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Ronal the Barbarian poster

Movies that feel likeRonal the Barbarian (2011)

Ronal is a young barbarian with low self-esteem, the polar opposite of all the muscular barbarians in his village. He's a real wuss. However, as fate would have it, responsibility for the tribe's survival falls on Ronal's scrawny shoulders, when the evil Lord Volcazar raids the village and abducts every living barbarian with the exception of Ronal, who is forced to go on a perilous quest to save his enslaved clan and thwart Volcazar’s plot to rule the world.

If you loved Ronal the Barbarian, the closest films we have are The Painting (2011), Ne Zha (2019) and Checkered Ninja (2018). All three share Ronal the Barbarian's whimsical and dreamlike feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Nuts! (2016).

★ 6.5 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Kresten Vestbjerg Andersenwhimsicalepicdreamlike
8 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

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If Ronal the Barbarian hit the spot, these will too

The Painting poster
The Painting
2011 · dir. Jean-François Laguionie
🍅 82%★ 7.3fantasy · animation

Whimsical where it counts, dreamlike underneath

The difference: Takes it somewhere less epic than Ronal the Barbarian does

Three characters living in an unfinished painting venture out into the real world in search of their creator to convince him to finish his work.

Ne Zha poster
Ne Zha
2019 · dir. Jiao Zi
🍅 88%★ 7.3animation · fantasy · adventurePrime VideoPeacock

Animation with a pulse of scale, in both cases

A young boy is born as the reincarnation of a demonic power, into a society that hates and fears him. Destined by prophecy to bring destruction to the world, Nezha must choose between good and evil to see if he can change his fate.

Checkered Ninja poster
Checkered Ninja
2018 · dir. Thorbjørn Christoffersen
★ 7.1animation · comedy · adventurePrime Video

Whimsical adventure, and it commits to that

The difference: Sits closer to comedy than Ronal the Barbarian does

A possessed Ninja doll teams up with a teenage boy to avenge the murder of a poor child factory worker.

Porco Rosso poster
Porco Rosso
1992 · dir. Hayao Miyazaki
🍅 96%★ 7.7animation · adventure · fantasyMax

Epic fantasy in both cases

In Italy in the 1930s, sky pirates in biplanes terrorize wealthy cruise ships as they sail the Adriatic Sea. The only pilot brave enough to stop the scourge is the mysterious Porco Rosso, a former World War I flying ace who was somehow turned into a pig during the war. As he prepares to battle the pirate crew's American ace, Porco Rosso enlists the help of spunky girl mechanic Fio Piccolo and his longtime friend Madame Gina.

Big Fish & Begonia poster
Big Fish & Begonia
2016 · dir. Liang Xuan
🍅 94%★ 7animation · adventure · fantasyRent or buy

Animation built on dream logic, twice over

Beyond the human realm, there is a magical race of beings who control the tides and the changing of the seasons. One of these beings, a young girl named Chun, seeks something more—she wants to experience the human world! At sixteen, she finally gets her chance and transforms into a dolphin in order to explore the world that has her fascinated. But she soon discovers that it's a dangerous place and nearly gets killed in a vortex. Luckily, her life is spared when a young boy sacrifices himself to save her. Moved by his kindness and courage, she uses magic to bring him back to life only to learn that this power comes at a serious price. On a new adventure, she’ll have to make her own sacrifices in order to protect his soul until it is ready to return to the human world.

Green Snake poster
Green Snake
2021 · dir. Amp Wong
★ 6.8animation · fantasy · actionNetflix

Both lean on scale more than on adventure

The difference: Trades the whimsy of Ronal the Barbarian for an angle of its own

While trying to free her sister from Fahai's clutches, Xiao Qing winds up in a dystopian city and meets a mysterious man who can't recall his past life.

Tales from Earthsea poster
Tales from Earthsea
2006 · dir. Goro Miyazaki
★ 6.3animation · fantasy · adventureMax

Fantasy with a pulse of whimsy, in both cases

As crops dwindle and dragons reappear, mankind stands on the verge of total chaos. Lord Archmage Sparrowhawk, a powerful wizard, and Arren, a troubled young prince, search for the force behind this mysterious imbalance that threatens to destroy the land of Earthsea.

Upon the Magic Roads poster
Upon the Magic Roads
2021 · dir. Oleg Pogodin
★ 5.7adventure · fantasy

Both lean on dream logic more than on adventure

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.

Secret Magic Control Agency poster
Secret Magic Control Agency
2021 · dir. Alexey Tsitsilin
★ 6.2animation · comedy · fantasyNetflix

Cut from the same animation cloth

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

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole poster
🍅 52%★ 6.9animation · adventure · family

Both working the same fantasy territory

When a young owl is abducted by an evil Owl army, he must escape with new-found friends and seek the legendary Guardians to stop the menace.

Nuts! poster
Nuts!
2016 · dir. Penny Lane
🍅 94%★ 7.1documentary · animationRent or buy

Both are animation through and through

The true story of John Romulus Brinkley, a small-town Kansas doctor who discovers in 1917 that he can cure impotence by transplanting goat testicles into men. And that’s just the tipping point in this stranger-than-fiction tale. With the balls of a P.T. Barnum, the gonads of goats, and the wishful dreams of flaccid men, Brinkley amassed a fortune, was almost elected Governor of Kansas, invented junk mail and the infomercial, and built the world’s most powerful radio station. By the time all of the twists and turns of Brinkley’s story are revealed, Nuts! certainly earns its title.

Epic poster
Epic
2013 · dir. Chris Wedge
🍅 65%★ 6.6animation · adventure · familyMax

The adventure is handled with the same confidence

A teenager finds herself transported to a deep forest setting where a battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil is taking place. She bands together with a rag-tag group characters in order to save their world—and ours.

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The best-reviewed films that share Ronal the Barbarian’s defining feeling.