Best movies like Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Three wealthy children's parents are killed in a fire. When they are sent to a distant relative, they find out that he is plotting to kill them and seize their fortune. This movie is extremely alarming, an expression which here means "a thrilling misadventure involving three ingenious orphans and a villainous actor named Count Olaf (Jim Carrey) who wants their enormous fortune." It includes a suspicious fire, delicious pasta, Jim Carrey, poorly behaved looches, Billy Connolly, an incredibly deadly viper, Meryl Streep, and the voice of an imposter named Jude Law.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 218000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: offbeat, fairy tale, atmospheric, gothic, dark comedy, enigmatic, clever, bleak, humorous, semi serious
Best tv shows and movies like Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004):
Similar in 90%
The Thief Lord (2006)
Plot Summary:
A tale about two young boys, Prosper and Bo, who flee to Venice after being orphaned and dumped in the care of a cruel auntie. Hiding in the canals and alleyways of the city, the boys are befriended by a gang of young urchins and their enigmatic leader, the Thief Lord. From their home base of an old cinema theater, the children steal from the rich to support themselves and soon capture the interest of a bumbling detective. However, a greater threat to the children is something from a forgotten past - a beautiful magical treasure with the power to spin time itself.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK, Germany, Luxembourg
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: touching, feel good, semi serious, exciting, detective, serious
Similar in 75%
A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017)
Plot Summary:
The orphaned Baudelaire children face trials, tribulations and the evil Count Olaf, all in their quest to uncover the secret of their parents' death.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 65000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: captivating, ironic, suspense, melancholic, funny, thought provoking, offbeat, saga, costume drama, children's program
Similar in 86%
Slumberland (2022)
Plot Summary:
A young girl discovers a secret map to the dreamworld of Slumberland, and with the help of an eccentric outlaw, she traverses dreams and flees nightmares, with the hope that she will be able to see her late father again.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 30000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: tear jerker, hilarious, epic fantasy
Similar in 75%
The Little Vampire (2000)
Plot Summary:
Based on the popular books, the story tells of Tony who wants a friend to add some adventure to his life. What he gets is Rudolph, a vampire kid with a good appetite. The two end up inseparable, but their fun is cut short when all the hopes of the vampire race could be gone forever in single night. With Tony's access to the daytime world, he helps them to find what they've always wanted.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: Germany, Netherlands, USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: feel good, entertaining, humorous, melancholic, gothic, offbeat, semi serious, independent film, scary, fairy tale
Similar in 80%
Goosebumps (2015)
Plot Summary:
After moving to a small town, Zach Cooper finds a silver lining when he meets next door neighbor Hannah, the daughter of bestselling Goosebumps series author R.L. Stine. When Zach unintentionally unleashes real monsters from their manuscripts and they begin to terrorize the town, it’s suddenly up to Stine, Zach and Hannah to get all of them back in the books where they belong.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 94000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
Country: USA, Australia
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: exciting, humorous, scary, funny, entertaining, semi serious, feel good, horror comedy, inspirational, romantic
Similar in 85%
Halloweentown (1998)
Plot Summary:
On her 13th birthday, Marnie learns she's a witch, discovers a secret portal, and is transported to Halloweentown — a magical place where ghosts and ghouls, witches and werewolves live apart from the human world. But she soon finds herself battling wicked warlocks, evil curses, and endless surprises.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: semi serious, humorous, tense, captivating, melancholic, psychotronic, scary, teen, spooky, terrifying
Similar in 88%
Hook (1991)
Plot Summary:
The boy who wasn't supposed to grow up—Peter Pan—did just that, becoming a soulless corporate lawyer whose workaholism could cost him his wife and kids. But a trip to see Granny Wendy in London, where the vengeful Capt. Hook kidnaps Peter's kids and forces Peter to return to Neverland, could lead to a chance at redemption, in this family-oriented fantasy from director Steven Spielberg.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 269000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 142 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, sweet, stylized, feel good, inspirational, touching, entertaining, sentimental, humorous, exciting
Similar in 75%
City of Ember (2008)
Plot Summary:
For generations, the people of the City of Ember have flourished in an amazing world of glittering lights. But Ember's once powerful generator is failing and the great lamps that illuminate the city are starting to flicker. Now, two teenagers, in a race against time, must search Ember for clues that will unlock the ancient mystery of the city's existence, before the the lights go out forever.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 69000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: exciting, dark fantasy, apocalyptic, visual, visually stunning, uplifting, suspense, stylized, fairy tale, mystical
Similar in 76%
Into the Woods (2014)
Plot Summary:
In a woods filled with magic and fairy tale characters, a baker and his wife set out to end the curse put on them by their neighbor, a spiteful witch.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 147000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, dark fantasy, stylized, melancholic, talky, lyrical, gothic, costume drama, horror musical, mysterious
Similar in 76%
Inkheart (2008)
Plot Summary:
