Movies Like Pretend to be Serious

If you liked Pretend to be Serious (2018), a drama and comedy movie directed by Zhang Zongyuan, 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
Slumberland (2022)
★ 7.2/10Also comedy and family
A young girl discovers a secret map to the dreamworld of Slumberland, and with the help of an eccentric outlaw, she traverses dreams and flees nightmares, with the hope that she will be able to see her late father again.
2
The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012)
★ 7/10Also fantasy and drama
A childless couple bury a box in their backyard, containing all of their wishes for an infant. Soon, a child is born, though Timothy Green is not all that he appears.
3
Afterlife of the Party (2021)
★ 6.7/10Also fantasy and comedy
A social butterfly who dies during her birthday week is given a second chance to right her wrongs on Earth.
4
The Willoughbys (2020)
★ 7.1/10Also comedy and family
When the four Willoughby children are abandoned by their selfish parents, they must learn how to adapt their Old-Fashioned values to the contemporary world in order to create something new: The Modern Family.
5
Kermit's Swamp Years (2002)
★ 5.8/10Also fantasy and family
At 12 years old, Kermit the Frog and best friends Goggles and Croaker travel outside their homes in the swamps of the Deep South to do something extraordinary with their lives.
6
The Happiest Millionaire (1967)
★ 6.8/10Also comedy and drama
A happy and unbelievably lucky young Irish immigrant, John Lawless, lands a job as the butler of an unconventional millionaire, Biddle. His daughter, Cordelia Drexel Biddle, tires of the unusual antics of her…
7
Welcome to Smelliville (2021)
★ 6.7/10Also family and fantasy
The Oggly family arrive at the municipal rubbish dump of Smelliville and must look for a new home, but they never feel really welcome anywhere. They stink and are for most humans just a tad too oggly. When Firebottom…
8
Hilda and the Mountain King (2021)
★ 7.6/10Also fantasy and family
When Hilda wakes up in the body of a troll, she must use her wits and courage to get back home, become human again — and save the city of Trolberg.
9
Secret Society of Second-Born Royals (2020)
★ 6.6/10Also comedy and fantasy
A rebellious teenage princess discovers she has superhuman abilities and joins a secret society of extraordinary second-born royals tasked with protecting the world.
10
I Am Not Madame Bovary (2016)
★ 6.8/10Also comedy and drama
Li Xuelian, a woman from the countryside is falsely accused by her husband of having an affair. To defend herself, Li moves from her small town to the big city until she reached the capital.
11
Chang Can Dunk (2023)
★ 6.7/10Also family and comedy
Chang, a 16-year-old, Asian American, bets the high school basketball star that he can dunk by Homecoming. The bet leads 5' 8" Chang on a quest to learn to dunk—not only to impress his crush, Kristy, but to gain the…
12
Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring (2002)
★ 6.4/10Also comedy and family
The Oscar-winning cat-and-mouse twosome--Tom and Jerry--returns with another adventure. When Tom and Jerry's irrepressible curiosity gets the best of them, the mysterious magic ring that Tom guards with his life ends…
13
Alley Cats Strike (2000)
★ 6/10Also family and drama
A group of hip retro teenage outsiders become involved in an interschool bowling rivalry.
14
Revolting Rhymes (2017)
★ 6.9/10Also family and comedy
Two half-hour animated films based on the much-loved rhymes written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake.
15
Pegasus 2 (2024)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and comedy
Former champion driver Zhang Chi teaches at a driving school in troubled times, relying on his reputation to make ends meet. A failing automobile factory offers to sponsor Zhang Chi in the last Bayinbrook Rally.
16
Candy Cane Lane (2023)
★ 6/10Also comedy and fantasy
Determined to win the neighborhood's annual Christmas decorating contest, family man Chris makes a pact with an elf to help him out-do the competition. However, the elf casts a spell bringing the twelve days of…
17
The Loud House Movie (2021)
★ 7.2/10Also family and comedy
The Loud family travel to Scotland and discover they are descendants of Scottish royalty as they move into their giant ancestral castle.
18
Hi, Mom (2021)
★ 7/10Also drama and comedy
Devastated after her mom's serious accident and grief-stricken because she hasn't become the daughter she wanted to be for her mother, a Chinese woman finds herself transported back in time to the year 1981, where she…
19
A Thousand Words (2012)
★ 6.1/10Also drama and comedy
Jack McCall is a fast-talking literary agent, who can close any deal, any time, any way. He has set his sights on New Age guru Dr. Sinja for his own selfish purposes. But Dr. Sinja is on to him, and Jack’s life comes…
20
Landline (2017)
★ 6.2/10Also comedy and drama
A teenager living with her sister and parents in Manhattan during the 1990s discovers that her father is having an affair.