When you think of movies like Matilda, a few movies immediately come to mind.
From family sagas and coming-of-age stories to gags about nutty neighbors, certain movies share similar elements with this one.
If you’re looking for more ideas on what to watch instead of Matilda, keep reading.
We’ve outlined some of the best movies like Matilda so that you can still laugh while staying away from such a disappointing movie.
1. Hocus Pocus (1993)
- Director: Kenny Ortega
- Cast: Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Omri Katz, Thora Birch, Vinessa Shaw, and Amanda Shepherd
- IMDb rating: 6.9/10
A fun comedy with plenty of action sequences and fancy visual effects.
All hell breaks loose in a modern-day Massachusetts community when three witches burned at the stake three centuries ago make good on their promise to return.
The three witches have one more spell to cast to ensure their immortality. Fortunately, three kids can break the spell and prevent this from happening.
“Hocus Pocus” is one of the most iconic cult movies of the ’90s, and its popularity spread well beyond the borders of the United States.
This movie is so iconic for Halloween that it has earned classic status.
2. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
- Director: David Yates
- Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, Sam Redford, Scott Goldman, Tim Bentinck, and Tristan Tait,
- IMDb rating: 7.2/10
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is about a girl named Hermione who goes to a wizarding school called Hogwarts.
It is set in the 1920s, so it has a more classic feel than the other movies like Matilda on this list.
Just like Matilda, Hermione is a genius who learns she doesn’t belong at a magic school. She learns how to control her abilities as well as how to use them for good.
In this movie, the main characters are all creatures used in mythology, like the Nundu, The Wendigo, and The Niffler.
The setting and plot are much more similar to Harry Potter than Matilda.
However, there are some similarities between the two movies, such as the main character who learns to control their abilities and use them for good and the lessons they learn.
3. Labyrinth (1986)
- Director: Jim Henson
- Cast: David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, Toby Froud, Shelley Thompson, Christopher Malcolm, Natalie Finland, and Shari Weiser
- IMDb rating: 7.3/10
Sarah (Jennifer Connelly), who is sixteen years old, hopes that the mighty Goblin King will come and take her baby brother, who won’t stop wailing (David Bowie).
Her request is granted, and she has thirteen hours to find the way out of the maze and save her stepbrother.
Thanks largely to Bowie’s appearance, this is one of the best children’s fantasy movies like Matilda ever created.
David Bowie’s portrayal of Jareth, King of the Goblins, is alluring and terrifying, manipulative and seductive, yet passionate and fascinating.
For whatever reason, adults found this cult classic to be funny.
4. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
- Director: Robert Mulligan
- Cast: Gregory Peck, John Megna, Frank Overton, Rosemary Murphy, Ruth White, Brock Peters, and Estelle Evans
- IMDb rating: 8.3/10
To Kill a Mockingbird is among the best movies like Matilda.
It is about a young girl named Scout who lives in a small town named Maycomb, Alabama. She has a brother named Jem and a father who is a lawyer.
At the movie’s beginning, Jem fights with a boy, and Scout goes over to try to help her brother.
She sees a man named Atticus defending his son and decides to become a lawyer to help defend people accused of crimes.
The most striking similarity between this and Matilda is that both girls are smart, and both movies have prosaic themes about racism and how it can affect people.
5. The Princess Bride (1987)
- Director: Rob Reiner
- Cast: Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Robin Wright, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, and André René Roussimoff
- IMDb rating: 8.0/10
The Princess Bride is a classic fairy tale many people have probably heard.
In this movie, a man named Buttercup is searching for his one true love. He meets a princess named Buttercup who is trapped in a book.
The main characters in this story are Westley and Princess Buttercup, who has to be one of the most passionate and quirky couples in all literature.
The plot is similar to Matilda and other great classics like The Odyssey and The Wizard of Oz.
6. The Kid Who Would Be King (2019)
- Director: Joe Cornish
- Cast: Louis Ashbourne Serkis, Denise Gough, Dean Chaumoo, Tom Taylor, Rhianna Dorris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, and Noma Dumezweni
- IMDb rating: 6.1/10
An 80s-style movie with upbeat messages: Get friendly with your adversaries and control your fate.
This is the story of Alex, a typical British kid who, after encountering difficulties of his own, comes upon the mythical Excalibur sword.
Here starts an exciting new chapter in the life of a regular, weak student who now wields the greatest sword in history.
Morgana is the embodiment of evil in the Middle Ages, and Alex and his friends have banded together to fight her before she can destroy the planet. This is one of the best movies like Matilda.
7. The BFG (2016)
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Cast: Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Penelope Wilton, Jemaine Clement, Rebecca Hall, Rafe Spall, and Bill Hader
- IMDb rating: 6.3/10
BFG is about a girl named Sophie who lives in a small town in England. Her mom is a psychologist, and her dad is a famous author.
She feels like she doesn’t fit in anywhere but finds a group of children like her.
In this story, Sophie encounters a giant that says he’s only there to help her feel less alone.
The plot is similar to Matilda as well as other classic fairy tales. This is undoubtedly one of the amazing movies like Matilda.
8. Wonder (2017)
- Director: Stephen Chbosky
- Cast: Jacob Tremblay, Owen Wilson, Izabela Vidovic, Julia Roberts, Mark Dozlaw, Rukiya Bernard, and Jennifer March
- IMDb rating: 7.9/10
Wonder is a great book about a boy named Auggie who was born with a rare disease resulting in his face is disfigured.
He goes to a special school for students with disabilities, and a few other students become his friends.
