(Photo by Netflix / courtesy Everett Collection. WALLACE & GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL.)
The latest: Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, the first feature with the legendary stop-motion duo since 2005’s Curse of the Were-Rabbit, debuts on Netflix in America on January 3, 2025. The epic curio Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim. Moana 2, once intended as a television project but re-developed as Disney’s big Thanksgiving animated theatrical release. Flow, Latvian’s entry for the Best International Feature Oscar this year. Spellbound, Shrek director Vicky Jenson’s first animated feature in 20 years, on Netflix.
If you’re someone who’s drawn to the possibilities of movies, where sitting down means tripping to worlds and galaxies beyond our own, or through memories of the perilous, personal, and beautiful journeys taken right here on our big blue marble, then check out our guide to the 50 best new animated movies, recently released in theaters and at home!
The list starts with Certified Fresh movies, where it’s apparently rabbit duck robot season with Transformers origin story Transformers One, DreamWorks’ The Wild Robot, and heartbreaking Robot Dreams. Pixar came back in a big way with Inside Out 2. And Netflix has shown they’re taking their animation game to the next level with anime The Imaginary, Charlie Kaufman-scripted Orion and the Dark, and Ultraman: Rising.
After those, you’ll find Fresh movies, like DreamWorks’ other 2024 family offering, Kung Fu Panda 4. Mars Express had critics and audiences all aboard. And the consistently steady DC animation crew began their next Tomorrowverse arc with Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths, along with the start of the standalone Watchmen series with Chapter 1.
Enjoy our guide to the best of new animated movies, added as they come out!
#1
Adjusted Score: 101931%
Synopsis: Aardman's four-time Academy Award®-winning director Nick Park and Emmy Award-nominated Merlin Crossingham return with a brand new epic adventure, Wallace... [More]
#2
Adjusted Score: 105110%
Synopsis: DOG lives in Manhattan and he's tired of being alone. One day he decides to build himself a robot, a... [More]
Starring:
#3
Adjusted Score: 102421%
Synopsis: A wondrous journey, through realms natural and mystical, Flow follows a courageous cat after his home is devastated by a... [More]
Starring:
#4
Adjusted Score: 112261%
Synopsis: The epic adventure follows the journey of a robot--ROZZUM unit 7134, "Roz" for short -- that is shipwrecked on an... [More]
#5
Adjusted Score: 111100%
Synopsis: From the legendary Studio Ghibli and Academy Award®-winning director Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away) comes a new critically-acclaimed fantasy adventure. After... [More]
#6
Adjusted Score: 117429%
Synopsis: Miles Morales returns for the next chapter of the Oscar®-winning Spider-Verse saga, an epic adventure that will transport Brooklyn's full-time,... [More]
#7
Adjusted Score: 109139%
Synopsis: After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New... [More]
#8
Adjusted Score: 97128%
Synopsis: When Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed), a knight in a futuristic medieval world, is framed for a crime he didn't commit,... [More]
#9
Adjusted Score: 96304%
Synopsis: The thing Orion fears the most is the dark. When the embodiment of his worst fear pays a visit, Dark... [More]
#10
Adjusted Score: 94806%
Synopsis: Rudger is a boy no one can see, imagined by Amanda to share her thrilling make-believe adventures. But when Rudger,... [More]
#11
Adjusted Score: 112054%
Synopsis: The little voices inside Riley's head know her inside and out--but next summer, everything changes when Disney and Pixar's Inside... [More]
#12
Adjusted Score: 99306%
Synopsis: TRANSFORMERS ONE is the untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, better known as sworn enemies, but once were... [More]
#13
Adjusted Score: 87350%
Synopsis: With Tokyo under siege from rising monster attacks, baseball star Ken Sato reluctantly returns home to take on the mantle... [More]
#14
Adjusted Score: 87385%
Synopsis: Actor and comedian Adam Sandler (Hotel Transylvania, The Wedding Singer) delivers signature laughs in this coming-of-age animated musical comedy about... [More]
#15
Adjusted Score: 88788%
Synopsis: Having escaped from the farm, Ginger and Rocky welcome a new little adventurer into their lives. Back on the mainland,... [More]
#16
Adjusted Score: 78064%
Synopsis: "The Inventor" follows famed inventor and artist Leonardo da Vinci after he leaves Italy for France. In his new country,... [More]
#17
Adjusted Score: 87980%
Synopsis: Disney and Pixar's "Elemental," an all-new, original feature film set in Element City, where fire-, water-, land- and air-residents live... [More]
#18
Adjusted Score: 100623%
Synopsis: In 2200, private detective Aline Ruby and her android partner Carlos Rivera are hired by a wealthy businessman to track... [More]
#19
Adjusted Score: 90195%
Synopsis: Dai Miyamoto's life is turned upside down the day he discovers jazz. A former high school basketball player, Dai picks... [More]
#20
Adjusted Score: 55866%
