Movies like Lightyear (2022)
The best movies like Lightyear (2022) are Monsters vs Aliens (2009), Transformers One (2024) and Planet 51 (2009). If Lightyear hooked you with its animation and science fiction, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWALL·E (2008)8.1/10 from 21,162 votes
- NewestJurassic World Rebirth (2025)Released 2025
Monsters vs Aliens (2009)
When Susan Murphy is unwittingly clobbered by a meteor full of outer space gunk on her wedding day, she mysteriously grows to 49-feet-11-inches. The military jumps into action and captures Susan, secreting her away to a covert government compound. She is renamed Ginormica and placed in confinement with a ragtag group of Monsters...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTransformers One (2024)
The untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, better known as sworn enemies, but once were friends bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisPlanet 51 (2009)
When Earth astronaut Capt. Chuck Baker arrives on Planet 51 -- a world reminiscent of American suburbia circa 1950 -- he tries to avoid capture, recover his spaceship and make it home safely, all with the help of an empathetic little green being.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & family
SnoozefestMovies like thisElio (2025)
Elio, a space fanatic with an active imagination, finds himself on a cosmic misadventure where he must form new bonds with eccentric alien lifeforms, navigate a crisis of intergalactic proportions and somehow discover who he is truly meant to be.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMeet the Robinsons (2007)
Lewis, a brilliant young inventor, is keen on creating a time machine to find his mother, who abandoned him in an orphanage. Things take a turn when he meets Wilbur Robinson and his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHome (2015)
When Earth is taken over by the overly-confident Boov, an alien race in search of a new place to call home, all humans are promptly relocated, while all Boov get busy reorganizing the planet. But when one resourceful girl, Tip, manages to avoid capture, she finds herself the accidental accomplice of a banished Boov named Oh. The two fugitives realize there’s a lot more at stake than intergalactic relations as they embark on the road trip of a lifetime.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIce Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)
Times are changing for Manny the moody mammoth, Sid the motor mouthed sloth and Diego the crafty saber-toothed tiger. Life heats up for our heroes when they meet some new and none-too-friendly neighbors – the mighty dinosaurs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Croods: A New Age (2020)
Searching for a safer habitat, the prehistoric Crood family discovers an idyllic, walled-in paradise that meets all of its needs. Unfortunately, they must also learn to live with the Bettermans -- a family that's a couple of steps above the Croods on the evolutionary ladder. As tensions between the new neighbors start to rise, a new threat soon propels both clans on an epic adventure that forces them to embrace their differences, draw strength from one another, and survive together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMinions: The Rise of Gru (2022)
A fanboy of a supervillain supergroup known as the Vicious 6, Gru hatches a plan to become evil enough to join them, with the backup of his followers, the Minions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWALL·E (2008)
After hundreds of years doing what he was built for, WALL•E— a robot designed to clean up the earth—discovers a new purpose in life when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. EVE comes to realize that WALL•E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet's future, and races back to space to report to the humans. Meanwhile, WALL•E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets into motion one of the most imaginative adventures ever brought to the big screen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSpies in Disguise (2019)
Super spy Lance Sterling and scientist Walter Beckett are almost exact opposites. Lance is smooth, suave and debonair. Walter is… not. But what Walter lacks in social skills he makes up for in smarts and invention, creating the awesome gadgets Lance uses on his epic missions. But when events take an unexpected turn, Walter and Lance suddenly have to rely on each other in a whole new way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMegamind (2010)
After Megamind, a highly intelligent alien supervillain, defeats his long-time nemesis Metro Man, Megamind creates a new hero to fight, but must act to save the city when his "creation" becomes an even worse villain than he was.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIce Age: Continental Drift (2012)
Manny, Diego, and Sid embark upon another adventure after their continent is set adrift. Using an iceberg as a ship, they encounter sea creatures and battle pirates as they explore a new world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMinions (2015)
Minions Stuart, Kevin and Bob are recruited by Scarlet Overkill, a super-villain who, alongside her inventor husband Herb, hatches a plot to take over the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDespicable Me 4 (2024)
Gru and Lucy and their girls—Margo, Edith and Agnes—welcome a new member to the Gru family, Gru Jr., who is intent on tormenting his dad. Gru also faces a new nemesis in Maxime Le Mal and his femme fatale girlfriend Valentina, forcing the family to go on the run.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRise of the Guardians (2012)
