Movies like The Neuroscience of Imagination (2016)
The best movies like The Neuroscience of Imagination (2016) are IF (2024), Where the Wild Things Are (2009) and Charly (1968). If The Neuroscience of Imagination hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedInception (2010)8.4/10 from 40,719 votes
- NewestHarold and the Purple Crayon (2024)Released 2024
IF (2024)
After discovering she can see everyone's imaginary friends, a girl embarks on a magical adventure to reconnect forgotten imaginary friends with their kids.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere the Wild Things Are (2009)
Max imagines running away from his mom and sailing to a far-off land where large talking beasts—Ira, Carol, Douglas, the Bull, Judith and Alexander—crown him as their king, play rumpus, build forts and discover secret hideaways.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCharly (1968)
An experiment on a simpleton turns him into a genius. When he discovers what has been done to him he struggles with whether or not what was done to him was right.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInception (2010)
Cobb, a skilled thief who commits corporate espionage by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets is offered a chance to regain his old life as payment for a task considered to be impossible: "inception", the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDreamscape (1984)
In order to diagnose the psychic traumas suffered by his patients, Dr. Paul Novotny gets young Alex Gardner to enter their dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDiary of a Madman (1963)
Simon Cordier, a French magistrate and amateur sculptor comes into contact with a malevolent entity. The invisible - yet corporeal - being, called a "horla" is capable of limited psychokinesis and complete mind control.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Prisoner of Zenda (1952)
A kingdom's ascending heir, marked for assassination, switches identities with a lookalike, who takes his place at the coronation. When the real king is kidnapped, his followers try to find him, while the stand-in falls in love with the king's intended bride, the beautiful Princess Flavia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHarold and the Purple Crayon (2024)
Inside of his book, adventurous Harold can make anything come to life simply by drawing it. After he grows up and draws himself off the book's pages and into the physical world, Harold finds he has a lot to learn about real life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMirrorMask (2005)
In a fantasy world of opposing kingdoms, a 15-year old girl must find the fabled MirrorMask in order to save the kingdom and get home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947)
Walter Mitty, a daydreaming writer with an overprotective mother, likes to imagine that he is a hero who experiences fantastic adventures. His dream becomes reality when he accidentally meets a mysterious woman who hands him a little black book. According to her, it contains the locations of the Dutch crown jewels hidden since World War II. Soon, Mitty finds himself in the middle of a confusing conspiracy, where he has difficulty differentiating between fact and fiction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBefore I Wake (2016)
An orphaned child's dreams—and nightmares—manifest physically as he sleeps.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGoodbye, Mr. Chips (1969)
Academy Award-honoree Peter O'Toole stars in this musical classic about a prim English schoolmaster who learns to show his compassion through the help of an outgoing showgirl. O'Toole, who received his fourth Oscar-nomination for this performance, is joined by '60s pop star Petula Clark and fellow Oscar-nominee Michael Redgrave.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDate with an Angel (1987)
Aspiring composer Jim Sanders is engaged to spoiled rich girl Patty. But the morning after his bachelor party, Jim wakes up to discover a beautiful, broken-winged angel in his pool. When everyone finds out about his heavenly houseguest, Jim must cope with a dangerously jealous fiancée, an exploitive future father-in-law and a group of buddies with an outrageous business plan!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExplorers (1985)
Middle schooler Ben spends his free time watching sci-fi films, playing video games and reading comic books. Surprisingly, his affinity for all things fantastical yields a real result – when he has a vivid dream about technology, his prodigy best friend Wolfgang manages to create a working spacecraft. Joined by their buddy Darren, the boys take off into outer space and encounter some very odd extraterrestrial life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLulu on the Bridge (1998)
A famous jazz saxophonist's life is forever changed after he is accidentally shot. After discovering a mysterious package, he meets and falls in love with a beautiful aspiring actress, but their happiness is cut short by a series of strange, dreamlike events.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Big Year (2011)
Three fanatical bird-watchers spend an entire year competing to spot the highest number of species as El Nino sends an extraordinary variety of rare breeds flying up into the U.S., but they quickly discover that there are more important things than coming out on top of the competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lathe of Heaven (1980)
George Orr, a man whose dreams can change waking reality, tries to suppress this unpredictable gift with drugs. Dr. Haber, an assigned psychiatrist, discovers the gift to be real and hypnotically induces Mr. Orr to change reality for the benefit of mankind --- with bizarre and frightening results.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUpgraded (2024)
Ana is an ambitious intern dreaming of a career in the art world while trying to impress her demanding boss Claire. When she's upgraded to first class on a work trip, she meets handsome Will, and Ana pretends to be her boss– a white lie that sets off a glamorous chain of events, romance and opportunity, until her fib threatens to surface.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEnemy (2014)
A mild-mannered college professor discovers a look-alike actor and delves into the other man's private affairs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Voyeurs (2021)
When Pippa and Thomas move into their dream apartment, they notice that their windows look directly into the apartment opposite – inviting them to witness the volatile relationship of the attractive couple across the street. But what starts as a simple curiosity turns into full-blown obsession with increasingly dangerous consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Neuroscience of Imagination?
The closest matches to The Neuroscience of Imagination are IF (2024), Where the Wild Things Are (2009) and Charly (1968). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Neuroscience of Imagination?
Start with IF (2024), the closest match to The Neuroscience of Imagination.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Neuroscience of Imagination?
Inception (2010), rated 8.4/10 by 40,719 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Neuroscience of Imagination?
Harold and the Purple Crayon (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Neuroscience of Imagination?
Yes: IF (2024), Where the Wild Things Are (2009) and Charly (1968).
How are movies similar to The Neuroscience of Imagination chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Neuroscience of Imagination, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.