Movies like The Simple Things (1953)
The best movies like The Simple Things (1953) are Goofy and Wilbur (1939), Bird Karma (2018) and The Big Bad Wolf (1934). If The Simple Things hooked you with its animation and comedy, 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
- NewestSunday Driver (2024)Released 2024
Goofy and Wilbur (1939)
Goofy goes fishing with his best friend, Wilbur, a grasshopper.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBird Karma (2018)
A tale of a long-legged bird's journey of blissful joy, inescapable greed and the accidental discovery of the consequences when too much is not enough.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
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 & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYe Olden Days (1933)
The princess is to wed the Prince against her wishes. When she refuses, the king locks her in the tower. Minstrel Mickey sees her and rescues her, making a rope from the clothes of lady-in-waiting Clarabell. The king spots them and prepares to chop off Mickey's head until Minnie intercedes. The king calls for a joust. Mickey wins and they live happily ever after.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ugly Duckling (1939)
An outcast duckling's search for a family to accept him leads to constant rejection before learning his true identity as a swan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShark Tale (2004)
Oscar is a small fish whose big aspirations often get him into trouble. Meanwhile, Lenny is a great white shark with a surprising secret that no sea creature would guess: He's a vegetarian. When a lie turns Oscar into an improbable hero and Lenny becomes an outcast, the two form an unlikely friendship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSteamboat Willie (1928)
Mickey Mouse, piloting a steamboat, delights his passenger, Minnie Mouse, by making musical instruments out of the menagerie on deck.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHawaiian Holiday (1937)
Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto experience all that Hawaii has to offer. Donald tries hula dancing, Pluto explores the beach and Goofy takes up surfing!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrazy Over Daisy (1950)
It's the 1890s, and Donald is riding his penny-farthing bicycle to see Daisy when Chip 'n Dale make fun of him. It quickly escalates into a full-fledged war between Donald and the chipmunks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Wise Little Hen (1934)
Join Donald Duck in his debut in the classic animated short The Wise Little Hen. The Little Hen is planting corn and would like to have help from Peter Pig and Donald Duck, but they refuse stating they each have a "tummy ache." When it comes time to harvest the corn, Peter Pig and Donald still refuse to help the Hen, so she and her chicks do the harvest by themselves. Finally, the hen cooks the corn and offers some to Donald and Peter Pig, but when they look more carefully they discover a surprise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrail Mix-Up (1993)
During a picnic, Baby Herman follows a beaver into a perilous sawmill - with Roger Rabbit in frantic pursuit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWelcome to the Club (2022)
Heart set on becoming a princess, Lisa Simpson is surprised to learn being bad might be more fun.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGone Fishing (2017)
On Motunui, Maui tries to catch a fish with his magical fishhook, only to be comically foiled by the ocean.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBanana (2010)
The Minions fight over a delicious banana... but is that all they want?!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse: Steamboat Silly (2023)
Mickey and gang must stop hundreds of old film reel versions of Mickey from wreaking havoc all over town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Gruffalo (2009)
The magical tale of a mouse who sets foot on a woodland adventure in search of a nut. Encountering predators who all wish to eat him - Fox, Owl and Snake - the brave mouse creates a terrifying, imaginary monster to frighten them away. But what will the mouse do when he meets this frightful monster for real?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Snail and the Whale (2020)
A half hour animated film for all the family based on the much-loved book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. The Snail and the Whale is the much loved classic that shows us a restless young snail who has ambitions to travel the world. The other snails think she should stay put, but she puts out a call for a “Lift wanted around the world”. Eventually her call is answered by a great big grey-blue humpback whale! She sets off with him across the seas. On their journey the snail and the whale discover towering icebergs and far-off lands, fiery mountains and golden sands. The snail is delighted by the wonderful world around her, until she realises how small it makes her feel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Absolute CinemaMovies like thiscomputer.don (2000)
Computer.don is an animated short starring Donald Duck from Mickey Mouse Works and House of Mouse. Plot: A technologically behind-the-times Donald is coerced by Daisy into buying a computer, or be labeled a "dweeb."
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & comedy
Asterix vs. Caesar (1985)
Obelix falls for a new arrival in his home village in Gaul, but is heartbroken when her true love arrives to visit her. However, the lovers are kidnapped by Romans; Asterix and Obelix set out to rescue them on a dangerous journey that will involve gladiators, slavers and beauracracy - and a personal encounter with the Emperor himself, Julius Caesar...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSunday Driver (2024)
Bazza's late for the match again, but he's confident he'll get there in time...until he bumps into the Sunday drivers...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Anthony (2014)
Christmas Eve. An enormous explosion tears through Lapland. Santa and his elf, Anthony, have crash-landed in the middle of nowhere on their busiest night.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
The Fog From London (1992)
Little Fox found a bottle of fog in the forest. For his release from the magic vessel, the Fog from London promised to fulfill any wish of the Little Fox.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Head (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
Gone Fishin' (1997)
Two fishing fanatics get in trouble when their fishing boat gets stolen while on a trip.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe 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
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Simple Things?
The closest matches to The Simple Things are Goofy and Wilbur (1939), Bird Karma (2018) and The Big Bad Wolf (1934). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Simple Things?
Start with Goofy and Wilbur (1939), the closest match to The Simple Things.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Simple Things?
Piper (2016), rated 8.1/10 by 1,791 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Simple Things?
Sunday Driver (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Simple Things?
Yes: Goofy and Wilbur (1939), Bird Karma (2018) and The Big Bad Wolf (1934).
How are movies similar to The Simple Things chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Simple Things, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.