Animated movies that have amused me greatly but that also provides food for thought.
by anneblom | created - 10 Sep 2016 | updated - 21 Aug 2019 | PublicAs a kid I always thought that animated movies were for kids and that if I would be a grown up I would not watch animated movies anymore. I could not have been more wrong. So I decided to make a list of movies I have seen in the last couple of years that were both fun and interesting.
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Metropolis (2001)
PG-13 | 108 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
Kenichi and his uncle Shunsaku Ban must find the mystery behind robot girl Tima.
Director: Rintarô | Stars: Toshio Furukawa, Scott Weinger, Yuka Imoto, Kei Kobayashi
Votes: 22,601 | Gross: $0.64M
2. Patema Inverted (2013)
Not Rated | 98 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
A young girl, from a civilization that resides in deep underground tunnels, finds herself trapped in an inverted world and teams up with a resident to escape and return home.
Director: Yasuhiro Yoshiura | Stars: Yukiyo Fujii, Nobuhiko Okamoto, Shintarô Ôhata, Shin'ya Fukumatsu
Votes: 10,206
3. Spirited Away (2001)
PG | 125 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
During her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Miyu Irino, Rumi Hiiragi
Votes: 848,595 | Gross: $10.06M
4. The Last Unicorn (1982)
G | 92 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
A beautiful unicorn sets out to learn if she truly is the last of her kind in this sparkling animated musical.
Directors: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr. | Stars: Jeff Bridges, Mia Farrow, Angela Lansbury, Alan Arkin
Votes: 29,519 | Gross: $6.46M
5. Inside Out (I) (2015)
PG | 95 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
After young Riley is uprooted from her Midwest life and moved to San Francisco, her emotions - Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness - conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house, and school.
Directors: Pete Docter, Ronnie Del Carmen | Stars: Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling
Votes: 784,766 | Gross: $356.46M
6. Zootopia (2016)
PG | 108 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
In a city of anthropomorphic animals, a rookie bunny cop and a cynical con artist fox must work together to uncover a conspiracy.
Directors: Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush | Stars: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Jenny Slate
Votes: 545,939 | Gross: $341.27M
7. Wolf Children (2012)
PG | 117 min | Animation, Drama, Family
After her werewolf lover unexpectedly dies in an accident while hunting for food for their children, a young woman must find ways to raise the werewolf son and daughter that she had with him while keeping their trait hidden from society.
Director: Mamoru Hosoda | Stars: Aoi Miyazaki, Takao Osawa, Haru Kuroki, Yukito Nishii
Votes: 49,439
8. The Iron Giant (1999)
PG | 86 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A young boy befriends a giant robot from outer space that a paranoid government agent wants to destroy.
Director: Brad Bird | Stars: Eli Marienthal, Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Aniston, Vin Diesel
Votes: 227,214 | Gross: $23.16M
9. The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013)
PG | 137 min | Animation, Drama, Family
Kaguya is a beautiful young woman coveted by five nobles. To try to avoid marrying a stranger she doesn't love, she sends her suitors on seemingly impossible tasks. But she will have to face her fate and punishment for her choices.
Director: Isao Takahata | Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz, James Caan, Mary Steenburgen, James Marsden
Votes: 53,953 | Gross: $1.51M
10. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
G | 86 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, Shigesato Itoi
Votes: 379,886 | Gross: $1.11M
11. Coraline (2009)
PG | 100 min | Animation, Drama, Family
Wandering her rambling old house in her boring new town, an 11-year-old Coraline discovers a hidden door to a strangely idealized version of her life. In order to stay in the fantasy, she must make a frighteningly real sacrifice.
Director: Henry Selick | Stars: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman, Jennifer Saunders
Votes: 263,589 | Gross: $75.29M
12. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)
TV-PG | 98 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A high-school girl named Makoto acquires the power to travel back in time, and decides to use it for her own personal benefits. Little does she know that she is affecting the lives of others just as much as she is her own.
