Best movies like Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Eccentric candy man Willy Wonka prompts a worldwide frenzy when he announces that golden tickets hidden inside five of his delicious candy bars will admit their lucky holders into his top-secret confectionary. But does Wonka have an agenda hidden amid a world of Oompa Loompas and chocolate rivers?.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 218000
Genere: Family, Fantasy, Musical
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: feel good, light, entertaining, surreal, visual, cute, exciting, humorous, stylized, psychedelic
Best tv shows and movies like Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971):
Similar in 84%
Finian's Rainbow (1968)
Plot Summary:
An Irishman, Finian, and his daughter Sharon, arrive in Rainbow Valley, a Southern town of tobacco sharecroppers in the state of Missitucky. The town has its own resident dreamer, Woody, who thinks that he might be able to put the town on the map by crossing mint with tobacco so that it'll grow mentholated. Finian's came to town because he's stolen a leprechaun's crock of gold and plans to plant it in the ground. But trouble arrives in the form of Og the leprechaun, who has followed Finian and wants his gold. Meanwhile, the bigoted Senator Billboard Rawkins, in an effort to stop progress in his state in the form of a new dam and hydroelectric system, plans to take the remaining parcel of land needed to stop the project. But the government's geologists reveal the Senator that gold has been detected on the property! Rawkins and his men confront the sharecroppers to seize their land using as an excuse an obscure law making it a felony for blacks and whites to live together.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Family, Fantasy, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 141 min
Plot tags: retro, political, feel good, humorous, stylized, semi serious, fairy tale, sentimental, light, romantic
Similar in 78%
The Wiz (1978)
Plot Summary:
A Thanksgiving dinner brings a host of family together in a Harlem apartment, where a 24-year-old schoolteacher named Dorothy Gale (Diana Ross) lives with her Aunt Em (Theresa Merritt) and Uncle Henry (Stanley Greene). Extremely introverted, she has, as Aunt Em teases her, "never been south of 125th Street", and refuses to move out and on with her life.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: stylized, cult classic, sweet, dark drama, atmospheric, feel good, humorous, semi serious, crying, epic fantasy
Similar in 83%
K-12 (2019)
Plot Summary:
Cry Baby, a strong and sensitive girl, is sent off to a disturbing sleepaway school that’s hidden underneath a grandiose façade. Luckily, she has a sweet and unapologetic best friend who sticks up for her when she gets bullied by the other students whose brains are under control by the Principal and his wicked staff. With the help of the magical friends they meet along the way, as well as an Angelic Spirit Guide, they are able to gain the strength they need to fight off the school’s belligerent patriarchal conditioning.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Fantasy, Horror, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: rough, captivating, dark, disturbing, cult classic, horror musical, dark fantasy, teen horror, gothic horror, bizarre
Similar in 79%
Babes in Toyland (1986)
Plot Summary:
11-year-old Lisa has no time for toys; she's too busy taking care of her siblings and cooking for her mother. During the Christmas Eve blizzard, Lisa travels to Toyland in Wizard of Oz-like fashion and arrives just in time for a wedding. Young Mary Contrary is about to marry mean, old Barnaby Barnacle, despite the fact that she loves Jack Be Nimble. Lisa tries to stop this terrible wedding and, together with her new friends, discovers that Barnaby wants to take over Toyland. Lisa, Mary, Jack, and Georgie Porgie ask the Toymaster for help, but he can't help them as long as Lisa doesn't truly believe in toys.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Musical, Romance
Country: USA, West Germany
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, sweet, mysterious, christmas special, cute, offbeat, feel good, humorous, stylized, semi serious
Similar in 85%
Sleeping Beauty (1987)
Plot Summary:
Feature-length, live-action musical version of the classic fairy tale by Charles Perrault.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 549
Genere: Family, Fantasy, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, mysterious, independent film, feel good, humorous, stylized, semi serious
Similar in 80%
Puss in Boots (1988)
Plot Summary:
A cat belonging to a poor miller's son thinks up a great plan for bringing a title, wealth, and marriage for his owner. He begins to carry it out, using a few birds and rabbits as gifts for the king, his own wit, and a pair of boots that make him appear human when he puts them on. However, his owner has no idea that the cat has told everyone that his master is a marquis rather than a miller's son until the king has arrived to meet him. Soon the king's daughter and the miller's son fall in love, and the king wants very much to see the land and the castle belonging to this rich "marquis.".
