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Captain Fantastic poster

Movies that feel likeCaptain Fantastic (2016)

Deep in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, a father devoted to raising his six kids with a rigorous physical and intellectual education is forced to leave his paradise and enter the world, beginning a journey that challenges his idea of what it means to be a parent.

If you loved Captain Fantastic, the closest films we have are Toni Erdmann (2016), The Holdovers (2023) and Good Bye, Lenin! (2003). All three share Captain Fantastic's contemplative and witty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Hit the Road (2021).

8 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Hulu

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See it on the Mood Map

If Captain Fantastic hit the spot, these will too

Toni Erdmann poster
Toni Erdmann
2016 · dir. Maren Ade
🍅 93%★ 7.3comedy · drama

Both keep coming back to the same thing: death of mother

Convinced that his daughter has forgotten how to laugh, a father shows up unannounced while she's living abroad and bombards her with outrageous jokes.

The Holdovers poster
The Holdovers
2023 · dir. Alexander Payne
🍅 97%★ 7.9drama · comedyPeacock

The same preoccupation in both: mental illness

A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam.

Good Bye, Lenin! poster
Good Bye, Lenin!
2003 · dir. Wolfgang Becker
🍅 91%★ 7.7comedy · drama

One thread runs through both: socialism

Alex Kerner's mother was in a coma while the Berlin wall fell. When she wakes up he must try to keep her from learning what happened (as she was an avid communist supporter) to avoid shocking her which could lead to another heart attack.

Sunshine Cleaning poster
Sunshine Cleaning
2009 · dir. Christine Jeffs
🍅 74%★ 6.8comedy · dramaMax

Both are built on the same subject: new mexico

A single mother and her slacker sister find an unexpected way to turn their lives around in this off-beat dramatic comedy. In order to raise the tuition to send her young son to private school the mom starts an unusual business – a biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up service.

August: Osage County poster
August: Osage County
2013 · dir. John Wells
🍅 67%★ 7.2comedy · dramaPrime Video

Both land stillness and wit at once

An intense look at the lives of the strong-willed daughters of the Weston family, whose paths have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Midwest house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional mother who raised them.

Asteroid City poster
Asteroid City
2023 · dir. Wes Anderson
🍅 76%★ 6.4comedy · dramaPeacock

Playful where it counts, melancholy underneath

In an American desert town circa 1955, the itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events.

Patch Adams poster
Patch Adams
1998 · dir. Tom Shadyac
🍅 22%★ 6.9comedy · drama

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

The true story of Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams, who in the 1970s found that humor is the best medicine, and was willing to do just anything to make his patients laugh—even if it meant risking his own career.

Saving Mr. Banks poster
Saving Mr. Banks
2013 · dir. John Lee Hancock
🍅 79%★ 7.5comedy · drama · historyDisney+

Comedy with a pulse of wit, in both cases

The difference: Sits closer to history than Captain Fantastic does

Author P.L. Travers looks back on her childhood while reluctantly meeting with Walt Disney, who seeks to adapt her Mary Poppins books for the big screen.

A Man Called Otto poster
A Man Called Otto
2022 · dir. Marc Forster
🍅 70%★ 7.5comedy · dramaHulu

Both lean on play more than on drama

When a lively young family moves in next door, grumpy widower Otto Anderson meets his match in a quick-witted, pregnant woman named Marisol, leading to an unlikely friendship that turns his world upside down.

Demolition poster
Demolition
2016 · dir. Jean-Marc Vallée
🍅 53%★ 7comedy · dramaRent or buy

Melancholy comedy in both cases

An emotionally desperate investment banker finds hope through a woman he meets.

Hit the Road poster
Hit the Road
2021 · dir. Panah Panahi
🍅 95%★ 7.2comedy · drama

Common ground: road trip

The difference: Easier on the melancholy than Captain Fantastic

A chaotic family is on a road trip across a rugged landscape. In the back seat, Dad has a broken leg, Mom tries to laugh when she's not holding back tears, and the youngest keeps exploding into car karaoke. Only the older brother is quiet.

The Fundamentals of Caring poster
The Fundamentals of Caring
2016 · dir. Rob Burnett
🍅 80%★ 7.3comedy · dramaNetflix

Same instincts, same year

Having suffered a tragedy, Ben becomes a caregiver to earn money. His first client, Trevor, is a hilarious 18-year-old with muscular dystrophy. One paralyzed emotionally, one paralyzed physically, Ben and Trevor hit the road on a trip into the western states. The folks they collect along the way will help them test their skills for surviving outside their calculated existence. Together, they come to understand the importance of hope and the necessity of true friendship.

In the mood for more contemplative?

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The best-reviewed films that share Captain Fantastic’s defining feeling.