The 20 best animated movies on Netflix–Part One

Your list of the best animated movies for children and adults alike, now streaming on Netflix.

There’s no limit to what the imagination can dream up — and, with animation, there’s no limit to what filmmakers can accomplish on screen. From stealing the moon, to exploring the sea, to traveling through time, the medium is one of pure potential. Visually gripping, with art rendered in 2-D, 3-D, motion graphics, or stop motion, animation is for all ages. And Netflix has curated an impressive collection, including comedies, cartoons, and a few of the platform’s original features.

Here are our picks for the best animated movies streaming on the site as of September 2024, including Nimona, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and some underrated classics.

01 Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood (2022)

Richard Linklater returned to rotoscope animation following Waking Life (2001) and A Scanner Darkly (2006), with this nostalgic trip back to the summer of ’69. Young Stanley is an imaginative young boy whose investment in the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon causes him to fantasize about being onboard the history-making spaceship. Jack Black voices the adult version of Stanley, looking back on his childhood memories with fondness.

                  02 Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017)

The wildly popular Captain Underpants book series has kept kids entertained since 1997, but it wasn’t until 20 years later that the tighty-whities-clad hero made it to the big screen. The First Epic Movie centers on George and Harold, fourth-grader best friends who create the Captain Underpants comic book and hypnotize their strict principal into becoming the superhero — who doesn’t actually have superpowers.

03Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)

Codirectors Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson transport the classic story of Pinocchio to World War II-era Italy in this meticulously crafted stop-motion animated film. Following the death of his young son, carpenter Geppetto cuts down a tree and carves a wooden boy, who is subsequently brought to life and dubbed Pinocchio. As the boy ventures to the outside world, he is met with dark forces that attempt to use and corrupt him, all against the backdrop of Benito Mussolini’s reign as leader of Fascist Italy.

04 I Lost My Body (2019)

A severed hand goes on a perilous journey to reunite with its owner in this French animated drama. When we’re not following the hand’s quest, we get to know its owner, Naoufel, who accidentally caused his parents’ death and now lives with his uncle in Paris. Working as a pizza delivery driver, Naoufel is also hopelessly infatuated with Gabrielle, a librarian. We ultimately come to learn the series of events that led Naoufel’s hand to be severed.

05 Klaus (2019)

Regardless of whether or not ’tis the season, Klaus is a Santa Claus origin story that’s enjoyable any time of the year. Starring J.K. Simmons as the film’s eponymous hero, Klaus tells the tale of a widowed Norwegian lumberman who is recruited by the town’s new postman Jesper (Jason Schwartzman) to make toys for him to deliver in an effort to prove his father, the postmaster general, wrong. But, when Klaus’ toys begin to cheer up the children of Smeerensburg — a town whose inhabitants are perpetually engaged in a feud between two familial clans — Jesper and Klaus must step out of their comfort zones to help save the town from itself.

06The LEGO Movie (2014)

Unikitty, Benny, Metal Beard, Vitruvius, Batman, Wyldstyle, Emmet, and President Business in ‘The Lego Movie’

Emmet (center; voice of Chris Pratt) in ‘The LEGO Movie’. Warner Bros. Pictures/courtesy Everett

A movie based on LEGO bricks could’ve been a soulless cash grab, but this vibrant animated film is instead an imaginative adventure comedy about finding one’s purpose. Set in the LEGO universe, Emmet (Chris Pratt) is an eager construction worker whose simple life is disrupted upon discovering a “Piece of Resistance,” an item that would help prevent an evil businessman from gluing their world together.

07 The LEGO Batman Movie (2017)

(From left to right) Green Lantern, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Aquaman, and Green Arrow in ‘The LEGO Batman Movie’. Everett

Is this animated comedy the ultimate Batman movie? That’s up for debate, but the writers behind The LEGO Batman Movie were clearly well-versed in the lore of the Caped Crusader, delighting casual and superfans alike. Set in the LEGO multiverse, the film follows gravelly voiced Batman (Will Arnett) as he goes on a mission to steal a projector that would allow him to exile his famous foes — most notably the Joker (Zach Galifianakis) to the Phantom Zone. But, as it turns out, this is exactly what the Joker wanted, leading to an all-out war.

08 Leo (2023)

Produced by Adam Sandler’s company Happy Madison, this playful comedy centers on a 74-year-old tuatara named Leo (voiced by Sandler). Serving as a class pet over several decades, Leo panics upon learning his lifespan may be coming to an end. Multiple students bring him home during the school year, with Leo imparting his decades of wisdom upon them to help with each of their individual needs.

09The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021)

Every family has problems, but the Mitchell family has big problems — robot apocalypse-type problems. In this animated comedy, a dysfunctional family’s already messy road trip is thrown into further chaos when robots attempt to take over the world. As the only people left to fight them off, it’s up to the Mitchells (voiced by Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, and director Mike Rianda) to take out the machines and save humanity. But, to do that, they’ll have to ensure their family’s connection to each other is stronger than their connection to their phones and iPads.

