If you’re a fan of Disney’s hit movies like Encanto, you may look for similar movies that capture the same magic and heartwarming storytelling.
Luckily, plenty of films like Encanto will enchant and captivate audiences of all ages.
From fantastical animated adventures to heartfelt family dramas, there’s no shortage of films that share Encanto’s themes of love, identity, and the power of family.
Whether you’re in the mood for a musical extravaganza or a heartwarming coming-of-age tale, these movies will transport you to imaginative worlds filled with memorable characters and unforgettable moments.
So, if you’re ready to explore more movies like Encanto, keep reading to discover 18 of the most captivating and entertaining films similar to Encanto that will capture your heart and leave you feeling uplifted and inspired.
1. Raya And The Last Dragon (2021)
Raya and the Last Dragon is one of the Disney movies like Encanto. The plot centers on Raya (Kelly Marie Tran), who is looking for a dragon named Sisu (Awkwafina) and pieces of a magic pendant to restore order and keep everyone from turning to stone.
Many things are the same between Encanto and Raya and the Last Dragon. In both stories, a young girl may be the only way for her family to stay alive.
Both Raya and the Last Dragon and Encanto have magical elements and show cultures that aren’t often seen in American animation.
2. Moana (2016)
The ocean chooses Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) to find Maui (Dwayne Johnson) and help him fix Te Fiti’s heart. Maui and Moana go on an adventure where they meet a lot of problems and sea creatures.
Moana and Encanto have music by Lin-Manuel Miranda and have a similar tone and style of animation.
Similar to movies like Encanto, Moana is also about young girls who show their families that they can become heroes by being strong-willed, determined, and confident in themselves and their skills.
If Moana and Mirabel lived in the same world, they would be best friends.
3. Mulan (1998)
Mulan is a Disney animated movie from a time when they were outstanding. It is based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan.
Mulan (Ming-Na Wen) joins the Imperial Chinese Army to protect her father and family.
This is one of the best movies on Disney+ because it’s a classic that set the stage for other Disney movies with intelligent, brave, and out-of-the-box heroines.
Characters like Mirabel in movies like Encanto are similar to characters like Mulan and take their place.
These young women care so much about and love their families that they will give up a lot to keep them safe.
They also show that Disney heroines can be feminine without being too girly, but they don’t make fun of or criticize other girly characters. They know they’re not the girls who would do that.
4. Coco (2017)
Coco follows Miguel, who is 12 years old (Anthony Gonzalez).
He ends up in the Land of the Dead when he tries to find the grave of a man he thinks is his great-great-grandfather.
He then looks for his relative while pursuing his interest in music.
Gael Garcia Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, and Alanna Ubach are also in the cast of Coco.
Coco is one of the best movies made by Disney and Pixar because it has a good story and shows Mexican culture, which isn’t often shown in Disney movies.
Coco and Encanto are about two different Hispanic cultures, but they have a similar feel.
They also put a lot of importance on culture, traditions, family, and history.
5. Wolfwalkers (2020)
The animated movie Wolfwalkers is about people who can change into wolves.
It’s mainly about Robyn, a young girl played by Honor Kneafsey who wants to be a wolf hunter like her father.
Her ideas change when she meets Eva Whittaker, a young wolf walker. Sean Bean, Simon McBurney, and Maria Doyle Kennedy are also in the cast of Wolfwalkers.
Wolfwalkers and Encanto are both about legends and people who can do things that others can’t.
These magical people are also in some way a pack or a family.
People who like movies like Encanto because of the magic and the idea of legends and curses will also like Wolfwalkers.
6. Vivo (2021)
Vivo is about a magical kinkajou named Vivo (Lin-Manuel Miranda) who lives in Havana, Cuba, and travels to Florida to help an old friend give a song to his true love.
Gabi (Ynairaly Simo), the niece of his friend, joins forces with him.
Zoe Saldana, Brian Tyree Henry, Juan de Marcos, Nicole Byer, and Gloria Estefan are also in Vivo’s voice cast.
Vivo is an animated movie with music by Lin-Manuel Miranda that will warm your heart.
But it is important to note that Gabi and Mirabel are very different people.
