Movies like The Praying Mantis (1988)
The best movies like The Praying Mantis (1988) are Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters (2011), Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Scroll (2016) and The Tidal Zone: SpongeBob Universe Special (2023). If The Praying Mantis hooked you with its history and animation, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGreen Snake (2021)8.1/10 from 399 votes
- NewestChine, la fabrique d'une nation (2025)Released 2025
- In ChineseThe Monkey King: Reborn (2021)Also in Chinese
Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters (2011)
Po and the Furious Five uncover the legend of three of kung fu's greatest heroes: Master Thundering Rhino, Master Storming Ox, and Master Croc.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Scroll (2016)
As Po looks for his lost action figures, the story of how the panda inadvertently helped create the Furious Five is told.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Tidal Zone: SpongeBob Universe Special (2023)
GrandPat travels through alternate dimensions and timelines to get home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five (2008)
Ordered to teach a martial arts class of rambunctious bunny kittens, Po tells stories of each of the Furious Five's pasts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Monkey King: Reborn (2021)
When the irritable monkey king visits a temple together with his master Tang Monk, he feels offended because of a trifle and thereupon accidentally destroys a magic tree growing on the sacred ground. This brings an ancient demon king back to life, who promptly kidnaps Tang Monk to take revenge for his long imprisonment. The monkey king and his followers have only three days to not only save their master but also to prevent the demon king from regaining his full powers and destroying the world…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWinnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966)
Christopher Robin's bear attempts to raid a beehive in a tall tree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHawaiian Vacation (2011)
The toys throw Ken and Barbie a Hawaiian vacation in Bonnie's room.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGet a Horse! (2013)
Mickey, Minnie, Horace Horsecollar, and Clarabelle Cow go on a musical wagon ride until Peg-Leg Pete tries to run them off the road.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies 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 · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness (2022)
A brave young animal explorer teams up with two trusty friends to find a powerful artifact before his greedy uncle can get his paws on it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGreen Snake (2021)
While trying to free her sister from Fahai's clutches, Xiao Qing winds up in a dystopian city and meets a mysterious man who can't recall his past life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAmerica: The Motion Picture (2021)
A chainsaw-wielding George Washington teams with beer-loving bro Sam Adams to take down the Brits in a tongue-in-cheek riff on the American Revolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
SnoozefestMovies like this10 Lives (2024)
A pampered cat takes for granted the lucky hand he has been dealt after he is rescued and loved by Rose, a kind-hearted and passionate student. When he loses his ninth life, fate steps in to set him on a transformative journey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBarbie: Skipper and the Big Babysitting Adventure (2023)
When her babysitting business takes a hit, Skipper takes a summer job at the water park. Here she can quickly put her skills as a nanny to good use.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow (2013)
When Brainy Smurf is favored to win the annual Smurfberry Hunt for the ninth year in a row, Gutsy Smurf sets out to discover how Brainy wins every year. Gutsy’s investigation takes him into spooky Smurfy Hollow–and right into Gargamel’s trap! Can Brainy and Gutsy, with the help of Smurfette, put aside their rivalry before Gargamel captures them–or worse, they come face-to-face with the legendary ghost, the Headless Horseman?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArctic Dogs (2019)
Animals band together to save the day when the evil Otto Von Walrus hatches a sinister scheme to accelerate global warming and melt the Arctic Circle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
SnoozefestMovies like thisDiary of a Wimpy Kid (2021)
Greg Heffley is a scrawny but ambitious kid with an active imagination and big plans to be rich and famous – he just has to survive middle school first.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonster High: Friday Night Frights (2012)
After Monster High’s roller skating team is defeated at the Skulltimate Roller Maze tournament, the ghouls team up to face an all-boys league, with the hope of winning back the school crest and restoring school spirit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFixed (2025)
After learning he's getting neutered, a dog has 24 hours to squeeze in one last balls-to-the-wall adventure with the boys.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPlankton: The Movie (2025)
Plankton's tangled love story with his sentient computer wife goes sideways when she takes a stand — and decides to destroy the world without him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKundun (1997)
From childhood to adulthood, Tibet's fourteenth Dalai Lama deals with Chinese oppression and other problems.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHigh Road to China (1983)
A biplane pilot is saddled with a spoiled industrialist's daughter on a search for her missing father through Asia that eventually involves them in a struggle against a Chinese warlord.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani (1946)
During the Japanese invasion of China, a young Indian doctor joins the Chinese resistance, meets and courts a Chinese girl, cures a virulent plague, and is captured by a Japanese platoon...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
The Last Emperor (1987)
A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRed Cliff II (2009)
The battle of Red Cliff continues and the alliance between Xu and East Wu is fracturing. With Cao Cao's massive forces on their doorstep, will the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu survive?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMr. Deng Goes to Washington (2015)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Decoded (2024)
In the 1940s, the world was in turmoil, and it was crucial to decipher the enemy's communication codes in a timely and accurate manner. Rong Jinzhen has shown amazing mathematical talent since her childhood, and because she solved the problems assigned by her math teacher, she was noticed by more people, and even walked into the door of code-breaking by mistake.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
The Founding of an Army (2017)
The Founding of an Army is a 2017 Chinese film commissioned by China's government to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Red Cliff (2008)
In 208 A.D., in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minster Cao convinced the fickle Emperor Han the only way to unite all of China was to declare war on the kingdoms of Xu in the west and East Wu in the south. Thus began a military campaign of unprecedented scale. Left with no other hope for survival, the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu formed an unlikely alliance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChine, la fabrique d'une nation (2025)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Praying Mantis?
The closest matches to The Praying Mantis are Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters (2011), Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Scroll (2016) and The Tidal Zone: SpongeBob Universe Special (2023). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Praying Mantis?
Start with Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters (2011), the closest match to The Praying Mantis.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Praying Mantis?
Green Snake (2021), rated 8.1/10 by 399 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Praying Mantis?
Chine, la fabrique d'une nation (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like The Praying Mantis?
Yes: The Monkey King: Reborn (2021), Green Snake (2021) and Red Cliff II (2009).
How are movies similar to The Praying Mantis chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Praying Mantis, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.