Movies like Happy Birthday (2016)
The best movies like Happy Birthday (2016) are Sneakerella (2022), Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You (1999) and The Nutcracker Prince (1990). If Happy Birthday hooked you with its family, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFar from the Tree (2021)8.1/10 from 395 votes
- NewestNoah's Ark (2024)Released 2024
Sneakerella (2022)
When El, an aspiring sneaker designer from Queens, meets Kira King, the fiercely independent daughter of legendary basketball star and sneaker tycoon Darius King, sparks fly as the two bond over their mutual affinity for sneakers. With a little nudge from his best friend and a sprinkle of Fairy Godfather magic, El finds the courage to use his talent to pursue his dream of becoming a ‘legit’ sneaker designer in the industry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
SnoozefestMovies like thisWinnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You (1999)
After Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Rabbit see Christopher Robin making a valentine for -- gasp! -- a girl, they find he's been bitten by a "Smitten" and is lovesick! Worried that he'll no longer have time for them, and hoping a second bite from the love bug will cure him, they set out on a wild adventure to capture the Smitten. This wonderful story, filled with magic and whimsy, and sweetened with three new songs, reminds us all that the heart is big and always has plenty of room for friends -- old and new.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Nutcracker Prince (1990)
After young Clara receives a wooden nutcracker as a Christmas gift, she dreams about a fantastical battle between her Nutcracker Prince and the evil Mouse King. At stake is the Nutcracker's freedom - and Clara's future happiness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLet It Shine (2012)
A teenage rapper must use his musical talent to help a friend and win the girl of his dreams while overcoming self-doubt and the expectations of his strict religious parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNoah's Ark (2024)
A pair of mice attempt to board Noah's Ark: Vini, a charismatic poet with terrible stage fright, and Tito, a talented and charming guitarist. When the rains come, only one male and one female of each species is allowed on Noah's Ark. With the help of an ingenious cockroach and fate's good luck, Vini and Tito sneak their way onto the Ark and together avert a showdown among the ships carnivores and plant eaters. All the while, the animals perform a series of classic songs inspired by world renowned poet, Vinicius de Moraes. Can these talented stowaways use music to break the tension and help these cooped up creatures survive the 40 days and 40 nights together?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMake Mine Music (1946)
In the tradition of Fantasia, Make Mine Music is a glorious collection of musically charged animated shorts featuring such fun-filled favorites as "Peter and the Wolf", narrated by the beloved voice behind Winnie the Pooh. In addition you'll enjoy such classic cartoon hits as "Casey at the Bat," "The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met" and "Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
SnoozefestMovies 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 family
SnoozefestMovies like thisRocko's Modern Life: Static Cling (2019)
After 20 years in space, Rocko returns to a technologically advanced O-Town and makes it his mission to get his favorite show back on the air.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeparture (2016)
An English mother and her teenage son spend a week preparing the sale of their remote holiday house in the South of France. Fifteen-year-old Elliot struggles with his dawning sexuality and an increasing alienation from his mother, Beatrice. She in turn is confronted by the realisation that her marriage to his father, Philip, has grown loveless and the life she knows is coming to an end. When an enigmatic local teenager, Clément, quietly enters their lives, both mother and son are compelled to confront their desires and, finally, each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFar from the Tree (2021)
On an idyllic beach in the Pacific Northwest, curiosity gets the better of a young raccoon whose frustrated parent attempts to keep them both safe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Absolute CinemaMovies like this12 Gifts of Christmas (2015)
When Anna Parisi, an unemployed fine arts painter, is unable to make ends meet, she is hired to become a personal Christmas shopper for Marc, an uptight corporate exec. As they begin working together, Marc learns that Christmas giving has less to do with the amount of money spent and more to do with the importance of the gift, while Anna discovers she might find success as an artist in a way she never expected. The best gift of all of course is the love they discover with one another.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Don't Co$t a Thing (2003)
A high school outcast pays a cheerleader to pose as his girlfriend so he can be considered cool.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Nutcracker (1993)
On Christmas Eve, a little girl named Marie falls asleep and dreams herself into a fantastic world in which her toys become larger than life. She meets up with the Nutcracker Prince who takes her on a journey to his kingdom and defends her from the Mouse King.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
SnoozefestMovies like thisPAW Patrol: Jet to the Rescue (2020)
A royal relative steals a gem with the power to make things fly, the Paw Patrol takes to the skies to stop him and save Barkingburg.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLet It Snow (2013)
