Movies like Return to the Emerald City (2016)
The best movies like Return to the Emerald City (2016) are Pan (2015), Voyage of the Unicorn (2001) and Anastasia: Once Upon a Time (2020). If Return to the Emerald City hooked you with its fantasy and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Wizard of Oz (1939)7.6/10 from 6,376 votes
- NewestMomo (2025)Released 2025
Pan (2015)
Living a bleak existence at a London orphanage, 12-year-old Peter finds himself whisked away to the fantastical world of Neverland. Adventure awaits as he meets new friend James Hook and the warrior Tiger Lily. They must band together to save Neverland from the ruthless pirate Blackbeard. Along the way, the rebellious and mischievous boy discovers his true destiny, becoming the hero forever known as Peter Pan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVoyage of the Unicorn (2001)
One day the Aislings find themselves magically transported to a ship called the Unicorn. Here, they discover that they've been chosen to fulfill an incredible quest! They undergo an incredible journey of discovery in strange lands with enchanted creatures, but find their voyage is really one of the spirit, as they each learn faith and the power of love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnastasia: Once Upon a Time (2020)
Anastasia Romanov escapes through a portal when her family is threatened by Vladimir Lenin, and she finds herself in the year 1988, befriended by a young American girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisWish Upon a Unicorn (2020)
Two children discover that their mother is gone. The youngest of the pair, adventurer and upcomming singer, Long Johnson forces his older sister, Lily Johnson, to hunt down a unicorn with magical blood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wish of the Fairy Fish (2023)
If you go fishing, be prepared to draw the fish of your dreams, the magical Pike, which can grant any three wishes. Only Emelya let two wishes down the drain, and decided to save the third. Therefore, in order to achieve the hand of the royal daughter Anfisa, he will have to act without magical power, on his own. And Pike will help him, who without her skin will appear as an ordinary girl Vasilisa.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDragonheart: Vengeance (2021)
Lukas, a young farmer whose family is killed by savage raiders in the countryside, sets out on an epic quest for revenge, forming an unlikely trio with a majestic dragon and a swashbuckling, sword-fighting mercenary, Darius.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui (2004)
In the time before time, six unlikely Matoran find themselves transformed into mighty Toa. The new Toa Metru must prove themselves as true heroes, find the missing Toa Lhikan, and uncover a plot that threatens the heart of Metru Nui.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisMomo (2025)
Momo is a young orphan girl who lives in the ruins of an old Roman amphitheater and becomes friends with everybody in the neighborhood. But when a powerful international corporation starts stealing everybody’s time, nobody has any time left for her, let alone their friends or families. Momo, together with Master Hora, the custodian of time, are the only ones who can go up against the time thieves before all is lost forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDiscovering Dinotopia (2002)
The citizens of Waterfall City flee for the tenuous safety of Earthfarm, abandoning their city to the dangerous Outsiders - who discover the key to Dinotopias future and threaten its survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Fairy Tale After All (2022)
A stubborn teenage girl finds herself confronted by whimsical characters when she is transported into a world of fantasy and fairy tales while attending a school marionette show.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wizard of the Emerald City, Part I (2025)
Ellie lives in a distant city. One day, the evil witch Gingema conjured a hurricane that took Ellie and her dog Totoshka to the country of the Munchkins. To return home, Ellie and her friends the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion will set off along the yellow brick road to the Emerald City in search of the Wizard who will grant their cherished wishes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPeter Pan (1924)
Peter Pan enters the nursery of the Darling children and, with the help of fairy dust, leads them off to Never Never Land, where they meet the nefarious Captain Hook.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Adventures of Buratino (1959)
A wooden boy Buratino tries to find his place in life. He befriends toys from a toy theater owned by evil Karabas-Barabas, gets tricked by Alice the Fox and Basilio the Cat and finally discovers the mystery of a golden key given to him by kind Tortila the Tortoise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJack the Giant Slayer (2013)
The story of an ancient war that is reignited when a young farmhand unwittingly opens a gateway between our world and a fearsome race of giants. Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the giants strive to reclaim the land they once lost, forcing the young man, Jack into the battle of his life to stop them. Fighting for a kingdom, its people, and the love of a brave princess, he comes face to face with the unstoppable warriors he thought only existed in legend–and gets the chance to become a legend himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisOld Man Khottabych (1957)
A boy named Volka discovers an ancient vessel on the bottom of a river. When he opens it, a genie emerges from there. He calls himself Hassan Abdurrahman ibn Khottab, or in Russian style Khottabych. Grateful Khottabych is ready to fulfill any of Volka's wishes. But it appears that Volka should use the powers of the genie carefully, for they can have undesirable results.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNico the Unicorn (1998)
As an 11-year-old boy struggles to cope with a disability, he finds a pony who gives birth to a unicorn which he takes care of.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Adventures of Buratino (1976)
A wooden boy Buratino tries to find his place in life. He befriends toys from a toy theater owned by evil Karabas-Barabas, gets tricked by Alice the Fox and Basilio the Cat and finally discovers the mystery of a golden key given to him by kind Tortila the Tortoise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Tooth Fairy Tale (2025)
Van, the brave son of a tooth fairy leader, meets the goblins girl Gemma on his first mission. Despite the myths about ancient disputes between fairies and goblins, they share common values. When the greedy Spider Queen threatens both tribes, they must work together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Last Warrior (2017)