10 Nimona (voice of Chloë Grace Moretz) in ‘Nimona’

Blending medieval folklore and futuristic fantasy, this high-spirited, Oscar-nominated adaptation of the 2015 graphic novel is more timely now than ever. Chloë Grace Moretz gives voice to Nimona, a mischievous shapeshifter who comes to the aid of Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed), a knight who has since been ostracized by the kingdom due to his background as a commoner. Naturally, Nimona has her own history with being outcast, and the pair unravel a conspiracy that resulted in the queen’s death.

11 Orion and the Dark (2024)

Based on the 2014 children’s book of the same name by Emma Yarlett, Orion and the Dark is an inventive exploration of what it means to face your fears. Adapted by surrealist extraordinaire Charlie Kaufman, the film follows 11-year-old Orion (Jacob Tremblay), who suffers from debilitating fears. One night, the power goes out, and the personification of the dark (Paul Walter Hauser) arrives to take him on a journey that will help quell his anxieties. Along the way, he meets other personified nighttime beings such as Sleep and Unexpected Noises, coming to understand their functions.

12 Over the Moon (2020)

Netflix’s original animated feature, Over the Moon is one of the platform’s most stunning visual works of art. Directed by Oscar-winner Glen Keane (the Disney animator behind The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast), this vibrant film tells the story of Fei Fei (Cathy Ang), a young Chinese girl mourning the death of her mother. A passionate scientist, Fei Fei finds solace in a story her parents told her about Chang’e (Phillipa Soo) — a goddess who lives on the moon — and decides to build a rocket ship so she can visit her.

13 Rango (2011)

There’s a new sheriff in town, and his name is Rango. Gore Verbinski’s first — and, thus far, only — venture into animation has more in common with the spaghetti Westerns of yesteryear than your average animated film. Johnny Depp voices the title character, a chameleon who comes upon a desert town and is soon appointed to law enforcement. As the town suffers through a brutal drought, Rango is tasked with investigating what happened to their water supply, stumbling into trouble along the way.

14 The Sea Beast (2022)

A brave orphan girl named Maisie stows away aboard a ship of sea monster hunters in The Sea Beast, helmed by Big Hero 6’s co-director Chris Williams. The sailors are renowned for their hunting abilities, though their status is threatened by their society’s admiral, who wishes to replace them. They go out on one last hunt to track down a powerful sea beast called the Red Bluster, but, as Maisie soon discovers, the creatures may not have the kind of malicious intent for which they’ve come to be known.

15 Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

Following up on the massive success of the Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) was a huge responsibility, but this dazzling sequel was well worth the five-year wait. Across the Spider-Verse finds Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) adjusting to the struggles of life as Spider-Man, while Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) deals with the unique situation of her father hunting down her alter ego, Spider-Woman, not knowing she’s her. Both heroes soon join a team looking to defeat a particularly slippery villain known as the Spot (Jason Schwartzman), who is quickly traveling through the multiverse on a path of destruction.

16 The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

If it weren’t for a little event called Barbenheimer, the smashing success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie would have been the box office story of 2023. Grossing a whopping $1.36 billion worldwide, this animated adaptation of the iconic Nintendo video game empire provides an origin story for Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day), a pair of brothers with a plumbing business who find their lives turned upside down after a pipe transports them to a colorful fantasy land. There, they attempt to ward off the villainous Bowser (Jack Black) as he vies for the love of Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), who, at least in this adaptation, is far from a damsel in distress.

17 Trolls (2016)

DreamWorks brought the colorful world of Trolls to life in this 2016 jukebox musical. Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake voice Princess Poppy and Branch, respectively, a pair of trolls who fight to save their community from the predatory Bergens. Along the way, we get a bevy of pop-flavored musical performances of such classics as “I’m Coming Out,” “True Colors,” and “September.” Timberlake also co-penned and performed the original song “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” which won a Grammy and earned an Oscar nomination.

18 Vivo (2021)

Viva la Vivo! Lin-Manuel Miranda partnered with Netflix for this computer-animated original that starts in Havana and ends in Miami, with stops in Key West and the Everglades along the way. Underscored by Latin beats, propelled by a fast-moving story, and even featuring some rapping, Vivo is a buoyant celebration of Caribbean culture.

19 Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)

Following the success of their universally acclaimed shorts, Aardman Animations brought Wallace and Gromit to the big screen for this humorous tale in which the eccentric inventor and his loyal dog are tasked with hunting down a rabbit who’s been eating the town’s crop of vegetables. But this proves easier said than done, as the pair realizes that the dreaded Were-Rabbit may be closer to home than they suspected.

20 A Whisker Away (2020)

Who among us hasn’t pretended to be something we’re not, to attract the attention of a crush? In the 2020 Japanese anime film A Whisker Away, a middle-school girl named Miyo struggles with unrequited love as she yearns for her classmate, Kento, who continues to reject her romantic advances. Upon receiving a magical mask capable of turning her into a cat, Miyo is able to spend time with Kento without fear of rejection — but it’s a risky proposition, as one day, the transformation could become permanent.