Movies like Earthbound (1981)
The best movies like Earthbound (1981) are Secret Headquarters (2022), My Spy (2020) and Max Winslow and The House of Secrets (2020). If Earthbound hooked you with its family and science fiction, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedScooby-Doo! and KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery (2015)7.9/10 from 363 votes
- NewestCraig Before the Creek (2023)Released 2023
Secret Headquarters (2022)
While hanging out after school, Charlie and his friends discover the headquarters of the world’s most powerful superhero hidden beneath his home. When villains attack, they must team up to defend the headquarters and save the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Spy (2020)
A hardened CIA operative finds himself at the mercy of a precocious 9-year-old girl, having been sent undercover to surveil her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMax Winslow and The House of Secrets (2020)
Five teenagers compete to win a mansion owned by entrepreneur and scientist Atticus Virtue. To win the teens must face-off against a super computer named HAVEN who controls the mansion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisReal Men (1987)
A womanizing CIA agent and an insecure insurance agent are paired together to make sure a deal goes through with aliens for the future of mankind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Big League (1994)
When the owner of the Minnesota Twins passes away, he bequeaths the team to his preteen grandson. The newly minted head honcho quickly appoints himself manager, causing unrest in an organization that struggles to take orders from a 12-year-old.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThunderstruck (2012)
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
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 & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMinions & More Volume 1 (2022)
This collection of 10 short films produced by Illumination includes: From the "Despicable Me" franchise: Puppy (2013); Minion Scouts (2019); Training Wheels (2013); The Secret Life of Kyle (2017); Santa's Little Helpers (2019). From the "Grinch" franchise: The Dog Days of Winter (2019). From the "Secret Life of Pets" franchise: Norman Television (2016); Weenie (2016). From the "Sing" franchise: Love at First Sight (2017). From the "Lorax" franchise: Forces of Nature (2012).
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSnow Queen (2002)
Since a bitter winter storm stole the life of Gerda's mother, she and her father have sadly continued to run the remote hotel they call home. Lonely and isolated, Gerda's only joy is Kai, the handsome bellboy. A mysterious guest with an icy stare arrives at the hotel one night, wrapped in fur and diamonds. By daybreak, the "Snow Queen" has vanished with Kai! Gerda embarks on a journey of morphing seasons, fantastical creatures, and long-frozen mysteries in a desperate quest to find her stolen love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League - Attack of the Legion of Doom! (2015)
Crime is on the run as the newly formed Justice League keeps Metropolis safe and this makes evil genius Lex Luthor very unhappy. Together with Black Manta, Sinestro and a gang of ruthless recruits, Lex builds his own league and declares them the Legion of Doom. With this super powered team of terror and a plan to attack the top-secret government site, Area 52, can Lex finally be on the verge of victory? Sound the alarm and get ready for the bricks to fly when Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the Justice League face off against the world's greatest Super-Villains! It's the next all-new original movie from LEGO® and DC Comics.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScooby-Doo! and KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery (2015)
Get ready to Rock! Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. Gang team up with the one and only KISS in this all-new, out-of-this-world adventure! We join the Gang at KISS World – the all-things-KISS theme park, as they investigate a series of strange hauntings. With help from KISS, they discover that the Crimson Witch has returned to summon The Destroyer from the alternate dimension of Kissteria! The evil duos ghastly plan, to destroy the earth! Can the Gang's cunning and KISS's power of rock save the day?!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League (2015)
Superman’s clone, Bizarro, has become an embarrassing problem. Chaos and destruction follow Bizarro everywhere as he always hears the opposite of what is said, says the opposite of what he means and does the opposite of what is right. And when the citizens of Metropolis keep confusing Bizarro with Superman, the Man of Steel decides it’s time to find a new home for him…on another planet! It’s up to the Justice League to come to terms with their backward counterparts and team up with them to stop Darkseid and save the galaxy!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCraig Before the Creek (2023)
Before he was Craig of the Creek, he was just Craig — a new kid in a new town. All Craig wants is to go back to his old friends at his old home. But when he learns that the nearby creek is hiding a lost treasure that could make his wish come true, Craig sets off on a journey to find it — navigating the perilous suburban wilderness, forging new friendships, all while being pursued by a fearsome band of pirates who are bent on destroying the Creek itself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Witches' Ball (2017)
Every year the Witching World gathers to celebrate the newly inducted witches into their world. Beatrix (12) is eager to become part of this world, but when her pending magical status is jeopardized she needs the help of her furry best friend Muggs (voiced by Joey Fatone) to solve some magical riddles before the big event. Will Beatrix sink or soar on the night of the Witches' Ball?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960)
Doctor Gulliver is poor, so nothing - not even his charming fiancée Elisabeth - keeps him in the town he lives. He signs on to a ship to India, but in a storm he's washed off the ship and ends up on an island, which is inhibitated by very tiny people. After he managed to convince them he's harmless and is accepted as one of their citizens, their king wants to use him in war against a people of giants. Compared to them, even Gulliver is a gnome.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMVP 2: Most Vertical Primate (2001)
