If You Liked Avatar, You’ll Love These Movies (One Even Has a Blue Person)

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When Avatar first premiered, most of us didn’t have words to describe what James Cameron’s magnum opus did to us. Beyond the shock of witnessing such a massive technical achievement in filmmaking, Avatar also captured our hearts with the impact of its storytelling. Even with the mixed reception to the most recent sequel, Avatar: Fire and Ash, the series still holds a special place for many of us. If you’re looking for movies similar to Avatar while counting down the three-ish years until the next installment. At least we hope — we’re going off of speculation and reports that Cameron has strongly hinted will happen. Our picks for the best films like Avatar should help fill the gap.

What are the best movies like Avatar?

Because Avatar blends so many genres into one incredible film franchise, we picked films that feel similar across genres and moviemaking methods. Because Avatar is known for the impact of its story, its use of technological advances in moviemaking, its world-building, and its themes that critique colonialism and ecology, likewise, we tried to take these elements into account in our film picks. Some of these lean to sci-fi, some are similarly allegorical, and others are family-friendly adventures with similar concepts. Here are our favorites listed in chronological order.

Dances with Wolves (1990)

If you know anything about Avatar, you can probably spot the colonial critique in the glaring tendency of the human explorers to believe in their advanced technology and “sophisticated” ways while exploiting the fertile lands of another world. Dances with Wolves, one of the standout films of the 1990s, explores a similar theme, though it doesn’t rely on a futuristic sci-fi setting. By telling a story rooted in historical colonization, Dances with Wolves naturally sparks some debate. Roger Ebert’s review of the film is worth a read.

Set just after the Civil War, the film (which won seven Academy Awards) follows Union Army Lieutenant John J. Dunbar (Kevin Costner), who is sent to a remote frontier post in the American West. Now separated from the life he once knew, Dunbar gradually becomes fascinated by the nearby Lakota tribe, learning their language, customs, and way of life. By choice, he leaves behind his former ways and assimilates into their culture. In time, Dunbar earns the name “Dances with Wolves.” There’s too much that can be said about this film, but can’t be unpacked in these few paragraphs, so we’ll leave it by saying Dances With Wolves is both beautiful and an achievement in moviemaking.

Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

How could we skip this classic? Atlantis: The Lost Empire, released by Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2001, follows Milo Thatch, a linguist and cartographer who has dedicated his life to proving that the lost city of Atlantis is real. After years of being dismissed by the academic community, Milo is unexpectedly recruited for a massive expedition to finally locate the legendary civilization.

Like Avatar, the story centers on a technologically advanced culture hidden from the outside world. Once the expedition reaches Atlantis, the film shifts from a simple treasure hunt — and Milo’s quest to prove the city exists — into something far more menacing. While Milo remains unaware of the ulterior motives brewing among members of the expedition team, he forms a bond with Princess Kida and the Atlantean people. Before long, he begins to realize that the outsiders’ mission may not be as noble as it first appeared.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

We’ve probably all seen the Lord of the Rings trilogy by now, but it’s only on closer examination that we can really appreciate the theological and spiritual parallels between the worlds of Pandora and Middle-earth. In both, sentient nature plays a central role in the workings of the world and becomes directly involved in the struggle between good and evil. As corruption and destruction spread, it is the connection between the inhabitants and this natural divinity (or the natural order if you’re a Tolkien purist) that allows them to make a stand for what remains good.

We probably don’t need to mention plot too much here, but the gist of the story, adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels, follows a young hobbit named Frodo Baggins, who sets out on a quest to destroy a powerful ring created by the Dark Lord Sauron. He is joined by a fellowship of allies to aid in the mission, as Frodo’s journey will determine the fate of Middle-earth as the forces of good and evil collide.

Spirited Away (2001)

As soon as you see this pick, some of you might raise a brow. Bear with us for a moment, though. If you like anime (and even if you don’t), you’ve probably come across this film from Studio Ghibli at some point. Similar to Avatar, the movie follows a protagonist who crosses into an unknown realm, where they learn the ways of this other world and gradually come to see its beauty. Not to be confused with Avatar: The Last Airbender, which obviously also shares more similarities, you’ll still find some familiar thematic threads here, including the divide between nature and greed. Otherwise, though, these films are very much their own thing. Still, if you’re a fan of Avatar, we enjoy this one as a distant cousin.

In terms of story, Spirited Away follows a ten-year-old Chihiro who becomes trapped in a mysterious spirit world after her parents are transformed into pigs. In order to get her family back, she must work in a magical bathhouse for supernatural beings and find a way to save her family and return home. This certainly has a somewhat more spooky flair than Avatar, but we’re still adding it to the list for thematic content and variation.

Battle for Terra (2007)

Our last pick on the list leans even more family-friendly than Avatar, but it’s got a similar story at its center. Though of course, the animation can absolutely scream “this movie is for kids”, it’s excellent. Like Avatar, Battle for Terra flips the perspective. We’re the aliens. 

