Movies like Iyer the Great (1990)
The best movies like Iyer the Great (1990) are Donovan's Echo (2011), FairyTale: A True Story (1997) and House of Anubis: The Touchstone of Ra (2013). If Iyer the Great hooked you with its mystery and fantasy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Dark Crystal (1982)7.2/10 from 1,340 votes
- NewestDetective Ujjwalan (2025)Released 2025
- In MalayalamVasantha Sena (1985)Also in Malayalam
Donovan's Echo (2011)
A series of uncanny déjà vu events force a man to re-examine his tragic past, memory, instinct, and future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFairyTale: A True Story (1997)
In 1917, two children take a photograph, which is soon believed by some to be the first scientific evidence of the existence of fairies. Based on the true story of the Cottingley Fairies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHouse of Anubis: The Touchstone of Ra (2013)
The students of Anubis House are on the eve of their graduation when they encounter a new group of underclassmen and a mysterious stone that leads them on a quest to save the world from evil.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Water Man (2020)
Hoping to save his sick mother, a boy named Gunner and his friend Jo venture into the remote Wild Horse forest to search for a mythical figure who possesses the secret to immortality. When they go missing, Gunner's father Amos must immerse himself in his son's world to find them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Fairy Tale After All (2022)
A stubborn teenage girl finds herself confronted by whimsical characters when she is transported into a world of fantasy and fairy tales while attending a school marionette show.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome Away (2020)
Before Alice went to Wonderland, and before Peter became Pan, they were brother and sister. When their eldest brother dies in a tragic accident, they each seek to save their parents from their downward spirals of despair until finally they are forced to choose between home and imagination, setting the stage for their iconic journeys into Wonderland and Neverland.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisNorthfork (2003)
The year is 1955, and a great flood is coming to Northfork, Montana. A new hydroelectric dam is about to be installed in the mountains above the town, ready to submerge the valley in the name of progress. It is the responsibility of a six-man Evacuation Committee to relocate the townsfolk to higher ground. Most have duly departed, but a few stubborn stragglers remain – among them a priest caring for a sickly orphan, a boy whose fevered visions are leading him to believe he is a member of a roaming band of lost angels desperately searching for a way home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNico the Unicorn (1998)
As an 11-year-old boy struggles to cope with a disability, he finds a pony who gives birth to a unicorn which he takes care of.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Swan Princess: A Fairytale Is Born (2023)
Before becoming queen, Uberta lived a humble life with her husband Maximillian when she is suddenly thrust into royalty. Through triumph and tragedy, she learns the lessons needed to become a beloved Queen, all while raising the next generation of rulers. When it's time for Uberta to pass the royal scepter to Odette and Derek, rival Queen Wixom has plans of her own to ruin the kingdom's greatest coronation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlice in Wonderland (1933)
In Victorian England, a bored young girl dreams that she has entered a fantasy world called Wonderland, populated by even more fantastic characters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPan (2015)
Living a bleak existence at a London orphanage, 12-year-old Peter finds himself whisked away to the fantastical world of Neverland. Adventure awaits as he meets new friend James Hook and the warrior Tiger Lily. They must band together to save Neverland from the ruthless pirate Blackbeard. Along the way, the rebellious and mischievous boy discovers his true destiny, becoming the hero forever known as Peter Pan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Legend of Ochi (2025)
In a remote village on the island of Carpathia, a shy farm girl named Yuri is raised to fear an elusive animal species known as ochi. But when Yuri discovers a wounded baby ochi has been left behind, she escapes on a quest to bring him home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Global Fan Screening (2022)
An edited version of the first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, shown exclusively to fans in cinemas around the world in August 2022. In a time of relative peace, an ensemble cast of characters confronts the re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947)
Walter Mitty, a daydreaming writer with an overprotective mother, likes to imagine that he is a hero who experiences fantastic adventures. His dream becomes reality when he accidentally meets a mysterious woman who hands him a little black book. According to her, it contains the locations of the Dutch crown jewels hidden since World War II. Soon, Mitty finds himself in the middle of a confusing conspiracy, where he has difficulty differentiating between fact and fiction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfterlife of the Party (2021)