Mirabel is a little embarrassed that she is different from the rest of her family, but Gabi loves that she is strange.
Although we agree that similar to movies like Encanto, both girls would agree that they do what they can to help their families.
7. Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
Studio Ghibli made the movie Kiki’s Delivery Service. It’s about a young witch-in-training who moves out on her own and starts a delivery service out of a bakery.
People think this is one of the best Studio Ghibli movies for several reasons, including how easy it is to relate to Kiki’s (voiced in English by Kirsten Dunst) story of growing up.
Similar to movies like Encanto, Kiki’s Delivery Service is about what happens when you make your own decisions.
They both show how hard it is to become the most important factor in whether you fail or succeed and how much you grow when you do. It also looks at how people feel when they don’t live up to expectations.
8. Onward (2020)
In the Pixar and Disney movie Onward, two brothers go on a quest to see their dead father one last time.
The brothers live in a world where mythical creatures like elves, unicorns, and fairies live together in a sort of balance.
Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Octavia Spencer all lend their voices to the movie Onward.
Similar to other movies like Encanto, Onward shows how important family is and how people will go to great lengths to protect, reunite, or make their family happy. It’s more about the bonds between siblings.
The main siblings in Encanto are at odds with each other, but when they start to understand each other, it helps Encanto get to its end.
9. The Willoughbys (2020)
In The Willoughbys, a group of brothers and sisters try to find new parents.
Their current ones are lazy, selfish, and only care about themselves. They love each other very much, but not their kids.
Will Forte, Maya Rudolph, Alessia Cara, Terry Crews, Martin Short, Jane Krakowski, Sean Cullen, and Ricky Gervais are all in the cast of The Willoughbys.
Even though no one in the Madrigal family is as bad as the Willoughbys’ parents, both movies show that families can be bad, especially when they treat each other poorly.
The Madrigals start to grow and build a stronger foundation as a result of the mistakes they make. If you enjoy movies like Encanto, this movie is for you.
10. In The Heights (2021)
In The Heights is based on the same-named musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
It follows people who live in the New York City neighborhood of Washington Heights.
Usnavi, played by Anthony Ramos, is the story’s main character and narrator.
He wants to leave the Heights and return to the Dominican Republic to take over his father’s business after he dies.
The Madrigals are the most important thing in Encanto, but the love and respect of the community for the family is also a big part of the story.
At one point, the people in the Madrigals’ neighborhood worked together to help them.
In the Heights, like in movies like Encanto, shows how important community is and how no one can do anything alone.
Both Usnavi and Mirabel are big dreamers, too. Usnavi dreams of returning to the Dominican Republic, and Mirabel hopes to save her family, find her place in the group, and feel special.
11. Instant family (2018)
In Instant Family, a couple decides to foster a teenage girl. They decide to foster all three of them when they discover she has two younger siblings.
Based on a real-life adoption story, the movie is mostly about how these parents and children learn to be a family.
Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne, Isabela Merced, Gustavo Quiroz, and Julianna Gamiz are all in the movie Instant Family.
Instant family is heartwarming, so it goes well with movies like Encanto. Both books talk about what makes a family work and what happens when one is broken and needs fixing.
These movies show how families can work together to get through hard times.
12. Tarzan (1999)
The movie is about Tarzan’s life. Tarzan was a small orphan raised since he was a child by an ape named Kala.
He thought this was his family, but Tarzan saves Jane Porter while she is on an adventure.
Now Tarzan has to choose which family he wants to be a part of. Tarzan is a family story of being different, finding your place, and accepting yourself and your family, similar to movies like Encanto. Mirabel and Tarzan have a lot in common.
They are different from the rest of their family, but they are just as important as any other family member.
It’s a lovely story showing us that being different is okay. Also, the music is incredible.
13. Hercules (1997)
Hercules is the son of the Greek God Zeus. Hades, the God of the Underworld, wants to get rid of Zeus, so he turns Hercules into a half-god, half-human being. Hercules is raised on Earth, but he still has the strength of a god.
When he discovers he is immortal, Zeus tells him he must become a real hero before returning to Mount Olympus.
With the help of his friend Pegasus and his trainer Phil the satyr, Hercules becomes a famous hero.