Battle for Terra follows Mala (voiced by Evan Rachel Wood), a compassionate young alien who lives on the peaceful planet of Terra. In this world, the inhabitants live in harmony with their environment. Everything changes when human warships appear in the sky. After years of conflict and environmental collapse on Earth, plus their colonies on Mars and Venus, they’re searching for a new home. Terra is their target. 

When Mala’s father is captured during the initial invasion, she sets out on a desperate mission to save him. Along the way, she rescues a human pilot named Jim (Luke Wilson), and the two form an unlikely bond. But what are the strengths of this bond when Jim and the invaders are planning to take over her home?

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

Avatar’s storytelling capabilities were revolutionary not only because of its scale, but because it utilized some of the most advanced VFX technology ever put on screen. The film was among the first to use real-time motion capture and to feature significant advances in facial rigging. Without getting too into the mechanics of this, essentially, the technology enabled nuanced expressions rather than broad, blocky animation. Think of the early Golem in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, which was still great for its time, compared to the Na’vi. Add to that the development of new camera systems, and you get a film that makes us completely buy into the premise of a brilliant chimpanzee leading a rebellion against human brutality.

VFX artists on Rise of the Planet of the Apes took these tools and pushed them even further. Instead of shooting exclusively in a studio, the motion-capture performers were brought on location, allowing the apes to be filmed in natural environments like forests and city streets rather than on a soundstage.

Aside from the technological advances in moviemaking, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a film similar to Avatar in its thematic elements. Will Rodman (James Franco) is developing a potential cure for Alzheimer’s. When a test subject gives birth to a genetically altered chimpanzee, Will secretly raises the infant Caesar. As Caesar grows, his intelligence outpaces that of any human child, but so does the tension between his skills and the world that fears him. After an incident where Caesar tries to protect his loved ones, he is viewed as dangerous. A court order demands his relocation, and he’s then sent to a facility where he’s kept for study. There, Caesar realizes humanity’s cruelty and begins planning an uprising.

Arrival (2016)

Much like Avatar, Arrival combines incredible world-building with thought-provoking themes, though it leans more toward slow-paced, intellectual sci-fi than epic adventure. Based on Ted Chiang’s novella Story of Your Life, Arrival was directed by Denis Villeneuve, marking his entry into the blockbuster sci-fi world and proving he could later take on Dune. Beyond being an epic film, the score by the late, great Jóhann Jóhannsson alone is worth noting for its brilliance — even The White Lotus used Heptapod B in Season 2.

The film follows expert linguist Dr. Louise Banks, played by Amy Adams, who is recruited by the U.S. military when mysterious alien spacecraft appear in twelve locations around the world. Unsure of what these visitors are or what they want, nations respond in panic, which, of course. They start by sending military and scientists to investigate, and ultimately, Dr. Banks is brought in. As tensions escalate and the world teeters on the brink of global conflict, the key to uniting humanity may lie in decoding the visitors’ complex language.

The Shape of Water (2017)

For a film that echoes Avatar’s themes of empathy for the “other,” but pursues this in a completely different way than James Cameron’s world, look no further than The Shape of Water. This beautiful film took home four of its thirteen Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Production Design, and Best Original Score. Directed by Guillermo del Toro, this haunting fantasy is set during the Cold War and follows Elisa, a mute janitor working in a high-security government laboratory. Her quiet routine changes when the facility brings in a mysterious amphibious creature captured in South America and held for study.

Where others see a dangerous specimen, Elisa sees a sentient being capable of connection and compassion. She forms a bond with the creature, played by Doug Jones, and soon realizes that the military intends to exploit, experiment on, and eventually destroy him. This quiet friendship soon evolves into a daring rescue mission as their bond blossoms into an unexpected romance. Before long, Elisa and a small group of allies attempt to free the creature before it’s too late.

Annihilation (2018)

Starting with a film that earns its place on the list for epic world-building, Annihilation was written and directed by Alex Garland, based on Jeff VanderMeer’s 2014 novel. The story takes a vastly different turn from the book, though. Lena, played by Natalie Portman, is a biologist and former U.S. soldier who is interrogated as the sole survivor of an expedition into a mysterious area known as “The Shimmer”. It’s pretty complicated to explain in a blurb alone, but essentially it’s an otherworldly bubble of warped reality that is slowly spreading across the United States. 

Inside The Shimmer, the laws of nature seem to bend: plants, animals, and even humans undergo strange mutations. Nothing is as it seems. This is where we get the absolutely stunning and disorienting visual effects. Lena joins the expedition to uncover what happened to her husband, who was part of a previous mission. Through flashbacks, we learn more about Lena’s expedition, which grows more terrifying with each step. There’s no way to prepare you for the movie’s ending.

How we picked the best movies like Avatar

We picked the movies we felt were closest in theme and story. We also considered films that told similar stories, made possible by advances in moviemaking technology. Though, of course, there isn’t another film that quite does what Avatar did, these are a few of our favorites that come close. 

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