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Movies that feel like Animal Crackers (1930)

If you loved Animal Crackers, the closest films we have are Top Hat (1935), Waiting for Guffman (1997) and A Mighty Wind (2003). All three share Animal Crackers' witty and playful feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 5 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max, Criterion Channel and Artiflix and others, checked against today's data.

The well-known explorer and hunter Captain Spaulding has just returned from Africa, and is being welcomed home with a lavish party at the estate of influential society matron Mrs. Rittenhouse when a valuable painting goes missing. The intrepid Captain Spaulding attempts to solve the crime with the help of his silly secretary Horatio Jamison, while sparring with the anarchic Signor Emanuel Ravelli and his nutty sidekick The Professor.

πŸ… 97% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.4 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Victor Heermanwittyplayfulstylish
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If Animal Crackers hit the spot, these will too

Top Hat poster
Top Hat
1935 Β· dir. Mark Sandrich
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.7music Β· comedy Β· romance

Two things both keep coming back to: musical and based on play or musical

The difference: Sits closer to romance than Animal Crackers does

Showman Jerry Travers is working for producer Horace Hardwick in London. Jerry demonstrates his new dance steps late one night in Horace's hotel room, much to the annoyance of sleeping Dale Tremont below. She goes upstairs to complain and the two are immediately attracted to each other. Complications arise when Dale mistakes Jerry for Horace.

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Waiting for Guffman poster
Waiting for Guffman
1997 Β· dir. Christopher Guest
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.4comedy Β· music

The same mix in both: wit, then play

The difference: Made in the 1990s, in a different era of the craft

Aspiring director Corky St. Clair and the marginally talented amateur cast of his hokey small-town musical production go overboard when they learn that Broadway theater agent Mort Guffman will be in attendance.

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A Mighty Wind poster
A Mighty Wind
2003 Β· dir. Christopher Guest
πŸ… 87%β˜… 7.2comedy Β· music

Comedy built on style, twice over

Three eclectic, never-quite-famous folk bands come together for the first time in decades following the death of their manager to put on an reunion concert in his honor, at the request of his son.

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The Jazz Singer poster
The Jazz Singer
1927 Β· dir. Alan Crosland
πŸ… 77%β˜… 6.4drama Β· music

One thread runs through both: black and white

The difference: None of the wit Animal Crackers is built on

A young Jewish man is torn between tradition and individuality when his old-fashioned family objects to his career as a jazz singer. This is the first full length feature film to use synchronized sound, and is the original film musical.

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The Court Jester poster
The Court Jester
1955 Β· dir. Norman Panama
πŸ… 97%β˜… 7.8music Β· adventure Β· comedy

Witty music, and it commits to that

The difference: Leans harder into adventure than Animal Crackers does

A hapless carnival performer masquerades as the court jester as part of a plot against a usurper who has overthrown the rightful king of England.

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Make Mine Music poster
Make Mine Music
1946 Β· dir. Robert Cormack
πŸ… 58%β˜… 6.1animation Β· music Β· family

Common ground: musical

The difference: Critics were much harder on this one

In the tradition of Fantasia, Make Mine Music is a glorious collection of musically charged animated shorts featuring such fun-filled favorites as "Peter and the Wolf", narrated by the beloved voice behind Winnie the Pooh. In addition you'll enjoy such classic cartoon hits as "Casey at the Bat," "The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met" and "Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet."

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You, the Living poster
You, the Living
2007 Β· dir. Roy Andersson
πŸ… 98%β˜… 7.4drama Β· comedy Β· music

Comedy with a pulse of play, in both cases

In the Swedish city of Lethe, people from different walks of life take part in a series of short, deadpan vignettes that rush past. Some are just seconds long, none longer than a couple of minutes. A young woman remembers a fantasy honeymoon with a rock guitarist. A man awakes from a dream about bomber planes. A businessman boasts about success while being robbed by a pickpocket, and so on. The absurdist collection is accompanied by Dixieland jazz and similar music.

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An American in Paris poster
An American in Paris
1951 Β· dir. Vincente Minnelli
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7.1music Β· romance Β· comedy

Both lean on style more than on music

Jerry Mulligan is an exuberant American expatriate in Paris trying to make a reputation as a painter. His friend Adam is a struggling concert pianist who's a long time associate of a famous French singer, Henri Baurel. A lonely society woman, Milo Roberts, takes Jerry under her wing and supports him, but is interested in more than his art.

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Sons of the Desert poster
Sons of the Desert
1933 Β· dir. William A. Seiter
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.5comedy

Both keep coming back to the same thing: pre-code

The difference: Not nearly as stylish as Animal Crackers

Ollie and Stan deceive their wives into thinking they are taking a medically necessary cruise when they are really going to a lodge convention.

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The Skeleton Dance poster
The Skeleton Dance
1929 Β· dir. Walt Disney
β˜… 7.6animation Β· family Β· music

Witty comedy in both cases

The clock strikes midnight, the bats fly from the belfry, a dog howls at the full moon, and two black cats fight in the cemetery: a perfect time for four skeletons to come out and dance a bit.

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Limelight poster
Limelight
1952 Β· dir. Charlie Chaplin
πŸ… 88%β˜… 8romance Β· drama Β· music

Both are built on the same subject: black and white

A fading music hall comedian tries to help a despondent ballet dancer learn to walk and to again feel confident about life.

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A Night at the Opera poster
A Night at the Opera
1935 Β· dir. Sam Wood
πŸ… 97%β˜… 7.8comedy Β· music

Both lean on play more than on music

The Marx Brothers take on high society and the opera world to bring two lovers together. A sly business manager and two wacky friends of two opera singers help them achieve success while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies.

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The best-reviewed films that share Animal Crackers’ defining feeling.