A social butterfly who dies during her birthday week is given a second chance to right her wrongs on Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dark Crystal (1982)
On another planet in the distant past, a Gelfling embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal and restore order to his world, before the grotesque race of Skeksis find and use the crystal for evil.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGodmothered (2020)
A young and unskilled fairy godmother that ventures out on her own to prove her worth by tracking down a young girl whose request for help was ignored. What she discovers is that the girl has now become a grown woman in need of something very different than a "prince charming."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInkheart (2008)
The adventures of a father and his young daughter, in their search for a long lost book that will help reunite a missing, close relative.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArabian Adventure (1979)
An evil caliph offers his daughter’s hand in marriage to a prince if he can complete a perilous quest for a magical rose. Helped by a young boy and a magic carpet, Prince Hasan has to overcome genies, fire-breathing monsters, and treacherous swamps to reach his prize and claim the hand of the Princess Zuleira.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVasantha Sena (1985)
Mahesh is in love with Merlyn, who belongs to an Anglo-Indian family, but this relation is opposed by Shailaja Varma, his sister. Shailaja too had a love affair a long time back with Devan, who was killed by Shailaja's family. A conflict arises between Mahesh and Shailaja. Now Sidarth loves Shailaja and would like to marry her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Nerariyan CBI (2005)
A string of mysterious murders happen in an aristocratic mansion. The owners of the mansion seek CBI officer Sethurama Iyer's help to find the person responsible for the deaths.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Detective Ujjwalan (2025)
In the village of Plaachikkaavu, a local detective, Ujjwalan, must outsmart a mysterious figure in a deadly battle of wits, where his skills are put to the ultimate test.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Chantabbai (1986)
Panduranga Rao is a detective, who is popularly known as James Pond. His life takes an interesting turn when he is tasked to find a lady's long-lost brother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Yamudiki Mogudu (1988)
Kaali, a ruffian, is killed by a rival when he falls in love with his daughter. When Kaali fights with the god of death, he is sent back in the body of a soft-spoken man who is harassed by his family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Devi Putrudu (2001)
An archaeologist extracts a box from the sea which contains mystical powers. However, evil people are in pursuit of the box and create trouble for the former.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Adharvam (1989)
Anantha Padmanabhan comes from a dysfunctional family but he masters the Vedas and falls in love with a Brahmin girl. However, due to a twist of fate when his life turns into hell, he seeks revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Sethurama Iyer CBI (2004)
Alex, who is awaiting execution, confesses to having committed six out of the seven murders he is acquitted for. Officer Sethurama Iyer decides to trace the original murderer of the seventh one.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Subhalekha (1982)
Sujatha, a lecturer, stands up against the dowry system when a rich man comes to her house with a marriage proposal. But she doesn't have the support of her family and her actions have serious consequences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Tingu Rangadu (1982)
Tingu Rangadu is action drama based movie in which, Chiranjeevi is a carefree guy who lives with his grandmother (nirmalamma) and his cousin. One day he escapes from his house and landsup in a city. He gets into RamchandraRao (Jaggayya)’s house claiming to be his son, through his extra-marital relationship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Iyer the Great?
The closest matches to Iyer the Great are Donovan's Echo (2011), FairyTale: A True Story (1997) and House of Anubis: The Touchstone of Ra (2013). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Iyer the Great?
Start with Donovan's Echo (2011), the closest match to Iyer the Great.
What is the highest-rated movie like Iyer the Great?
The Dark Crystal (1982), rated 7.2/10 by 1,340 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Iyer the Great?
Detective Ujjwalan (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Malayalam movies like Iyer the Great?
Yes: Vasantha Sena (1985), Nerariyan CBI (2005) and Detective Ujjwalan (2025).
How are movies similar to Iyer the Great chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Iyer the Great, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.