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20,000 Leagues Under the Sea poster

Movies that feel like20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)

A ship sent to investigate a wave of mysterious sinkings encounters the advanced submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by Captain Nemo.

If you loved 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the closest films we have are Fantastic Voyage (1966), Forbidden Planet (1956) and Vesper (2022). All three share 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea's epic and cerebral feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is A Touch of Zen (1970).

πŸ… 91% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.2 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Richard Fleischerepiccerebraldreamlike
10 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max Β· Disney Plus Β· Criterion Channel

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If 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea hit the spot, these will too

Fantastic Voyage poster
Fantastic Voyage
1966 Β· dir. Richard Fleischer
πŸ… 91%β˜… 6.8science fiction Β· adventure

Richard Fleischer working the same nerve twice

The difference: Lighter on dream logic

In order to save an assassinated scientist, a submarine and its crew are shrunk to microscopic size and injected into his bloodstream.

Forbidden Planet poster
Forbidden Planet
1956 Β· dir. Fred M. Wilcox
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.5science fiction Β· adventure

Epic where it counts, cerebral underneath

Starship C57D travels to planet Altair 4 in search of the crew of spaceship "Bellerophon," a scientific expedition that has been missing for twenty years. They find themselves unwelcome by the expedition's lone survivor and warned of destruction by an invisible force if they don't turn back immediately.

Vesper poster
Vesper
2022 Β· dir. Kristina BuoΕΎytΔ—
πŸ… 91%β˜… 6science fiction Β· drama Β· adventureRent or buy

Adventure with a pulse of dream logic, in both cases

The difference: Leans further into drama

After the collapse of Earth's ecosystem, Vesper, a 13-year-old girl struggling to survive with her paralyzed Father, meets a mysterious Woman with a secret that forces Vesper to use her wits, strength and bio-hacking abilities to fight for the possibility of a future.

Alienoid poster
Alienoid
2022 Β· dir. Choi Dong-hoon
πŸ… 87%β˜… 6.3science fiction Β· action Β· fantasy

Both lean on scale more than on science fiction

The difference: Played as action first

Gurus in the late Goryeo dynasty try to obtain a fabled, holy sword, and humans in 2022 hunt down an alien prisoner that is locked in a human's body. The two parties cross paths when a time-traveling portal opens up.

The Time Machine poster
The Time Machine
1960 Β· dir. George Pal
πŸ… 77%β˜… 7.5thriller Β· adventure Β· fantasy

The same preoccupation in both: steampunk

A Victorian Englishman travels to the far future and finds that humanity has divided into two hostile species.

The Rocketeer poster
The Rocketeer
1991 Β· dir. Joe Johnston
πŸ… 73%β˜… 6.6adventure Β· science fictionDisney+

One thread runs through both: steampunk

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

A stunt pilot comes across a prototype jetpack that gives him the ability to fly. However, evil forces of the world also want this jetpack at any cost.

Journey to the Beginning of Time poster
Journey to the Beginning of Time
1955 Β· dir. Karel Zeman
β˜… 7.1adventure Β· fantasy Β· family

Cerebral fantasy in both cases

Four schoolboys go on an awe-inspiring expedition back through time, where they behold landscapes and creatures that have long since vanished from the earth.

Upon the Magic Roads poster
Upon the Magic Roads
2021 Β· dir. Oleg Pogodin
β˜… 5.7adventure Β· fantasy

Adventure built on dream logic, twice over

Romantic John the Fool and his friend Foal set out on a series of unpredictable adventures in different magical worlds. The two buddies will have to outsmart an evil tyrant king, catch the firebird, and find John’s true love.

A Touch of Zen poster
A Touch of Zen
1970 Β· dir. King Hu
πŸ… 97%β˜… 7.5action Β· adventure Β· fantasy

Epic fantasy, and it commits to that

Yang Hui-zhen, a mysterious princess on the run from corrupt government officials, is joined in her endeavors by skilled Buddhist monks and an unambitious painter named Gu Sheng-zhai.

The Incredible Shrinking Man poster
The Incredible Shrinking Man
1957 Β· dir. Jack Arnold
πŸ… 83%β˜… 7.6science fiction Β· adventure Β· horror

Both lean on ideas more than on science fiction

A dangerous combination of radiation and insecticide causes the unfortunate Scott Carey to shrink, slowly but surely, until he is only a few inches tall. His home becomes a wilderness where he must survive everything from spiders living in the cellar to his beloved cat.

The Thief of Bagdad poster
The Thief of Bagdad
1940 Β· dir. Michael Powell
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.4adventure Β· fantasy Β· romanceMax

Same instincts, 14 years apart

When Prince Ahmad is blinded and cast out of Bagdad by the nefarious Jaffar, he joins forces with the scrappy thief Abu to win back his royal place, as well as the heart of a beautiful princess.

Chaos Walking poster
Chaos Walking
2021 Β· dir. Doug Liman
πŸ… 21%β˜… 5.7fantasy Β· science fiction Β· adventureRent or buy

Both working the same science fiction territory

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

Two unlikely companions embark on a perilous adventure through the badlands of an unexplored planet as they try to escape a dangerous and disorienting reality, where all inner thoughts are seen and heard by everyone.

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The best-reviewed films that share 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’s defining feeling.