25 Best Animated Movies On Netflix

With streaming services like Netflix flooding our homes with seemingly limitless quantities of content on a weekly basis, it may be difficult to find what you want to watch at any given time. So, where can you go when you want to get away from the “real world” and immerse yourself in a film full of inventive, visual splendor? What are your options? What alternatives do you have? With HBO Max acquiring exclusive streaming rights to Studio Ghibli films and the emergence of Disney+, Netflix is facing a more competitive market for animation. But don’t allow the lack of Ponyo or WALL-E put you off its animated film offerings—really it’s doing a fairly decent job-generating its own lovely animation. There are still a few Disney classics, new surrealist films from France, and existential shorts for everyone’s tastes. Here are the greatest animated movies available on Netflix right now.

Never worry, we’ve got you covered with all of the finest animated feature films available on Netflix! The world of feature animation is broad and varied, ranging from family favorites and mature masterpieces to television adaptations and unique stories made for the big screen. And, for your watching enjoyment, here are the finest of the greatest for your perusal on Netflix right now!

Because Netflix’s extensive repertoire is always being updated, we’ll be updating this list each month with new animated films for your entertainment. So, whether you’re searching for a family-friendly animation or a more mature picture, we’ll keep things fresh with new picks each month.

Best animated movies on Netflix:

1. Alligator Boy Arlo

Though this new direct-to-Netflix film may have flown under the radar, the adorable musical adventures of “Arlo the Alligator Boy” are well worth searching out. Arlo is your ordinary half-human, half-alligator adolescent wanting to discover his origins. And, to make matters worse, on his 15th birthday, he discovers the truth about who his father may be. So off we go on a fantastic, singing journey, and “Arlo the Alligator Boy” is the sincere, joyous new movie you’ve been yearning for, with a cast of fun-loving characters and lovely lessons to be learned along the way about recognising who you truly are.

• Michael J. Woodard, Mary Lambert, and Jonathan Van Ness star.
• Ryan Crego is the director.
• the year 2021
• Running time: 92 minutes
• TV-Y7 rating
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 82 percent

2. The Cagliostro Castle

Long before he created masterpieces like “Spirited Away” and “My Neighbor Totoro,” famed filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki made his feature picture debut with the absurd and frantic “The Castle of Cagliostro,” introducing the wildly popular character of Lupin III to the big screen. No prior knowledge of the Lupin character is required, as the film strongly establishes his ingenuity as a great thief whose exploits get him dragged into a magical world on Cagliostro’s long-lost planet. Even in this early adventure, Miyazaki’s sense of play and visual narrative is on full show for everyone to appreciate.

• Yasuo Yamada, Kiyoshi Kobayashi, and Eiko Masuyama star.
• Hayao Miyazaki is the director.
• The year is 1979.
• Duration: 99 minutes
• Rotten Tomatoes (PG-13)
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%

3. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

It is a sequel to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. The sequel door opened wide for “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2” as Phil Lord and Chris Miller converted a quirky children’s book into an animated blockbuster. After transforming his home island into a massive food storage facility, inventor Flint Lockwood discovers that his food-generating gadget is producing sentient food beings, and he must return to the island to avert even more imminent calamity. This wonderful sequel is able to heighten the silliness of its predecessor to mouth-watering proportions by combining the heightened activity of a “Jurassic Park” picture with the amusing puns you could find on an episode of “Veggie Tales.”

• Bill Hader, Anna Faris, and Will Forte star.
• Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn are the directors.
• The year 2013
• Duration: 94 minutes
• The rating is PG.
• Score on Rotten Tomatoes: 71%

4. Arrietty’s (2010)

The film, based on Mary Norton’s 1952 novel The Borrowers, follows the existence of a four-inch-tall family who lives in secret in the walls and floors of a human household, and how their lives alter when their titular adolescent daughter is found by a new 12-year-old boy who moves in. Hayao Miyazaki collaborated on the script.

5. The Breadwinner (2017 film): 

This animated short depicts an 11-year-old girl living under Taliban authority in Afghanistan who disguises herself as a guy in order to care for her family after her father is arbitrarily detained. The significance of storytelling is emphasized via the use of beautifully designed vignettes.

6. The film Castle in the Sky (1986) 

This film is based on a novel of the same name. In the first official Studio Ghibli film, a young boy and girl defend a magical crystal from pirates and military agents while on the hunt for a famous floating castle. Hayao Miyazaki wrote and directs the film.

7. Irredeemable Me (2010)

The first chapter of this animated film, perhaps most remembered for the little yellow minions — Minions — who have been incorporated into Internet culture, was a blast from start to end, as a supervillain (Steve Carell) adopts three orphans as cover for the robbery of his life.

8. In This Part of the Globe (2016)

In this animated Japanese film set in Hiroshima during World War II, an 18-year-old lady accepts to marry a guy she hardly knows and then must learn to live with life’s everyday challenges and find a way to push through while the war rages around her.

9. Kiki’s Delivery Service (film, 1989)

During her year of self-discovery, the young titular establishes an air delivery service, aids a bakery’s pregnant owner in return for lodging, and befriends a nerdy kid. Hayao Miyazaki wrote and directs the film.

10. Kung Fu Panda (2008)

After an obese kung fu enthusiast panda (Jack Black) is mistakenly selected as the Dragon Warrior to fight an impending threat (Ian McShane), he is forced to learn from an elderly master (Dustin Hoffman) and his students (Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, and Jackie Chan) who have been training for years.