The adventures of a father and his young daughter, in their search for a long lost book that will help reunite a missing, close relative.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 81000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: Germany, UK, USA, Italy
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, touching, exciting, dark fantasy, serious, entertaining, tense, mystical, captivating, sentimental
Similar in 75%
The Witches (1990)
Plot Summary:
A young boy named Luke and his grandmother go on vacation only to discover their hotel is hosting an international witch convention, where the Grand High Witch is unveiling her master plan to turn all children into mice. Will Luke fall victim to the witches' plot before he can stop them?.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 54000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, humorous, dark fantasy, scary, stylized, atmospheric, funny, retro, feel good, epic
Similar in 76%
The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)
Plot Summary:
Upon moving into the run-down Spiderwick Estate with their mother, twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace, along with their sister Mallory, find themselves pulled into an alternate world full of faeries and other creatures.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 101000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, exciting, scary, semi serious, visual, visually stunning, mystical, captivating, spooky, psychological
Similar in 83%
The Golden Compass (2007)
Plot Summary:
After overhearing a shocking secret, precocious orphan Lyra Belacqua trades her carefree existence roaming the halls of Jordan College for an otherworldly adventure in the far North, unaware that it's part of her destiny.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 195000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, epic, visual, visually stunning, aesthetic, dark fantasy, mystical, spiritual, exciting, atmospheric
Similar in 78%
Labyrinth (1986)
Plot Summary:
Frustrated with babysitting on yet another weekend night, Sarah - a teenager with an active imagination - summons the Goblins from her favourite book, "Labyrinth", to take the baby stepbrother away. When little Toby actually disappears, Sarah must follow him into the world of the fairytale to rescue him from the Goblin King!.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 147000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Musical
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: gothic, fairy tale, offbeat, surreal, cult classic, visual, stylized, visually stunning, mystical, humorous
Similar in 76%
Peter Pan (2003)
Plot Summary:
In stifling Edwardian London, Wendy Darling mesmerizes her brothers every night with bedtime tales of swordplay, swashbuckling and the fearsome Captain Hook. But the children become the heroes of an even greater story, when Peter Pan flies into their nursery one night and leads them over moonlit rooftops through a galaxy of stars and to the lush jungles of Neverland.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 79000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Romance
Country: UK, USA, Australia
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, feel good, exciting, captivating, sweet, light, romantic, scenic, teen, colorful
Similar in 78%
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016)
Plot Summary:
A teenager finds himself transported to an island where he must help protect a group of orphans with special powers from creatures intent on destroying them.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 185000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Thriller
Country: USA, UK, Belgium, Canada
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: dark fantasy, fairy tale, gothic, entertaining, exciting, atmospheric, stylized, serious, mystical, touching
Similar in 81%
Coraline (2009)
Plot Summary:
When Coraline moves to an old house, she feels bored and neglected by her parents. She finds a hidden door with a bricked up passage. During the night, she crosses the passage and finds a parallel world where everybody has buttons instead of eyes, with caring parents and all her dreams coming true. When the Other Mother invites Coraline to stay in her world forever, the girl refuses and finds that the alternate reality where she is trapped is only a trick to lure her.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 257000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA, Japan
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: gothic, surreal, dark fantasy, dark, scary, stylized, bleak, offbeat, disturbing, visually appealing
Similar in 84%
The Addams Family (1991)
Plot Summary:
Uncle Fester has been missing for 25 years. An evil doctor finds out and introduces a fake Fester in an attempt to get the Addams Family's money. The youngest daughter has some doubts about the new uncle Fester, but the fake uncle adapts very well to the strange family. Can the doctor carry out her evil plans and take over the Addams Family's fortune?.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 177000
Genere: Comedy, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: gothic, black comedy, dark comedy, humorous, cult classic, funny, not serious, stylized, light, scary
Similar in 89%
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
Plot Summary:
Ignoring threats to his life, Harry returns to Hogwarts to investigate – aided by Ron and Hermione – a mysterious series of attacks.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 677000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Mystery
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 161 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, entertaining, exciting, dark fantasy, suspense, saga, scenic, stylized, action packed, teen
Similar in 81%
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Plot Summary:
The Grand Budapest Hotel tells of a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars and his friendship with a young employee who becomes his trusted protégé. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting, the battle for an enormous family fortune and the slow and then sudden upheavals that transformed Europe during the first half of the 20th century.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 869000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Crime
