Movies like Useless Dad (2019)
The best movies like Useless Dad (2019) are I Love My Dad (2022), The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) and Life-Size (2000). If Useless Dad hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Lion King (1994)8.3/10 from 20,381 votes
- NewestSketch (2025)Released 2025
- In ChineseTogether (2002)Also in Chinese
I Love My Dad (2022)
A hopelessly estranged father catfishes his son in an attempt to reconnect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Absent-Minded Professor (1961)
Bumbling professor Ned Brainard accidentally invents flying rubber, or "Flubber", an incredible material that gains energy every time it strikes a hard surface. It allows for the invention of shoes that can allow jumps of amazing heights and enables a modified Model-T to fly. Unfortunately, no one is interested in the material except for Alonzo Hawk, a corrupt businessman who wants to steal the material for himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLife-Size (2000)
Sad and lonely after the death of her mother, Casey would do anything to see her again. But when a series of mystic mishaps mistakenly brings her fashion doll “Eve” to life instead, it changes Casey’s world forever!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDespicable Me (2010)
Determined to prove he's the world's greatest supervillain, Gru hatches an audacious plan to steal the Moon. To pull it off, he adopts three orphaned girls—Margo, Edith, and Agnes—intending to use them as pawns in his scheme. But the unexpected bond they form forces him to question the criminal life he's always known.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMagnolia (1999)
On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, but one story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Lego Movie (2014)
An ordinary Lego mini-figure, mistakenly thought to be the extraordinary MasterBuilder, is recruited to join a quest to stop an evil Lego tyrant from conquering the universe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLuxo Jr. (1986)
A baby lamp finds a ball to play with and it's all fun and games until the ball bursts. Just when the elder Luxo thinks his kid will settle down for a bit, Luxo Jr. finds a ball ten times bigger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Greening of Whitney Brown (2011)
Whitney, a spoiled pre-teen from Philadelphia, is forced to move to the country when her parents feel the squeeze of economic hard times. A fish out of water, far from her comfort zone, she befriends an amazing horse, and undertakes a misguided journey back to her old life, only to discover that her family is her home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisAfter Yang (2022)
When his young daughter's beloved companion — an android named Yang — malfunctions, Jake searches for a way to repair him. In the process, Jake discovers the life that has been passing in front of him, reconnecting with his wife and daughter across a distance he didn't know was there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lion King (1994)
Young lion prince Simba, eager to one day become king of the Pride Lands, grows up under the watchful eye of his father Mufasa; all the while his villainous uncle Scar conspires to take the throne for himself. Amid betrayal and tragedy, Simba must confront his past and find his rightful place in the Circle of Life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSteve Jobs (2015)
Set backstage at three iconic product launches and ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac, Steve Jobs takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution to paint an intimate portrait of the brilliant man at its epicenter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Confirmation (2016)
A divorced father reconnects with his son when they track down a stolen toolbox over the course of a weekend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDespicable Me 2 (2013)
Gru is recruited by the Anti-Villain League to help deal with a powerful new super criminal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTogether (2002)
When a violin prodigy Xiaochun and his father head to Beijing seeking fame and fortune, they soon discover a fierce world of cutthroat ambition. But when Xiaochun is "adopted" by a famous music tutor, success finally seems within reach - until a shocking discovery begins to unravel his entire world, and the boy must make the most difficult choice of his life. Can he achieve the fame his father had always hoped for without losing the extraordinary passion that sets him apart?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWreck-It Ralph (2012)
Wreck-It Ralph is the 9-foot-tall, 643-pound villain of an arcade video game named Fix-It Felix Jr., in which the game's titular hero fixes buildings that Ralph destroys. Wanting to prove he can be a good guy and not just a villain, Ralph escapes his game and lands in Hero's Duty, a first-person shooter where he helps the game's hero battle against alien invaders. He later enters Sugar Rush, a kart racing game set on tracks made of candies, cookies and other sweets. There, Ralph meets Vanellope von Schweetz who has learned that her game is faced with a dire threat that could affect the entire arcade, and one that Ralph may have inadvertently started.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
Renowned oceanographer Steve Zissou has sworn vengeance upon the rare shark that devoured a member of his crew. In addition to his regular team, he is joined on his boat by Ned, a man who believes Zissou to be his father, and Jane, a journalist pregnant by a married man. They travel the sea, all too often running into pirates and, perhaps more traumatically, various figures from Zissou's past, including his estranged wife, Eleanor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMigration (2023)
After a migrating duck family alights on their pond with thrilling tales of far-flung places, the Mallard family embarks on a family road trip, from New England, to New York City, to tropical Jamaica.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Champ (1979)
Billy used to be a great boxer, but he's settled into a hardscrabble life that revolves around drinking, training horses, and the one bright spot in his existence — his young son, T.J. Although Billy has had custody of T.J. since his wife, Annie, left the family years ago, her return prompts a new struggle for the former fighter. Determined to hold on to his son, Billy gets back into the ring to try and recapture his past success.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSketch (2025)
When a young girl’s sketchbook falls into a strange pond, her drawings come to life—chaotic, real, and on the loose. As the town descends into chaos, her family must reunite and stop the monsters they never meant to unleash.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe King's Avatar: For the Glory (2019)
In this prequel to the animated series The King's Avatar, Ye Xiu enters into the pro gaming world of Glory, and competes in the first Pro League series tournament.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Useless Dad?
The closest matches to Useless Dad are I Love My Dad (2022), The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) and Life-Size (2000). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Useless Dad?
Start with I Love My Dad (2022), the closest match to Useless Dad.
What is the highest-rated movie like Useless Dad?
The Lion King (1994), rated 8.3/10 by 20,381 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Useless Dad?
Sketch (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like Useless Dad?
Yes: Together (2002) and The King's Avatar: For the Glory (2019).
How are movies similar to Useless Dad chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Useless Dad, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.