Movies like The Return (1972)
The best movies like The Return (1972) are Sea Scouts (1939), Solid Serenade (1946) and The Bodyguard (1944). If The Return hooked you with its animation, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks
- Highest ratedNo Time for Nuts (2006)7.4/10 from 220 votes
- NewestTonalli (2022)Released 2022
Sea Scouts (1939)
Donald is an admiral on a seagoing voyage with his nephews in which they encounter a ravenous shark.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSolid Serenade (1946)
Tom ties up Spike and sneaks into the courtyard of the glamorous Toodles Galore with his bass, hoping to woo her with his song, much to the annoyance of a sleeping Jerry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bodyguard (1944)
Spike the bulldog, grateful to Jerry for getting him out of the dogcatcher's van, offers to help the little mouse any time he whistles. Tom, Jerry's feline tormentor, seeks to overcome this new disadvantage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Knight for a Day (1946)
By accident, Cedric (Goofy), replaces his master, Sir Loinsteak, in the armor just before the joust with champion Sir Cumference.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCasanova Cat (1951)
Tom heads for a big city penthouse to become acquainted with a rich pretty female cat that lives there. He brings her Jerry as a gift and does some humiliating things to Jerry. Jerry, in turn, attracts the attention of another cat who also becomes interested in the female cat. It eventually turns into a fight between Tom and the other cat for the lady's hand but Jerry is the one who gets her in the end.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Big Bad Wolf (1934)
The Big Bad Wolf torments Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCanine Caddy (1941)
Mickey's going golfing, and Pluto is his caddy. Besides the usual caddy duties, Pluto runs to the ball and points to it. But when the ball lands in a gopher hole, Pluto's got another task: chase the gopher. They eventually chase each other through a number of holes in a knoll where Mickey is trying to putt out, causing the knoll to collapse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Time for Nuts (2006)
Scrat comes across a time machine and is transported to various times all in pursuit of his beloved acorn.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFerdinand the Bull (1938)
This Oscar-winning short tells of a bull who preferred to sit under trees and smell flowers to clashing horns with his fellow animals. As luck would have it, an untimely bee reveals Ferdinand's ferocious side via pained howls and wild stomping. This lands him in the bull-fighting arena amidst characters based on Walt's animators with a matador reportedly modeled after Walt himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Yankee Doodle Mouse (1943)
As Tom and Jerry stage their typical fight sequences, the patriotic soldier theme of the title is evidenced by such things as a carton of eggs labeled "Hen Grenades"; Jerry dropping light bulbs from an airplane like bombs; and Jerry sending a telegram with the message "Sighted Cat - Sank Same." Musical phrasings from various patriotic war songs are heard throughout. The cut scene after Jerry hitting Tom with the board 4 times was cut from the 1950 reissue print for a war bond joke, and the original footage is currently considered "lost" due to the negatives destroyed in the 1978 George Eastman House fire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHis Mouse Friday (1951)
Tom is shipwrecked on an island, which is inhabited by at least one mouse - Jerry. To thwart the hungry cat, Jerry disguises himself as a cannibal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMickey's Delayed Date (1947)
Even though Mickey's evening started slow and lazy, things get moving in a hurry when Minnie calls from outside the big dance, wondering why he's late. Luckily his best pal Pluto is happy to help wrangle the uncooperative evening wear and help get him out the door...without the tickets
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisForky Asks a Question: What Is a Computer? (2019)
Trixie explains to Forky what a computer does as they experience the common stresses of technology.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
SnoozefestMovies like thisThru the Mirror (1936)
Mickey has been reading Alice in Wonderland, and falls asleep. He finds himself on the other side of the mirror, where the furniture is alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCars Toon Mater's Tall Tales (2008)
Mater the tow truck travels from country to country as he retells his infamous but unbelievable stories.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMickey's Service Station (1935)
Mickey, Goofy & Donald have 10 minutes to fix Pete's car. Or else!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow to Play Football (1944)
Taking all the places on both teams, Goofy demonstrates the game of football with varying results, having problems with the coach and the goal post.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPigeon: Impossible (2009)
The tale of Walter, a rookie secret agent faced with a problem seldom covered in basic training: what to do when a curious pigeon gets trapped inside your multi-million dollar, government-issued nuclear briefcase.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisForky Asks a Question: What Is Money? (2019)
Forky Asks a Question: What is Money? Hamm attempts to give Forky a lesson on how the US monetary system works.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Flying Mouse (1934)
To the tune "I Would Like to Be a Bird," a young mouse fashions wings from a pair of leaves, to the great amusement of his brothers when his attempts to use them fail. When the butterfly he rescues from a spider proves to be a fairy, he wishes for wings. But his bat-like appearance doesn't fit in with either the birds or the other mice, and he finds himself friendless; even the bats make fun of him. Written by Jon Reeves
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHead (1975)
An ingenious, witty essay on making filmed, photographed, drawn, painted, and Xeroxed images move. Reverberating between multi-media versions of the same events, playing with disjunctions between figure and ground, HEAD is a 'trickfilm' meditation on portraiture; the animator, as actor, lives through his drawings, which in turn become actors who influence his own self-image. An insider's diary on the process of creation, HEAD is a brilliant encyclopedic exploration of the circular relationship between the animator and his creation, of the nature of animated illusion itself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
The Portrait Studio (2013)
Late 19th century Japan: a studio photographer who always captures his clients’ best smile. One day he tries to coax a smile out of a little girl, but… A nostalgic tale of a relationship that transcends wars and disasters.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
One Self: Fish/Girl (1998)
A young woman's diary depicts her layered, poetic, inner efforts to deal with the world and overcome self-doubt.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
The Girl And The Star (1970)
A fairy tale about how the girl, Lola, became friends with the star.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
A Cautionary Tail (2012)
A little girl is born with a tail that expresses her emotions. As a child, her parents celebrate their daughter's uniqueness and her tail inspires magical make-believe adventures with her friends. As she grows up, however, the young woman faces pressure to fit in, and must choose between conformity and self-expression. An animated short film starring Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett, using a striking collage of 3D animated characters and hand-made miniature sets.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Hasan Everywhere (2010)
Hasan Everywhere is an animation which broaches the subtlety of a relationship between a man and a woman who bear the passports of enemies, to sympathetically deal with the subjects of death, grief, lost opportunity; but mostly it seeks to demonstrate the possibility of friendship triumphing over the deepest of rifts between two people. In that regard it is most unusual among the standard fare of animated shorts.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Ashiaraiyashiki no Juunin-tachi (2010)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
VeggieTales: King George and the Ducky (2000)
King George, unlike most kings, spends most of his time in the bathtub, playing with his favorite toy - a rubber ducky. But George isn't satisfied with just his rubber ducky - he wants all the duckies! The king learns a lesson in humility from his brave soldier Thomas, whose ducky George had stolen. Eventually, George faces his sin and learns that it's always important to share with others.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Origami (2012)
A teenager is induced by his elderly grandfather to make origami figures to relax. As soon as he makes a dragon, a magic origamied world opens up to him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Tonalli (2022)
Alma always felt distant from her roots. Through separations and growth, Alma will learn to connect with her shadow and thus feel connected to her identity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Like The Return and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Return?
The closest matches to The Return are Sea Scouts (1939), Solid Serenade (1946) and The Bodyguard (1944). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Return?
Start with Sea Scouts (1939), the closest match to The Return.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Return?
No Time for Nuts (2006), rated 7.4/10 by 220 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Return?
Tonalli (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Return chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Return, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.



























