Movies like The Little Mermaid (2011)
The best movies like The Little Mermaid (2011) are The Nutcracker (1993), Brigadoon (1954) and MirrorMask (2005). If The Little Mermaid hooked you with its fantasy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedA Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits (2016)7.2/10 from 874 votes
- NewestMenino Ávio (2026)Released 2026
The Nutcracker (1993)
On Christmas Eve, a little girl named Marie falls asleep and dreams herself into a fantastic world in which her toys become larger than life. She meets up with the Nutcracker Prince who takes her on a journey to his kingdom and defends her from the Mouse King.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisBrigadoon (1954)
Americans Jeff and Tommy, hunting in Scotland, stumble upon a village - Brigadoon. They soon learn that the town appears once every 100 years in order to preserve its peace and special beauty. The citizens go to bed at night and when they wake up, it's 100 years later. Tommy falls in love with a beautiful young woman, Fiona, and is torn between staying or going back to his hectic life in New York.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMirrorMask (2005)
In a fantasy world of opposing kingdoms, a 15-year old girl must find the fabled MirrorMask in order to save the kingdom and get home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Tales of Hoffmann (1951)
A melancholy poet reflects on three women he loved and lost in the past: a mechanical performing doll, a Venetian courtesan, and the consumptive daughter of a celebrated composer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986)
Although Jo Jo Dancer has achieved success as a stand-up comedian, he hasn't found happiness. After receiving severe burns in a narcotics-related incident, Jo Jo remains in a coma, and, while in this state, he looks back on his life. Drifting off into memories of his troubled childhood, Jo Jo revisits his youth, recalling his eventual rise to fame and the decadence that followed. As he considers his existence, he must decide if he wants to go on living or not.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLovestruck: The Musical (2013)
Harper was one of the best dancers to hit Broadway, but an injury caused her to leave the spotlight, become a choreographer, and raise her daughter Mirabella. When Mirabella decides to quit the show to get married, her mother is determined to put a stop to the wedding and show Mirabella that she cannot give up her career for love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Willoughbys (2020)
When the four Willoughby children are abandoned by their selfish parents, they must learn how to adapt their Old-Fashioned values to the contemporary world in order to create something new: The Modern Family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAlex & Me (2018)
An uplifting story of the passion and drive it takes to succeed and the power of family to help realize your dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both 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 fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisStrings (2004)
The story of Prince Hal who sets out to avenge his dead father against the city's rivals, the Zeriths, little knowing it was his wicked uncle Nezo who is the real killer, with his own designs on the throne.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012)
A childless couple bury a box in their backyard, containing all of their wishes for an infant. Soon, a child is born, though Timothy Green is not all that he appears.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDragon Knight (2022)
Many years after the war has been lost, and all the dragons slain, a lone knight travels the lands of Agonos seeking to raise an army against the demon lord Abaddon. When a healer's vision reveals that one dragon still lives, and together with an eager young squire, the knight sets off in search of the fabled creature. As the armies of Abaddon descend on the human kingdoms, the dragon is their last hope of fending off the horde, before it lays waste to the lands of men. But does the creature even exist? And if it does, will it fight for them once more?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSplit (2016)
When Inanna, a young actress, becomes obsessed with a mask maker, she sacrifices parts of her life in order to win his love. At the same time she enters a mythic journey in the theater that blurs her performance, her dreams and her real life and results in a provocative and powerful confrontation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisMythica: A Quest for Heroes (2014)
Stuck in a life of indentured servitude, Marek dreams of becoming a wizard. When she meets the beautiful priestess Teela in need of help, she offers her assistance and provides a motley troupe. Together they go in search of Teela's sister, who was kidnapped by a wild ogre.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisNaughty or Nice (2012)
Krissy Kringle receives a delivery intended for Santa Claus. A magical book that shows if a person has been naughty or nice. She uses the book's power to find out about those around her, which leads to some very unusual and unintended results. Krissy realizes that everyone has some good and some not so good in them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBorrowed Hearts (1997)
Single mom Kathleen Russell (Roma Downey) and her daughter Zoey pretend to be Kathleen's boss's "family" so he can close a major business deal with the mysterious Mexican financier Javier Del Campo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025)
