Movies like Lucy the Human Chimp (2021)
The best movies like Lucy the Human Chimp (2021) are Project Nim (2011), Far from the Tree (2019) and David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived (2023). If Lucy the Human Chimp hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBlackfish (2013)7.8/10 from 1,230 votes
- NewestYou Can See Everything (2026)Released 2026
Project Nim (2011)
From the team behind Man on Wire comes the story of Nim, the chimpanzee who in the 1970s became the focus of a landmark experiment which aimed to show that an ape could learn to communicate with language if raised and nurtured like a human child. Following Nim's extraordinary journey through human society, and the enduring impact he makes on the people he meets along the way, the film is an unflinching and unsentimental biography of an animal we tried to make human. What we learn about his true nature - and indeed our own - is comic, revealing and profoundly unsettling.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFar from the Tree (2019)
Parents of children who have Down syndrome, dwarfism or autism share intimate stories of the challenges they face. Tracing their joys, challenges, tragedies, and triumphs.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived (2023)
As Daniel Radcliffe's stunt double in the Harry Potter films, David Holmes' work has been seen worldwide by millions of people. Tragically an on-set accident ended what David calls "the best job in the world," leaving him paralyzed. Like the on-screen character he helped bring to life, David is determined to continue seeking adventure and living life to the fullest despite mounting obstacles.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCaterpillar (2025)
Endlessly struggling to feel seen, David becomes infatuated with a mysterious company's promise to transform people's lives by permanently changing the color of their eyes. After traveling to India to get the controversial procedure, he begins to question if this artificial beauty will give him the fulfillment he truly seeks.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Good Night Oppy (2022)
The inspirational true story of Opportunity, a rover that was sent to Mars for a 90-day mission but ended up surviving for 15 years. Follow Opportunity’s groundbreaking journey on Mars and the remarkable bond forged between a robot and her humans millions of miles away.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFamous Last Words: Dr. Jane Goodall (2025)
Dr. Jane Goodall connected humanity and nature in unprecedented ways. In this deeply personal interview, she shares her final message with the world.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Koko: The Gorilla Who Talks to People (2016)
Documentary telling the extraordinary story of Koko, the only 'talking' gorilla in the world, and her lifelong relationship with Penny Patterson. Project Koko started as a PhD project to teach sign language to a baby gorilla, but as Koko began to communicate with Penny, an intense bond formed between them. Penny has now been with Koko for over 40 years and claims Koko can reveal fresh insights into the workings of an animal's mind. Koko's unique life with Penny has been filmed every step of the way. Over 2,000 hours of footage chart the most dramatic moments - Penny's battle to keep Koko from being taken back to the zoo in which she was born, Penny's clash with academic critics who doubted her claims and the image of Koko mourning the death of her kitten.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Tree Climbing Lions (2018)
In the heart of Uganda, there are lion prides that spend much of their lives in the trees – a rare and mysterious behavior seen in few other places in Africa – and little is known about why they do it. Big cat biologist Alexander Braczkowski sets out to study these lions, and his journey takes an unexpected, emotional turn.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Blackfish (2013)
Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOprah Winfrey Presents: After Neverland (2019)
Oprah Winfrey hosts a conversation featuring Wade Robson and James Safechuck, alongside Leaving Neverland director Dan Reed, before an audience of survivors of sexual abuse and others whose lives have been impacted by it.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie (2023)
A short kid from a Canadian army base becomes the international pop culture darling of the 1980s—only to find the course of his life altered by a stunning diagnosis. What happens when an incurable optimist confronts an incurable disease?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJane (2017)
Drawing from never-before-seen footage that has been tucked away in the National Geographic archives, director Brett Morgen tells the story of Jane Goodall, a woman whose chimpanzee research revolutionized our understanding of the natural world.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPets (2025)
Worldwide stories of human-animal bonds, following pet owners and rescuers with dogs, cats, pigs, goats and birds of prey. Features interviews, archives and viral clips showing people's connections with their animals.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Jade Eyed Leopard (2020)
A small leopard with aquamarine eyes learns the fundamental skills of survival during her first three years.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Dinosaur 13 (2014)
Two years after the discovery of "Sue," the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton found to date, government officials seize the remains and claim that "Sue" was stolen from federal land.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFathom (2021)
Two biologists set out on an undertaking as colossal as their subjects—deciphering the complex communication of whales. Dr. Michelle Fournet and Dr. Ellen Garland journey to opposite hemispheres to uncover a culture eons older than our own.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Unlocking the Cage (2016)
Renowned filmmakers D A Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus follow determined animal rights activist Steven Wise into the courtroom for an unprecedented battle that seeks to utilize the writ of habeas corpus to expand legal “personhood” to include certain animals. Wise’s unusual plaintiffs—chimpanzees Tommy and Kiko, once famed showbiz stars—are now living in filth, struggling to survive. Wise and his impassioned legal team take us into the field, revealing gripping evidence of such abuse and plunging us into the intricacies of their case as they probe preconceived notions of what it means to be a non-human animal.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Elephant Whisperers (2022)
