Skip to content

Movies like We Were Once Kids (2021)

The best movies like We Were Once Kids (2021) are Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return (2022), Attack of the Hollywood Clichés! (2021) and Embrace the Panda: Making Turning Red (2022). If We Were Once Kids hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return (2022)

    This special explores the return of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to the screen, as well as Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen to their classic roles. Director Deborah Chow leads the cast and crew as they create new heroes and villains that live alongside new incarnations of beloved Star Wars characters, and an epic story that dramatically bridges the saga films.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  2. Attack of the Hollywood Clichés! (2021)

    One-man armies, meet-cutes, casual strolls away from huge explosions — stars and industry insiders toast and roast these cinematic chestnuts and more.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  3. Embrace the Panda: Making Turning Red (2022)

    A feature length documentary about the all-women team at the helm of Pixar's original feature, Turning Red. With unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to Director Domee Shi and her core leadership crew, this story shines a light on the powerful professional and personal journeys that brought this incredibly comical, utterly relatable, and deeply heartfelt story to the screen.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  4. Cameraperson (2016)

    As a visually radical memoir, CAMERAPERSON draws on the remarkable footage that filmmaker Kirsten Johnson has shot and reframes it in ways that illuminate moments and situations that have personally affected her. What emerges is an elegant meditation on the relationship between truth and the camera frame, as Johnson transforms scenes that have been presented on Festival screens as one kind of truth into another kind of story—one about personal journey, craft, and direct human connection.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  5. Making 'The Shining' (1980)

    Directed and edited by Stanley Kubrick's daughter Vivian Kubrick, this film offers a look behind the scenes during the making of The Shining.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  6. Seduced and Abandoned (2013)

    SEDUCED AND ABANDONED combines acting legend Alec Baldwin with director James Toback as they lead us on a troublesome and often hilarious journey of raising financing for their next feature film. Moving from director to financier to star actor, the two players provide us with a unique look behind the curtain at the world's biggest and most glamourous film festival, shining a light on the bitter-sweet relationship filmmakers have with Cannes and the film business. Featuring insights from directors Martin Scorsese, 'Bernando Bertolucci' and Roman Polanski; actors Ryan Gosling and Jessica Chastain and a host of film distribution luminaries.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  7. More Brains! A Return to the Living Dead (2011)

    Retrospective documentary about the making of the horror cult classic "The Return of the Living Dead."

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  8. The Director and the Jedi (2018)

    An intimate documentary delving into Rian Johnson's process as he comes in as a director new to the Star Wars universe.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  9. Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (1968)

    In Manhattan's Central Park, a film crew directed by William Greaves is shooting a screen test with various pairs of actors. It's a confrontation between a couple: he demands to know what's wrong, she challenges his sexual orientation. Cameras shoot the exchange, and another camera records Greaves and his crew. Sometimes we watch the crew discussing this scene, its language, and the process of making a movie. Is there such a thing as natural language? Are all things related to sex? The camera records distractions - a woman rides horseback past them; a garrulous homeless vet who sleeps in the park chats them up. What's the nature of making a movie?

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  10. Visions of Light (1992)

    Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography and of the "DP" (the director of photography), illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from Birth of a Nation to Do the Right Thing. Themes: the DP tells people where to look; changes in movies (the arrival of sound, color, and wide screens) required creative responses from DPs; and, these artisans constantly invent new equipment and try new things, with wonderful results. The narration takes us through the identifiable studio styles of the 30s, the emergence of noir, the New York look, and the impact of Europeans. Citizen Kane, The Conformist, and Gordon Willis get special attention.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  11. Jodorowsky's Dune (2013)

    In 1974, Chilean-French director Alejandro Jodorowsky embarked on the quixotic project of adapting Frank Herbert's influential novel Dune (1969) for the big screen. After investing two years, and millions of dollars, the gigantic project ended in failure; but the artists Jodorowsky brought together to carry it out continued to work together, and ended up laying the foundations for modern science fiction cinema.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  12. Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022)

    An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  13. The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004)

    Documentary about the art of film editing. Clips are shown from many groundbreaking films with innovative editing styles.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  14. The Walking Dead: The Return (2024)

    Stars of "The Walking Dead," Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira, walk down memory lane and visit iconic locations where pivotal moments between their characters, Rick and Michonne, were filmed.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  15. Woody Allen: A Documentary (2011)

    An intense portrait of the iconic filmmaker, writer, actor, comedian and musician Woody Allen: his life, family and friends; his writing and directing habits, and his relationship with performers.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  16. Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye (2022)

