Movies like Close Encounters (2012)
The best movies like Close Encounters (2012) are Dog Trouble (1942), Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness (2022) and A Knight for a Day (1946). If Close Encounters hooked you with its animation and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Close Encounters
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSouth Park (Not Suitable for Children) (2023)7.4/10 from 240 votes
- NewestFOUFO (2026)Released 2026
Dog Trouble (1942)
Tom's chasing Jerry when he runs right into a sleeping dog and the two of them must work together to fend him off.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
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 & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Knight for a Day (1946)
By accident, Cedric (Goofy), replaces his master, Sir Loinsteak, in the armor just before the joust with champion Sir Cumference.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow to Play Football (1944)
Taking all the places on both teams, Goofy demonstrates the game of football with varying results, having problems with the coach and the goal post.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRed Hot Riding Hood (1943)
Tired of always playing the same roles, Little Red Riding Hood, her grandmother and the Wolf demand a new version of the tale. The story then plays out in a more contemporary urban environment, with Little Red Riding Hood working as a pin-up girl in a night club.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSea Scouts (1939)
Donald is an admiral on a seagoing voyage with his nephews in which they encounter a ravenous shark.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSimpsley (2026)
When penniless con-artist Marge Bouvier is sent to Italy to convince wealthy sap Seymour Skinner to come home, she's tempted by the trappings of his affluent lifestyle. But there’s a big fat fly in the ointment: Skinner's clingy, dim-witted mooch of a houseguest, Homer Simpsley. Lies, lust and Italian lira are abound.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisKiller Bean Forever (2008)
When things go bad in Beantown, top assassin Killer Bean is called to clean-up the mess. Detective Cromwell finds himself in the middle between Killer Bean and mob boss Cappuccino.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPopeye the Sailor (1933)
Popeye and Bluto fight for the love of Olive Oyl in their debut short, featuring Betty Boop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLEGO Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition (2024)
A young, aspiring hero and superhero fan inadvertently unleashes a powerful new villain looking to rid the world of the Avengers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKung 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 & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Art of Skiing (1941)
Goofy, staying at the Sugar Bowl resort, demonstrates the basics of downhill skiing, which the titles and announcer insist is pronounced "SHEEing". The equipment is, of course, of the era. As you can imagine, Goofy has much trouble keeping his skis parallel and pointing downhill. The final ski jump conveniently lands Goofy right back in bed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies 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 & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisLet's Stick Together (1952)
Even with his long white beard and aching back, an aging Donald still has to make ends meet by lancing trash in the park. When he happens upon his old partner, an elderly honey bee named Spike, it conjures up memories of the good ol' days.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSouth Park (Not Suitable for Children) (2023)
After it's discovered that a teacher at South Park Elementary has an OnlyFans page, Randy is compelled to take a closer look at the seedy underbelly of the world of online influencers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies 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 animation & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStewie Griffin: The Untold Story (2005)
The maniacal baby of the Griffin family, Stewie, meets his future self. In doing this he discovers that his future image is not what he has anticipated because of a near death experience.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMass Effect: Paragon Lost (2012)
An untold chapter in the Mass Effect saga, following the early career of Alliance Marine, James Vega, as he leads a squad of elite special forces into battle against a mysterious alien threat known as The Collectors. Stationed at a colony in a remote star system, Vega and his troops must protect the inhabitants from an invasion of the deadly insectoid warriors determined to collect the population for unknown purposes. Soon after the attack, Vega's commanding officer falls in battle, forcing the young officer to embrace the responsibility of leadership for the colony's survival. Having idolized Earth's greatest hero and warrior, Commander Shepard (the central character in the Mass Effect video games), the young and idealistic Vega must now make life and the death decisions that will effect not only the lives of his squad, but the lives of every person in the colony - all of whom he has sworn to protect...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSnoopy Presents: It's the Small Things, Charlie Brown (2022)
Charlie Brown is determined to win the big baseball game. But things turn into a fiasco right before the matchup, when Sally bonds with a little flower on the pitcher's mound and vows to protect it at all costs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBatman Unlimited: Mechs vs. Mutants (2016)
Mr. Freeze turns Killer Croc and Bane into super-sized monsters, and they bash their way through downtown Gotham until the Caped Crusader and his team of heroes join the fight in their giant robot mechs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMutant Aliens (2002)
An unlikely crew – an astronaut, his intrepid daughter, and a quintet of sympathetic, albeit violent, alien creatures – seek revenge against a space industry baron.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & comedy
SCHIZM (2025)
Hijinx ensue when Pinky, an ambiguous foreigner, seeks human connection in the streets and recreational grounds of Fulham, London.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
The Sheriff and the Satellite Kid (1979)
The town of Newnan are seeing little green men everywhere. The military have arrived and are on the lookout for UFOs. Everyone's high strung and Sheriff Hall (Bud Spencer) is left to deal with the aftermaths of the hysteria. On his way home from patrol he happens upon a little boy claiming to be an alien by the name of H7-25. At first the sheriff doesn't believe the boy, but with the mounting evidence, even he must eventually concede. Soon the military is after Sheriff Hall and H7-25, and it is up to the sheriff to keep the boy safe and beat up large swaths of soldiers so H7-25 can go home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTitan A.E. (2000)
A young man finds out that he holds the key to restoring hope and ensuring survival for the human race, while an alien species called the Drej are bent on mankind's destruction.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
Mere seconds before the Earth is to be demolished by an alien construction crew, Arthur Dent is swept off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher penning a new edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Favorite Martian (1999)
Ambitious television reporter Tim O'Hara stumbles upon a martian whose spaceship has accidentally crashed on Earth. Thinking this is his ticket to a Pulitzer Prize, Tim makes plans to expose the martian, who, posing as Tim's Uncle Martin, takes human form and has plans of his own. In fact, all of Tim's efforts to divulge the truth are systematically thwarted by the resourceful alien, who ultimately recruits Tim to help him repair his ship for a return to Mars.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisAliens do terceiro mundo e o sequestro de Dona Irene (2022)
After receiving a letter calling for a secret conspiracy meeting, a woman is mistaken for a controversial policy and kidnapped by a pair of revolutionaries with no money for Uber. The three end up living together and witnessing the end of the world, the alien invasion and military intervention together.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
The Cat from Outer Space (1978)
A UFO is stranded on earth and impounded by the US government. Its pilot, a cat with a collar that gives it special powers, including the ability to communicate with humans, has eluded the authorities and seeks the help of a scientist in order to reclaim and repair his ship and get back home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTribulation 99: Alien Anomalies Under America (1991)
Baldwin’s “pseudo-pseudo-documentary” presents a factual chronicle of US intervention in Latin America in the form of the ultimate conspiracy theory, combining covert action, environmental catastrophe, space aliens, cattle mutilations, killer bees, religious prophecy, doomsday diatribes, and just about every other crackpot theory broadcast through the dentures of the modern paranoiac.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
FOUFO (2026)
The encounter of Madurese residents with small aliens that triggers hilarious chaos and unexpected adventures.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Close Encounters?
The closest matches to Close Encounters are Dog Trouble (1942), Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness (2022) and A Knight for a Day (1946). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Close Encounters?
Start with Dog Trouble (1942), the closest match to Close Encounters.
What is the highest-rated movie like Close Encounters?
South Park (Not Suitable for Children) (2023), rated 7.4/10 by 240 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Close Encounters?
FOUFO (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Close Encounters?
Yes: Dog Trouble (1942), Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness (2022) and A Knight for a Day (1946).
How are movies similar to Close Encounters chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Close Encounters, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.