Disney
Last Updated: September 6th
It’s easy for animation buffs to get discouraged flipping through Netflix’s animated offerings, which skew heavily toward mass-produced kiddie TV programs and dire-looking CGI direct-to-video sequels. But a little digging turns up quite a few unexpected animated gems — and what Netflix’s animated offerings lack in depth, they make up for in breadth. The range of techniques and narrative approaches on display here highlights what makes the animation medium so exciting and fruitful. So here are the 15 best animated movies on Netflix right now.
Related: The 30 Best Movies On HBO Now And HBO Go Right Now
Disney
The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)
Run Time: 78 min | IMDb: 7.3/10
Here’s an over-reaching statement that we will defend until the end of time: The Emperor’s New Groove is one of the greatest animated films of our generation. The film follows a spoiled king (voiced by David Spade), who is accidentally turned into a llama and goes on the run from his evil adviser Yzma (Eartha freaking Kitt people). He’s befriended by a lovable llama herder named Pacha (John Goodman) who helps him take back his thrown. Llamas don’t get enough screen time, to be honest, and they make for hilarious heroes, but the real star of this show is Kronk (Partick Warburton), Yzma’s dim-witted, kind-hearted sidekick who can talk to squirrels and was so entertaining, he got his own spin-off.
Disney
Pocahontas (1995)
Run Time: 81 min, IMDb: 6.7/10
When Pocahontas first hit theaters in 1995, it marked a turning point for Disney. For the first time, a woman of color led a Disney film and Pocahontas became the first Native American Disney princess to grace the big screen. Sure, there are some historical inaccuracies in the movie, but at its core, the film is about the strength of one woman to buck the status quo and to fight for what she believes to be right. She became the model for the Disney heroines that came after her.
Dreamworks
The Prince of Egypt (1998)
Run Time: 99 min, IMDb: 7/10
The Prince of Egypt might just be the best-kept secret when it comes to animated movies. It’s not a Disney production which is why marketing of the movie failed to help it ascend to the heights it deserves but it does boast an impressive voice-cast including Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Goldblum, Danny Glover, Patrick Stewart, Helen Mirren, Steve Martin, and Martin Short. The story of Moses is beautifully retold – the artistry behind the animation in this film is next level – but what you’ll probably end up obsessing over is the soundtrack. Sweepingly epic, this soundtrack is one of the best in film history (and no, that is not an exaggeration).
Universal Pictures
An American Tail (1986)
Run Time: 80 min, IMDb: 6.9/10
Another non-Disney offering, An American Tail is a 1986 animated musical adventure about a tiny mouse named Fievel Mousekewitz who emigrates from the Imperial Russian territory of Ukraine to New York City. His family is seeking freedom and Fievel just wants to explore the world but tragedy strikes when he’s separated from his family and forced to fend for himself on the mean streets of the city. Again, the music is stellar in this, so much so that a duet between Fievel and his older sister, Tanya, has been known to cause grown men to burst into tears. You’ve been warned.
Dreamworks/Netflix
Shrek (2001)
Run Time: 90 min, IMDb: 7.9/10
We know what you’re thinking. Shrek? Really? An animated comedy about an ugly green ogre who rescues a princess, befriends a donkey, and saves a kingdom. Look, it’s a common misconception that Shrek was only for kids. Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz all voiced characters in the film, and there were plenty of mature jokes that probably flew right over the kiddos’ heads. Torturing a sweet Gingerbread Man, interspecies hookups, and a show-stopping song and dance number to wrap things up makes this a family-friendly comedy that the adults won’t snooze through.
Fantastic Fest
April And The Extraordinary World (2015)
Run Time: 105 min, IMDb: 7.3/10
In an alternate version of 1941 where France has been led by a line of Napoleons and leading scientists mysteriously disappear, young April, her talking cat Darwin, and the shady Julius go searching for April’s missing parents. It’s an interesting take on a history where technological advancement isn’t a thing, where “steampunk” is reality and TVs and cars don’t exist. April’s journey starts in the dreary, stuck-out-of-time France but leads her to fantastical advancements that still make sense in the world we’re presented with. The heart of the film lies in the love that plucky, stubborn April has for those she cares about, and the film’s driven by charming animation and a genuinely interesting concept. It’s a fun trip that’s just out-there enough for adults while being accessible for the young and young at heart.
Warner Bros.
The Iron Giant (1999)
Run Time: 86 min, IMDb: 8/10
It’s a tale as old as time: Boy meets giant robot. Boy befriends giant robot. Government tries to find and destroy iron giant. Who didn’t face problems like that in their youth? Set in a post-Sputnik 1957, Brad Bird’s The Iron Giant centers on sci-fi obsessed Hogarth Hughes as he protects his new pet/BFF/unstoppable killing machine (voiced by a then-relatively unknown Vin Diesel). The story captures the fear and paranoia of the space race and makes it palatable for youths who’ve never heard “duck and cover” before. It was a truly scary time in U.S. history, and just imagine how worse it would be if a huge metal man showed up out of nowhere. Its a fun story, though, and is filled with genuinely funny moments and top-notch animation.
