Movies like Spoonful of Happiness (1975)
The best movies like Spoonful of Happiness (1975) are The Short History of the Long Road (2019), One Million Yen Girl (2008) and Real Women Have Curves (2002). If Spoonful of Happiness hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks
- Highest ratedStargirl (2020)7.4/10 from 579 votes
- NewestLove Like the Falling Petals (2022)Released 2022
- In JapaneseOne Million Yen Girl (2008)Also in Japanese
The Short History of the Long Road (2019)
Nola grew up living in a van with her father, Clint—two nomads against the world. When tragedy strikes, Nola must confront the reality of life on the road alone, learning to own her grief, her past, and her new destination.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOne Million Yen Girl (2008)
A 21-year-old girl is released from prison, only to deal with the neighborhood gossip about her and family conflicts. She decides to save one million yen, move to where no one knows her and keep repeating the process.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisReal Women Have Curves (2002)
In East Los Angeles, an 18-year-old struggles between her ambitions of going to college and the desires of her domineering mother for her to get married, have children, and oversee the small, rundown family-owned textile factory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTremble All You Want (2017)
Yoshika has had a crush on Ichimiya, whom she calls "the One" since she was in middle school. Now, a 24-year-old salarywoman, her all-consuming fixation has prevented her from even considering another candidate for boyfriend until an office colleague asks her out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStargirl (2020)
An unassuming high schooler finds himself inexplicably drawn to the free-spirited new girl, whose unconventional ways change how they see themselves…and their world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI've Always Liked You (2016)
Love is blooming at Sakuragaoka High School. Natsuki Enomoto has finally mustered the courage to confess to her childhood friend, Yuu Setoguchi. However, in the final moments of her confession, an embarrassed Natsuki passes it off as a "practice confession." Oblivious to her true feelings and struggling with his own, Yuu promises to support Natsuki in her quest for love. While Natsuki deals with her failed confession, fellow classmate Koyuki Ayase struggles with his own feelings for Natsuki. Despite his timidness, he is determined to win over her heart. This movie follows Natsuki as she dreams of one day ending her practices and genuinely confessing to Yuu. Meanwhile, close friends also find themselves entangled in their own webs of unrequited love and unspoken affections.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Believe in Unicorns (2015)
Feeling awkward and isolated, an imaginative and strong-willed teenage girl runs away from home with an older punk rock drifter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisApril Story (1998)
In spring, a girl leaves the island of Hokkaido to attend university in Tokyo. Once there, she is asked to reveal why she wanted to go there in the first place.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDaytime Shooting Star (2017)
Fifteen-year-old country girl Suzume Yosano has to move to Tokyo to live with her uncle due to her father's transfer. She bumps into a mysterious man who ends up taking her to her uncle's place after she gets lost. Turns out, Suzume will be seeing him a lot more often once she starts school because... he's her homeroom teacher?!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlinded by the Light (2019)
In 1987, during the austere days of Thatcher’s Britain, a teenager learns to live life, understand his family, and find his own voice through the music of Bruce Springsteen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl Who Leapt Through Time (1983)
Kazuko Yoshiyama is a third-year junior-high-school student. One day, while cleaning the lab, she smells lavender and faints. From then on, she has the power to travel through time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisElectrick Children (2012)
Rachel is a rambunctious girl from a polygamist colony in southern Utah. On Rachel’s 15th birthday, she finds a forbidden cassette tape. Having never seen anything like it before, Rachel plays the cassette tape, and finds glorious rock & roll thereupon. Weeks later, Rachel realizes a miracle has occurred - and the cassette tape must have something to do with it. She leaves her family and runs away to the closest city: Las Vegas. There she searches for the singer of the band on the cassette tape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGregory's Girl (1980)
A teenager falls hard for the female soccer player who has replaced him on the team and attempts to pursue her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Irregular at Magic High School: The Girl Who Summons the Stars (2017)
In the story, the seasons have changed and it will soon be the second spring. Tatsuya and Miyuki have finished their first year at First Magic High School and are on their spring break. The two go to their villa on the Ogasawara Island archipelago. After only a small moment of peace a lone young woman named Kokoa appears before them. She has abandoned the Naval base and she tells Tatsuya her one wish.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDogwood Tree (2010)
A young girl tries to maintain a long-distance relationship with an aspiring fisherman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNisekoi: False Love (2018)
Raku Ichijo (Kento Nakajima) is an only son and a high school student. His father is the leader of yakuza group Shuei-gumi. Raku Ichijo doesn't like to fight and he studies hard. His dream is to become a public official. One day, he passes the entrance gate at his high school and is kicked inadvertently by Chitoge Kirisaki (Ayami Nakajo). She is a new transfer student at the school. Chitoge Kirisaki is the only daughter of a rival gang leader. To keep the peace between the rival gangs led by their fathers, Raku Ichijo and Chitoge Kirisaki decide to act as boyfriend and girlfriend. --asianwiki
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAfter the Rain (2018)
Akira Tachibana is a soft-spoken high school student who used to be a part of the track and field club. Working part-time at a restaurant, she finds herself inexplicably falling in love with her manager, a divorced 45-year-old man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSailor Suit and Machine Gun (1981)
A high-school girl inherits a declining yakuza organization, which seeks to repair its fortunes under her leadership.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove Like the Falling Petals (2022)
Haruto Asakura falls in love with hairdresser Misaki Ariake and asks her out. Watching Misaki Ariake work hard to achieve what she wants, Haruto Asakura, who almost gave up his dream to become a photographer, begins to pursue his dream again, but Misaki Ariake is diagnosed with a disease that ages her 10x faster than normal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisKase-san and Morning Glories (2018)
Yamada may be shy and rather clumsy, but the flower gardens at her school have always brought her happiness. Suddenly, a different sort of beauty catches her eye—the vivacious track star, Kase-san. Although the two girls don't seem to have much in common, they soon start a romance where each must learn an important lesson in tending their budding relationship. Can the two girls, so different from each other, learn how to make their first love blossom?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Spoonful of Happiness?
The closest matches to Spoonful of Happiness are The Short History of the Long Road (2019), One Million Yen Girl (2008) and Real Women Have Curves (2002). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Spoonful of Happiness?
Start with The Short History of the Long Road (2019), the closest match to Spoonful of Happiness.
What is the highest-rated movie like Spoonful of Happiness?
Stargirl (2020), rated 7.4/10 by 579 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Spoonful of Happiness?
Love Like the Falling Petals (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Spoonful of Happiness?
Yes: One Million Yen Girl (2008), Tremble All You Want (2017) and I've Always Liked You (2016).
How are movies similar to Spoonful of Happiness chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Spoonful of Happiness, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.



