Ivan is an ordinary guy who is transferred from modern Moscow to the fantasy world Belogorye. In this parallel universe where characters of Russian fairy tales live, magic is an integral part of daily life, and arguments are settled with the help of sword . Unexpectedly, Ivan finds himself in the middle of a battle between good and evil, and he must discover why everyone thinks that he must play the main role in upcoming events...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome Away (2020)
Before Alice went to Wonderland, and before Peter became Pan, they were brother and sister. When their eldest brother dies in a tragic accident, they each seek to save their parents from their downward spirals of despair until finally they are forced to choose between home and imagination, setting the stage for their iconic journeys into Wonderland and Neverland.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisDorothy and the Witches of Oz (2012)
Children's author Dorothy Gale makes a decent living continuing her grandfather's series of Oz books. When a new agent enters the scene, Dorothy moves to New York city. In the midst of a major business deal for her books, Dorothy discovers that her books are not based on her imagination, but on repressed memories. While Dorothy struggles with the revelation, she is forced to confront The Wicked Witch of the West, who has descended upon the Big Apple, determined to settle an old score.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & fantasy
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Young Dorothy finds herself in a magical world where she makes friends with a lion, a scarecrow and a tin man as they make their way along the yellow brick road to talk with the Wizard and ask for the things they miss most in their lives. The Wicked Witch of the West is the only thing that could stop them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisReturn to Oz (1985)
Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, finds herself back in the land of her dreams, and makes delightful new friends, and dangerous new enemies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDorothy and The Wizard of Oz: The Wizard, The Witch, and The Crystal Ball (2017)
Dorothy and crew discover the Wicked Witch is alive./The Wizard discovers the Wicked Witch is alive./Dorothy and her friends are sucked into the Wicked Witch's crystal ball./Dorothy and crew escape the crystal ball as does the Wicked Witch.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & fantasy
His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz (1914)
A wicked king has taken over the Emerald City, and wants his daughter, Princess Gloria to marry the horrid courtier Googly-Goo, though she loves Pon, the Gardener's Boy. The camera follows two farmers placing a Scarecrow upon a pole in a cornfield. Pon rescues a Kansas girl named Dorothy from the evil witch Mombi, whom Princess Gloria has been taken to by King Krewl to freeze her heart so she will no longer love Pon. An Indian princess has a ceremony to bring the Scarecrow to life. Pon rescues the cold-hearted princess and they flee for help, discovering the Scarecrow, who promptly falls in love with the princess, and Button-Bright, a lost boy from America. They come to the castle of the Tin Emperor, Nick Chopper, and after oiling him, he falls in love with Gloria. After a bit of a chase aided by the Sawhorse and the Wizard, Mombi turns Pon into a Kangaroo, and a slough of Fred Woodward's animals battle it out.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & fantasy
Return to Oz (1964)
Rather than adapt a later or create a new Oz story, this production has Dorothy still in posession of the shoes, and she clings to an apple tree during a tornado which takes her back to Oz. The Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Lion (using the names created for the nearly-abstract television series, Tales of the Wizard of Oz, from which this was derived) have had their MGM gifts destroyed by the restored Wicked Witch, and the four proceed to the Wizard for help, who is ineffectual as usual.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & fantasy
Wicked Flying Monkeys (2015)
Ozzy is an enthusiastic and friendly flying monkey, son of the legendary Goliath, the brave warrior. They serve Evilene - the wicked witch - just as the rest of their kin. But Ozzy is not happy about it and when Evilene's plans put Oz once again in peril, Ozzy reaches out to the Champions of Oz, three great friends (the Lion, the Scarecrow and the Tinman) with incredible qualities that have taken Emerald City to its maximum splendor.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy & adventure
Dorothy's Christmas in Oz (2018)
Dorothy introduces Oz to Christmas and of course Oz adds a few traditions of it's own. Santa comes to deliver holiday cheer and presents to all. The Wicked Witch has kidnapped Santa in an attempt to steal his magic.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy & family
Thanksgiving in the Land of Oz (1980)
Dorothy is carried back to Oz by a green turkey balloon on the final Thanksgiving she is to spend with her aunt and uncle, who are moving to a retirement community. She meets Jack Pumpkinhead, The Hungry Tiger, and Tic Toc (sic), and must stop the evil Tyrone the Terrible Toy Tinkerer (looking suspiciously like John R. Neil's depiction of the Nome King), who brings the balloon to life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy & family
The Steam Engines of Oz (2018)
A century after the Wicked Witch, the Emerald City is at the mercy of a once-revered hero, and salvation comes from the wrench of young Victoria Wright. Rediscover old friends and meet new heroes in this new tale set in the Land of Oz.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & fantasy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Return to the Emerald City?
The closest matches to Return to the Emerald City are Pan (2015), Voyage of the Unicorn (2001) and Anastasia: Once Upon a Time (2020). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Return to the Emerald City?
Start with Pan (2015), the closest match to Return to the Emerald City.
What is the highest-rated movie like Return to the Emerald City?
The Wizard of Oz (1939), rated 7.6/10 by 6,376 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Return to the Emerald City?
Momo (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Return to the Emerald City chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Return to the Emerald City, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.