Director: Mamoru Hosoda | Stars: Riisa Naka, Takuya Ishida, Mitsutaka Itakura, Ayami Kakiuchi
Votes: 70,829
13. Alice in Wonderland (1951)
G | 75 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Alice stumbles into the world of Wonderland. Will she get home? Not if the Queen of Hearts has her way.
Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Jack Kinney | Stars: Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn, Richard Haydn, Sterling Holloway
Votes: 153,944 | Gross: $1.07M
14. Corpse Bride (2005)
PG | 77 min | Animation, Drama, Family
When a shy groom practices his wedding vows in the inadvertent presence of a deceased young woman, she rises from the grave assuming he has married her.
Directors: Tim Burton, Mike Johnson | Stars: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Tracey Ullman
Votes: 298,680 | Gross: $53.36M
15. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
PG | 117 min | Animation, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Warrior and pacifist Princess Nausicaä desperately struggles to prevent two warring nations from destroying themselves and their dying planet.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Sumi Shimamoto, Mahito Tsujimura, Hisako Kyôda, Gorô Naya
Votes: 182,415 | Gross: $0.50M
16. Princess Mononoke (1997)
PG-13 | 134 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
On a journey to find the cure for a Tatarigami's curse, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a war between the forest gods and Tatara, a mining colony. In this quest he also meets San, the Mononoke Hime.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Yôji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yûko Tanaka, Billy Crudup
Votes: 433,395 | Gross: $2.38M
17. Brave (2012)
PG | 93 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Determined to make her own path in life, Princess Merida defies a custom that brings chaos to her kingdom. Granted one wish, Merida must rely on her bravery and her archery skills to undo a beastly curse.
Directors: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell | Stars: Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters
Votes: 441,971 | Gross: $237.28M
18. WALL·E (2008)
G | 98 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
In the distant future, a small waste-collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.
Director: Andrew Stanton | Stars: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard
Votes: 1,199,731 | Gross: $223.81M
19. The Triplets of Belleville (2003)
PG-13 | 80 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
When her grandson is kidnapped during the Tour de France, Madame Souza and her beloved pooch Bruno team up with the Belleville Sisters--an aged song-and-dance team from the days of Fred Astaire--to rescue him.
Director: Sylvain Chomet | Stars: Michèle Caucheteux, Jean-Claude Donda, Michel Robin, Monica Viegas
Votes: 57,063 | Gross: $7.00M
20. Tales from Earthsea (2006)
PG-13 | 115 min | Animation, Adventure, Fantasy
In a mythical land, a man and a young boy investigate a series of unusual occurrences.
Director: Gorô Miyazaki | Stars: Timothy Dalton, Willem Dafoe, Mariska Hargitay, Jun'ichi Okada
Votes: 44,153 | Gross: $0.05M
21. Castle in the Sky (1986)
PG | 125 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Mayumi Tanaka, Keiko Yokozawa, Kotoe Hatsui, Minori Terada
Votes: 182,208
22. Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
PG | 119 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
When an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking castle.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Chieko Baishô, Takuya Kimura, Tatsuya Gashûin, Akihiro Miwa
Votes: 448,732 | Gross: $4.71M
23. The Lion King (1994)
G | 88 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
Lion prince Simba and his father are targeted by his bitter uncle, who wants to ascend the throne himself.
Directors: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Whoopi Goldberg
Votes: 1,141,334 | Gross: $422.78M
24. Only Yesterday (1991)
PG | 119 min | Animation, Drama, Romance
A twenty-seven-year-old office worker travels to the countryside while reminiscing about her childhood in Tokyo.
Director: Isao Takahata | Stars: Miki Imai, Toshirô Yanagiba, Yoko Honna, Mayumi Izuka
Votes: 37,195 | Gross: $0.45M
25. Bambi (1942)
G | 69 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
The story of a young deer growing up in the forest.
Directors: James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, David Hand, Graham Heid, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, Norman Wright, Arthur Davis, Clyde Geronimi | Stars: Hardie Albright, Stan Alexander, Bobette Audrey, Peter Behn
Votes: 154,007 | Gross: $102.80M
26. The Velveteen Rabbit (2009)
G | 97 min | Animation, Drama, Family
A lonely boy wins over his distant father and strict grandmother with help from a brave velveteen rabbit whose one wish is to become a real rabbit someday.