Hercules fights monsters, Hades, and the Titans, but what makes him a hero is when he gives up his life to save Meg. Hercules and Louisa have a lot in common, as do the movies.
It’s a story about family, self-acceptance, societal pressure to be something you might not even want to be, and finding your place below the stars.
Similar to movies like Encanto, Hercules has a classic soundtrack with songs like “Zero to Hero,” “On My Way,” “Gospel Truth,” and many more.
14. Luca (2021)
A young boy has an amazing seaside summer on the Italian Riviera, where he eats gelato and pasta and rides his scooter for hours.
Luca and his new best friend go on these adventures together, but a deep secret threatens the fun: Luca is a sea monster from another world living just below the ocean’s surface.
Luca was one of the best movies I saw in 2021. It was a story about being different and being okay with who you are, not who other people want you to be.
Also, it shows that we can have friends, family, and acceptance as long as we are willing to change and let go of old biases. If you enjoy movies like Encanto, this movie is for you.
15. Frozen (2013)
When Elsa, the new queen, accidentally uses her power to turn things into ice and curses her home with endless winter, her sister Anna works with a mountain man, his playful reindeer, and a snowman to change the weather.
Frozen has one of Disney’s most memorable soundtracks and original songs.
The main character is a strong woman who is different from her family, and the world is full of magic, family love, and learning to accept yourself.
Similar to other movies like Encanto, this movie will keep you on edge.
16. Monster House (2006)
DJ, who is 13 years old, watches as his neighbor Nebbercracker, who lives on the other side of the street in a suburb, breaks the tricycles of kids who walk on his lawn.
DJ’s parents leave him with his mean babysitter Zee the night before Halloween, so he calls his clumsy best friend, Chowder, to play basketball.
But when the ball lands on Nebbercracker’s lawn, the old man has a heart attack, and they soon learn that the house is a monster.
The story of Monster House is very different from that of movies like Encanto.
It’s a bit scarier and has much more to do with friendship and childhood than with family.
However, the two stories have one thing in common: Casita, the living house in Encanto, and the monster house in Monster House.
17. Lilo & Stitch (2002)
A young girl without parents adopts a “dog” from the local pound. She has no idea that the “dog” is a dangerous scientific experiment that has escaped to Earth and is hiding from its creator and others who see it as a threat.
You can’t compare an alien experiment that looks like a dog to Encanto’s Mirabel, but Lilo & Stitch teaches the same lesson: don’t judge a book by its cover.
Everyone deserves a family full of love, kindness, acceptance, and affection, and Lilo gives that to a rejected alien who no one thought could even be loved.
Also, Lilo and her sister’s family differs greatly from the Madrigals’. Instead of being a big, happy family, Lilo and her sister’s family is small and quiet.
Still, it doesn’t matter what a family looks like or how many people are in it.
What matters is that everyone loves each other, no matter how different they are. If you are a fan of movies like Encanto, this movie is tailor-made for you.
18. Spirited Away (2001)
This is one of the movies like Encanto you should see. When her family moves to the suburbs, a grumpy 10-year-old girl gets lost and ends up in a world where gods, witches, and spirits rule and people turn into animals.
Even though Spirited Away is a Japanese animated movie, it had such a significant impact on me as a child that it’s still one of my all-time favorite movies.
It shows us that all our material goals and wants don’t matter when all is said and done.
Spirited Away is a story about a young girl who would do anything to save her family in a magical world full of mysticism, witches, magic, etc.
Also, Spirited Away won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film, just like Encanto.
Conclusion
Movies like Encanto offer a delightful escape into imaginative worlds full of adventure, heart, and humor.
Whether you’re a fan of animated musicals or touching family dramas, countless films capture the same magic and emotion that made Encanto a hit with audiences.
These movies remind us of love’s power, family’s importance, and the beauty of embracing our unique identities.
They transport us to places where anything is possible and inspire us to dream big and live life to the fullest.
So the next time you’re in the mood for a heartwarming and entertaining movie, remember that plenty of films like Encanto are waiting to be discovered.
From the classics to the latest releases, a world of cinematic wonder is waiting to be explored.
