Movies like Fantastic (1980)
The best movies like Fantastic (1980) are Small Fry (2011), Waffle Street (2015) and Last Straw (2024). If Fantastic hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Fantastic
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFar from the Tree (2021)8.1/10 from 395 votes
- NewestGood Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die (2026)Released 2026
Small Fry (2011)
A fast food restaurant mini variant of Buzz forcibly switches places with the real Buzz and his friends have to deal with the obnoxious impostor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWaffle Street (2015)
The true story of Jimmy Adams, a V.P. of a $30 billion hedge fund, who loses his job and winds up working as a waiter at a waffle shop. Amidst the greasy madness of the 24-hour diner, Jimmy befriends Edward, an ex-con grill master who serves up hard lessons about life, finance, and grits.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLast Straw (2024)
A rural roadside diner becomes the host of a maniacal killing spree – leaving a young waitress to clean up the mess. After hard-headed Nancy fires the staff at her dad’s diner, she decides to cover the last shift of the night by herself. Little does she know, she is far from alone. The day is coming back to haunt her and when things begin to spiral out of control, she must fight for her life over the course of one long night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Dinner with Andre (1981)
Wally, a struggling playwright and actor, reluctantly agrees to catch up with his old friend Andre, a theater director who disappeared several years prior in order to travel the world. Meeting at a posh Manhattan restaurant, the two share life stories, anecdotes and philosophical musings over the course of an evening meal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGood Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die (2026)
A 'Man from the Future' arrives at an LA diner where he must recruit the precise combination of disgruntled patrons to join him on a one-night quest to save the world from the terminal threat of a rogue artificial intelligence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAquaman: Heroines of Atlantis (2019)
Amber Heard and Nicole Kidman discuss their characters Mera and Atlanna.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGas Food Lodging (1992)
Nora, a single mother raising two teenage daughters, Shade and Trudi, waits tables at a truck-stop diner in a small New Mexico town. The beautiful and rebellious Trudi drops out of school and gets a job alongside Nora, while the younger Shade whittles away her time at Spanish movie matinees. Their lives are turned upside down when Trudi becomes pregnant and the girls' absent father returns.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaybreak Express (1957)
Set to a classic Duke Ellington recording "Daybreak Express", this is a five-minute short of the soon-to-be-demolished Third Avenue elevated subway station in New York City.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhen Strangers Appear (2001)
A man enters a roadside diner run by a young woman and claims he is being chased by murderers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Radiator Springs 500½ (2014)
A 'leisurely drive' planned in honor of Radiator Springs’ town founder, Stanley, turns precarious as Baja pros descend on the town and challenge Lightning McQueen to an off-road race. Meanwhile, the townsfolk, led by a Stanley-costumed Mater, enjoy the planned 'leisurely drive' to retrace Stanley’s original frontier route. Thinking they’re on the same course, a wrong turn sends McQueen and the Baja pros on a treacherously wild bid for survival. The misunderstanding leaves the racing professionals in awe of the 'legend' of Stanley: the Original Off-Road Racer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFuck (2006)
A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFerdinand the Bull (1938)
This Oscar-winning short tells of a bull who preferred to sit under trees and smell flowers to clashing horns with his fellow animals. As luck would have it, an untimely bee reveals Ferdinand's ferocious side via pained howls and wild stomping. This lands him in the bull-fighting arena amidst characters based on Walt's animators with a matador reportedly modeled after Walt himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Freshman (1990)
After a film student gets his belongings stolen, he meets a mobster bearing a startling resemblance to a certain cinematic godfather. Soon, he finds himself caught up in a caper involving endangered species and fine dining.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFar from the Tree (2021)
On an idyllic beach in the Pacific Northwest, curiosity gets the better of a young raccoon whose frustrated parent attempts to keep them both safe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFrankie and Johnny (1991)
When Johnny is released from prison following a forgery charge, he quickly lands a job as a short-order cook at a New York diner. Following a brief fling with waitress Cora, he develops an attraction for Cora's friend and fellow waitress Frankie. While Frankie resists Johnny's charms initially, she eventually relents when her best friend, Tim, persuades her to give Johnny a chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPublic Speaking (2011)
Martin Scorsese’s portrait of writer and social commentator Fran Lebowitz, celebrated for her sharp wit and observations on modern life. Filmed at New York’s Waverly Inn and intercut with archival footage and interviews, the documentary captures Lebowitz’s distinctive worldview through her spontaneous monologues and public appearances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn the Realms of the Unreal (2004)
In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEmbrace the Panda: Making Turning Red (2022)
A feature length documentary about the all-women team at the helm of Pixar's original feature, Turning Red. With unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to Director Domee Shi and her core leadership crew, this story shines a light on the powerful professional and personal journeys that brought this incredibly comical, utterly relatable, and deeply heartfelt story to the screen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWinnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968)
Winnie the Pooh and his friends experience high winds, heavy rains, and a flood in Hundred Acre Wood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDC Showcase - Batman: Death in the Family (2020)
Tragedy strikes the Batman's life again when Robin Jason Todd tracks down his birth mother only to run afoul of the Joker. An adaptation of the 1988 comic book storyline of the same name.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like Fantastic and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Fantastic?
The closest matches to Fantastic are Small Fry (2011), Waffle Street (2015) and Last Straw (2024). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Fantastic?
Start with Small Fry (2011), the closest match to Fantastic.
What is the highest-rated movie like Fantastic?
Far from the Tree (2021), rated 8.1/10 by 395 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Fantastic?
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Fantastic?
Yes: Small Fry (2011), Waffle Street (2015) and Last Straw (2024).
How are movies similar to Fantastic chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Fantastic, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.