Movies Like Bao (2018)

Bao is a 2018 animation, family, fantasy film from Domee Shi with a MovieMagicScore of 7.6/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Eat Drink Man Woman and The Chinese Feast.

Animation Family Fantasy

Eat Drink Man Woman

1994

Retired and widowed Chinese master chef Chu lives in modern day Taipei, with his three attractive daughters, all of whom are unattached. Soon, each daughter encounters a new man in their lives. When these new relationships blossom, stereotypes are broken and the living situation within the family changes.

7.6

MagicScore

The Chinese Feast

1995

Former member of a triad, Sun seeks to emigrate to Canada. He decides to become a great chef of chinese cooking and follows the teaching master Au.

6.4

MagicScore

Toast

2010

Young Nigel Slater has big culinary aspirations, even though all his mother knows how to make is toast. When his mother dies, relations grow strained between Nigel and his father, especially when he remarries a woman who wins his heart with a lemon meringue pie. Nigel enters culinary school, starts working in a pub, and finds himself competing with his stepmother - both in the kitchen and for his father's attention.

6.6

MagicScore

Thawing Out

2009

Léo is dragged to a nudist camping resort by his mother. Like most boys at the age of 12 or 13, being nude in public holds little appeal for Léo, who protests by wearing extra layers. Until he meets a certain special girl, who captures his heart and releases his inhibitions.

5.6

MagicScore

Adoption

1975

When middle-aged Kata realises that her life will only be complete if she has a baby of her own, her longstanding-but-married boyfriend Joska refuses to comply. But by developing an unlikely friendship with the angst-ridden teenage orphan Anna, who is also involved in a controversial relationship, Kata discovers aspects of herself, and her role as a woman, that have gone unexamined throughout her entire, lonely life.

6.7

MagicScore

I Like Movies

2023

Socially inept 17-year-old cinephile Lawrence Kweller gets a job at a video store, where he forms a complicated friendship with his older female manager.

7.0

MagicScore

15 Years and One Day

2013

Jon is a troubled teenager who has been expelled from school. His mother decides to teach him a lesson by sending him away with his grandfather Max, a retired military man who lives in a village by the seaside. But the time they will spend together won’t be that simple, Jon likes to flirt with danger and bad companies, and the veteran has now settled down into a comfortable life.

6.2

MagicScore

Skipped Parts

2000

A woman and her son must leave a small South Carolina town because of her wild behavior.

6.0

MagicScore

Frozen Fever

2015

On Anna's birthday, Elsa and Kristoff are determined to give her the best celebration ever, but Elsa's icy powers may put more than just the party at risk.

6.8

MagicScore

#10

Empire of the Sun

1987

Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor, who looks out for him while they are in the camp together. Even though he is separated from his parents and in a hostile environment, Jamie maintains his dignity and youthful spirit, providing a beacon of hope for the others held captive with him.

7.5

MagicScore

#11

Kung Fu Panda Holiday

2010

The Winter Feast is Po's favorite holiday. Every year he and his father hang decorations, cook together, and serve noodle soup to the villagers. But this year Shifu informs Po that as Dragon Warrior, it is his duty to host the formal Winter Feast at the Jade Palace. Po is caught between his obligations as the Dragon Warrior and his family traditions: between Shifu and Mr. Ping.

7.0

MagicScore

#12

The Little Prince(ss)

2021

When Gabriel, a 7-year-old Chinese kid who loves ballet, becomes friends with Rob, another Chinese kid from school, Rob’s dad gets suspicious about Gabriel's feminine behavior and decides to intervene.

7.1

MagicScore

#13

My Year of Dicks

2023

An imaginative 15-year-old is stubbornly determined to lose her virginity despite the pathetic pickings in the outskirts of Houston in the early '90s.

6.4

MagicScore

#14

Elio

2025

Elio, a space fanatic with an active imagination, finds himself on a cosmic misadventure where he must form new bonds with eccentric alien lifeforms, navigate a crisis of intergalactic proportions and somehow discover who he is truly meant to be.

6.9

MagicScore

#15

Chef Donald

1941

Donald decides to try cooking along with a radio show.

6.9

MagicScore

#16

Hercules

1997

Bestowed with superhuman strength, a young mortal named Hercules sets out to prove himself a hero in the eyes of his father, the great god Zeus. Along with his friends Pegasus, a flying horse, and Phil, a personal trainer, Hercules is tricked by the hilarious, hotheaded villain Hades, who's plotting to take over Mount Olympus!

7.5

MagicScore

#17

The Little Mermaid

1989

This colorful adventure tells the story of an impetuous mermaid princess named Ariel who falls in love with the very human Prince Eric and puts everything on the line for the chance to be with him. Memorable songs and characters -- including the villainous sea witch Ursula.

7.4

MagicScore

#18

The Tree of Life

2011

The impressionistic story of a Texas family in the 1950s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father. Jack finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith.

6.7

MagicScore

#19

The Golden Era

2014

The story of writer Xiao Hong comes alive through memories of her great love affair, literary influence and escape from China during World War II.

6.7

MagicScore

#20

Cookie

2013

Adeline's Chinese housekeeper suddenly disappears, leaving behind a little boy who doesn't speak a word of French. Helped by her sister, she takes care of the child and proceeds to locate the mother.

6.1

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Bao?

The top films similar to Bao by MovieMagicScore are Eat Drink Man Woman (7.6), The Chinese Feast (6.4), Toast (6.6). Each shares animation/family/fantasy themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Bao worth watching?

Bao holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.6/10 from 1,258 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Bao?

Bao (2018) is a animation, family, fantasy film directed by Domee Shi, starring Daniel Kailin, Sindy Lau, Sharmaine Yeoh.

Where can I find more recommendations like Bao?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more animation recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Eat Drink Man Woman Movies like The Chinese Feast Movies like Toast Movies like Thawing Out Movies like Adoption Movies like I Like Movies

About movies like Bao

This ranked list pairs Bao (2018), a animation and family and fantasy film from Domee Shi, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Daniel Kailin take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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