    Join the likes of Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Florence Pugh, and Vincent D’Onofrio as they reveal how Marvel Studios’ “Hawkeye” was conceived and created. Witness firsthand what it took to pull off the show’s pulse-pounding action set pieces, and discover how iconic characters from the pages of Marvel Comics such as Kate Bishop were adapted and brought to life for the six-episode series.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  17. Game of Thrones: The Last Watch (2019)

    For a year, acclaimed British filmmaker Jeanie Finlay was embedded on the set of the hit HBO series “Game of Thrones,” chronicling the creation of the show’s most ambitious and complicated season. Debuting one week after the series 8 finale, GAME OF THRONES: THE LAST WATCH delves deep into the mud and blood to reveal the tears and triumphs involved in the challenge of bringing the fantasy world of Westeros to life in the very real studios, fields and car-parks of Northern Ireland. Made with unprecedented access, GAME OF THRONES: THE LAST WATCH is an up-close and personal portrait from the trenches of production, following the crew and the cast as they contend with extreme weather, punishing deadlines and an ever-excited fandom hungry for spoilers. Much more than a “making of” documentary, this is a funny, heartbreaking story, told with wit and intimacy, about the bittersweet pleasures of what it means to create a world – and then have to say goodbye to it.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  18. Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (2010)

    For decades, Freddy Krueger has slashed his way through the dreams of countless youngsters, scaring up over half a billion dollars at the box office across eight terrifying, spectacular films.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  19. As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)

    A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  20. Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (2016)

    An intimate portrait of Hollywood royalty featuring Debbie Reynolds, Todd Fisher, and Carrie Fisher.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  21. The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1896)

    A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  22. Sexo en el plató (2007)

    How are the sex scenes filmed? What tricks are used to fake the desire? How do the interpreters prepare and feel? Spanish actors and directors talk about the most intimate side of acting, about the tricks and work methods when narrating exposed sex. In Spain the general rule is that there are no rules. Each film, each interpreter, faces it in very different ways.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  23. Las cinéphilas (2017)

    Six elderly retired women, two from Buenos Aires, Argentina; two from Montevideo, Uruguay; and two from Madrid, Spain, have something in common, despite their different interests and lives: they go to the movies almost every day.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  24. Ballerina Boys (2021)

    Discover Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (The Trocks), an all-male company that for 45 years has offered audiences their passion for ballet classics mixed with exuberant comedy. With every step they poke fun at their strictly gendered art form.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  25. Beyond Horror: The History and Sub-Culture of Red Films (2019)

    Delves into the history of the most extreme and shocking films that have ever been made. chronicles the timeline of Red Films: those films that are too extreme for the mainstream and historically have been circulated via the bootleg circuit.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  26. The Dawn of Kaiju Eiga (2019)

    Japan, 1954. A legend emerges from the ashes of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, devastated by atomic bombs in 1945. The creature's name is Godzilla. The film that tells its story is the first of kaiju eiga, the giant monster movies.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  27. Satan's Blood: recuerdos de «Escalofrío» (2016)

    The story of the shooting of Satan's Blood (Escalofrío), a film directed by Carlos Puerto in 1978.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  28. Till The Clouds Roll By: Real to Reel (2006)

    A short documentary on Jerome Kern and the making of Till the Clouds Roll By.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  29. Three Little Words: Two Swell Guys (2006)

    A short documentary on the lives of songwriters Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby and the making of the film, Three Little Words.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  30. Big Big Big (2019)

    A couple decides to watch Big, a successful film released in 1988, starring Tom Hanks and directed by Penny Marshall, not once, but thirty times, sometimes accompanied by family and friends who come to their home to watch and discuss it.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Like We Were Once Kids and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like We Were Once Kids?

The closest matches to We Were Once Kids are Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return (2022), Attack of the Hollywood Clichés! (2021) and Embrace the Panda: Making Turning Red (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after We Were Once Kids?

Start with Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return (2022), the closest match to We Were Once Kids.

What is the highest-rated movie like We Were Once Kids?

Jodorowsky's Dune (2013), rated 7.8/10 by 789 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like We Were Once Kids?

The Walking Dead: The Return (2024) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there English movies like We Were Once Kids?

Yes: Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return (2022), Attack of the Hollywood Clichés! (2021) and Embrace the Panda: Making Turning Red (2022).

How are movies similar to We Were Once Kids chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside We Were Once Kids, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

↑ ↓ to move · Enter to open · Full search page