Movies like In the Back of the Garden (2019)
The best movies like In the Back of the Garden (2019) are The Little Matchgirl (2006), How Sarah Got Her Wings (2015) and FairyTale: A True Story (1997). If In the Back of the Garden hooked you with its drama and fantasy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHow to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming (2019)8.0/10 from 1,156 votes
- NewestThose Who Never Left (2025)Released 2025
The Little Matchgirl (2006)
An animated short based on Hans Christian Andersen's tale about a poor young girl with a burning desire to find comfort and happiness in her life. Desperate to keep warm, the girl lights the matches she sells, and envisions a very different life for herself in the fiery flames filled with images of loving relatives, bountiful food, and a place to call home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHow Sarah Got Her Wings (2015)
Good Samaritan Sarah Fitzpatrick has a fatal accident just before Christmas, and finds herself in the lobby before the gates of Heaven. Certain that she will be let in, she is shocked to find that her name is not on the reservation list. However, she is granted the chance to return to Earth as an "angel in training" with the requirement to help a soul in need. Sarah has the 12 days before Christmas to secure her place on the list leaving her in the race for her after-life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisFairyTale: A True Story (1997)
In 1917, two children take a photograph, which is soon believed by some to be the first scientific evidence of the existence of fairies. Based on the true story of the Cottingley Fairies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming (2019)
It's been ten years since the dragons moved to the Hidden World, and even though Toothless doesn't live in New Berk anymore, Hiccup continues the holiday traditions he once shared with his best friend. But the Vikings of New Berk were beginning to forget about their friendship with dragons. Hiccup, Astrid, and Gobber know just what to do to keep the dragons in the villagers' hearts. And across the sea, the dragons have a plan of their own...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisZog (2018)
Zog is a keen young dragon who wants to learn to fly, roar, and breathe fire, so he studies at the Dragon School. He is desperate to impress his teacher and win a golden star, but he is prone to accidents and he has to be helped by a kind young girl who patches up his bumps and bruises.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSofia the First: Once Upon a Princess (2012)
Set in the storybook world of Enchancia, the music-filled movie follows Sofia, an average girl whose life suddenly changes when her mother marries the king and she is whisked off to live in a castle with her mom, new step-father, King Roland II, and step-siblings, Amber and James. Along the way this ordinary girl learns to navigate the extraordinary life of royalty, and in the process makes everyone around her feel special.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both 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 fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMonster High: Haunted (2015)
Lurk what's waiting for the Monster High ghouls when they bring their killer fashion to the howlways of the spooktacular Haunted High! When the ghouls of Monster High follow Spectra Vondergeist one day, they discover a creeperiffic Ghost World with an all-spirit school. But their scary-cute student bodies are hardly welcome with the very strict Principal Revenant, and she punishes Spectra with frightful detention chains that prevent her from re-joining Monster High. Now, it's up to the imperfectly perfect friends to take on ghostly forms in order to save one of their own from disappearing forever!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUnder the Sea: A Descendants Story (2018)
Mal emerges from the shadows of a mystical forest onto a dark coastline where she crosses paths with Dizzy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Academy of Magic (2020)
Aura is gifted with magical abilities; she and her friends have many exciting adventures at the academy, but soon Aura learns that the school hatches many dark secrets that she must uncover. Will she be able to unveil the truth?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDisney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams (2007)
Princess Aurora and Princess Jasmine learn valuable life lessons in two short stories.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDestino (2003)
Short film to a song of love lost and rediscovered, a woman sees and undergoes surreal transformations. Her lover's face melts off, she dons a dress from the shadow of a bell and becomes a dandelion, ants crawl out of a hand and become Frenchmen riding bicycles. Not to mention the turtles with faces on their backs that collide to form a ballerina, or the bizarre baseball game.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Tooth Fairy Tale (2025)
Van, the brave son of a tooth fairy leader, meets the goblins girl Gemma on his first mission. Despite the myths about ancient disputes between fairies and goblins, they share common values. When the greedy Spider Queen threatens both tribes, they must work together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisA Fairy Tale After All (2022)
A stubborn teenage girl finds herself confronted by whimsical characters when she is transported into a world of fantasy and fairy tales while attending a school marionette show.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisElena and the Secret of Avalor (2016)
In the Kingdom of Avalor, Elena takes Naomi up a mountain to show her favorite view of the kingdom. Elena laments to Naomi how she was trapped in the Amulet of Avalor for forty-one years, and then presents to her a broken wand. She tells her that it was Shuriki's wand and how she would still be trapped in the Amulet if it was not for a brave young Princess: Sofia. Elena then proceeds to tell Naomi the whole story ...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Gruffalo's Child (2011)