The main theme of this book is that people should try to see the good qualities in everyone, no matter what is wrong with them.
Auggie is a smart and kind boy who can communicate with the things he has been through. This is undoubtedly one of the amazing movies like Matilda.
9. The Great Gatsby (2013)
- Director: Baz Luhrmann
- Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Tobey Maguire, Lisa Adam, Frank Aldridge, and Amitabh Bachchan
- IMDb rating: 7.2/10
The Great Gatsby is about a spoiled rich kid named Nick Carraway who is invited to join the wealthy lifestyle of the new wealthy neighbor, Gatsby.
Nick is fascinated by Gatsby, and he is also fascinated by his own desire to join the lifestyle.
Nick tries to get closer to Gatsby by becoming his friend and confidante.
He also tries to get closer to Gatsby’s wife, Daisy, by helping her out when she is pregnant.
Daisy and Nick fall in love, but Daisy is only in love with the lifestyle.
Nick and Daisy want to get married, but their parents object to them getting married because they don’t like Nick’s family.
The Great Gatsby is a classic because of how timeless it is.
If you’ve read it before, you know this story. If you haven’t, you can still appreciate it.
You can appreciate it even more because you’ve read it before. This is one of the amazing movies like Matilda
10. Pride and Prejudice (2005)
- Director: Joe Wright
- Cast: Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, Brenda Blethyn, Donald Sutherland, Talulah Riley, Rosamund Pike, and Jena Malone
- IMDb rating: 7.8/10
A classic, of course. Pride and Prejudice is another story about a rich kid who falls in love with a woman who doesn’t love him back.
Mr. Darcy, the rich kid, believes that he is the only person who can save Elizabeth Bennet from the fate of being Bennet’s daughter.
He is appalled by Elizabeth Bennet’s father’s generosity and thinks he will ruin her.
Mr. Darcy is no different than the spoiled rich kid from The Great Gatsby.
He is spoiled and arrogant, believing his money will shield him from the world.
However, unlike in The Great Gatsby, Elizabeth Bennet likes Mr. Darcy, and he likes her. Mr. Darcy is forced to come to terms with his feelings for Elizabeth Bennet.
He is proud and embarrassed, and he is angry and awed all at the same time.
He is forced to come to terms with himself. This is undoubtedly one of the amazing movies like Matilda.
11. The Witches (1990)
- Director: Nicolas Roeg
- Cast: Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling, Jasen Fisher, Rowan Atkinson, Bill Paterson, Brenda Blethyn, and Charlie Potter
- IMDb rating: 6.8/10
Young Luke (Jasen Fisher) is sent to England by his grandmother Helga after the death of his parents (Mai Zetterling).
Gramma Helga tells Luke some stories about witches. Dazzled by these stories, young Luke sneaks into a witches’ meeting.
Anjelica Huston’s Grand High Witch divulges her intention to transform all children into mice using a mystical concoction.
After learning that Luke has overheard them, the witches decide to try out their new concoction on him.
It’s up to Luke the mouse, with some assistance from Helga and Mr. Stringer (Rowan Atkinson), to take on the witches.
Angelica Huston’s fantastic performance and Jim Hanson’s (former “muppets”) design of the witches make this movie memorable, based on a novel by Roald Dahl.
Even as an adult, you’ll be shaking from this movie.
12. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
- Director: David Fincher
- Cast: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Julia Ormond, Faune Chambers Watkins, Elias Koteas, and Donna Duplantier
- IMDb rating: 7.8/10
This is one of the best movies like Matilda. It is another serious and intriguing love story that can be compared to Matilda.
In The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a man ages backward and grows older.
He doesn’t start as a teenager and become an adult; he is already an adult when his story begins.
Benjamin Button is about a man who tries to find his place in the world.
He is confused because he believes he is perfect and should be doing something more important than being a gardener.
The love story in this movie is also really interesting because it is a love story that isn’t a love story.
The love story in this movie is a friendship, a partnership, and maybe even an obsession.
13. The Crucible (1996)
- Director: Nicholas Hytner
- Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, Paul Scofield, Joan Allen, Bruce Davison, Rob Campbell, and Jeffrey Jones
- IMDb rating: 6.8/10
The Crucible is one of the amazing movies like Matilda. It is also a classic that has been around since the early 1900s.
The Crucible is a story about a town that starts to believe that a man is a witch.
This man is the same spoiled rich kid terrified of the ordinary people around him.
The Crucible is about the power of the mob. It is about how people can be misled by propaganda.
14. Harriet the Spy (1996)
- Director: Bronwen Hughes
- Cast: Michelle Trachtenberg, Rosie O’Donnell, Gregory Smith, Vanessa Chester, J. Smith-Cameron, Robert Joy, and Eartha Kitt
- IMDb rating: 5.9/10
Harriet (Michelle Trachtenberg) is a pampered 11-year-old who lives with her wealthy parents and a nanny.
She’s just in sixth grade, but she knows exactly what she wants to do with her life someday: to be a spy.
She begins keeping a diary to help her realize her ambition. Harriet keeps a secret notebook in which she details unusual occurrences and maintains a running list of her observations on almost everyone she knows.
At first glance, Harriet’s notebook exposing her private opinions about her peers looks harmless.
When Harriet realizes that even her closest friends have turned against her during a riot, she decides to exact vengeance.
This movie, adapted from Louise Fitzhugh’s book published in 1964, is entertaining and uplifting.
It encourages viewers to go outside their comfort zones and find their unique solutions to problems. This is one of the amazing movies like Matilda.
