Movies like The Illusionist (2010)
The best movies like The Illusionist (2010) are The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act (2026), Strings (2004) and Cars 3 (2017). If The Illusionist hooked you with its animation and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act (2026)8.8/10 from 312 votes
- NewestThe Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchThe Swallows of Kabul (2019)Also in French
The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act (2026)
With Caine gone and the circus dark, the cast are left with only the mistakes and traumas of their pasts to keep them company. As the prospect of eternity closes in around them, they discover the truth about the Digital Circus and its history. Will they come to terms with what they uncover, or will they make... the other choice? Also, presumably at some point someone says something funny, because this ending can’t be THAT depressing, can it? A theatrical screening of episode 8 and the all new, hour-long episode 9.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 animation & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCars 3 (2017)
Blindsided by a new generation of blazing-fast racers, the legendary Lightning McQueen finds himself pushed to the brink—and suddenly, the champion who once ruled the track is fighting just to stay in the race. With his career hanging in the balance, McQueen must turn to an ambitious young race technician with a plan of her own, draw strength from the legacy of the late Fabulous Hudson Hornet, and risk everything on one last shot at glory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSoul (2020)
Joe Gardner is a middle school teacher with a love for jazz music. After a successful audition at the Half Note Club, he suddenly gets into an accident that separates his soul from his body and is transported to the You Seminar, a center in which souls develop and gain passions before being transported to a newborn child. Joe must enlist help from the other souls-in-training, like 22, a soul who has spent eons in the You Seminar, in order to get back to Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Swallows of Kabul (2019)
Summer 1998—Kabul under Taliban rule. Zunaira and Mohsen are young and in love. Despite the daily violence and misery, they hope for a better future. One day, a foolish gesture causes life to take an irrevocable turn.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStrange Magic (2015)
A love potion works its devious charms on fairies, elves and the swamp-dwelling Bog King as they all try to possess the potion for themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPeter Rabbit (2018)
Peter Rabbit's feud with Mr. McGregor escalates to greater heights than ever before as they rival for the affections of the warm-hearted animal lover who lives next door.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Greening of Whitney Brown (2011)
Whitney, a spoiled pre-teen from Philadelphia, is forced to move to the country when her parents feel the squeeze of economic hard times. A fish out of water, far from her comfort zone, she befriends an amazing horse, and undertakes a misguided journey back to her old life, only to discover that her family is her home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisRise of the Guardians (2012)
When an evil spirit known as Pitch Black lays down the gauntlet to take over the world, the immortal Guardians must join forces for the first time to protect the hopes, beliefs and imagination of children all over the earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMaya the Bee Movie (2014)
A bubbly little bumblebee rebels against the rules of the hive to make all kinds of friends—from violin-playing grasshoppers to a hornet named Sting.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLassie Come Home (1943)
Hard times come for the Carraclough family and they are forced to sell their dog, Lassie, to the rich Duke of Rudling. Lassie, however, is unwilling to remain apart from young Carraclough son Joe and sets out on a long and dangerous journey to rejoin him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969)
A headstrong young teacher in a private school in 1930s Edinburgh ignores the curriculum and influences her impressionable 12-year-old charges with her over-romanticized worldview.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPetite Maman (2021)
After the death of her beloved grandmother, eight-year-old Nelly meets a strangely familiar girl her own age in the woods. Instantly forming a connection with this mysterious new friend, Nelly embarks on a fantastical journey of discovery which helps her come to terms with this newfound loss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Brave Little Toaster (1987)
A group of dated appliances, finding themselves stranded in a summer home that their family had just sold, decide to seek out their eight year old 'master'.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Swear (2025)
Diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome at 15, John Davidson navigates his way against the odds through troubled teenage years and into adulthood, finding inspiration in the kindness of others to discover his true purpose in life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisPAW Patrol: Jet to the Rescue (2020)
A royal relative steals a gem with the power to make things fly, the Paw Patrol takes to the skies to stop him and save Barkingburg.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRobin Robin (2021)
A bird raised by mice begins to question where she belongs and sets off on a daring journey of self-discovery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Monster in Paris (2011)