Synopsis: "An Almost Christmas Story" follows Moon, a curious young owl who unexpectedly finds himself stuck in a Christmas tree destined... [More]
#21
Adjusted Score: 55982%
Synopsis: KIZUMONOGATARI -Koyomi Vamp- centers around a high school student named Koyomi Araragi, who survives an encounter with a gorgeous yet... [More]
#22
Adjusted Score: 97925%
Synopsis: Paulette feels guilty after unjustly punishing her daughter Linda and would do anything to make it up to her. Linda... [More]
#23
Adjusted Score: 94984%
Synopsis: He's a spy. She's an assassin. Together, Loid and Yor keep their double lives to themselves while pretending to be... [More]
#24
Adjusted Score: 77113%
Synopsis: In an alternate world, the murder of a government sponsored superhero draws his outlawed colleagues out of retirement, into a... [More]
#25
Adjusted Score: 48806%
Synopsis: In a mysterious and haunting dream world, a 12-year-old girl meets the 13th century young poet Rumi, as they travel... [More]
#26
Adjusted Score: 49194%
Synopsis: The Anti-Monitor (the Monitor's evil counterpart) is released into the DC Multiverse and begins to destroy the different Earths that... [More]
#27
Adjusted Score: 55904%
Synopsis: The origin story for one of Peanuts’ most beloved characters, Franklin, follows how he approaches making new friends. Franklin’s family... [More]
#28
Adjusted Score: 78130%
Synopsis: This holiday season, Illumination, creators of the blockbuster Minions, Despicable Me, Sing and The Secret Life of Pets comedies, invites... [More]
#29
Adjusted Score: 74004%
Synopsis: When a magical meteor crash lands in Adventure City, it gives the PAW Patrol pups superpowers, transforming them into The... [More]
#30
Adjusted Score: 81306%
Synopsis: After three death-defying adventures defeating world-class villains with his unmatched courage and mad martial arts skills, Po, the Dragon Warrior... [More]
#31
Adjusted Score: 71128%
Synopsis: Sweet, awkward 16-year-old Ruby Gillman (Lana Condor, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before franchise) is desperate to fit in... [More]
#32
Adjusted Score: 66225%
Synopsis: When young Peter, who is searching for his long-lost sister, crosses paths with a fortune teller in the market square,... [More]
#33
Adjusted Score: 68347%
Synopsis: After two films of true friendship and relentless flirting, Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and Branch (Justin Timberlake) are now officially, finally,... [More]
#34
Adjusted Score: 35328%
Synopsis: The dragons of ancient China are on the brink of extinction; their only hope is a brave young girl on... [More]
#35
Adjusted Score: 63333%
Synopsis: Thelma is a small-time pony who dreams of becoming a glamorous music star. In a pink and glitter-filled moment of... [More]
#36
Adjusted Score: 64442%
Synopsis: Based on the charming trilogy of children's books by beloved multi award-winning writer/director Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral,... [More]
#37
Adjusted Score: 35227%
Synopsis: High school student Hiiragi Yatsuse struggles to make friends. One summer day, his life takes a turn when he encounters... [More]
#38
Adjusted Score: 74293%
Synopsis: Walt Disney Animation Studios' epic animated musical "Moana 2" takes audiences on an expansive new voyage with Moana, Maui and... [More]
#39
Adjusted Score: 62045%
Synopsis: Set 183 years before the events chronicled in the original trilogy of films, "The Lord of the Rings: The War... [More]
#40
Adjusted Score: 75121%
Synopsis: Mario and Luigi go on a whirlwind adventure through Mushroom Kingdom, uniting with a cast of familiar characters to defeat... [More]
#41
Adjusted Score: 56117%
Synopsis: The denizens of Bikini Bottom are thrown into jeopardy when their home is suddenly scooped out of the ocean and... [More]
#42
Adjusted Score: 57703%
Synopsis: The Monkey King is an action-packed family comedy that follows a charismatic Monkey and his magical fighting Stick on an... [More]
#43
Adjusted Score: 54378%
Synopsis: Tom Lee discovers he's part of a long lineage of magical protectors known as the Guardians. With guidance from a... [More]
#44
Adjusted Score: 60457%
Synopsis: Walt Disney Animation Studios' "Wish" is an all-new musical-comedy welcoming audiences to the magical kingdom of Rosas, where Asha, a... [More]
#45
Adjusted Score: 46792%
Synopsis: Spellbound follows the adventures of Ellian, the tenacious young daughter of the rulers of Lumbria who must go on a... [More]
#46
Adjusted Score: 45492%
Synopsis: Garfield (voiced by Chris Pratt), the world-famous, Monday-hating, lasagna-loving indoor cat, is about to have a wild outdoor adventure! After... [More]
#47
Adjusted Score: 6985%
Synopsis: A PTSD marine goes to extreme measures to rescue his 8 year old brother from a science research facility where... [More]
#48
Adjusted Score: 6975%
Synopsis: The Anti-Monitor attacks the remaining Earths and their inhabitants. Heroes and villains across time and space join the Justice League... [More]
#49
Adjusted Score: 7132%
Synopsis: An endless army of shadow demons threatens to destroy the world and all parallel Earths. The only thing opposing them... [More]
#50
Adjusted Score: 6908%
Synopsis: Megamind’s former villain team, The Doom Syndicate, has returned. Our newly crowned blue hero must now keep up evil appearances... [More]