Laika
Kubo And The Two Strings (2016)
Run Time: 101 min, IMDb: 7.8/10
This Oscar-nominated tale follows Kubo, his talking guardian Monkey, and the samurai Beetle on their quest to acquire enchanted artifacts needed to destroy evil spirits. It takes the familiar magical hero’s journey and puts its own heartfelt and music-inspired twists on it. A remarkable feat of stop-motion animation, the making-of process for Kubo is almost as compelling as the story itself, with the film rightly including a time lapse of production along with the credits.
Disney
Moana (2016)
Run Time: 107 min, IMDb: 7.6/10
Moana suffered a bit by being released the same year as Disney’s Oscar-winning Zootopia (which is also a fine film, and also available on Netflix). But it more than stands on its own, thanks to its thoughtful coming-of-age story rooted in South Pacific folklore, a fun performance from Dwayne Johnson, and its earworm-y songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Opetaia. (“Consider the coconut…” Just try not finishing that line once you’ve seen the movie.)
Dreamworks
Chicken Run (2000)
Run Time: 84 min, IMDb: 7/10
The action sequences in 2000’s Chicken Run are among the liveliest and most inventive in modern animation — which is saying something, considering they’re all stop-motion. The feature-film debut from British studio Aardman (the droll geniuses who brought the world Wallace and Gromit) draws heavily on the classic 1963 John Sturges WWII epic The Great Escape for its plot and structure, only with chickens and egg farmers in place of British POWs and the Gestapo. The smooshy, slapstick-y Aardman touch undercuts the gravitas of its inspiration considerably, resulting in a whiz-bang action-comedy that’s just as exciting for its visual and comedic inventiveness as it is for its plot. Chicken Run remains the highest-grossing stop-motion-animated film ever, a big, bright feather in Aardman Animation’s cap.
Disney
Lilo & Stitch (2002)
Run Time: 85 min, IMDb: 7.2/10
Disney excels in making movies for everyone who has ever felt “othered.” The kids (and even adults) who don’t quite feel like they fit in with their surroundings can find some form of shared experience in these stories. And Lilo & Stitch may be one of their bests. Lilo and Stitch are both “others” in their worlds: One is an orphaned girl who is seen as the “weirdo”, the other an experimental creature from space who is seen as an abomination. When they stumble into each other’s lives, they both have their own reasons for staying together, but they both find a shared peace in their respective chaos. It’s a fun movie that comes to life through the vibrant Hawaiian landscape and iconic Elvis Presley music, complete with plenty of zany sci-fi action and explosions while still able to tug on the heartstrings.
Paramount
The Little Prince (2015)
Run Time: 108 min, IMDb: 7.8/10
Pulled from its theatrical release mere weeks before it was supposed to hit theaters, this adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s beloved children’s book combines several different types of animation to mixed but ultimately winning results. One’s a charming stop-motion retelling of the original book. The other’s a more familiar Pixar-ish tale of a young girl pushed too hard to succeed who meets an aged Aviator. The film’s not entirely successful, but ambition and lovely visuals go a long way.
Robot Communications
The House Of Small Cubes (2008)
Run Time: 12 min, IMDb: 8.3/10
This Oscar-winner for Best Animated Short is only 12 minutes long, but that’s all it takes to pull you into its heartbreaking story. An old man’s house gets continuously submerged in ever-rising waters, so instead of moving on, he moves up. As he keeps adding levels, a dropped pipe forces the man to relive his memories as he passes each floor through the depths of his home. The wordless short builds an interesting world very quickly with a unique style of animation. The House Of Small Cubes gives but a few glimpses of this man’s life, but it’s enough to care about him and his life as it unfolds in reverse.
Disney
Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection (2008)
From the start, Disney has tried out new techniques via short films that push the boundaries of the animated medium. The Disney Short Films Collection contains some of the best recent examples of that by collecting charming, daring shorts like “Get A Horse!,” “Paperman,” and “Feast” alongside some less adventurous, but still fun, efforts like “Tangled Ever After.”
Disney
Mulan (1998)
Run Time: 88 min, IMDb: 7.6/10
Mulan turned the tables on the archetype of the “Disney Princess,” with a heroine whose storyline doesn’t revolve around wooing or waiting to be wooed by a man. Unable to fit within the accepted roles of young women in China, and with a home that’s under threat, Mulan decides to disguise herself as a man and take her father’s place in the war against the Huns. She’s a strong, willful character who’s craftier than those in the male-driven world around her. Eddie Murphy’s Mushu is the perfect sidekick to bring much-needed levity to some downright bleak moments. It’s got just enough memorable songs to be a ’90s Disney movie while not breaking up the powerful story.
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