky Mountains.
What is the highest-rated movie like National Parks Exploration Series: Great Smoky Mountains?
Grizzly Man (2005), rated 7.5/10 by 1,004 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like National Parks Exploration Series: Great Smoky Mountains?
Wolves Up Close with Bertie Gregory (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like National Parks Exploration Series: Great Smoky Mountains?
Yes: The Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019), Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022) and My Mom Jayne (2025).
How are movies similar to National Parks Exploration Series: Great Smoky Mountains chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside National Parks Exploration Series: Great Smoky Mountains, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.