Movies like The Little Match Girl (1954)
The best movies like The Little Match Girl (1954) are The Little Matchgirl (2006), The Snowman (1982) and Naughty or Nice (2012). If The Little Match Girl hooked you with its fantasy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
The Little Match Girl
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Snowman (1982)7.6/10 from 375 votes
- NewestNÄCKEN (2026)Released 2026
The Little Matchgirl (2006)
An animated short based on Hans Christian Andersen's tale about a poor young girl with a burning desire to find comfort and happiness in her life. Desperate to keep warm, the girl lights the matches she sells, and envisions a very different life for herself in the fiery flames filled with images of loving relatives, bountiful food, and a place to call home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Snowman (1982)
A young boy makes a snowman one Christmas Eve, which comes to life at midnight and takes him on a magical adventure to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNaughty or Nice (2012)
Krissy Kringle receives a delivery intended for Santa Claus. A magical book that shows if a person has been naughty or nice. She uses the book's power to find out about those around her, which leads to some very unusual and unintended results. Krissy realizes that everyone has some good and some not so good in them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarvel One-Shot: All Hail the King (2014)
A documentary filmmaker interviews the now-famous Trevor Slattery from behind bars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOnce Upon a Snowman (2020)
The previously untold origins of Olaf, the innocent and insightful, summer-loving snowman are revealed as we follow Olaf’s first steps as he comes to life and searches for his identity in the snowy mountains outside Arendelle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrep & Landing (2009)
Wayne gets a new rookie partner, Lanny, after his previous partner got the promotion he wanted. Lanny has to remind Wayne of the Spirit of Christmas and the importance of being an elf in Santa's Prep and Landing elite unit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDashing Through the Snow (2023)
Eddie Garrick is a good-hearted man who has lost his belief in the wonder of Christmas. While spending time with his nine-year-old daughter Charlotte on Christmas Eve, he befriends a mysterious man in a red suit named Nick.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnder the Sea: A Descendants Story (2018)
Mal emerges from the shadows of a mystical forest onto a dark coastline where she crosses paths with Dizzy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSanta's Workshop (1932)
Santa's little helpers must hurry to finish the toys before Christmas Day.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 12 Days of Christmas Eve (2022)
When Brian Conway, a successful businessman whose family relationships have suffered, gets in a car accident on Christmas Eve, Santa gives him twelve chances to redo the day and repair the relationships in his life, including with his daughter Michelle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrincess Nicotine (1909)
A smoker falls asleep, and two mischievious fairies play with his pipe. He discovers this, and imprisons them in a cigar box. He removes a flower from the box, which contains a fairy smoking a cigarette. Next, he leaves briefly while his smoking paraphenalia clears itself from the table and the flower reassembles itself into a cigar. He lights the cigar, then breaks a bottle containing the fairy, who interacts with him in various ways reeling from his cigar smoke, building a bonfire that he extinguishes, etc.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisDestino (2003)
Short film to a song of love lost and rediscovered, a woman sees and undergoes surreal transformations. Her lover's face melts off, she dons a dress from the shadow of a bell and becomes a dandelion, ants crawl out of a hand and become Frenchmen riding bicycles. Not to mention the turtles with faces on their backs that collide to form a ballerina, or the bizarre baseball game.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOlaf's Frozen Adventure (2017)
Olaf is on a mission to harness the best holiday traditions for Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Nutcracker (1993)
On Christmas Eve, a little girl named Marie falls asleep and dreams herself into a fantastic world in which her toys become larger than life. She meets up with the Nutcracker Prince who takes her on a journey to his kingdom and defends her from the Mouse King.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisPrep & Landing Stocking Stuffer: Operation: Secret Santa (2010)
Wayne and Lanny, now partners, are called by Magee to meet with a secret contact – Mrs. Claus, who sends them on a new mission to retrieve a box from Santa’s secret workshop. Later they sneak into Santa’s office while he is asleep, using their high tech equipment from the previous film. Lanny’s expertise at dressing the tree enables them to enter the hidden workshop where they recover the box and escape just in time. But what is the box for?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKristin's Christmas Past (2013)
Kristin, a cynical 34-year-old, drinks a mysterious champagne on Christmas Eve and wakes up seventeen years in the past, sharing a room with her 17-year-old self. Given the chance to change the worst Christmas of her life, she attempts to fix past mistakes, only to discover surprising truths about her family that may help her mend her present-day relationships.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisPirates of the Caribbean: Tales of the Code: Wedlocked (2011)
Wenches Scarlett and Giselle fix each other up for their wedding, in which they would each marry their groom. Upon realizing that both their grooms were the same man, Jack Sparrow, the two wenches found themselves in an auction led by the Auctioneer. This short film serves as a prequel to The Curse of the Black Pearl, and explains just why Jack Sparrow's boat the Jolly Mon was seen sinking at the beginning of the whole story; why the wenches were so upset with him; and how Cotton lost his tongue.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHansel and Gretel (1983)
Tim Burton's reimagined classic combines live action and stop motion, making for a creepy adventure into the woods. It is known for having aired only once on Disney Channel, on Halloween Night in 1983.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSlumberland (2022)
A young girl discovers a secret map to the dreamworld of Slumberland, and with the help of an eccentric outlaw, she traverses dreams and flees nightmares, with the hope that she will be able to see her late father again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMarvel One-Shot: The Consultant (2011)
Agent Coulson informs Agent Sitwell that the World Security Council wishes Emil Blonsky to be released from prison to join the Avengers Initiative. As Nick Fury doesn't want to release Blonsky, the two agents decide to send a patsy to sabotage the meeting...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAl sur de la Navidad (2016)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
The Crimson Permanent Assurance (1983)
A group of down-and-out accountants mutiny against their bosses and sail their office building onto the high seas in search of a pirate's life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMords-les ! (2020)
Follow Brigitte Fontaine as she wanders in the streets of Morlaix.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Villain (2023)
After a dragon destroys young Georgia's home, she journeys to its lair to enact violent revenge but instead finds an innocent child in the cave. When the dragon then returns, Georgia must reckon with the price of vengeance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Madonna X Vanity Fair – The Enlightenment (2023)
‘The Enlightenment’ is a film feature created by Madonna and Luigi & Iango during the making of the photoshoot published in the February 2023 issue of Vanity Fair.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
The Stairs (1969)
A figure wanders through a world of endless stairs, seeking purpose to his monotonous existence.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Shade: The Changing Man (2013)
A mysterious figure with special reality-warping powers battles the forces of madness only he can see and fight.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Karaokiss (2025)
Lucette, in her twenties, leads a life without joy or sorrow. At the karaoke bar where she works, Diana arrives and everything goes wrong. While her former love has decided to reconnect, Lucette must fight against her fairy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Shrek the Halls (2007)
The Christmas tree isn't the only thing green in this new holiday classic. Shrek is back and trying to get into the spirit of the season. After promising Fiona and the kids a Christmas they'll remember, he is forced to take a crash course in the holiday. But just when he thinks he has everything for their quiet family Christmas just right, there is a knock at the door.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Little Match Girl?
The closest matches to The Little Match Girl are The Little Matchgirl (2006), The Snowman (1982) and Naughty or Nice (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Little Match Girl?
Start with The Little Matchgirl (2006), the closest match to The Little Match Girl.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Little Match Girl?
The Snowman (1982), rated 7.6/10 by 375 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Little Match Girl?
NÄCKEN (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Little Match Girl?
Yes: The Little Matchgirl (2006), The Snowman (1982) and Naughty or Nice (2012).
How are movies similar to The Little Match Girl chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Little Match Girl, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.