Movies like Once Upon a Time (1957)
The best movies like Once Upon a Time (1957) are The Adventures of Buratino (1959), PAW Patrol: Ready, Race, Rescue! (2019) and Welcome to Smelliville (2021). If Once Upon a Time hooked you with its animation and fantasy, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHow to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming (2019)8.0/10 from 1,155 votes
- NewestA Tooth Fairy Tale (2025)Released 2025
The Adventures of Buratino (1959)
A wooden boy Buratino tries to find his place in life. He befriends toys from a toy theater owned by evil Karabas-Barabas, gets tricked by Alice the Fox and Basilio the Cat and finally discovers the mystery of a golden key given to him by kind Tortila the Tortoise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPAW Patrol: Ready, Race, Rescue! (2019)
It’s the Adventure Bay 500! The pups have built an awesome race track and are ready to be the pit crew for their race hero, The Whoosh! But when the legendary racer is unable to drive in the championship race, he calls on his biggest fan-pup Marshall to take the wheel and race in his place! Marshall has to overcome his lack of confidence and his dastardly competition, The Cheetah, to fulfill his dream of becoming the fastest race-pup ever!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWelcome to Smelliville (2021)
The Oggly family arrive at the municipal rubbish dump of Smelliville and must look for a new home, but they never feel really welcome anywhere. They stink and are for most humans just a tad too oggly. When Firebottom, the family dragon, crash-lands on the run-down rubbish tip of the small town of Smelliville, the Ogglies at once feel at home. And it's here they want to stay.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Pagemaster (1994)
Rich knows a lot about accidents. So much so, he is scared to do anything that might endanger him, like riding his bike, or climbing into his treehouse. While in an old library, he is mystically transported into the unknown world of books, and he has to try and get home again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Humpbacked Horse (1975)
Remake of the 1947 Soviet film directed by Ivan Ivanov-Vano and produced by the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPuss in Book: Trapped in an Epic Tale (2017)
After tumbling into a magic storybook, Puss in Boots must fight, dance and romance his way through wild adventures as he searches for an escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Monkey King (2023)
A stick-wielding monkey teams with a young girl on an epic quest for immortality, battling demons, dragons, gods — and his own ego — along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 family & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hunchedback Horse (1947)
Adventures of Ivan the Fool and humpbacked horse in the world of kind magical creatures and cruel people.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming (2019)
It's been ten years since the dragons moved to the Hidden World, and even though Toothless doesn't live in New Berk anymore, Hiccup continues the holiday traditions he once shared with his best friend. But the Vikings of New Berk were beginning to forget about their friendship with dragons. Hiccup, Astrid, and Gobber know just what to do to keep the dragons in the villagers' hearts. And across the sea, the dragons have a plan of their own...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisA Tooth Fairy Tale (2025)
Van, the brave son of a tooth fairy leader, meets the goblins girl Gemma on his first mission. Despite the myths about ancient disputes between fairies and goblins, they share common values. When the greedy Spider Queen threatens both tribes, they must work together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThumbelina (1964)
A story based on the popular Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale "Thumbelina".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPets United (2019)
When Roger (a Robin Hood-esque, stray dog) and Belle (an elegant yet spoilt pet cat) are thrown together amidst the chaos of a robot take-over of their home city, they must push all their preconceptions aside in order to survive, as they embark on a high-stakes, action-packed adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & family
SnoozefestMovies like thisBionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui (2004)
In the time before time, six unlikely Matoran find themselves transformed into mighty Toa. The new Toa Metru must prove themselves as true heroes, find the missing Toa Lhikan, and uncover a plot that threatens the heart of Metru Nui.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisTweety's High Flying Adventure (2000)
A full-length animated feature starring the little yellow bird. When Col. Rimfire announces at the Looney Club his belief that cats are the most intelligent animals, Granny, hoping to raise enough money to save a nearby children's park, makes a wager that her Tweety can fly around the world in 80 days, collecting the pawprints of 80 cats in the process. Sylvester, still hoping to make Tweety his personal snack, is incensed at the thought of some other cat getting the little bird first and vows to follow Tweety around the world and catch the canary himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLEGO Marvel Super Heroes: Black Panther - Trouble in Wakanda (2018)
After speaking at the Wakanda Embassy, Black Panther fights Thanos and fends him off with the help of fellow Avengers Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, and Black Widow. After regaining conscious, Thanos is approached by Erik Killmonger and Ulysses Klaue in a plot where they will obtain the Vibranium in Wakanda to empower Thanos. When Black Panther discovers this plot, he must work with Shuri, Okoye, and the Avengers to defeat them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Loud House Movie (2021)
The Loud family travel to Scotland and discover they are descendants of Scottish royalty as they move into their giant ancestral castle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMarvel Rising: Playing with Fire (2019)
Inferno’s powers are stolen by a young and powerful villain and it’s up to the Secret Warriors to defeat their new foe and help their friend. But does Inferno even WANT his powers back? Meanwhile, America Chavez learns a lesson about friendship and family from teammate Ms. Marvel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wish of the Fairy Fish (2023)
If you go fishing, be prepared to draw the fish of your dreams, the magical Pike, which can grant any three wishes. Only Emelya let two wishes down the drain, and decided to save the third. Therefore, in order to achieve the hand of the royal daughter Anfisa, he will have to act without magical power, on his own. And Pike will help him, who without her skin will appear as an ordinary girl Vasilisa.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Witcher: Sirens of the Deep (2025)
When human sailors are attacked by mysterious creatures of the deep, only one person can stop the war between land and sea: the Witcher, Geralt of Rivia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Once Upon a Time?
The closest matches to Once Upon a Time are The Adventures of Buratino (1959), PAW Patrol: Ready, Race, Rescue! (2019) and Welcome to Smelliville (2021). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Once Upon a Time?
Start with The Adventures of Buratino (1959), the closest match to Once Upon a Time.
What is the highest-rated movie like Once Upon a Time?
How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming (2019), rated 8.0/10 by 1,155 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Once Upon a Time?
A Tooth Fairy Tale (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Once Upon a Time chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Once Upon a Time, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.