Movies like Strange Birds (2017)
The best movies like Strange Birds (2017) are Going My Way (1944), Fat Kid Rules The World (2012) and The Flying Classroom (2003). If Strange Birds hooked you with its drama and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Chorus (2004)7.7/10 from 2,696 votes
- NewestThe Choral (2025)Released 2025
- In GermanThe Flying Classroom (2003)Also in German
Going My Way (1944)
Youthful Father Chuck O'Malley led a colorful life of sports, song, and romance before joining the Roman Catholic clergy. After being appointed to a run-down New York parish, O'Malley's worldly knowledge helps him connect with a gang of boys looking for direction, eventually winning over the aging, conventional Parish priest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFat Kid Rules The World (2012)
A dropout comes to the aid of a chubby and suicidal high-school kid by recruiting him as the drummer for his upstart punk-rock band.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Flying Classroom (2003)
A boy who was once a perpetual outcast finds friends in a new boarding school. United with his new peers, he gets involved in a heated rivalry with a group of students from a neighboring school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlmost Friends (2017)
A man in his mid-20s, still living at home with his mother and stepfather, puts all his eggs in one basket: the girl who works at his local coffee shop. The problem is, she has a serious boyfriend. As they become closer, the line between friendship and intimacy is blurred, and the situation forces both to examine where they are in their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrace of My Heart (1996)
Philadelphia teenager Edna Buxton wins a talent contest during the early rock 'n' roll era, changes her name to Denise Waverly and moves to New York City to make it big. Though she flops as a recording artist, fast-talking record producer Joel Millner recognizes her songwriting talent and teams her with struggling songsmith Howard Caszatt.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Own Love Song (2010)
A wheelchair-bound singer and her best friend embark on a roadtrip to Memphis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSmall Apartments (2012)
When a clumsy deadbeat accidentally kills his landlord, he must do everything in his power to hide the body, only to find that the distractions of lust, the death of his beloved brother, and a crew of misfit characters force him on a journey where a fortune awaits him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Choral (2025)
As World War I rages on, Dr Henry Guthrie takes over a British choral society that's lost most of its men to the army. The community soon discovers that the best response to the chaos of war is to make beautiful music together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDon't Think Twice (2016)
An improv group deals with several crises, including the loss of their lease and one member hitting the big time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFeel the Beat (2020)
After failing to make it on Broadway, April returns to her hometown and reluctantly begins training a misfit group of young dancers for a competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTreasure (2024)
A music journalist accompanies her father, a charmingly stubborn Holocaust survivor, on a journey to his homeland. While she's eager to make sense of her family's past, her dad has an agenda of his own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChloe and Theo (2015)
A young woman, Chloe, living by her wits on the streets of New York City, has a chance meeting with a wise Inuit Eskimo, Theo, who was sent to New York by his elders to provide a message to the people of the world – We either change our destructive was or be destroyed by them. Chloe, who has been searching for something to believe in, becomes inspired by Theo and , with the help of a kind lawyer, Monica, the three of them present Theo’s story to the United Nations in hopes of creating a better future for all of us.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe House of Tomorrow (2019)
The film tells futurist, architect, and inventor R. Buckminster Fuller's incredible story through two teens hoping to get laid, become punk gods, and survive high school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl with Nine Wigs (2013)
The true story of a young woman whose lust for life means she is determined to be so very much more than just another cancer patient.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFamily Weekend (2013)
A 16-year-old girl takes her parents hostage after they miss her big jump-roping competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSometimes Always Never (2019)
Alan is a stylish tailor with moves as sharp as his suits. He has spent years searching tirelessly for his missing son Michael who stormed out over a game of Scrabble. With a body to identify and his family torn apart, Alan must repair the relationship with his youngest son and solve the mystery of an online player who he thinks could be Michael, so he can finally move on and reunite his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattle of the Year (2013)
A down-on-his-luck coach is hired to prepare a team of the best American dancers for an international tournament that attracts all the best crews from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRogue Agent (2022)
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCadet Kelly (2002)
Hyperactive teenager Kelly is enrolled into a military school when her new stepfather becomes the Commandant. At first she has problems fitting in and taking orders until she tries out for the drill team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHoney: Rise Up and Dance (2018)
Street dancer Skyler comes out of the shadow of her trained dancer sister, Tosha, & joins a dance competition with the Honey dance studio; the prize is a college scholarship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOf Kisses and Capes (2023)
Isi and Finn are planning their first time together. This becomes a complicated undertaking, not only because of their physical disabilities and it threatens to derail their relationship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
The Merger (2018)
A country football coach who has a plan to rebuild the local football team by recruiting recently settled asylum seekers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
The Chorus (2004)
In 1940s France, a new teacher at a school for disruptive boys gives hope and inspiration.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAs It Is in Heaven (2004)
A musical romantic tragedy about a famous composer who moves back to his small hometown after having had heart troubles. His search for a simple everyday life leads him into teaching the local church choir, which is not easily accepted by the town yet the choir builds a great love for their teacher.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHeaven on Earth (2015)
A life-affirming story about how the power of love, music and dance can change people. This is a standalone sequel to "As it is in Heaven".
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Ritardando (2024)
At a music academy, veteran Professor Victor faces challenges as he prepares to conduct his final concert with a choir of children who lack passion for music. The arrival of the academy director complicates matters, and Victor learns of his dismissal just before the performance. Determined to overcome adversity, Victor, with the help of former student Angelica and the child Albert, manages to lead the choir to a heartfelt performance, rekindling their connection with music.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
It Is Well (2025)
A choir member overcomes loss through the power of music.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Burmese Harp (1956)
In Burma during the closing days of WWII, a Japanese soldier separated from his unit disguises himself as a Buddhist monk to escape imprisonment as a POW.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSteal Away (TBA)
An HBCU warrior choir fights the Ku Klux Klan's reign of terror against their schools with songs of faith and freedom, and after conquering the world must then conquer their own demons.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Christmas Choir (2008)
A chance encounter with a homeless man named Bob inspires a workaholic accountant to start a choir at a homeless shelter, allowing him to find a purpose to his life and discover the power of music, while providing the choir members with a chance at a new, better life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Strange Birds?
The closest matches to Strange Birds are Going My Way (1944), Fat Kid Rules The World (2012) and The Flying Classroom (2003). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Strange Birds?
Start with Going My Way (1944), the closest match to Strange Birds.
What is the highest-rated movie like Strange Birds?
The Chorus (2004), rated 7.7/10 by 2,696 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Strange Birds?
The Choral (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there German movies like Strange Birds?
Yes: The Flying Classroom (2003), The Girl with Nine Wigs (2013) and Of Kisses and Capes (2023).
How are movies similar to Strange Birds chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Strange Birds, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.