11. The Lego Movie (2014 film)

A regular, rule-following Lego Minifigure (Chris Pratt) is falsely selected as the most amazing individual and the key to saving the world from an evil dictator, for which he is comically unprepared. It gave birth to the popular track “Everything Is Awesome.”

12. The Prince and the Pauper (2015)

The cartoon adaptation of Antoine de Saint-1943 Exupery’s book, in which an old aviator (Jeff Bridges) recalls his interactions with a little boy who claimed to be an extra-terrestrial prince to his neighbour, a young girl. Voices are also provided by Rachel McAdams, James Franco, and Marion Cotillard.

13. Lupin the Third: Cagliostro Castle (1979) 

In the feature debut of famed Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, a daring master thief enlists the support of a long-time foe in the police and a fellow thief to rescue a princess from a wicked count and put a stop to his counterfeit money enterprise.

14. The Pauper and the Prince (2015)

In the animated version of Antoine de Saint-novel, Exupery’s in which an elderly pilot (Jeff Bridges) remembers his encounters with a little boy who claimed to be an extra-terrestrial prince to his neighbour, a young girl. Rachel McAdams, James Franco, and Marion Cotillard all provide their voices.

15. Lupin III: Cagliostro Castle (1979)

In Hayao Miyazaki’s feature debut, a brave master thief enlists the help of a long-time opponent in the police and a fellow thief to rescue a princess from a tyrannical count and put an end to his counterfeit money scheme.

16. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984):

The Valley of the Wind’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind’s Nausicaä of the Valley of (1984)A thousand years in the future, when gigantic mutant insects roam a “toxic forest,” the young titular princess of the Valley of the Wind, who can communicate with those animals, strives to bring nature and humanity together. Meanwhile, a monarchy plans to eliminate all insects with an ancient weapon. The film was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

17. It seems like only yesterday (1991)

A Studio Ghibli production about a 27-year-old career-driven Tokyo woman who reminisces about her adolescence while visiting her sister’s family in the countryside. The film was written and directed by Isao Takahata.

18. Porco Rosso (Red Porco) (1992)

A unique curse transforms an Italian World War I ace fighter veteran into an anthropomorphic pig, and he now works as a freelance bounty hunter in the Mediterranean’s Adriatic Sea in the 1930s. Hayao Miyazaki wrote and directs the film.

19. Shrek’s (2001)

In this half-parody of Disney-branded fairy tales, the titular ogre (Mike Myers) offers to assist a wicked king (John Lithgow) in acquiring a queen (Cameron Diaz) in return for the deed to his swamp. It has enough laughs for adults and a basic narrative for youngsters.

20. Princess Kaguya’s Story (2013)

Based on a 10th-century folktale, a small infant discovered under a bamboo stalk grows fast into a pretty young woman who attracts multiple suitors in the most expensive Japanese film ever made. She sets them a series of challenging assignments for which she will eventually be held accountable.

21. When Marnie Was Around (2014)

Based on Joan G. Robinson’s 1967 novel of the same name, shy 12-year-old Anna is sent to a summer home in a peaceful seaside town, where she befriends the enigmatic, blonde-haired titular girl, who lives in an abandoned house and asks Anna to keep their secrets concealed from everyone. The final film by Studio Ghibli.

22. The Heart’s Whisper (1995)

Shizuku, a 14-year-old reader who aspires to be a writer, finds that all of the library books she reads have also been read by Seiji, a mystery teenager who is determined to pursue his passion for violin-making in Italy. Shizuku begins to write her own novel, inspired by Seiji’s passion and an old object that catches her attention. Hayao Miyazaki wrote the script.

23. The Wind Is Blowing (2013)

In this real story, which is intended to be Hayao Miyazaki’s final film before reversing his retirement, young Jiro Horikoshi’s ambitions of becoming a pilot are dashed because he wears spectacles, and he instead pursues airplane design, with his designs being used by the Japanese throughout World War II.

24. The Lorax (2012)

The Lorax may not be Dr. Seuss’ most often replayed work, with the holiday-themed The Grinch or Green Eggs and Ham being many children’s first reads, but it may be his most thoughtful. This adaptation certainly expands on the children’s author’s original, such as by including a teen love story voiced by none other than Zac Efron and Taylor Swift, but it also brings Seuss’s whimsical illustrations to screen and maintains its environmentalist spirit, as the titular character strives to protect his home from encroaching destruction. It shouldn’t take a fuzzy, small orange man voiced by Danny DeVito to make you care about the environment, but this family film will have you committed to the preservation of trees.

25. Mirai (2018)

Mirai is Mamoru Hosoda’s (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Wolf Children) film aimed mostly at younger people, yet the Oscar-nominated family drama encompasses a wide range of emotions. When a little boy feels ignored by the birth of his newborn sister, he comes into an enchanted garden that allows him to travel through time and visit his ancestors as well as his future sister. The premise is wonderful and friendly, and it results in a bright universe in a film about youngsters dealing with their emotions.

Conclusion:

Netflix offers a slew of animated classics for youngsters, like The Fox and the Houndi and All Dogs Go to Heaven, as well as other flicks like Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, accessible right now. Even if you’re not a Disney fan, there are a plethora of fantastic animated films available to stream right now. All you have to do is dig a bit and then reap the advantages by viewing some of the best-animated movies now available on Netflix.