7 Movies Like "Avatar"

Avatar is an American epic sci-fi movie about a sensory-impaired marine who is sent on a rare mission to the moon Pandora. The film is written, produced and directed by James Cameron, who began writing the film in 1994. Its expected release was on 1999 but was halted, since the technology that time wasn’t enough to achieve the desired effect. The long preparation paid off, because Avatar has unleashed numerous box office records, including the highest-earning film of all time in the U.S. and Canada, and the first movie to make more than 2 billion dollars gross. Avatar stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang and Michelle Rodriguez.

The following are movies like “Avatar” that will transport you into the world of the unknown.

1. Dances With Wolves

Release Date: November 21, 1990

Director: Kevin Costner

Cast: Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene

After leading a Union to success during the Civil War, Lieutenant John Dunbar has been called a hero since then. He asks for a position in the western border, but instead finds it empty. Soon enough, Dunbar discovers that he is not alone. He comes across a peculiar Indian tribe, and meets a wolf he calls Two-socks. Almost immediately, he is able to make friends with the wolf and the Indians. He also befriends a white woman, who has been adopted and raised by the Indians. Later on, he earns the respect of the tribe people. However, his acts make him a big headache for the military.

2. Aliens

Release Date: July 18, 1986

Director: James Cameron

Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn

Ellen Ripley is able to survive her tragic experience from many years ago. Fifty seven years later, the space vessel she used for her escape has been recovered after it has found crossing the sky. When she goes back to earth, nobody believes her story about the aliens she has found on the planet LV-426. When the Company sends the aliens on LV-426 for an investigation, all forms of communication with the colony has gone. The Company directs Ripley to lead a team of tough spacemen on a special mission to find out if there are still aliens out there. Will Ripley succeed in being a good leader even if the mission is rekindling her worst nightmare?

3. John Carter

Release Date: March 9, 2012

Director: Andrew Stanton

Cast: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Willem Dafoe

After surviving the Civil War, veteran John Carter decides to live a normal life. But when he is "asked" by the Army to join their force and he refuses, he finds himself in an unsafe disposition. He flees, but is hunted down. He reaches a small Indian tribe, finds a cave and hides there. Inside the cave, he meets a person with a medallion. When Carter touches the mysterious pendant, he later finds himself being able to do incredible things, such as jumping very high. Then he meets Woola, a woman who informs him that he is actually on Mars. There’s a conflict going on, and Carter is forced to take part in it.

4. The Matrix

Release Date: March 31, 1999

Directosr: Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss

By day, Thomas Anderson works as an ordinary computer programmer. By night, he works as a hacker called Neo. Neo has many questions about reality, even doubting his own realness. When Morpheus, a notorious computer hacker who the government considers a terrorist, contacts him, Neo finds himself being pursued by the authorities. It is Morpheus who makes Neo see the real world: a devastated wasteland where most humans are held captive by a race of machines and are locked up inside an artificial reality called the Matrix. Now, he has to return to the Matrix to battle with the machines, particularly with the agents: computer programs with superpowers.

5. The Abyss

Release Date: August 9, 1989

Director: James Cameron

Cast: Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn

When an American nuclear submarine encounters a group of aliens that causes immense hydraulic and electrical breakdowns, the submarine crashes down into a sunken cliff. To trace and find out what causes the submarine to collapse, the navy asks for the help of the men working in a neighboring underwater oil facility. The group embarks on their difficult mission. Soon, they find themselves in great trouble, as it occurs to them that they are not alone deep down there. But there is something else going on, and they’re not ready for it.

6. Pocahontas

Release Date: June 23, 1995

Directors: Mike Gabriel, Eric Goldberg

Cast: Mel Gibson, Linda Hunt, Christian Bale

Captain John Smith is the leader of a rag-tag group, consisting of soldiers and mariners. With Governor Ratcliffe around, they go to the New World to steal goods from the richest people, and then bring them back to England. In this New World, Chief Powhatan has decided that his daughter, Pocahontas, marry the greatest warrior in their village, but Pocahontas has other plans. She has been seeing weird visions, and starts feeling that a huge change is coming. When the ship from England has arrived, she knows that her life will do change. While the conflict between her father and Ratcliffe escalates, the romance between her and Smith flourishes.

7. Ferngully: The Last Rainforest

Release Date: April 10, 1992

Director: Bill Kroyer

Cast: Samantha Mathis, Christian Slater, Robin Williams

FernGully is an enormous rainforest, a home to many magical creatures. However, an evil creature named Hexxus wants nothing but to destroy it. Batty, a bat whose sensor has gone erratic, is one of the creatures living in FernGully. Together with Pips, Crysta, and the Beetle Boys, he tries to defend their world. Crysta, the nosy tree fairy, decides to discover the world outside FernGully, despite her friends’ warnings. In her exploration, she meets Zak, a human being who is aiding in the destruction of the rainforest. But when Zak discovers the beauty that lies within FernGully, he promises to defend it. Only, it may be too late, because Hexxus is already on his way of destroying everything in Ferngully.