Movies like One Small Step (2018)
The best movies like One Small Step (2018) are Late Afternoon (2019), Bao (2018) and Hair Love (2019). If One Small Step hooked you with its family and animation, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPiper (2016)8.1/10 from 1,791 votes
- NewestSelf (2024)Released 2024
Late 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 family & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBao (2018)
An aging Chinese mother suffering from empty nest syndrome gets another chance at motherhood when one of her dumplings springs to life as a lively, giggly dumpling boy.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHair Love (2019)
When dad has to unexpectedly step in for mom to do his daughter Zuri’s hair before a big event, what seems like a simple task is anything but as these locks have a mind of their own!
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFloat (2019)
A father discovers that his son floats, which makes him different from other kids. To keep them both safe from the judgement of the world, Dad hides, covers, and grounds him. But when his son's ability becomes public, Dad must decide whether to run and hide or to accept his son as he is.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLa luna (2012)
A young boy comes of age in the most peculiar of circumstances. Tonight is the very first time his Papa and Grandpa are taking him to work. In an old wooden boat they row far out to sea, and with no land in sight, they stop and wait. A big surprise awaits the boy as he discovers his family's most unusual line of work. Should he follow the example of his Papa, or his Grandpa? Will he be able to find his own way in the midst of their conflicting opinions and timeworn traditions?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTo: Gerard (2020)
A sprightly elderly man brightens the day of a little girl through magic.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Paperman (2012)
An urban office worker finds that paper airplanes are instrumental in meeting a girl in ways he never expected.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDaughter (2019)
A young girl buries in her soul a memory of a painful moment, when as a child she brought home an injured bird and her father burdened by his own weight of worries didn’t notice her feelings and longing for understanding. The girl took her father’s reaction as indifference and closed herself in her inner world longing for her father’s love and its manifestations. Since that moment she and her dad continued to grow apart, and as an adult she is no longer able to accept his endearments. The father suffers from guilt and searches for a way back to his daughter, trying to revive their lost relationship.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dam Keeper (2014)
In a desolate future, one small town has survived because of a large windmill dam that acts as a fan to keep out pollution. The dam's operator, Pig, works tirelessly to keep the sails spinning and protect the town, despite abuse from classmates and an indifferent public. When a new student joins Pig's class, nothing will be the same again.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPiper (2016)
A mother bird tries to teach her little one how to find food by herself. In the process, she encounters a traumatic experience that she must overcome in order to survive.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family & animation
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 adventure & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLou (2017)
A lost-and-found box holds a mysterious and unseen monster within.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFeast (2014)
This Oscar-winning animated short film tells the story of one man's love life as seen through the eyes of his best friend and dog, Winston, and revealed bite by bite through the meals they share.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUs Again (2021)
In a vibrant city pulsating with rhythm and movement, an elderly man and his young-at-heart wife rekindle their youthful passion for life and each other on one magical night.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCiao Alberto (2021)
With his best friend Luca away at school, Alberto is enjoying his new life in Portorosso working alongside Massimo—the imposing, tattooed, one-armed fisherman of few words—who's quite possibly the coolest human in the entire world as far as Alberto is concerned. He wants more than anything to impress his mentor, but it's easier said than done.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShooom's Odyssey (2019)
Shooom, a baby owl, hatches just as a storm turns the bayou surrounding her tree upside down. No sooner has she fallen from her nest, then the little fledgling totters off into the mangrove, pushing a second egg from the brood along with her. Come hell or high water, she’s determined to find a mother… even if that mom turns out to be an alligator or a raccoon!
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDay & Night (2010)
When Day, a sunny fellow, encounters Night, a stranger of distinctly darker moods, sparks fly! Day and Night are frightened and suspicious of each other at first, and quickly get off on the wrong foot. But as they discover each other's unique qualities--and come to realize that each of them offers a different window onto the same world-the friendship helps both to gain a new perspective.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFar from the Tree (2021)
On an idyllic beach in the Pacific Northwest, curiosity gets the better of a young raccoon whose frustrated parent attempts to keep them both safe.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMemorable (2019)
Aging painter Louis and his wife Michelle struggle to cope with Louis' advancing dementia.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMr Hublot (2013)
Mr Hublot is a withdrawn, idiosyncratic character with OCD, scared of change and the outside world. Robot Pet's arrival turns his life upside down: he has to share his home with this very invasive companion.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like this22 vs. Earth (2021)
Before the events of Soul, a rebellious soul recruits five new souls to resist going to Earth, only to discover an unexpected truth about the meaning of life.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Ballad of Nessie (2011)
A legendary and friendly creature named Nessie lives happily in a small pond with her friend MacQuack, a rubber duck. When a rich developer takes the pond and land surrounding it to build a miniature golf course, Nessie is forced to search for a new home.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Single Life (2014)
When Pia plays a mysterious vinyl record single, she suddenly knows how to travel through her own life.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSelf (2024)
A wooden puppet who desperately wants to fit in makes an ill-fated wish upon a star, sparking a journey of self-discovery.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Canvas (2020)
After a heartbreaking loss, a grandfather struggling to reclaim his passion for painting finds the inspiration to create again.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSister (2018)
A man remembers his childhood memory of growing up with an annoying little sister in 1990s China. How would his life have been if things had gone differently?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Flying Sailor (2022)
The Flying Sailor is based on the Halifax Explosion of 1917 when two ships collided in the Halifax Harbour causing the largest accidental explosion in history. Among the tragic stories of the disaster is the remarkable account of a sailor who, blown skyward from the deck of a British cargo steamer, flew over 2 km before landing completely unharmed, but naked except for his boots.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlush (2021)
When a horticulturalist-astronaut crashes onto a desolate planet, he encounters an ethereal visitor and discovers the joy of building a new life—realizing the universe has delivered something astonishing.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDear Basketball (2017)
An animated telling of Kobe Bryant's titular poem, signaling his retirement from the sport that made his name.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like One Small Step?
The closest matches to One Small Step are Late Afternoon (2019), Bao (2018) and Hair Love (2019). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after One Small Step?
People who watched One Small Step most often go on to Late Afternoon (2019), Bao (2018) and Hair Love (2019).
What is the highest-rated movie like One Small Step?
Piper (2016), rated 8.1/10 by 1,791 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like One Small Step?
Self (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to One Small Step chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside One Small Step, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.