Movies Like City in the Hands of Children

If you liked City in the Hands of Children (1991), a fantasy and music movie directed by Esmael Barari, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
40 Acres (2025)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and fantasy
Hailey Freeman and her family are the last descendants of African American farmers who settled in rural Canada after the Civil War. In a famine-decimated near future, they now struggle to safeguard their farm, as they…
2
Clika (2026)
★ 8.3/10Also music and drama
Aspiring small-town musician Chito is determined to make it big. When a clip of him performing one of his songs goes viral, he seizes the opportunity and pushes to carve out a place for himself in the new wave of…
3
The Shepherd (2023)
★ 7/10Also drama and fantasy
On Christmas Eve, a fighter pilot on his way home becomes lost while flying over water and needs a miracle to land safely.
4
Battle of the Year (2013)
★ 6.8/10Also music and drama
A down-on-his-luck coach is hired to prepare a team of the best American dancers for an international tournament that attracts all the best crews from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years.
5
Vesper (2022)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and fantasy
After the collapse of Earth's ecosystem, Vesper, a 13-year-old girl struggling to survive with her paralyzed Father, meets a mysterious Woman with a secret that forces Vesper to use her wits, strength and bio-hacking…
6
Northfork (2003)
★ 6/10Also fantasy and drama
The year is 1955, and a great flood is coming to Northfork, Montana. A new hydroelectric dam is about to be installed in the mountains above the town, ready to submerge the valley in the name of progress. It is the…
7
Too Late Blues (1961)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and music
Ghost is an ideological musician and leader of a jazz band who would rather play his blues in the park to the birds than compromise himself. His peripatetic performances lead him to cross paths with a singer, while his…
8
Heavy Metal (1981)
★ 6.5/10Also fantasy and music
The embodiment of ultimate evil, a glowing orb terrorizes a young girl with bizarre stories of dark fantasy, eroticism and horror.
9
Under the Sea: A Descendants Story (2018)
★ 7.1/10Also music and fantasy
Mal emerges from the shadows of a mystical forest onto a dark coastline where she crosses paths with Dizzy.
10
Tuesday (2024)
★ 6.8/10Also fantasy and drama
A mother and her teenage daughter must confront Death when it arrives in the form of an astonishing talking bird.
11
Franklyn (2008)
★ 6/10Also fantasy and drama
Set between the parallel worlds of contemporary London and the futuristic faith dominated metropolis of Meanwhile City, Franklyn weaves a tale of four souls, whose lives are intertwined by fate, romance and tragedy. As…
12
The Mambo Kings (1992)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and music
The Mambo Kings tells the story of César and Nestor Castillo, brothers and aspiring musicians who flee from Cuba to America in search of the American Dream.
13
Before I Fall (2017)
★ 7/10Also drama and fantasy
Samantha Kingston has everything. Then, everything changes. After one fateful night, she wakes up with no future at all. Trapped into reliving the same day over and over, she begins to question just how perfect her…
14
Hounddog (2008)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and music
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
15
Horns (2013)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and fantasy
In the aftermath of his girlfriend's mysterious death, a young man awakens to strange horns sprouting from his temples.
16
Nine Days (2021)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and fantasy
A bureaucrat interviews five souls to decide which of them will be given a life on Earth. But he soon faces an existential challenge of his own.
17
Grace Unplugged (2013)
★ 6/10Also drama and music
A talented young singer and aspiring songwriter’s Christian faith and family ties are tested when she defies her worship-pastor father and pursues pop-music stardom in GRACE UNPLUGGED, a moving and inspiring new film…
18
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)
★ 6/10Also fantasy and drama
After the Evil Queen marries the King, she performs a violent coup in which the King is murdered and his daughter, Snow White, is taken captive. Almost a decade later, a grown Snow White is still in the clutches of the…
19
Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and fantasy
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…
20
Special (2006)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and fantasy
A lonely metermaid has a psychotic reaction to his medication and becomes convinced he's a superhero. A very select group of people in life are truly gifted. Special is a movie about everyone else.