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Last Updated: May 4th
It’s easy for animation buffs to get discouraged flipping through Netflix Instant’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. There’s a surprising amount of variety among the animated features available on the platform, spanning a wide range of studios, techniques, and countries of origin, and films of both the blockbuster and indie variety.
Although Netflix has done away with a lot of its more mature animated offerings, there’s still something here for everyone. The range of techniques and narrative approaches on display here highlights what makes the animation medium so exciting and fruitful: There’s no limit to what can be made to appear on screen, through the judicious application of creativity and craft. So here are the 10 best animated movies on Netflix right now.
Related: The 15 Best Foreign Films On Netflix Right Now
Fantastic Fest
April And The Extraordinary World (2015)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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.
Dreamworks
Kung Fu Panda (2008)
The sequels have made this film seem a little less novel, but Kung Fu Panda remains one of Dreamworks’ best efforts, thanks in large part to the smart casting of Jack Black as a clumsy panda who trains to become a kung fu master.
Paramount
The Little Prince (2015)
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)
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)
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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