Films like Shrek
15 picks with a similar feel
What defines Shrek, going by its Boxlist taste profile: A fantastical animated family film that is polished, breakneck and warm-hearted. Best if you like the extraordinary over the everyday. Its strongest markers on Boxlist are themes of injustice and vengeance, social commentary and underdogs, plus tags such as robin hood, donkey and liberation.
Here are 15 films with a similar feel, ranked by how closely they match that profile. Treat them as picks to try, not a definitive list.
Based on Shrek (2001).
- 1
Frozen II (2019)
Film7.3
Why it's like Shrek: Also heightened and glossy. Common ground: castle, princess, magic.
- 2
Film6.8Easier to follow
Why it's like Shrek: Also heightened and warm-hearted.
- 3
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)
Film7.7Easier to follow
Why it's like Shrek: Also heightened and fast-paced, with themes of injustice and vengeance and underdogs. Common ground: dragon.
- 4
Hook (1991)
Film6.9
Why it's like Shrek: Also heightened and glossy, with themes of underdogs. Common ground: fairy tale.
- 5
The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
Film7.2Easier to follow
Why it's like Shrek: Also heightened and glossy, with themes of underdogs.
- 6
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Film7.1Easier to follow
Why it's like Shrek: Also heightened and glossy, with themes of social commentary. Common ground: parody.
- 7
Zootopia (2016)
Film7.7
Why it's like Shrek: Also heightened and glossy, with themes of injustice and vengeance and social commentary. Common ground: anthropomorphism.
- 8
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
Film7.7
Why it's like Shrek: Also heightened and glossy. Common ground: anthropomorphism.
- 9
Film6.9Easier to follow
Why it's like Shrek: Also heightened and glossy. Common ground: prince.
- 10
- 11
Madagascar (2005)
Film6.9Easier to follow
Why it's like Shrek: Also heightened and warm-hearted, with themes of underdogs.
- 12
- 13
Enchanted (2007)
Film6.7
Why it's like Shrek: Also heightened and glossy. Common ground: prince, princess, fairy tale.
- 14
Spies in Disguise (2019)
Film7.7
Why it's like Shrek: Also heightened and glossy, with themes of underdogs.
- 15
Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Film6.9
Why it's like Shrek: Also heightened and glossy, with themes of social commentary. Common ground: castle, prince, dragon.
Boxlist compares Shrek with every film in its catalogue on ten taste scores (pace, tone, weight, realism and more), story themes, genres and TMDB keywords, and ranks the closest. Every pick has a TMDB rating of 6.7 or more from at least 1,000 votes, new releases wait until their ratings settle, and only one title per franchise makes the list. It is an approximation of feel, so treat it as a starting point. Ratings are TMDB audience scores out of 10.
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Take the taste testQuestions
- What should I watch if I like Shrek?
- Picks with a similar feel include Frozen II, Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods, How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Hook. Each shares part of Shrek's taste profile, themes or tags; the full list has 15 films.
- How are these films like Shrek chosen?
- Boxlist compares Shrek with every film in its catalogue on ten taste scores (pace, tone, weight, realism and more), story themes, genres and TMDB keywords, and ranks the closest. Every pick has a TMDB rating of 6.7 or more from at least 1,000 votes, new releases wait until their ratings settle, and only one title per franchise makes the list. It is an approximation of feel, so treat it as a starting point.