A resort executive is sent to a newly purchased lodge in Maine with instructions to turn it in to an ultra-modern resort, and finds a charming, successful lodge loaded with holiday spirit. Will she stick with her boss’s plans to tear everything down or find a way to save what she has come to love? Stars Candace Cameron-Bure and Alan Thicke.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMerry 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 family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRecess: All Growed Down (2003)
T.J. and The Recess Gang are kidnapped by the Third Street School's kindergartners, who are in turn being bullied by a new kid in their class.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Trash Truck Christmas (2020)
When Santa crash-lands in the junkyard on Christmas Eve, Hank, Trash Truck and their animal friends all have a hand in rescuing the holiday for everyone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMickey's Tale of Two Witches (2021)
On Halloween, Mickey tells a tale of two witches-in-training, Minnie and Daisy, who must pass four tests to graduate from the With Academy in Happy Haunt Hills.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHappy New Year, Charlie Brown (1986)
It's the night of Peppermint Patty’s New Year’s Eve bash, but Charlie Brown has to write a book report about War and Peace. Hoping to join the fun for a special dance with the Little Red-Haired Girl, he tries desperately to finish in time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeritage (2017)
Noam, a young gay man, discovers that his father, who just died, had a secret affair with a married man. He follows and meets that man. He now holds his father’s secret.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Nobody Loves Me (1994)
On the brink of her 30th birthday, Fanny feels the door to marital happiness closing on her. She is obsessed with death and even visits evening classes on dying, so it seems fitting that she encounters a skeleton in the malfunctioning elevator of her apartment building. The skeleton is her neighbour Orfeo, a Black, gay, self-declared psychic, who convinces her that she is about to meet "him". But is it really Lothar, the new yuppie apartment manager ...?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Body of Angels (2016)
Remi throws himself on the ground, listens to birds and falls asleep in hedges. Gabriel opens his stomach to the tip of a knife. They meet.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Remarkable Shades of Gay (2015)
Remarkable Shades of Gay is a compilation of 9 short films shot by award winning LGBTQ director William Branden Blinn between 2008 and 2014. Included in the compilation are Thirteen or So Minutes... (2008); Chased (2009); Never or Now (2013); Without a Mom (2011); Triple Standard (2010); Toeing the Line (2013); À la carte (2013); Truth or Dare (2014); and He She We (2010).
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
The Invisible Thread (2022)
The teenage son of two fathers makes a documentary film about his parents but is surprised when a real-life plot twist occurs in his family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCold Fears (2017)
Matt, a 18-year-old (senior) boy, is in a relationship with a girl in his class, but realizes that something is not right. After a while he realizes that he finds his swimming partner Lander more interesting than his girlfriend Lize. These feelings make Matt feel different. He no longer knows how to stay with himself, especially when his father teases him more and more about the fact that he still hasn't slept with Lize. In the end, Matt chooses to take steps for his own happiness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Ready? OK! (2008)
When 10-year-old Joshua (Lurie Poston) decides to join the cheerleading squad at his Catholic school, he faces an uphill battle -- and opposition from his single mom, Andy (Carrie Preston), who struggles to understand her Hollywood musical- and pom-pom-loving son. With the help of sympathetic neighbor Charlie (Michael Emerson), Andy attempts to embrace her son for who he is, not who she wants him to be. James Vasquez directs this touching comedy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Sebastián (2014)
Sebastian returns to his hometown to take care of his mother after her sudden illness. While there, he struggles to come to terms with his past and the close-minded people in this town.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
The Son (2012)
Pedro is a 17 years old boy who attends high school as all the boys do. In the afternoon he and his friends mess around. What Pedro loves the most is his mother's lentil soup.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Wrestling (2007)
A love story about two gay wrestlers living in rural Iceland who must keep their relationship a secret from the inner world of Iceland's national and very macho sport.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Like Happy Birthday and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Happy Birthday?
The closest matches to Happy Birthday are Sneakerella (2022), Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You (1999) and The Nutcracker Prince (1990). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Happy Birthday?
Start with Sneakerella (2022), the closest match to Happy Birthday.
What is the highest-rated movie like Happy Birthday?
Far from the Tree (2021), rated 8.1/10 by 395 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Happy Birthday?
Noah's Ark (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Happy Birthday chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Happy Birthday, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.