Movies like The Ugly Duckling (2012)
The best movies like The Ugly Duckling (2012) are Don't Think Twice (2016), The World of Love (2025) and Twenty (2015). If The Ugly Duckling hooked you with its drama and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War (2004)8.0/10 from 811 votes
- NewestThe World of Love (2025)Released 2025
- In KoreanThe World of Love (2025)Also in Korean
Don't Think Twice (2016)
An improv group deals with several crises, including the loss of their lease and one member hitting the big time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe World of Love (2025)
Jooin, a 17-year-old student confused by love, unleashes chaos with some words spoken in a moment of anger. Anonymous notes questioning her actions begin to arrive, altering her quiet life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTwenty (2015)
A story about three friends who just turned twenty; an age where you can do whatever you want, love whoever you want with opportunities abroad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Foul King (2000)
Dae-ho is a timid, unproductive, constantly harassed bank clerk. He starts secretly wrestling and adopts the persona of the cheating villain wrestler "The Foul King". He starts to stand up for himself but things soon start to get out of hand.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChloe and Theo (2015)
A young woman, Chloe, living by her wits on the streets of New York City, has a chance meeting with a wise Inuit Eskimo, Theo, who was sent to New York by his elders to provide a message to the people of the world – We either change our destructive was or be destroyed by them. Chloe, who has been searching for something to believe in, becomes inspired by Theo and , with the help of a kind lawyer, Monica, the three of them present Theo’s story to the United Nations in hopes of creating a better future for all of us.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisSubUrbia (1997)
A group of suburban teenagers try to support each other through the difficult task of becoming adults.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Own Love Song (2010)
A wheelchair-bound singer and her best friend embark on a roadtrip to Memphis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good Half (2024)
Renn Wheeland returns home to Cleveland for his mother's funeral. Once there, he forges new relationships while healing old ones, before confronting his problems and trying to face his grief.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Mother's Wedding (2025)
Three sisters return to their home for the third wedding of their twice-widowed mother. But the mother and daughters are forced to revisit the past and confront the future, with help from a colorful group of unexpected wedding guests.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Dog Year (2009)
Jon Katz is close to burnout. He's a writer with writer's block; his wife has left for her sister's because he's emotionally distant; he rarely answers his phone. A kennel sends him a border collie that's undisciplined because of abuse. Despite a series of mishaps, Jon decides to keep trying with the dog, and he rents a dilapidated farm house to give the dog room to run. A local handyman refers Jon to a woman who might be able to help him train the dog. Reluctantly, Jon gives her a try. Is the dog the problem, or the owner?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNothing in Common (1986)
A successful advertising executive finds his freewheeling life crashing to a halt when his parents end their longtime marriage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisHooking Up (2020)
Bailey and Darla embark upon a misguided and mutually deceitful form of therapy, one in which they must drive across the country, re-enacting Darla's colorful history as a sex addict. As their true motivations for the road trip come to light, the unlikely pair force one another to confront their issues, discovering that there might actually be more to love than just sex.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJulian Po (1997)
Christian Slater is a stranger who comes to a small town. The local citizens think he's up to no good. After bothering him for a while, he blurts out in frustration, that he is there to kill himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Trip to Italy (2014)
Years after their successful restaurant review tour of Northern England, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon are commissioned for a new tour in Italy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Parts You Lose (2019)
An unlikely friendship unfolds between a young deaf boy, Wesley, and a fugitive criminal who takes refuge in an abandoned barn on the family’s rural North Dakota farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJonathan (2018)
Jonathan is a young man with a strange condition that only his brother understands. But when he begins to yearn for a different life, their unique bond becomes increasingly tested.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisPrivate Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous (2008)
When fluffy, bubble gum movie star Megan Valentine suddenly finds herself broke and humiliated in the public eye, she wanders from the wreckage of a car accident and witlessly enlists in the U.S. Army hoping in vain that it will change her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Con Artists (2014)
A wily safecracker is forced to help a mob boss pull off a $150 million heist, but smells a double-cross in the works.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSunflower (2006)
Tae-sik gets out of a prison after spending 10 years for killing a man and wishes nothing but an ordinary life. A local lady welcomes him into her household like a son and he gets a second chance in life. His former gang tries to destroy his new home in order to build a night club but he won’t let them destroy his new family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThunderstruck (2012)
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWelcome to Dongmakgol (2005)
Based on the long running play by Jang Jin, the story is set in Korea during the Korean War in 1950. Soldiers from both the North and South, as well as an American pilot, find themselves in a secluded and naively idealistic village, its residents unaware of the outside world, including the war.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisObsessed (2014)
A secret, passionate affair happens in the summer of 1969 between Colonel Jin Pyeong, trapped in a loveless marriage with Soo Jin, and Jong Ga Heun, the Chinese-Korean wife of Captain Kyung Woo Jin.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this12.12: The Day (2023)
After the assassination of President Park, martial law has been declared. A coup d'état bursts out by Defense Security Commander Chun Doo-gwang and a private band of officers following him. Capital Defense Commander Lee Tae-shin, an obstinate soldier who believes the military should not take political actions, fights against Chun Doo-gwang to stop him. The conflict between the two grows while military leaders are holding their decision and Defense Minister is gone. In the midst of chaos, the spring of Seoul that everyone longed for heads to unexpected direction.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this#1-1 Guard Post (2025)
Sergeant Kim Seonyeob, nearing the end of his military service, quietly volunteers for night duty at the 1-1 guard post to dodge a grooming inspection. He's paired with Private Park Jihoon, a fresh-faced recruit. Their uneventful shift takes a sharp turn when the keen-eyed officer Park Jang-hyun makes an unexpected visit. As Kim Seonyeob's expression grows increasingly rigid, the secrets he's been hiding slowly rise to the surface…
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sunny (2008)
With hopes of reuniting with her husband, who left for the Vietnam War without telling her, a young wife joins a traveling band as the lead singer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Black Stone (2016)
In a post-trauma search for truth, Shon Sun’s path winds through a mysterious jungle where the line between past and present fades.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Escape (2024)
After completing his required decade of military service and being honored as a hero, a North Korean sergeant makes a sudden shocking attempt to defect to the South, risking life and limb for the chance to finally determine his own destiny.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSilmido (2003)
On 31 January 1968, 31 North Korean commandos infiltrated South Korea in a failed mission to assassinate President Park Chung-hee. In revenge, the South Korean military assembled a team of 31 criminals on the island of Silmido to kill Kim Il-sung for a suicide mission to redeem their honor, but was cancelled, leaving them frustrated. It is loosely based on a military uprising in the 1970s.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJoint Security Area (2000)
Two North Korean soldiers are killed in the border area between North and South Korea, prompting an investigation by a neutral body. The lead investigator receives differing accounts from the two sides.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War (2004)
When two brothers are forced to fight in the Korean War, the elder decides to take the riskiest missions if it will help shield the younger from battle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Ugly Duckling?
The closest matches to The Ugly Duckling are Don't Think Twice (2016), The World of Love (2025) and Twenty (2015). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Ugly Duckling?
Start with Don't Think Twice (2016), the closest match to The Ugly Duckling.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Ugly Duckling?
Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War (2004), rated 8.0/10 by 811 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Ugly Duckling?
The World of Love (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Korean movies like The Ugly Duckling?
Yes: The World of Love (2025), Twenty (2015) and The Foul King (2000).
How are movies similar to The Ugly Duckling chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Ugly Duckling, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.