After over a decade on the TV, the Belchers are finally coming to the big screen in The Bob's Burgers Movie. With its quirky tone, and hilarious storylines, Bob's Burgers always seemed destined to make the leap to cinema, and fans are clamoring to see what sort of adventures the burger-slinging family get up to.
Though the series has its own original style, The Bob's Burgers Movie is in good company, and shares many similarities with other great films. From workplace comedies like Good Burger to family adventure films like The Goonies, there are plenty of movies to enjoy after watching the new film.
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Stream On Hulu
Some films are so unique that they blaze a trail for themselves in the world of cinema and have very few peers. Little Miss Sunshine follows a strange family that travel across the country in order for the youngest member of the family to participate in a national beauty pageant.
Like the Belchers, the Hoover family is anything but normal and yet they have a world of love for each other. With its quirky tone and slyly dark sense of humor, Little Miss Sunshine is nevertheless a heartwarming story about acceptance and the importance of family. It also has a certain musicality that paints the entire film with a lyrical energy.
Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
Stream On HBO Max
Director Wes Anderson is known for putting his signature on his movies, and Moonrise Kingdom was the perfect union of style and storytelling. The film follows a pair of tweens who run away with each other from their small island community.
The youth perspective is an important part of the film, and like the adventures of the Belcher children, everything seems much bigger than it is when seen through the eyes of youth. One of the funniest aspects of Moonrise Kingdom is that the children and adult characters operate at the same maturity level, and their foibles aren't much different from one another.
Ghost World (2001)
Stream On Paramount Plus
Wistful and strange, Ghost World captures the oddly repressive feeling of growing up in the suburbs. The film follows a pair of recent high school graduates whose friendship is based on their mutual disgust with everyone and everything in their town.
Though not as laugh-out-loud funny as the characters on Bob's Burgers, the strange denizens of Ghost World's unnamed city are nevertheless reminiscent of the show. The angsty energy of the film practically drips off of the screen, and the movie essentially boils down the flimsy nature of friendship and how life's changes can sometimes drive people apart. While Ghost World is mostly remembered as a cult classic, it is also one of the best non-superhero comic book movies of all time.
Chef (2014)
Rent From Amazon And Apple
The culinary world is an untapped resource for great stories in cinema, and Chef brought the zest of cooking to its story of family love. A prominent chef at an upscale LA restaurant quits his job after being asked to compromise his integrity. With nowhere to go, the chef opens a food truck and goes on the road with his ex-wife and estranged son to recapture his love of cooking.
Heartwarming and endlessly charming, Chef is the perfect mixture of a classic redemption narrative with the burgeoning world of food truck culture. Similar to the bond that the Belchers enjoy, the fragility of Chef's family dynamic is further challenged by the difficult world of a startup business. Fans of Bob's Burgers will enjoy Carl's journey, and Chef is the perfect comfort food in movie form.
The Goonies (1985)
Stream On Tubi TV
While Bob's Burgers is known for its hilarious references to pop culture, The Goonies was a movie that got an entire episode dedicated to parodying it. The film follows a young teen who finds a treasure map in his father's attic, and goes on a quest with his friends to recover a stash of lost pirate loot.
Quintessential '80s cheese, The Goonies helped to define the tone of family films in the decade, and it is the perfect adventure film for younger audiences. Told from a teen perspective, the heightened drama of the story is ripe with the imagination of youth, and the entire film has a fantastical feeling. Spooky, hilarious, and heartwarming, The Goonies checks almost every box that a movie fan could hope for.
The LEGO Movie (2014)
Rent From Amazon And Apple
When it comes to pleasant surprises, few films unexpectedly stole the hearts of critics quite like The LEGO Movie. In the story, an ordinary Lego figure is mistaken for an important master builder and sent on a dangerous mission to stop an evil tyrant.
Crammed with referential humor, the comedic stylings of The LEGO Movie is oddly similar to the classic humor of Bob's Burgers. Aside from that, the film seems to have an almost endless imagination, and the use of familiar LEGO iconography is simultaneously nostalgic and new at the same time. One of the strongest aspects of the movie is that it is just as appealing to adults as it is to the youthful audience that the toys are marketed towards.
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Stream On Disney Plus
The animated genre has come a long way over the decades, and Fantastic Mr. Fox brought a prolific director into the stop-motion realm. Determined to secure a feast of the farmer's chickens, Mr. Fox leads a daring heist to steal his mortal enemy's fowl.
With an all-star cast, Fantastic Mr. Fox brought a certain cinematic quality to the animated style. On top of that, the movie has an adult sense of humor that also borders on the quirky energy of Bob's Burgers. Putting its adult characters on the same maturity level as the children makes for comedy gold, and it continues to explore themes that are present in some of Wes Anderson's best films.
Good Burger (1997)
Stream On Pluto TV
One of the best things about Bob's Burgers is that it is capable of being incredibly smart with its humor, while also indulging its sillier side as well. Good Burger follows a pair of slacker teens who wage a war against a big fast-food chain that aims to close down the burger joint where they work.
Not only is it a silly comedy in the same vein as Bob's Burgers, but its setting of a greasy burger restaurant is also familiar digs for fans of the show. On top of that, the quirky energy of the film is delightfully childish, which allows the audience to cut loose for a little while, and live vicariously through the over-the-top characters.
Jiro Dreams Of Sushi (2011)
Stream On Amazon Prime
The documentary is an entirely different art form that often stands separately from the fiction films shown at the megaplex. However, Jiro Dreams of Sushi tackled its subject from multiple angles and was downright cinematic in its storytelling. The documentary follows a renowned sushi chef who dreams of making the perfect roll of sushi for his clients.
Outside of the main thread of Jiro's personal journey for excellence, the film also explores his relationship with his son and the pressure he feels to follow in his father's footsteps. Though they differ greatly in tone, the film and Bob's Burgers share a certain familial energy, and it is reminiscent of Bob's relationship with his own father, and his inheriting the family business.
The Simpsons Movie (2007)
Stream On Disney Plus
Though fans of Bob's Burgers had to wait a long time to finally get a film, they didn't have to wait nearly as long as viewers who followed The Simpsons. The theatrical film, The Simpsons Movie, finds the famous family on the run when Homer's pollution of the water supply leads to a giant dome being placed over Springfield.
Expanding the scope of the show, the movie brought more to the table in its epic story. Despite this upgrade, the movie shined because it represented the familiar humor of the show, but it also added more by telling a much longer and more engaging tale.