Movies Like While the Clocks Are Ticking

If you liked While the Clocks Are Ticking (1977), a family and fantasy movie directed by Gennadi Vasilyev, 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
The Wizard of the Emerald City, Part I (2025)
★ 7.2/10Also fantasy and family
Ellie lives in a distant city. One day, the evil witch Gingema conjured a hurricane that took Ellie and her dog Totoshka to the country of the Munchkins. To return home, Ellie and her friends the Scarecrow, the Tin…
2
Four Kids and It (2020)
★ 6.2/10Also family and fantasy
A group of kids on holiday in Cornwall meet a magical creature on the beach with the power to grant wishes.
3
Old Man Khottabych (1957)
★ 7/10Also fantasy and family
A boy named Volka discovers an ancient vessel on the bottom of a river. When he opens it, a genie emerges from there. He calls himself Hassan Abdurrahman ibn Khottab, or in Russian style Khottabych. Grateful Khottabych…
4
Princess (2008)
★ 6.2/10Also fantasy and family
A reclusive princess and a directionless young man embark on a quest to save the world's mythical creatures from becoming extinct.
5
Hansel and Gretel (1988)
★ 7.1/10Also family and fantasy
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…
6
Shorts (2009)
★ 5.9/10Also family and fantasy
A young boy's discovery of a colorful, wish-granting rock causes chaos in the suburban town of Black Falls when jealous kids and scheming adults alike set out to get their hands on it.
7
Upon the Magic Roads (2021)
★ 6.8/10Also fantasy
Romantic John the Fool and his friend Foal set out on a series of unpredictable adventures in different magical worlds. The two buddies will have to outsmart an evil tyrant king, catch the firebird, and find John’s…
8
Momo (2025)
★ 7.1/10Also family and fantasy
Momo is a young orphan girl who lives in the ruins of an old Roman amphitheater and becomes friends with everybody in the neighborhood. But when a powerful international corporation starts stealing everybody’s time…
9
Godmothered (2020)
★ 6.7/10Also family and fantasy
A young and unskilled fairy godmother that ventures out on her own to prove her worth by tracking down a young girl whose request for help was ignored. What she discovers is that the girl has now become a grown woman…
10
The House Elf (2019)
★ 7/10Also fantasy and family
In an ordinary Moscow there is an unusual House — with a strange apartment in which not a single resident has stayed for long. And as soon as an independent mother and her lovely 8-year-old daughter moved there, the…
11
FairyTale: A True Story (1997)
★ 6.4/10Also fantasy and family
In 1917, two children take a photograph, which is soon believed by some to be the first scientific evidence of the existence of fairies. Based on the true story of the Cottingley Fairies.
12
The Adventures of Buratino (1959)
★ 6.7/10Also family and fantasy
A wooden boy Buratino tries to find his place in life. He befriends toys from a toy theater owned by evil Karabas-Barabas, gets tricked by Alice the Fox and Basilio the Cat and finally discovers the mystery of a golden…
13
Anastasia: Once Upon a Time (2020)
★ 5.9/10Also family and fantasy
Anastasia Romanov escapes through a portal when her family is threatened by Vladimir Lenin, and she finds herself in the year 1988, befriended by a young American girl.
14
The Dirt Bike Kid (1985)
★ 6.1/10Also family and fantasy
When his mother sends Jack off with money to buy groceries, he comes home with a magic supercharged dirt bike instead. His mother is furious, but when Jack uses the magic bike to save the local hot dog stand from the…
15
Pan (2015)
★ 6/10Also fantasy and family
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…
16
Alice in Wonderland (1933)
★ 6.1/10Also family and fantasy
In Victorian England, a bored young girl dreams that she has entered a fantasy world called Wonderland, populated by even more fantastic characters.
17
Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)
★ 5.9/10Also fantasy
The story of an ancient war that is reignited when a young farmhand unwittingly opens a gateway between our world and a fearsome race of giants. Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the giants strive…
18
Nico the Unicorn (1998)
★ 6.2/10Also fantasy and family
As an 11-year-old boy struggles to cope with a disability, he finds a pony who gives birth to a unicorn which he takes care of.
19
Cinderella's Curse (2024)
★ 5.9/10Also fantasy
Desperate Cinderella summons her fairy godmother from an ancient flesh-bound book, seeking revenge on her evil stepmother and stepsisters who abuse and torment her daily.
20
Prancer: A Christmas Tale (2022)
★ 6.5/10Also family and fantasy
Ten-year-old Gloria and her recently widowed grandfather Bud befriend a mysterious reindeer when the family gather for Christmas. Bud comes to believe that Prancer may actually be magical, but Gloria fears his theory…