Movies like Who Framed Santa Claus? (2021)
The best movies like Who Framed Santa Claus? (2021) are Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh (2008), Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 (2011) and Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special (1988). If Who Framed Santa Claus? hooked you with its comedy and family, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Apartment (1960)8.2/10 from 2,848 votes
- NewestWhen Mom Is Away... With the In-laws (2025)Released 2025
- In ItalianWhen Mom Is Away... With the In-laws (2025)Also in Italian
Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh (2008)
Step brothers Drake and Josh must give a foster family the best Christmas ever or face years in jail for a Christmas party gone wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeverly Hills Chihuahua 2 (2011)
Puppy mayhem turns the lives of newlywed Chihuahua parents Papi and Chloe upside down when their rambunctious, mischievous puppies present one challenge after another. But when their human owners end up in trouble, the tiny pups will stop at nothing to save them - because in good times and hard times, the family always sticks together. So Papi, Chloe and the puppies embark on a heroic adventure, proving once again that big heroes come in small packages.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
SnoozefestMovies like thisPee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special (1988)
Pee-wee Herman and pals are celebrating Christmas in the Playhouse in their own creative ways: Pee-wee makes a list for Santa Claus 1.5 miles long, teaches Little Richard how to ice skate, goes for a sleigh ride with Magic Johnson, enslaves Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello into making Christmas cards, receives a long phone call from Dinah Shore, even has more musical fun with k.d. lang, the Del Rubio Triplettes and Charo! Finally, Big Red arrives and announces that Pee-wee's Christmas list was so big, he didn't have enough presents for all the children of the world. Will Pee-wee follow his own advice and help others?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCandy Cane Lane (2023)
Determined to win the neighborhood's annual Christmas decorating contest, family man Chris makes a pact with an elf to help him out-do the competition. However, the elf casts a spell bringing the twelve days of Christmas to life, unleashing chaos on the small unsuspecting town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThunderstruck (2012)
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDolly Parton's Christmas on the Square (2020)
A rich and nasty woman returns to her hometown to evict everyone but discovers the true meaning of Christmas thanks to the local townsfolk – and an actual angel. Features 14 original songs with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
SnoozefestMovies like thisMixtape (2021)
On the eve of Y2K, orphaned 12-year-old Beverly discovers a broken mixtape crafted by her teen parents. Raised by her grandmother – who struggles talking about her late daughter – Beverly sees the mixtape as a chance to finally learn more about her parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhen Mom Is Away... With the In-laws (2025)
After the phenomenal success of the first two films, “When Mom is Away” and “When Mom is Away… With the Family,” the adventures of the Rovelli family continue! This time, they’re heading to Puglia, where their eldest daughter, Camilla, is moving to attend university with her boyfriend, Antonio.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSee Spot Run (2001)
A drug sniffing agent canine is a target for an assassin boss so the FBI calls Witness Protection to send him somewhere else. Meanwhile a single Mom puts her 6 year old boy James in the care of her irresponsible, mailman, neighbor, Gordon, when the babysitter bails on her. Meanwhile, an assassin mob boss hires 2 goons to kill Agent 11. But when 11 escapes from the van when they tried to kill him, he hides in Gordon's Mailtruck that James is in too. And guess what they name him. Spot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTo Grandmother's House We Go (1992)
When precocious twins Sarah and Julie feel like Mom is tired of them, they take off on an exciting adventure to their grandmother's house and encounter a pair of villains along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Flintstones Christmas Carol (1994)
Fred is cast as Ebenezer Scrooge in a stage adaption of the classic Christmas story, but is acting a bit stingy in real life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKristin's Christmas Past (2013)
Kristin, a cynical 34-year-old, drinks a mysterious champagne on Christmas Eve and wakes up seventeen years in the past, sharing a room with her 17-year-old self. Given the chance to change the worst Christmas of her life, she attempts to fix past mistakes, only to discover surprising truths about her family that may help her mend her present-day relationships.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Loud House Christmas (2021)
Lincoln Loud gears up for the ultimate Christmas, until he finds out that most of his sisters have plans to be elsewhere for the big day. Determined to remind his family that they all need to be together, Lincoln and his best friend Clyde McBride embark on a mission to preserve the family’s holiday traditions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBah, Humduck!: A Looney Tunes Christmas (2006)
In this adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Daffy Duck is the greedy proprietor of the Lucky Duck Mega-Mart and all he can think about is the money to be made during the holiday season.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Trailer Park Boys Xmas Special (2004)
