feelsalike.com

Movies that feel like Steamboat Willie (1928)

If you loved Steamboat Willie, the closest films we have are One Week (1920), Three Little Pigs (1933) and The Skeleton Dance (1929). All three share Steamboat Willie's witty and playful feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 9 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Criterion Channel and others, checked against today's data.

Mickey Mouse, piloting a steamboat, delights his passenger, Minnie Mouse, by making musical instruments out of the menagerie on deck.

πŸ… 100% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.4 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Walt Disneywhimsicalwittyplayful
Stream it:Disney+ β†—

When is Steamboat Willie streaming? β†’

If Steamboat Willie hit the spot, these will too

One Week poster
One Week
1920 Β· dir. Buster Keaton
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8.1comedy

Both keep coming back to the same thing: short film

The difference: None of the whimsy Steamboat Willie is built on

Newlyweds receive a build-it-yourself house as a wedding giftβ€”and the house can, supposedly, be built in "one week". A rejected suitor secretly re-numbers packing crates, and the husband struggles to assemble the house according to this new 'arrangement' of its parts.

Feels alike?
Three Little Pigs poster
Three Little Pigs
1933 Β· dir. Burt Gillett
β˜… 7.5music Β· animation Β· comedy

One thread runs through both: short film

The difference: Leans harder into music than Steamboat Willie does

The two pigs building houses of hay and sticks scoff at their brother, building the brick house. But when the wolf comes around and blows their houses down (after trickery like dressing as a foundling sheep fails), they run to their brother's house. And throughout, they sing the classic song, "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?".

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

Walt Disney working the same nerve twice

The difference: Sits closer to family than Steamboat Willie does

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.

Feels alike?
A Cat in Paris poster
A Cat in Paris
2010 Β· dir. Jean-Loup Felicioli
πŸ… 83%β˜… 6.9animation Β· comedy

The same mix in both: whimsy, then wit

The difference: Made in the 2010s, in a different era of the craft

A thrilling mystery that unfurls in the alleys and on the rooftops of the French capital, Paris, over the course of one adventurous evening.

Feels alike?
You Can't Take It with You poster
You Can't Take It with You
1938 Β· dir. Frank Capra
πŸ… 94%β˜… 7.8comedy Β· romance

Common ground: black and white

Alice, the only relatively normal member of the eccentric Sycamore family, falls in love with Tony Kirby, but his wealthy banker father and snobbish mother strongly disapprove of the match. When the Kirbys are invited to dinner to become better acquainted with their future in-laws, things don't turn out the way Alice had hoped.

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

Comedy built on play, twice over

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.

Feels alike?
Zero for Conduct poster
Zero for Conduct
1933 Β· dir. Jean Vigo
πŸ… 94%β˜… 7.2comedy Β· drama

Witty animation in both cases

In a repressive boarding school with rigid rules of behavior, four boys decide to rebel against the director on a celebration day.

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

Playful comedy, and it commits to that

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

Feels alike?
Animal Crackers poster
Animal Crackers
1930 Β· dir. Victor Heerman
πŸ… 97%β˜… 7.4comedy Β· music

Both are built on the same subject: musical

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.

Feels alike?
Secret Magic Control Agency poster
Secret Magic Control Agency
2021 Β· dir. Alexey Tsitsilin
β˜… 6.2animation Β· comedy Β· fantasy

Animation with a pulse of whimsy, in both cases

The Secret Magic Control Agency sends its two best agents, Hansel and Gretel, to fight against the witch of the Gingerbread House.

Feels alike?
Steamboat Bill, Jr. poster
Steamboat Bill, Jr.
1928 Β· dir. Charles Reisner
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.8comedy Β· romance

The same preoccupation in both: steamboat

The just-out-of-college, effete son of a no-nonsense steamboat captain comes to visit his father whom he's not seen since he was a child.

Feels alike?
The Bank Dick poster
The Bank Dick
1940 Β· dir. Edward F. Cline
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.1comedy

Both lean on wit more than on comedy

Egbert SousΓ© becomes an unexpected hero when a bank robber falls over a bench he's occupying. Now considered brave, Egbert is given a job as a bank guard. Soon, he is approached by charlatan J. Frothingham Waterbury about buying shares in a mining company. Egbert persuades teller Og Oggilby to lend him bank money, to be returned when the scheme pays off. Unfortunately, bank inspector Snoopington then makes a surprise appearance.

Feels alike?

In the mood for more whimsical?

all whimsical movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Steamboat Willie’s defining feeling.