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, stylized, surreal, breathtaking, witty, visually stunning, offbeat, psychedelic, talky, dramatic
Similar in 88%
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
Plot Summary:
Harry Potter has lived under the stairs at his aunt and uncle's house his whole life. But on his 11th birthday, he learns he's a powerful wizard -- with a place waiting for him at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As he learns to harness his newfound powers with the help of the school's kindly headmaster, Harry uncovers the truth about his parents' deaths -- and about the villain who's to blame.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 837000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 152 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, entertaining, exciting, touching, scenic, teen, saga, mystic, visually appealing, fantasy adventure
Similar in 88%
Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005)
Plot Summary:
After their father is called into work, two young boys, Walter and Danny, are left in the care of their teenage sister, Lisa, and told they must stay inside. Walter and Danny, who anticipate a boring day, are shocked when they begin playing Zathura, a space-themed board game, which they realize has mystical powers when their house is shot into space. With the help of an astronaut, the boys attempt to return home.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 113000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: exciting, intense, semi serious, epic, captivating, futuristic, mystical, funny, atmospheric, mysterious
Similar in 77%
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)
Plot Summary:
Gellert Grindelwald has escaped imprisonment and has begun gathering followers to his cause—elevating wizards above all non-magical beings. The only one capable of putting a stop to him is the wizard he once called his closest friend, Albus Dumbledore. However, Dumbledore will need to seek help from the wizard who had thwarted Grindelwald once before, his former student Newt Scamander.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 302000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: mysterious, dark fantasy, breathtaking, atmospheric, exciting, saga, mystical, fairy tale, mystic, fantasy adventure
Similar in 87%
Pan (2015)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 67000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA, UK, Australia
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, visually appealing, exciting, stylized, serious, tense, humorous, mysterious, mystic, period piece
Similar in 76%
Jumanji (1995)
Plot Summary:
When siblings Judy and Peter discover an enchanted board game that opens the door to a magical world, they unwittingly invite Alan -- an adult who's been trapped inside the game for 26 years -- into their living room. Alan's only hope for freedom is to finish the game, which proves risky as all three find themselves running from giant rhinoceroses, evil monkeys and other terrifying creatures.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 369000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: entertaining, exciting, offbeat, light, humorous, fairy tale, funny, feel good, epic, atmospheric
Similar in 90%
Matilda (1996)
Plot Summary:
An extraordinarily intelligent young girl from a cruel and uncaring family discovers she possesses telekinetic powers and is sent off to a school headed by a tyrannical principal.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 170000
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: feel good, fairy tale, humorous, sweet, touching, psychological, mystical, funny, inspirational, uplifting
Similar in 80%
Nanny McPhee (2005)
Plot Summary:
Widower Cedric Brown hires Nanny McPhee to care for his seven rambunctious children, who have chased away all previous nannies. Taunted by Simon and his siblings, Nanny McPhee uses mystical powers to instill discipline. And when the children's great-aunt and benefactor, Lady Adelaide Stitch, threatens to separate the kids, the family pulls together under the guidance of Nanny McPhee.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 84000
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA, UK, France
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, sweet, feel good, touching, light, humorous, semi serious, offbeat, cute, inspirational
Similar in 85%
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
Plot Summary:
Siblings Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter step through a magical wardrobe and find the land of Narnia. There, the they discover a charming, once peaceful kingdom that has been plunged into eternal winter by the evil White Witch, Jadis. Aided by the wise and magnificent lion, Aslan, the children lead Narnia into a spectacular, climactic battle to be free of the Witch's glacial powers forever.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 420000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 143 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, atmospheric, exciting, epic, scenic, christian film, entertaining, visually stunning, action adventure, fantasy adventure
Similar in 75%
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
Plot Summary:
A young boy wins a tour through the most magnificent chocolate factory in the world, led by the world's most unusual candy maker.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 513000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Musical
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, feel good, stylized, colorful, offbeat, visual, touching, visually stunning, funny, sweet
Similar in 87%
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Plot Summary:
Inside a snowflake exists the magical land of Whoville. In Whoville, live the Whos, an almost mutated sort of Munchkin-like people. All the Whos love Christmas, yet just outside of their beloved Whoville lives the Grinch. The Grinch is a nasty creature that hates Christmas, and plots to steal it away from the Whos, whom he equally abhors. Yet a small child, Cindy Lou Who, decides to try befriending the Grinch.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 279000
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, funny, stylized, humorous, light, sweet, entertaining, absurd, semi serious, parody