In this holiday prequel, it’s 1997 and Sunnyvale Trailer Park is getting ready for the holiday season. Julian’s got a great idea to make money this Christmas, Ricky gets confused between God and Santa, and Bubbles tries to get the Boys together for an annual Christmas bonfire. Meanwhile, Mr. Lahey is thrilled because Christmas is the only day of the year that his wife Barb allows him to have a few drinks. Directed by series creator Mike Clattenburg, this hour-long special takes place before Jamie was J-Roc, before Randy and Lahey were a couple, and before the Shitmobile was missing a door.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisClick & Collect (2018)
To save his daughter's Christmas, Andrew goes on a road trip with Dev, his neighbour from hell, to buy an elusive Sparklehoof the Unicorn Princess.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMagic Stocking (2015)
A young widow finds a tattered old Christmas stocking at a Holiday craft sale, but is skeptical of its magic when it seems to create small trinkets on its own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Bad Moms Christmas (2017)
Amy, Kiki and Carla – three under-appreciated and over-burdened women – rebel against the challenges and expectations of the Super Bowl for mothers: Christmas. And if creating a more perfect holiday for their families wasn’t hard enough, they have to do all of that while hosting and entertaining their own mothers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like this29th Street (1991)
After winning $6.2 million in the 1976 New York State Lottery, he is arrested for throwing rocks at a church. He then tells his story at the police station.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Santa Claus Gang (2010)
On Christmas Eve, three friends dressed as Santa Claus are arrested in what looks like an attempted burglary and charged with being the infamous "Santa Claus Gang". While trying to prove their innocence to the police, the trio explains why they found themselves in such a strange situation...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNoelle (2019)
Kris Kringle's daughter, Noelle, sets off on a mission to find and bring back her brother, after he gets cold feet when it's his turn to take over as Santa.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMickey Saves Christmas (2022)
Mickey, Minnie and their pals attempt to celebrate the perfect Christmas at their snowy cabin. However, when Pluto causes Santa to lose all the presents on his sleigh, the friends travel to the North Pole on a quest to save Christmas.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisElfette Saves Christmas (2019)
Elfette has to save the day when Santa Claus is kidnapped by the mafia, who try to take over Christmas.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & family
Elf (2003)
When young Buddy falls into Santa's gift sack on Christmas Eve, he's transported back to the North Pole and raised as a toy-making elf by Santa's helpers. But as he grows into adulthood, he can't shake the nagging feeling that he doesn't belong. Buddy vows to visit Manhattan and find his real dad, a workaholic.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
The Grinch decides to rob Whoville of Christmas - but a dash of kindness from little Cindy Lou Who and her family may be enough to melt his heart...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll I Didn't Want for Christmas (2022)
Emily Harris is not doing great. In a desperate attempt to improve her life and make this Christmas not totally suck, Emily writes a letter to Santa. Fortunately, and unfortunately, her wine-soaked wishes start coming true.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Christmas Telethon (2024)
Local TV channel news anchors Nick Roberts and Kelly Snow host the absolute worst holiday telethon to save the network from bankruptcy. The worst talent, the worst acts, a doofus crew, a narcissist weatherman, and its over-the-top station owner, Jon Sampson, create a perfect holiday storm in this Christmas Eve cavalcade comedy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
The Apartment (1960)
Bud Baxter is a minor clerk in a huge New York insurance company, until he discovers a quick way to climb the corporate ladder. He lends out his apartment to the executives as a place to take their mistresses. Although he often has to deal with the aftermath of their visits, one night he's left with a major problem to solve.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLove Actually (2003)
Eight very different couples deal with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLooking for Her (2022)
Taylor is headed home for the holidays and her family is finally ready to meet her girlfriend "Jess". The only problem is, Jess isn't really her girlfriend. Taylor holds open auditions for someone to play the part for the holidays.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Like Who Framed Santa Claus? and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Who Framed Santa Claus??
The closest matches to Who Framed Santa Claus? are Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh (2008), Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 (2011) and Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special (1988). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Who Framed Santa Claus??
Start with Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh (2008), the closest match to Who Framed Santa Claus?.
What is the highest-rated movie like Who Framed Santa Claus??
The Apartment (1960), rated 8.2/10 by 2,848 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Who Framed Santa Claus??
When Mom Is Away... With the In-laws (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Italian movies like Who Framed Santa Claus??
Yes: When Mom Is Away... With the In-laws (2025) and The Santa Claus Gang (2010).
How are movies similar to Who Framed Santa Claus? chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Who Framed Santa Claus?, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.