When an evil spirit known as Pitch Black lays down the gauntlet to take over the world, the immortal Guardians must join forces for the first time to protect the hopes, beliefs and imagination of children all over the earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInside Out 2 (2024)
Teenager Riley's mind headquarters is undergoing a sudden demolition to make room for something entirely unexpected: new Emotions! Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust, who’ve long been running a successful operation by all accounts, aren’t sure how to feel when Anxiety shows up. And it looks like she’s not alone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBatman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2019)
Batman, Batgirl, and Robin forge an alliance with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to fight against the Turtles' sworn enemy, The Shredder, who has apparently teamed up with Ra's Al Ghul and The League of Assassins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHappy Feet Two (2011)
Mumble the penguin has a problem: his son Erik, who is reluctant to dance, encounters the Mighty Sven — a penguin who can fly! Things get worse for Mumble when the world is shaken by powerful forces, causing him to bring together the penguin nations and their allies to set things right.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTransformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)
When a new threat capable of destroying the entire planet emerges, Optimus Prime and the Autobots must team up with a powerful faction known as the Maximals. With the fate of humanity hanging in the balance, humans Noah and Elena will do whatever it takes to help the Transformers as they engage in the ultimate battle to save Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTreasure Planet (2002)
When space galleon cabin boy Jim Hawkins discovers a map to an intergalactic "loot of a thousand worlds," a cyborg cook named John Silver teaches him to battle supernovas and space storms on their journey to find treasure.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAsterix 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 animation & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAtlantis: Milo's Return (2003)
Milo and Kida reunite with their friends to investigate strange occurances around the world that seem to have links to the secrets of Atlantis.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)
Against impossible odds, Spirit, a young mustang, sets out across the majestic wilderness to regain his freedom and save his homeland. Along the way, he forms a friendship with a young Lakota brave, outwits a squadron of soldiers, and ultimately, finds love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995)
Six incredible teens out-maneuver and defeat evil everywhere as the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, but this time the Power Rangers may have met their match when they face off with Ivan Ooze, the most sinister monster the galaxy has ever seen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Sword in the Stone (1963)
Wart is a young boy who aspires to be a knight's squire. On a hunting trip he falls in on Merlin, a powerful but amnesiac wizard who has plans for him beyond mere squiredom. He starts by trying to give him an education, believing that once one has an education, one can go anywhere. Needless to say, it doesn't quite work out that way.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJingle All the Way (1996)
Howard Langston, a salesman for a mattress company, is constantly kept busy at his job, disappointing his son. After he misses his son's karate exposition, Howard vows to make it up to him by buying an action figure of his son's favorite television hero for Christmas. Unfortunately for Howard, it is Christmas Eve, and every store is sold out of Turbo Man. Now, Howard must travel all over town and compete with everybody else to find a Turbo Man action figure.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAntz (1998)
A neurotic worker ant in love with a rebellious princess rises to unlikely stardom when he switches places with a soldier. Signing up to march in a parade, he ends up under the command of a bloodthirsty general. But he's actually been enlisted to fight against a termite army.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDude, Where's My Car? (2000)
Two stoners wake up after a night of partying and cannot remember where they parked their car.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisJurassic World Rebirth (2025)
Five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion, covert operations expert Zora Bennett is contracted to lead a skilled team on a top-secret mission to secure genetic material from the world's three most massive dinosaurs. When Zora's operation intersects with a civilian family whose boating expedition was capsized, they all find themselves stranded on an island where they come face-to-face with a sinister, shocking discovery that's been hidden from the world for decades.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Lightyear?
The closest matches to Lightyear are Monsters vs Aliens (2009), Transformers One (2024) and Planet 51 (2009). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Lightyear?
Start with Monsters vs Aliens (2009), the closest match to Lightyear.
What is the highest-rated movie like Lightyear?
WALL·E (2008), rated 8.1/10 by 21,162 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Lightyear?
Jurassic World Rebirth (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Lightyear?
Yes: Monsters vs Aliens (2009), Transformers One (2024) and Planet 51 (2009).
How are movies similar to Lightyear chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Lightyear, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.