Bomman and Bellie, a couple in south India, devote their lives to caring for an orphaned baby elephant named Raghu, forging a family like no other.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAn Apology to Elephants (2013)
Elephants are among the most majestic and intelligent creatures on Earth--but for hundreds of years, they have suffered at the hands of humans. Narrated by Lily Tomlin, this documentary short traces our long history with elephants and explores the many problems that arise when they are brought to live in captivity in zoos and circuses.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Speed Cubers (2020)
This documentary captures the extraordinary twists and turns in the journeys of Rubik's Cube-solving champions Max Park and Feliks Zemdegs.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLife, Animated (2016)
At three years old, a chatty, energetic little boy named Owen Suskind ceased to speak, disappearing into autism with apparently no way out. Almost four years passed and the only stimuli that engaged Owen were Disney films. Then one day, his father donned a puppet—Iago, the wisecracking parrot from Aladdin—and asked “what’s it like to be you?” And poof! Owen replied, with dialogue from the movie. Life, Animated tells the remarkable story of how Owen found in Disney animation a pathway to language and a framework for making sense of the world.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMarlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore (2025)
In 1987, Marlee Matlin became the first Deaf actor to win an Academy Award and was thrust into the spotlight at 21 years old. Reflecting on her life in her primary language of American Sign Language, Marlee explores the complexities of what it means to be a trailblazer.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Love & Bananas: An Elephant Story (2018)
Ashley Bell and a team of elephant rescuers led by world renowned Asian elephant conservationist Lek Chailert, embark on a daring 48-hour mission across Thailand to rescue a 70-year old captive blind Asian elephant and bring her to freedom.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Introducing, Selma Blair (2021)
In a quest to take control of her personal health, actor Selma Blair adapts to new ways of living while pursuing an experimental medical procedure, after revealing her diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis in 2018.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Jane's Journey (2011)
It would be hard to name anyone who has had more of an impact in the realm of animal research and wildlife conservation than Jane Goodall, whose 45 year study of wild chimpanzees in Africa is legendary. In Jane's Journey, we travel with her across several continents, from her childhood home in England, to the Gombe National Park in Tanzania where she began her groundbreaking research and where she still returns every year to enjoy the company of the chimpanzees that made her famous. Featuring a wide range of interviews and spectacular footage from her own private collection, Jane's Journey is an inspiring portrait of the private person behind the world-famous icon.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Superpower Dogs (2019)
The life-saving superpowers and extraordinary bravery of some of the world’s most amazing dogs. The film follows six pups on their adventures: Halo, a puppy training to join an elite American disaster response team; Henry; an avalanche rescue dog in the Canadian Rockies; Reef, a Newfoundland lifeguard in the Italian Coast Guard; Ricochet, a surf and therapy boi in California; and the dynamic duo Tipper and Tony, who work to save endangered species in Africa.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Life in the Doghouse (2018)
Life in the Doghouse tells the inspiring story behind Danny & Ron’s Rescue, a dog rescue centre. Started by life partners Ron Danta and Danny Robertshaw, the two men were moved to act after Hurricane Katrina left thousands of dogs stranded and abandoned. The two men set up a makeshift dog sanctuary in their home and ten years later they have housed and rescued over 10,000 of these furry babies.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Pick of the Litter (2019)
Follows a litter of puppies from the moment they're born and begin their quest to become Guide Dogs for the Blind, the ultimate canine career. Cameras follow these pups through a two-year odyssey as they train to become dogs whose ultimate responsibility is to protect their blind partners from harm.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBehind the Planet of the Apes (1998)
Roddy McDowall takes you, film by film, from production meetings to make-up sessions, then right onto the movie set to see the actual filming of the science fiction masterpiece. The most comprehensive history of Planet of the Apes ever created, this fascinating 127-minute documentary explores one of the most imaginative and influential series in movie history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYou Can See Everything (2026)
Thirty-four days before she's sent to prison, notorious Silicon Valley founder Elizabeth Holmes invites a skeptical film crew to document her every move. What begins as an intimate portrait of an enigmatic felon becomes a mind-bending three-year journey into the abyss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Lucy the Human Chimp?
The closest matches to Lucy the Human Chimp are Project Nim (2011), Far from the Tree (2019) and David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived (2023). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Lucy the Human Chimp?
People who watched Lucy the Human Chimp most often go on to Project Nim (2011), Far from the Tree (2019) and David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived (2023).
What is the highest-rated movie like Lucy the Human Chimp?
Blackfish (2013), rated 7.8/10 by 1,230 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Lucy the Human Chimp?
You Can See Everything (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Lucy the Human Chimp?
Yes: Project Nim (2011), Far from the Tree (2019) and David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived (2023).
How are movies similar to Lucy the Human Chimp chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Lucy the Human Chimp, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.