MVP 2 opens with the lovable Jack being ousted from his hockey team, the Seattle Simians, and having to hit the road after being falsely accused of league misconduct. Jack ends up in the city, where he's befriended by Ben, a homeless skateboarder, and Ollie, a skate shop owner. Jack proves to be as adept at mastering the half-pipe as he does at delivering a slap shot, and before long, he and Ben are crashing amateur skateboarder competitions all over the country.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Adam Project (2022)
After accidentally crash-landing in 2022, time-traveling fighter pilot Adam Reed teams up with his 12-year-old self on a mission to save the future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
Adventurer/surgeon/rock musician Buckaroo Banzai and his band of men, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, take on evil alien invaders from the 8th dimension.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA-X-L (2018)
The life of a teenage boy is forever altered by a chance encounter with cutting edge military technology.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRobot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III (2010)
Millions of years from now, after Socrates, Shakespeare and the bible are long forgotten, only two great works will remain: the sci-fi cinema epic Star Wars and Adult Swim's stop-motion animated, cheap gag extravanganza Robot Chicken. And now, for the first time, they come together for the third time, in this all new special. That's right, all your mot beloved Star Wars characters are going back through the comedy meat grinder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMars Attacks! (1996)
A fleet of Martian spacecraft surrounds the world's major cities and all of humanity waits to see if the extraterrestrial visitors have, as they claim, "come in peace." U.S. President James Dale receives assurance from science professor Donald Kessler that the Martians' mission is a friendly one. But when a peaceful exchange ends in the total annihilation of the U.S. Congress, military men call for a full-scale nuclear retaliation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrince of Space (1959)
Attracted by the report of the development of a new type of rocket fuel, the vicious dictator of Krangkor, the dark planet, descends on Earth to steal the formula from its creator, the benevolent Dr. Makin.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & family
Laika (2017)
Life is not easy for Laika, a dog on the outskirts of a big Russian city. She is caught and forcibly retrained to become a pioneer in astronautics. Soon after her lift-off into space, a number of animals follow that are hurriedly launched from Houston and Baikonur. The animals travel astray, but finally manage, with the help of a black hole, to colonize a faraway planet. After a short period of harmonious, undisturbed co-existence with indigenous life forms, however, first human cosmonaut run ashore on their planet, and their harmonious life, indeed their very survival, are suddenly in jeopardy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & science fiction
Alice's Birthday (2009)
Adapted from a novel from sci-fi series by Kyr Bulychev about a little girl Alice. It's Alice's birthday and as a present she is invited by an old alien friend archaeologist Gromozeka to join him on an expedition to an alien planet Coleida which population was destroyed by a space plague a hundred years ago. Arriving at the planet they decide that Alice, using a time-traveling device, will go back in time to the day when the plague was brought in by their space expedition to try and save the planet from destruction by spraying the astronauts with a vaccine. To achieve that, she and another alien scientist professor Rrrr, who looks just like a cat, must make a long and perilous journey to the planet's spaceport.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & science fiction
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996)
In the not-too-distant future, the evil Dr. Forrester forces a temp named Mike into a series of experiments, where he's forced to watch cheesy movies so the mad scientist can monitor his mind. However, as Mike can't control where the movies begin or end, he'll try to keep his sanity with the help of his robot friends.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFortress 2 (2000)
John Brennick once again finds himself imprisoned, but this time in a new, more sophisticated fortress prison in outer space. But Brennick's not a man to give in easily, and with a 10-year-old son waiting for him back on earth, he's going to pack some serious assault on the evil corporation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisSoldier (1998)
Sergeant Todd is a veteran soldier for an elite group of the armed forces. After being defeated by a new breed of genetically engineered soldiers, he is dumped on a waste planet and left for dead. He soon interacts with a group of crash survivors who lead out a peaceful existence. The peace is broken as the new soldiers land on the planet to eliminate the colony, which Sergeant Todd must defend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
The starship Enterprise and its crew is pulled back into action when old nemesis, Khan, steals a top secret device called Project Genesis.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStar Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
When an unidentified alien destroys three powerful Klingon cruisers, Captain James T. Kirk returns to the newly transformed U.S.S. Enterprise to take command.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrincess of Mars (2009)
Based on the novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, a US soldier finds himself inexplicably transported to Mars in the midst of a war between two alien races.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Earthbound?
The closest matches to Earthbound are Secret Headquarters (2022), My Spy (2020) and Max Winslow and The House of Secrets (2020). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Earthbound?
Start with Secret Headquarters (2022), the closest match to Earthbound.
What is the highest-rated movie like Earthbound?
Scooby-Doo! and KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery (2015), rated 7.9/10 by 363 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Earthbound?
Craig Before the Creek (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Earthbound?
Yes: Secret Headquarters (2022), My Spy (2020) and Max Winslow and The House of Secrets (2020).
How are movies similar to Earthbound chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Earthbound, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.