Movies like Descendants (2008)
The best movies like Descendants (2008) are Waking Life (2001), DC Showcase: Death (2019) and Versa (2025). If Descendants 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 ratedPrimal: Tales of Savagery (2019)8.4/10 from 372 votes
- NewestVersa (2025)Released 2025
Waking Life (2001)
Waking Life is about a young man in a persistent lucid dream-like state. The film follows its protagonist as he initially observes and later participates in philosophical discussions that weave together issues like reality, free will, our relationships with others, and the meaning of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDC Showcase: Death (2019)
Vincent, an artist with unresolved inner demons, meets a mysterious girl who helps him come to terms with his creative legacy… and eventual death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & animation
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisVersa (2025)
A young couple looking to start a family who experience emotions—from grief and loss to ultimate joy—as they embark on an ethereal, abstract, and imaginative cosmic dance of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisStrings (2004)
The story of Prince Hal who sets out to avenge his dead father against the city's rivals, the Zeriths, little knowing it was his wicked uncle Nezo who is the real killer, with his own designs on the throne.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTuesday (2024)
A mother and her teenage daughter must confront Death when it arrives in the form of an astonishing talking bird.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)
Five years after uniting the dragons and Vikings of Berk, Hiccup and Toothless soar beyond their homeland, charting the vast unknown. During one of their adventures, the pair discover a secret cave that houses hundreds of wild dragons—and a mysterious dragon rider with a startling connection to Hiccup. And as the ruthless conqueror Drago Bludvist rises to seize control of both dragons and people alike, Hiccup must step into his role as a true leader and, alongside his friends and Toothless, protect Berk from a devastating war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHereafter (2010)
Three people — a blue-collar American, a French journalist and a London school boy — are touched by death in different ways.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Book of Life (2014)
The journey of Manolo, a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart. Before choosing which path to follow, he embarks on an incredible adventure that spans fantastical worlds where he must face his greatest fears.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStrange World (2022)
A journey deep into an uncharted and treacherous land, where fantastical creatures await the legendary Clades—a family of explorers whose differences threaten to topple their latest, and by far most crucial, mission.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRaya and the Last Dragon (2021)
Long ago, in the fantasy world of Kumandra, humans and dragons lived together in harmony. But when an evil force threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, that same evil has returned and it’s up to a lone warrior, Raya, to track down the legendary last dragon to restore the fractured land and its divided people.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVesper (2022)
After the collapse of Earth's ecosystem, Vesper, a 13-year-old girl struggling to survive with her paralyzed Father, meets a mysterious Woman with a secret that forces Vesper to use her wits, strength and bio-hacking abilities to fight for the possibility of a future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSanjay's Super Team (2015)
SANJAY'S SUPER TEAM follows the daydream of a young Indian boy, bored with his father's religious meditation, who imagines "a kind of ancient, Hindu version of The Avengers," with the gods appearing like superheros.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCare Bears Movie II: A New Generation (1986)
True Heart Bear and Noble Heart Horse touch down on Earth to boost the spirits of some unhappy kids at summer camp. But the evil Dark Heart has other plans, and convinces one of the campers to help him capture the Care Bears.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrimal: Tales of Savagery (2019)
Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal: Tales of Savagery features a caveman and a dinosaur on the brink of extinction. Bonded by tragedy, this unlikely friendship becomes the only hope of survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisIf Anything Happens I Love You (2020)
Grieving parents journey through an emotional void as they mourn the loss of a child after a tragic school shooting.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & animation
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisThe Congress (2013)
An aging, out-of-work actress accepts one last job, though the consequences of her decision affect her in ways she didn't consider.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAinbo: Spirit of the Amazon (2021)
An epic journey of a young hero and her Spirit Guides, 'Dillo' a cute and humorous armadillo and "Vaca" a goofy oversized tapir, who embark on a quest to save their home in the spectacular Amazon Rainforest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCanvas (2020)
After a heartbreaking loss, a grandfather struggling to reclaim his passion for painting finds the inspiration to create again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Tale of the Floating World (2004)
A surrealistic montage set in motion by a tidal wave and incorporating a samurai battle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & drama
Newscaster/Dragon/Maggots (2013)
The surreal film Newscaster/Dragon/Maggots is a transmission of what lurks in between the channels. This is a rotoscoped piece of animation created from three randomly selected pieces of found footage. The foundation of this piece is based in mathematics, chance and montage editing measured in increments of triangular numbers. After the Formalist groundwork was laid, elements of Surrealism were employed to take the film beyond the initial framework of the metric and rhythmic editing process. The pixels were playfully manipulated and melded together into an entirely new form, backed by a noise composition set into place without regard for pacing, only duration. Music by legendary noise musician Merzbow.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy & animation
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
In 1960s Wyoming, two men develop a strong emotional and sexual relationship that endures as a lifelong connection complicating their lives as they get married and start families of their own.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNo End (1985)
1982, Poland. A translator loses her husband and becomes a victim of her own sorrow. She looks to sex, to her son, to law, and to hypnotism when she has nothing else in this time of martial law when Solidarity was banned.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAn Elephant Sitting Still (2018)
In the northern Chinese city of Manzhouli, they say there is an elephant that simply sits and ignores the world. Manzhouli becomes an obsession for the protagonists of this film, a longed-for escape from the downward spiral in which they find themselves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912)
A man recognizes the thief who had previously robbed him as one of the men involved in an unrelated mob shootout.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhost Train (2013)
Once a year, estranged brothers Michael and Peter make a reluctant pilgrimage to the old fairground yard where their friend Sam went missing when they were boys. Both men's' lives are colored by what happened the day their friend was sucked inside the Ghost Train, never to return. This year, Michael has something to tell Peter that will cast fresh light on the incident, something that will change their lives even more than that fateful day 30 years ago...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Journey of a Dying Wife (2011)
Why is it a crime for two people to be together? In the silence so profound that you could even hear the sound of falling snow, the man buried his wife alone. That was what his wife had wished for. When a loved one is dying, what can one do for them? 272 days, 6000 km—this is the true story of a couple's extraordinary love. December 2, 1999. A small article about the arrest of a man appeared on the social page of the newspaper. The charge was "abandonment resulting in death"—the crime of abandoning someone who needed assistance due to old age, childhood, physical disability, or illness, and causing their death. The man had been wandering around Japan for nine months with his wife, who had terminal cancer, in a van. In the fall of 2000, the monthly magazine "Shincho 45" published the memoir of the arrested man, Hisanori Shimizu, in two issues, which caused a great sensation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
12 (2009)
After blowing his professional ballet career, John's only way to redeem himself is to concoct the demise of his former partner, Leah, who he blames for his downfall; he rehearses his salvation in his mind in the way that he rehearses a dance, but being able to break from the routine will be the key to his success.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBehind the Scenes: I've Been Here Alone (2023)
Hasan (33), who works as a sales manager in a construction company, and his wife Farida (30) have not been able to have children for a long time. After a doctor's examination, Hasan learns that he is infertile. But Hasan, who is afraid of harming his masculinity, hides this information from his wife. At the insistence of Hasan's mother, who thinks that the problem is in Sevda, they go to a midwife who lives in a village for treatment.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Descendants?
The closest matches to Descendants are Waking Life (2001), DC Showcase: Death (2019) and Versa (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Descendants?
Start with Waking Life (2001), the closest match to Descendants.
What is the highest-rated movie like Descendants?
Primal: Tales of Savagery (2019), rated 8.4/10 by 372 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Descendants?
Versa (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Descendants?
Yes: Waking Life (2001), DC Showcase: Death (2019) and Versa (2025).
How are movies similar to Descendants chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Descendants, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.