A follow up to the 2009 animated feature and adapted from the childrens' book by Julia Donaldson and Alex Scheffler. The Gruffalo's child explores the deep dark wood in search of the big bad mouse and meets the Snake, Owl and Fox in the process. She eventually finds the mouse, who manages to outwit her like the Gruffalo before!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both 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 fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonster High: Scaris City of Frights (2013)
The Monstruitas of Monster High are obsessed with going to Scaris, The City of Frights for Fashion international competition where the winner will become the apprentice of the world famous Madame Ghostier designer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Corner in Wheat (1909)
On a whim, a greedy tycoon decides to corner the world market in wheat. This doubles the price of bread, forcing grain producers into charity lines and others further into poverty. The film contrasts the differences between the lives of those who work to grow the wheat and the life of the man who dabbles in its sale for profit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrep & Landing Stocking Stuffer: Operation: Secret Santa (2010)
Wayne and Lanny, now partners, are called by Magee to meet with a secret contact – Mrs. Claus, who sends them on a new mission to retrieve a box from Santa’s secret workshop. Later they sneak into Santa’s office while he is asleep, using their high tech equipment from the previous film. Lanny’s expertise at dressing the tree enables them to enter the hidden workshop where they recover the box and escape just in time. But what is the box for?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaydreaming So Vividly About Our Spanish Holidays (2022)
Hungry for sun, light and warmth, a group of teenagers embark on a dream trip to the Balearic Islands.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & fantasy
Indústrias Reunidas Machiavelli (2019)
Agripino and Sandoval roam around their workplace, Machiavelli Incorporated, a venture which they plan to expand whatever the costs.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Piss (2010)
Kurtis Conner and his friends embark on a pissy adventure through the piss forest to find Prague and Lucifer to see how particular he actually is about his cheese.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Annalyn (2012)
Agnes is not satisfied with her life. She wants a change, but her relationship with her single parent father and dominant girlfriend inhibit her to do something about it. When the father introduces his new wife, Annalyn, everything changes. The same-aged Filipino stepmother helps Agnes see a new path. Soon emerges something that no one could have foreseen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Three Wishes for Cinderella (1973)
Popelka, a resourceful and independent young girl, is a servant in her stepmother's house and confides in her closest friend the owl. When she comes across three magical acorns, she's granted a single wish for each one of them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAn Arabian Night (2020)
Spending his last night as a civilian in his dream-like local tennis club, Michael, a young British soldier confronts a glimpse of the near future waiting for him on the other side of the night.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Those Who Never Left (2025)
Two years after the Beirut blast, a girl continually revisits the last night she spent with her family in their home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Boy Who Couldn’t Feel Pain (2022)
The Boy Who Couldn't Feel Pain is set in Grants, New Mexico and tells the fictional small-town legend of Chester, a street fighter who can't feel any pain. When Annie, a bowling alley employee who just moved into town challenges him for a fight, things begin to change.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Here (2025)
In East Riding, Yorkshire, seventeen-year-old Kaden reluctantly takes a job at the local strawberry field over the Summer. A quiet introvert, Kaden doesn’t fit in with the other farmhands, who are all older, and more experienced, and treat him with contempt. It is here he encounters Lucas, an aloof eighteen-year-old who has worked at the farm for several Summers now. Underneath his initial indifference, Lucas hides a deeper curiosity for Kaden. Desires disentangle in this new, uninhibited, and sun-drenched environment, as the two boys tentatively begin to explore their feelings towards one another in secret, a kinship that forces them to confront their own internalized homophobia, shame, and sense of belonging.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Lamb (2002)
A poor father lives with his blind son, dog and sheep. When he can't find any food, he is forced to make a hard decision.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like In the Back of the Garden?
The closest matches to In the Back of the Garden are The Little Matchgirl (2006), How Sarah Got Her Wings (2015) and FairyTale: A True Story (1997). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after In the Back of the Garden?
Start with The Little Matchgirl (2006), the closest match to In the Back of the Garden.
What is the highest-rated movie like In the Back of the Garden?
How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming (2019), rated 8.0/10 by 1,156 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like In the Back of the Garden?
Those Who Never Left (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like In the Back of the Garden?
Yes: The Little Matchgirl (2006), How Sarah Got Her Wings (2015) and FairyTale: A True Story (1997).
How are movies similar to In the Back of the Garden chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside In the Back of the Garden, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.