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 756
Genere: Fantasy, Musical, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, mysterious, feel good, humorous, stylized, semi serious, period piece
Similar in 75%
Hansel and Gretel (1988)
Plot Summary:
Hansel and Gretel tells the tale of two young children driven from home by their scolding mother. Losing their way in the dark forest they stumble upon the cottage of a kindly old woman. But is this kindly old woman everything she seems...?.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Family, Fantasy, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, humorous, feel good, stylized, mysterious, independent film, semi serious
Similar in 75%
Scrooge (1970)
Plot Summary:
The classic Charles Dickens' Christmas ghost tale told in musical form.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Drama, Family, Fantasy, Musical, Romance, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: christmas horror, christmas special, hilarious, offbeat, feel good, humorous, semi serious, independent film, sentimental, light
Similar in 90%
The Borrowers (1997)
Plot Summary:
The four-inch-tall Clock family secretly share a house with the normal-sized Lender family, "borrowing" such items as thread, safety pins, batteries and scraps of food. However, their peaceful co-existence is disturbed when evil lawyer Ocious P. Potter steals the will granting title to the house, which he plans to demolish in order to build apartments. The Lenders are forced to move, and the Clocks face the risk of being exposed to the normal-sized world.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: light, entertaining, humorous, not serious, fairy tale, feel good, epic, slapstick comedy, touching, offbeat
Similar in 75%
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)
Plot Summary:
An eccentric professor invents wacky machinery, but can't seem to make ends meet. When he invents a revolutionary car, a foreign government becomes interested in it, and resorts to skulduggery to get their hands on it.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 50000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Musical
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 144 min
Plot tags: light, sweet, cute, sentimental, mystical, funny, inspirational, mind bending, psychedelic, epic
Similar in 89%
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 86%
Mary Poppins (1964)
Plot Summary:
A magical nanny employs music and adventure to help two neglected children become closer to their father.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 183000
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 139 min
Plot tags: feel good, touching, uplifting, sweet, fairy tale, colorful, humorous, romantic, entertaining, cute
Similar in 76%
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 77%
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 80%
Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Plot Summary:
In Depression-era London, a now-grown Jane and Michael Banks, along with Michael's three children, are visited by the enigmatic Mary Poppins following a personal loss. Through her unique magical skills, and with the aid of her friend Jack, she helps the family rediscover the joy and wonder missing in their lives.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 94000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Musical
Country: USA, UK, Denmark, Australia, Canada, India
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: light, fairy tale, sincere, atmospheric, entertaining, stylized, funny, inspirational, uplifting, surreal
Similar in 89%
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 80%
Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 108000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Horror
Country: Germany, USA, Australia
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, stylized, dark fantasy, light, talky, captivating, fairy tale, melancholic, sad
Similar in 75%
The Secret Garden (1993)
Plot Summary:
A young British girl born and reared in India loses her neglectful parents in an earthquake. She is returned to England to live at her uncle's castle. Her uncle is very distant due to the loss of his wife ten years before. Neglected once again, she begins exploring the estate and discovers a garden that has been locked and neglected. Aided by one of the servants' boys, she begins restoring the garden, and eventually discovers some other secrets of the manor.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 44000
Genere: Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: costume drama, touching, atmospheric, feel good, fairy tale, sentimental, period piece, serious, realistic, light
Similar in 83%
Bridge to Terabithia (2007)
Plot Summary:
Jesse Aarons trained all summer to become the fastest runner in school, so he's very upset when newcomer Leslie Burke outruns him and everyone else. Despite this and other differences, including that she's rich, he's poor, and she's a city girl, he's a country boy, the two become fast friends. Together, they create Terabithia, a land of monsters, trolls, ogres, and giants and rule as king and queen.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 169000
Genere: Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: emotional, tear jerker, sad, touching, heartbreaking, fairy tale, sentimental, teen, captivating, melancholic
Similar in 80%
The NeverEnding Story (1984)
Plot Summary:
While hiding from bullies in his school's attic, a young boy discovers the extraordinary land of Fantasia, through a magical book called The Neverending Story. The book tells the tale of Atreyu, a young warrior who, with the help of a luck dragon named Falkor, must save Fantasia from the destruction of The Nothing.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 154000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: West Germany, USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, feel good, light, surreal, touching, scenic, offbeat, atmospheric, epic, melancholic
Similar in 89%
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 81%
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007)
Plot Summary:
Molly Mahoney is the awkward and insecure manager of Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, the strangest, most fantastic, most wonderful toy store in the world. But when Mr. Magorium bequeaths the store to her, a dark and ominous change begins to take over the once remarkable Emporium.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 47000
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: light, feel good, humorous, fairy tale, inspirational, motivational, touching, melancholic, semi serious, cute
Similar in 88%
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
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
Similar in 85%
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 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 88%
The Cat in the Hat (2003)
Plot Summary:
Conrad and Sally Walden are home alone with their pet fish. It is raining outside, and there is nothing to do. Until The Cat in the Hat walks in the front door. He introduces them to their imagination, and at first it's all fun and games, until things get out of hand, and The Cat must go, go, go, before their parents get back.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 87000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: stylized, humorous, feel good, entertaining, semi serious, offbeat, mysterious, black comedy, freeze frame, slapstick comedy
Similar in 84%
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 82%
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (2010)
Plot Summary:
Nanny McPhee appears at the door of a harried young mother, Mrs. Isabel Green, who is trying to run the family farm while her husband is away at war. But once she’s arrived, Nanny McPhee discovers that the children are fighting a war of their own against two spoiled city cousins who have just moved in. Relying on everything from a flying motorcycle and a statue that comes to life to a tree-climbing piglet and a baby elephant, Nanny uses her magic to teach her mischievous charges five new lessons.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 36000
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy, War
Country: UK, France, USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: captivating, fairy tale, entertaining, scenic, touching, humorous, surreal, colorful, witty, semi serious
Similar in 77%
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 86%
Paddington (2014)
Plot Summary:
After a deadly earthquake destroys his home in Peruvian rainforest, a young bear makes his way to England in search of a new home. The bear, dubbed "Paddington" for the london train station, finds shelter with the family of Henry and Mary Brown. Although Paddington's amazement at urban living soon endears him to the Browns, someone else has her eye on him: Taxidermist Millicent Clyde has designs on the rare bear and his hide.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 129000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK, France, USA, China
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: touching, feel good, sweet, colorful, stylized, not serious, semi serious, funny, humorous, slapstick