The Internet Movie Database, or IMDb, is the world's most popular website and app to look up information about any film or TV show. But it has a few issues. There have been complaints about its rating system not being transparent. The site is owned by Amazon and aggressively promotes Prime Video content. And its famous discussion boards have now been reduced to just another place with unreliable reviews.
But there are free alternative movie databases that give you similar information. Some even let you choose ratings from different places to sort their databases. And fans of the old discussion boards have created better sites for you to chat about what you're watching.
1. TMDB (Web): Ad-Free, Community-Powered, Best IMDb Alternative
TMDB has been around since 2008 and is entirely written and edited by its users, much like Wikipedia. And you won't find any ads or promotions if you register for a free account.
TMDB covers both films and TV series, with a detailed database for alternative titles, cast, crew, descriptions of each episode, runtime, and where it's currently streaming (works in certain countries). You'll also find user reviews and discussions for each entry, but be careful because you might easily come across spoilers. And finally, you can browse any publicly available media about the title, like trailers, posters, set images, and logos.
Registered users can also create personal watchlists to track what to watch or create public lists for others to see and contribute to. In select countries, you can also filter by streaming services to find what's available for you.
You'll find a lot of non-English and regional content on TMDb that you might not easily come across on IMDb, especially for older releases. It's so comprehensive that popular movie trackers like Trakt.TV and Letterboxd use this database. After all, there's a reason we've previously said The Movie Database is the best IMDb alternative out there.
2. All Movie (Web): Old-School & Simple Movie Database
Launched in 1990, IMDb is almost as old as the world wide web. The next oldest movie database is AllMovie, which started in 1998 and still going strong. But while IMDb sports a modern look, AllMovie retains a sense of old-school simplicity and minimalism that is refreshing to browse. And it's only movies on this site, as you won't find TV series.
The main page shows a marquee banner of currently popular films, and you can then browse new and upcoming releases in a box. Two other sections show what's available to stream or buy digital, and current box office earnings. The rest of the site is about browsing by genre, mood, or theme, or using powerful search features to find what you want from its vast Hollywood and foreign films database.
Each title's page furthers the simplicity that AllMovie is known for. The first tab only gives you a synopsis, and then you can read an original review from the site's writers or user reviews. Finally, you'll find cast and crew information or awards it won. AllMovie isn't as comprehensive as IMDb or TMDB in the cast and crew details. Still, it usually covers the more famous or essential aspects of film-making.
3. TV Maze (Web): Comprehensive and Detailed TV Show Database
While AllMovie is for films, TV Maze is for TV series and shows. This site focuses on what's playing on TV channels. And, of course, streaming services count as "channels."
The main page shows today's TV schedule in the sidebar and popular shows airing that day or upcoming season premieres. There's a detailed episode calendar to keep up with TV schedules, and registered users can also include their favorite streaming services. Plus, you can track your favorite series and get reminders whenever an episode is coming out.
TV Maze includes a comprehensive episode and season database for any TV show. You'll find cast and crew information, descriptions of each episode, guest stars, character biographies and appearances, a media gallery, and news.
The website mainly caters to channels or shows in the U.S. or U.K. While there are listings for other countries and shows at times, don't rely on TV Maze for those; instead, find local sites similar to this.
4. MovieChat (Web): Internet's Largest Discussion Boards for Film and TV
In 2017, IMDb announced it was closing its discussion boards, a beloved part of the website for movie fans. After all, each film had its own forum, with multiple sub-topics for fans to talk about different aspects of the movie. One of these fans was Jim Smith. And that's how MovieChat was born.
Like the original IMDb discussion boards, MovieChat gives a sub-forum for every film and TV show. So, if it's on IMDb, you'll find it on MovieChat. And within that sub-forum, you can create and participate in as many threads as possible. But you do have to abide by the community guidelines. And in a frustrating UI experience, you can only sort the threads by latest post, not by popularity.
Nonetheless, these are small sacrifices for the chance to participate in the internet's largest community of film fans talking about what they watched. So it's doubly great when you find out that Smith backed up posts for IMDb's top 10,000 movies and TV shows before the discussion boards were discontinued.
MovieChat is an excellent example of how the internet serves its users even when corporations can't. It's also worth reading Wired's excellent article about Smith's crusade.
5. Big Cartoon Database (Web): Database of All Cartoons Ever Made
What IMDb does for movies, Big Cartoon Database (BCDB) does for cartoons. The website hosts a meticulous record of all cartoons ever made, along with all the information you'd want to know about it.
Whether it's Flintstones or Bugs Bunny, BCDB has the details about any toon. You'll get information about episodes or standalone cartoons, complete with a synopsis of what it's about, the cast and crew who worked on it, production notes, and media if available. You'll also often find links to download the cartoon through Amazon or iTunes.
BCDB also helps you discover cartoons with sections such as top 25 toons, most popular cartoons, or the monthly "hot 100". Or you can browse by studios such as Disney, Pixar, MGM, Warner Bros, etc. Finally, you can also chat with fellow cartoon lovers on the BCDB forums.
Ignore the Ratings
Whether you use IMDb or one of these alternatives, it's probably best if you ignore the rating system. Movie studios, fans, and other biases have crept into the movie-rating methodology. As a result, these ratings are not necessarily a reliable metric of whether a film is good or bad.