Director: Michael Landon Jr. | Stars: Jane Seymour, Tom Skerritt, Ellen Burstyn, Matthew Harbour
Votes: 840 | Gross: $0.14M
27. Whisper of the Heart (1995)
G | 111 min | Animation, Drama, Family
A love story between a girl who loves reading books, and a boy who has previously checked out all of the library books she chooses.
Director: Yoshifumi Kondô | Stars: Yoko Honna, Issei Takahashi, Takashi Tachibana, Shigeru Muroi
Votes: 72,551
28. The Cat Returns (2002)
G | 75 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
After helping a cat, a seventeen-year-old girl finds herself involuntarily engaged to a cat Prince in a magical world where her only hope of freedom lies with a dapper cat statuette come to life.
Director: Hiroyuki Morita | Stars: Chizuru Ikewaki, Yoshihiko Hakamada, Aki Maeda, Takayuki Yamada
Votes: 64,435
29. Ponyo (2008)
G | 101 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A five-year-old boy develops a relationship with Ponyo, a young goldfish princess who longs to become a human after falling in love with him.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson, Tomoko Yamaguchi
Votes: 163,317 | Gross: $15.09M
30. Princess Arete (2001)
105 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
Confined in the castle tower by her father, Princess Arete spends her days watching the world outside her window. Sometimes she sneaks out. Prospective suitors are sent on quests to collect magic treasures to win her hand in marriage.
Director: Sunao Katabuchi | Stars: Houko Kuwashima, Tsuyoshi Koyama, Minami Takayama, Yûsuke Numata
Votes: 787
31. Summer Wars (2009)
PG | 114 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A student tries to fix a problem he accidentally caused in OZ, a digital world, while pretending to be the fiancé of his friend at her grandmother's 90th birthday.
Director: Mamoru Hosoda | Stars: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Nanami Sakuraba, Mitsuki Tanimura, Takahiro Yokokawa
Votes: 31,771 | Gross: $0.08M
32. Finding Nemo (2003)
G | 100 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
After his son is captured in the Great Barrier Reef and taken to Sydney, a timid clownfish sets out on a journey to bring him home.
Directors: Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich | Stars: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe
Votes: 1,112,836 | Gross: $380.84M
33. The Secret World of Arrietty (2010)
G | 94 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
The Clock family are four-inch-tall people who live anonymously in another family's residence, borrowing simple items to make their home. Life changes for the Clocks when their teenage daughter Arrietty is discovered.
Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi | Stars: Bridgit Mendler, Amy Poehler, Will Arnett, Mirai Shida
Votes: 104,257 | Gross: $19.20M
34. Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva (2009)
Not Rated | 99 min | Animation, Adventure, Crime
Layton and Luke are caught up in an adventure, when a masked figure steals an entire opera house and forces those in attendance to play a high-stakes game. The winner will receive eternal life, but it could mean death for the losers.
Director: Masakazu Hashimoto | Stars: Yô Ôizumi, Maki Horikita, Nana Mizuki, Atsuro Watabe
Votes: 1,586
35. Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011)
TV-14 | 116 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
A coming of age story involving young love and a mysterious music, coming from a crystal radio left as a memento by an absent father, that leads a young heroine deep into a hidden world.
Director: Makoto Shinkai | Stars: Hisako Kanemoto, Miyu Irino, Kazuhiko Inoue, Junko Takeuchi
Votes: 16,992
36. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
G | 84 min | Animation, Family, Fantasy
A prince cursed to spend his days as a hideous monster sets out to regain his humanity by earning a young woman's love.
Directors: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise | Stars: Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, Jesse Corti, Rex Everhart
Votes: 479,420 | Gross: $218.97M
37. Treasure Planet (2002)
PG | 95 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
Jim Hawkins is a teenager who finds the map of a great treasure hidden by a space pirate. Together with some friends, he sets off in a large spaceship, shaped like a caravel, on his quest.
Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker | Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emma Thompson, Martin Short, Roscoe Lee Browne
Votes: 132,936 | Gross: $38.18M
38. Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
PG | 95 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A young linguist named Milo Thatch joins an intrepid group of explorers to find the mysterious lost continent of Atlantis.
Directors: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise | Stars: Michael J. Fox, Jim Varney, Corey Burton, Claudia Christian
Votes: 133,957 | Gross: $84.05M
39. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
PG | 87 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
An urbane fox cannot resist returning to his farm raiding ways and then must help his community survive the farmers' retaliation.
Director: Wes Anderson | Stars: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman
Votes: 270,060 | Gross: $21.00M
40. Anastasia (1997)
G | 94 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
The last surviving child of the Russian Royal Family joins two con men to reunite with her grandmother, the Dowager Empress, while the undead Rasputin seeks her death.
Directors: Don Bluth, Gary Goldman | Stars: Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Christopher Lloyd, Kelsey Grammer
Votes: 135,956 | Gross: $58.41M
41. Steamboy (2004)
PG-13 | 126 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
In 1860s Britain, a boy inventor finds himself caught in the middle of a deadly conflict over a revolutionary advance in steam power.
Directors: Shinji Takagi, Katsuhiro Ôtomo | Stars: Anna Paquin, Patrick Stewart, Alfred Molina, Anne Suzuki
Votes: 18,705 | Gross: $0.41M
42. The Princess and the Pilot (2011)
Not Rated | 99 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A pilot, despite being advised not to, bonds with a princess when he is tasked with escorting the royal subject overseas and across enemy territory to reunite her with her future husband.
Director: Jun Shishido | Stars: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Seika Taketomi, Katsumi Chô, Mitsuaki Hoshino
Votes: 1,257
43. A Christmas Carol (2009)
PG | 96 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
An animated retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel about a Victorian-era miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Steve Valentine
Votes: 129,471 | Gross: $137.86M
44. Osmosis Jones (2001)
PG | 95 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A policeman white blood cell, with the help of a cold pill, must stop a deadly virus from destroying the human they live in, Frank.
Directors: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly | Stars: Laurence Fishburne, Chris Rock, David Hyde Pierce, Brandy Norwood
Votes: 38,743 | Gross: $13.60M
45. The Swan Princess (1994)
G | 90 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A power-hungry sorcerer curses a princess to live as a swan by day in this tale of everlasting love.
Director: Richard Rich | Stars: Jack Palance, Howard McGillin, Michelle Nicastro, Liz Callaway
Votes: 27,058 | Gross: $9.77M
46. Pinocchio (1940)
G | 88 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A living puppet, with the help of a cricket as his conscience, must prove himself worthy to become a real boy.
Directors: Norman Ferguson, T. Hee, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, Hamilton Luske, Bill Roberts, Ben Sharpsteen | Stars: Dickie Jones, Christian Rub, Mel Blanc, Don Brodie
Votes: 159,768 | Gross: $84.25M
47. The Tale of Despereaux (2008)
G | 93 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
An unusually brave mouse helps to restore happiness to a forlorn kingdom after making friends with a gentleman rat.
Directors: Sam Fell, Robert Stevenhagen | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Emma Watson, Dustin Hoffman, Tracey Ullman
Votes: 39,919 | Gross: $50.88M
48. Mary and the Witch's Flower (2017)
PG | 103 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
Based on "The Little Broomstick" by Mary Stewart, a strange flower grants a girl magic powers.
Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi | Stars: Hana Sugisaki, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Yûki Amami, Fumiyo Kohinata
Votes: 16,142 | Gross: $2.42M
49. Ringing Bell (1978)
47 min | Animation, Drama, Family
An innocent lamb learns about life and death when he seeks revenge upon the wolf who slaughtered his mother.
Director: Masami Hata | Stars: Hitoshi Takagi, Minori Matsushima, Akira Kamiya, Taeko Nakanishi
Votes: 962
Tell Your Friends