Paris, 1910. Emile, a shy movie projectionist, and Raoul, a colourful inventor, find themselves embarked on the hunt for a monster terrorizing citizens. They join forces with Lucille, the big-hearted star of the Bird of Paradise cabaret, an eccentric scientist and his irascible monkey to save the monster, who turns out to be an oversized but harmless flea, from the city's ruthlessly ambitious police chief.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFinding Neverland (2004)
During a writing slump, playwright J.M. Barrie meets a widow and her four children, all young boys—who soon become an important part of Barrie’s life and the inspiration that lead him to create his masterpiece. Peter Pan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe House of Magic (2013)
Thunder, an abandoned young cat seeking shelter from a storm, stumbles into the strangest house imaginable, owned by an old magician and inhabited by a dazzling array of automatons and gizmos. Not everyone welcomes the new addition to the troupe as Jack Rabbit and Maggie Mouse plot to evict Thunder. The situation gets worse when the magician lands in hospital and his scheming nephew sees his chance to cash in by selling the mansion. Our young hero is determined to earn his place and so he enlists the help of some wacky magician's assistants to protect his magical new home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPersepolis (2007)
In 1970s Iran, Marjane 'Marji' Satrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family of a long dream being fulfilled of the hated Shah's defeat in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. However as Marji grows up, she witnesses first hand how the new Iran, now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, has become a repressive tyranny on its own.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisColocataires (2016)
Camille's life is ruled by the ring of the alarm clock each morning. Her well-ordered life consists of preparing her cat's meals, and hearing the familiar sound of the automatic till in the store where she works as the cashier. But one day, a man enters her home without her knowing and starts living there during the day while she's at work. Little by little, he will free her from her chains.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & drama
Meet the Robinsons (2007)
Lewis, a brilliant young inventor, is keen on creating a time machine to find his mother, who abandoned him in an orphanage. Things take a turn when he meets Wilbur Robinson and his family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDown with the King (2021)
Sent to the Berkshires to focus on his next album, disillusioned rap star Money Merc abruptly announces his retirement on Twitter. After Merc's announcement, his manager rushes to the countryside to lure him back into the music industry.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Penguins of Madagascar (2014)
Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private join forces with undercover organization The North Wind to stop the villainous Dr. Octavius Brine from destroying the world as we know it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPalmer (2021)
After 12 years in prison, former high school football star Eddie Palmer returns home to put his life back together—and forms an unlikely bond with Sam, an outcast boy from a troubled home. But Eddie's past threatens to ruin his new life and family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFlags of Our Fathers (2006)
There were five Marines and one Navy Corpsman photographed raising the U.S. flag on Mt. Suribachi by Joe Rosenthal on February 23, 1945. This is the story of three of the six surviving servicemen - John 'Doc' Bradley, Pvt. Rene Gagnon and Pvt. Ira Hayes - who fought in the battle to take Iwo Jima from the Japanese.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWALL·E (2008)
After hundreds of years doing what he was built for, WALL•E— a robot designed to clean up the earth—discovers a new purpose in life when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. EVE comes to realize that WALL•E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet's future, and races back to space to report to the humans. Meanwhile, WALL•E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets into motion one of the most imaginative adventures ever brought to the big screen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAn Actor Without Paradox (1974)
An actor, passing from the box to the stage, successively interprets seven different characters.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Megamind vs. the Doom Syndicate (2024)
Megamind's former villain team, The Doom Syndicate, has returned. Our newly crowned blue hero must now keep up evil appearances until he can assemble his friends (Roxanne, Ol' Chum and Keiko) to stop his former evil teammates from launching Metro City to the Moon.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Illusionist?
The closest matches to The Illusionist are The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act (2026), Strings (2004) and Cars 3 (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Illusionist?
Start with The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act (2026), the closest match to The Illusionist.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Illusionist?
The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act (2026), rated 8.8/10 by 312 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Illusionist?
The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like The Illusionist?
Yes: The Swallows of Kabul (2019), Petite Maman (2021) and A Monster in Paris (2011).
How are movies similar to The Illusionist chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Illusionist, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.