Sarah and David are single strangers who meet at a mutual friend’s wedding and soon, through a surprising twist of fate, find themselves on a funny, fantastical, sweeping adventure together where they get to re-live important moments from their respective pasts, illuminating how they got to where they are in the present... and possibly getting a chance to alter their futures.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrawberry Mansion (2021)
In the not-too-distant future, an all-seeing surveillance state conducts “dream audits” to collect taxes on the unconscious lives of the populace. Mild-mannered government agent James Preble travels to a remote farmhouse to audit the dreams of Arabella “Bella” Isadora, an eccentric, aging artist. Entering Bella’s vast VHS archive, which contains a lifetime of dreams, Preble stumbles upon a secret that offers him a chance at love—and hope for escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits (2016)
A contemporary musical version of the classic Cinderella story in which the servant step daughter hope to compete in a musical competition for a famous pop star.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHa Ha Ha (2019)
At the Factory, laughter is produced, canned and shipped into the world in precisely measured, temperate doses. It lacks something, though: freedom and authenticity. One woman is unable to laugh according to the norms. She accidentally releases a reckless laughter breaking all the Factory rules. Soon realizes she is leading a revolution for freedom and joy, against pomposity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Hyphen (2018)
A poetic journey of memory and fantasy told through the eyes of four versions of an artist as she creates her own self-identity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
I HAD A... (DREAM) (2026)
I HAD A... (DREAM) unfolds as a trip where dance, stop-motion animation, sound, and imagery interplay, far from established dimensions and expectations. Mushrooms immerse the viewer in a dreamlike space, where the film becomes a site for deviation and disruption.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Coming SoonMovies like thisCirque du Soleil: Journey of Man (2000)
A child is born. We see underwater swimmers representing this. He is young, in a jungle setting, with two fanciful "instincts" guiding him as swooping bird-like acrobats initially menace, then delight. As an adolescent, he enters a desert, where a man spins a large cube of metal tubing. He leaves his instinct-guides behind, and enters a garden where two statues dance in a pond. As he watches their sensual acrobatics of love, he becomes a man. He is offered wealth (represented by a golden hat) by a devil figure. In a richly decorated room, a scruffy troupe of a dozen acrobats and a little girl reawaken the old man's youthful nature and love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Esprit du Jardin (2019)
A spirit emerges from icy cold water to explore the beautiful snow covered garden she finds herself trapped within.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
The Typewriting Machine (2020)
A fearful composer writes in his typewriting machine and an intimidating pianist cat plays his music during the magnificent show of Marita, the dancer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Menino Ávio (2026)
After a heated family confrontation, Otávio runs away from home in the dead of night and crosses the city toward the local gay nightclub. Amid hazy lights and dreamlike encounters, he embarks on a spiritual journey that reshapes the way he sees himself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Swan Lake Filmed for IMAX (2024)
During his birthday’s celebration, Prince Siegfried must choose a bride. Trying to escape reality, he dreams of a perfect love. His tutor tries to bring him down to Earth and reminds him of his duties. On a dreamlike getaway, the prince meets Odette, a princess who has been transformed into a swan by the powerful sorcerer Rothbart. Only true love can break the spell. Captivated, Siegfried promises Odette to save her and invites her to his party. To trap the prince, the sorcerer sends his daughter Odile, disguised as Odette, to seduce him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Rocky Road On Channel Three (2023)
A man has a life-changing encounter with an otherworldly ice cream truck.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
A Guest from Elsewhere (2024)
A stop motion 1930s fairy tale follows a monster that yearns to be a part of civilized human society. After an unfortunate mishap, the monster’s hopes of being one with the humans is put on trial.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Little Mermaid?
The closest matches to The Little Mermaid are The Nutcracker (1993), Brigadoon (1954) and MirrorMask (2005). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Little Mermaid?
Start with The Nutcracker (1993), the closest match to The Little Mermaid.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Little Mermaid?
A Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits (2016), rated 7.2/10 by 874 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Little Mermaid?
Menino Ávio (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Little Mermaid?
Yes: The Nutcracker (1993), Brigadoon (1954) and MirrorMask (2005).
How are movies similar to The Little Mermaid chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Little Mermaid, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.