Movies like The Fern Flower (1979)
The best movies like The Fern Flower (1979) are The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949), DC Showcase: The Phantom Stranger (2020) and Cranston Academy: Monster Zone (2020). If The Fern Flower hooked you with its animation and horror, 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
- NewestA Knight's War (2025)Released 2025
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
A concise adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows" about Mr. Toad's motor mania, followed by a short retelling of Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" concerning schoolmaster Ichabod Crane.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDC Showcase: The Phantom Stranger (2020)
Jess joins her friends at a party in a dilapidated mansion hosted by the mysterious Seth. When odd things begin to happen to Jess and her friends, the Phantom Stranger intervenes to save her from a dreary fate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCranston Academy: Monster Zone (2020)
An intelligent 15-year-old high school student is unexpectedly transferred to a boarding school where he opens a portal of monsters from another dimension.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Old Mill (1937)
Night in an old mill is dramatically depicted in this Oscar-winning short in which the frightened occupants, including birds, timid mice, owls, and other creatures try to stay safe and dry as a storm approaches. As the thunderstorm worsens, the mill wheel begins to turn and the whole mill threatens to blow apart until at last the storm subsides.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNight of the Animated Dead (2021)
An animated retelling of ‘Night of the Living Dead’, in which a group of people in a rural farmhouse struggle to survive the threat of bloodthirsty zombies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Spine of Night (2021)
When ancient dark magic falls into sinister hands and unleashes ages of suffering onto mankind, a group of heroes from different eras and cultures must band together in order to defeat it at all costs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2012)
After a hurricane levels his city, a young man wanders into a mysterious library where books literally come to life. This film won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 2012.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Knight's War (2025)
A fearless knight braves a deadly realm to save the Chosen One’s soul. Facing witches, demons, and brutal foes, he discovers her return could ignite chaos and doom humanity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
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 animation
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisPigeon: Impossible (2009)
The tale of Walter, a rookie secret agent faced with a problem seldom covered in basic training: what to do when a curious pigeon gets trapped inside your multi-million dollar, government-issued nuclear briefcase.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOther Side of the Box (2018)
A couple receives a mysterious package from an old friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKid's Story (2003)
A high school student is haunted by thoughts of "The Matrix" and a person named "Neo".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Possessed (2021)
A man with the ability to exorcise demons fights to protect his loved ones after a sudden surge in demonic possessions. After discovering his nephew's girlfriend has the same supernatural gift, they join forces for the ultimate confrontation. Inspired by actual events.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTome of the Unknown (2013)
Wirt and Gregory are brothers who get tired of walking, so, they borrow a car from a romantic songster made of vegetables.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMickey's Grand Opera (1936)
Mickey is preparing to conduct an opera when he chases Pluto away. Pluto crashes into a magician's props backstage and spars with the hat, its rabbits, and its doves. The opera begins: Clarabelle plays flute, Clara and Donald are the leads in Romeo and Juliet. Pluto follows the magic hat onstage, to Mickey's growing annoyance. The hat falls into a tuba, and soon the animals are filling the stage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlinky™ (2011)
A story about a boy, his robot and the consequences of his anger at the disintegration of his parents marriage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Boogeyman (2023)
Still reeling from the tragic death of their mother, a teenage girl and her younger sister find themselves plagued by a sadistic presence in their house and struggle to get their grieving father to pay attention before it’s too late.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonster High: Friday Night Frights (2012)
After Monster High’s roller skating team is defeated at the Skulltimate Roller Maze tournament, the ghouls team up to face an all-boys league, with the hope of winning back the school crest and restoring school spirit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShades of Desire (2023)
After her twin sister Aubrey goes missing, Jennifer uncovers the scandalous, secret double-life that Aubrey leads - and that has put both of them in danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It (2007)
Cassie, a 13 year old Gothic girl, is trying to fit in at her new school. To entertain herself, she plays a series of pranks on the popular kids and her younger brother, Max. When she goes to a Halloween store looking for new tricks, she finds a little book called "The Evil Thing"
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Return of the Monster (2017)
A little boy is bedeviled by recurring nightmares of a monster that just won’t go away.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & horror
El Materdor (2008)
Mater is a matador fighting a herd of bulldozers in Spain. When Lightning McQueen enters the story, the bulldozers begin to chase him due to his red paint.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
SnoozefestMovies like thisThere is exactly enough time (2021)
Oskar Salomonowitz, the 12-year-old son of filmmakers Anja Salomonowitz and Virgil Widrich, had drawn 206 pictures in a flip book when he died in an accident. His father continued to draw the film with the remaining 482 sheets.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Health for the Americas: Cleanliness Brings Health (1945)
The comparison of two rural families to demonstrate the need for proper hygiene and the consequences of its neglect.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Night (1930)
The moon and two owls sing to the Blue Danube Waltz, celebrating the night. Moths dance around a candle flame, fireflies glow, frogs chorus, and so forth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
The Cactus Kid (1930)
Mickey walks into the tavern where Minnie is dancing, and begins to dance and play piano himself. Pegleg Pete comes in and treats Minnie badly. Mickey tries to defend her, but Pete steals her away. Mickey, riding Horace Horsecollar, gives chase. He manages to throw Pete off a cliff.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Drácula (1931)
A British estate agent travels to Transylvania to meet the mysterious Count Dracula, who is interested in leasing a London castle. After Dracula enslaves the agent and drives him to insanity, the pair return to London together, where Dracula, a secret bloodsucker, begins preying on socialites.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHowling: New Moon Rising (1995)
A number of vicious murders occur in a small California town after a motorcycle-riding stranger arrives. The gruesome slayings look disturbingly like the work of a werewolf. Meanwhile, in another nearby town, police are hot on the trail of a killer they believe is a werewolf.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisHowling IV: The Original Nightmare (1988)
An author who was sent to the town Drakho, because of a nervous breakdown, gets wound up in a mystery revolving around demons and werewolves. She starts seeing ghosts and dismisses them as her own imagination, but when they turn out to be real she becomes suspicious of the odd town and of its past.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisTouch (1991)
Made when the director was at the Royal College of Art, an animated film illustrating that life is made up of a succession of meeting and partings.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Fern Flower?
The closest matches to The Fern Flower are The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949), DC Showcase: The Phantom Stranger (2020) and Cranston Academy: Monster Zone (2020). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Fern Flower?
Start with The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949), the closest match to The Fern Flower.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Fern Flower?
Far from the Tree (2021), rated 8.1/10 by 395 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Fern Flower?
A Knight's War (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Fern Flower chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Fern Flower, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.