Movies like The Man Who Planted Trees (1987)
The best movies like The Man Who Planted Trees (1987) are The Dream of a Ridiculous Man (1992), The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2012) and 1001 Nights (1998). If The Man Who Planted Trees 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 ratedWildwood (2026)8.5/10 from 261 votes
- NewestWildwood (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchThe Angel (1982)Also in French
The Dream of a Ridiculous Man (1992)
An animated short film based on the 1877 short story written by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It chronicles the experiences of a man who decides that there is nothing to live for in the world, and is therefore determined to commit suicide. A chance encounter with a young girl changes his mind.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2012)
After a hurricane levels his city, a young man wanders into a mysterious library where books literally come to life. This film won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 2012.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like this1001 Nights (1998)
Presented in the form of a feverish love dream, 1001 Nights is the first and only installment of the ground-breaking "Filmharmonic" project, which presents original compositions created by pairs of A-list film composers and directors.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & drama
The Little Fox (1981)
A tale about a little fox Vuk from the novel of the famous Hungarian writer István Fekete.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLoving Vincent (2017)
A young man arrives at the last hometown of painter Vincent van Gogh to deliver the troubled artist's final letter and ends up investigating his final days there.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Angel (1982)
The climbing of an immense staircase made up of the most varied stairs. Symbolic scenes occur on different levels where characters seem to be prisoners of their deeds and of their own folly. The steep staircase leads little by little towards the zones of great light where human beings and nonhuman beings meet.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
Johnny Corncob (1973)
A traditional Hungarian poetic fairytale that describes the epic adventures of a young shepherd through love, war, magic and death.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
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: Fans watch both · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWilly the Sparrow (1989)
Vili fakes illness so he doesn't have to take a math test. Instead, he starts shooting at sparrows from the window with an air rifle. The kindly old lady who feeds the birds turns out to be a real-life fairy who tries to turn Vili into a good boy.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
The Bigger Picture (2014)
'You want to put her in a home; you tell her; tell her now!' hisses one brother to the other. But Mother won't go, and their own lives quickly unravel as she clings to life. Director Daisy Jacobs uses two-metre-high painted characters in full-size sets to tell the stark and darkly humorous tale of caring for an elderly relative. The Bigger Picture is quite simply the most innovative animated short you will see this year.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & animation
The Triplets of Belleville (2003)
When her grandson is kidnapped during the Tour de France, Madame Souza and her beloved pooch Bruno team up with the Belleville Sisters—an aged song-and-dance team from the days of Fred Astaire—to rescue him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Love to Singa (1936)
A stern classical music teacher becomes a father of four musically-inclined sons, but when one of them demonstrates a preference for jazz music, his father kicks him out of the house.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHarvie Krumpet (2003)
The odd biography of Harvie Krumpet, a man who has Tourette's Syndrome, chronic bad luck, menial jobs, nudist tendencies, and a book of "fakts" hung around his neck - but still optimistically lives own way and enjoys the small things life has to offer.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Red Balloon (1956)
A young boy discovers a stray balloon, which seems to have a mind of its own, on the streets of Paris. The two become inseparable, yet the world’s harsh realities finally interfere.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNinety-Five Senses (2022)
A heartfelt depiction of a man facing his own mortality while reflecting on the grave mistakes of his youth.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & drama
Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom (1953)
Professor Owl gives a lecture on the evolution of Western musical instruments, starting with the advent of rudimentary brass, woodwind, string and percussion instruments by ancient cave dwellers at the dawn of history.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Painting (2011)
Three characters living in an unfinished painting venture out into the real world in search of their creator to convince him to finish his work.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both fantasy & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBalance (1989)
The setting is on a floating platform where a group of evenly and carefully placed men live. Each man is aware that the platform is not stable and in order not to fall to their deaths, they maintain a careful balance of weight to prevent the platform from tipping too far and cause them all to fall.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFather and Daughter (2001)
A father says goodbye to his young daughter. In time the daughter grows old, but within her there is always a deep longing for her father.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Red Turtle (2016)
The dialogue-less film follows the major life stages of a castaway on a deserted tropical island populated by turtles, crabs and birds.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNegative Space (2017)
Even though Sam's father is hardly ever home because he is often away on business trips, he is able to connect with his son by teaching him how to pack a suitcase.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBear Story (2016)
An old bear goes out every day to a busy street corner. Through a tin marionette theater of his own making, the bear will tell us his life story.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Barnyard Concert (1930)
Mickey leads an 8-piece orchestra (that's counting the bass played by three birds as one) through the most recognizable parts of the Poet and Peasant Overture. The setting, as the title implies, is a barnyard, and some of the instrumentation reflects that (including various animals used as instruments, like a tuned group of piglets whose tails Mickey pulls).
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation
SnoozefestMovies like thisLate Afternoon (2019)
Emily finds herself disconnected from the world around her. She goes on a journey through her memories and relives different moments from her life. Emily must look to her past so that she may fully embrace the present.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDuck Amuck (1953)
The short-tempered Daffy Duck must improvise madly as the backgrounds, his costumes, the soundtrack, even his physical form, shifts and changes at the whim of the animator.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWildwood (2026)
Prue and her classmate Curtis are drawn into a magical forest filled with enchanted creatures, loyal allies, and formidable adversaries as they embark on a desperate quest to rescue Prue's abducted baby brother from a murder of crows led by a mysterious woman named Alexandra.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisEpic (2013)
A teenager finds herself transported to a deep forest setting where a battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil is taking place. She bands together with a rag-tag group of characters in order to save their world—and ours.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarona's Fantastic Tale (2020)
Marona, an innocent and empathetic little female dog, remembers the life she has shared with different masters, whom she has loved unconditionally.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBambi (1942)
Bambi's tale unfolds from season to season as the young prince of the forest learns about life, love, and friends.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKensuke's Kingdom (2024)
A young boy and his family set off on a sailing trip of a lifetime until a violent storm erupts, sweeping Michael and his dog overboard. After washing up on a remote island, terrified, they struggle to survive and adjust to life alone, One day, Michael discovers he is not alone when he is confronted by a mysterious Japanese man who has lived there secretly since World War II, angry that Michael has arrived. However, as dangerous invaders threaten their fragile island paradise, Michael and the old man, Kensuke, join forces to save their secret world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Man Who Planted Trees?
The closest matches to The Man Who Planted Trees are The Dream of a Ridiculous Man (1992), The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2012) and 1001 Nights (1998). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Man Who Planted Trees?
People who watched The Man Who Planted Trees most often go on to The Dream of a Ridiculous Man (1992), The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2012) and 1001 Nights (1998).
What is the highest-rated movie like The Man Who Planted Trees?
Wildwood (2026), rated 8.5/10 by 261 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Man Who Planted Trees?
Wildwood (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like The Man Who Planted Trees?
Yes: The Angel (1982), The Triplets of Belleville (2003) and The Red Balloon (1956).
How are movies similar to The Man Who Planted Trees chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Man Who Planted Trees, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.