The 30 Best Animated Movies on Netflix

Animation has never been bigger or better than it is right now, and Netflix has quietly built one of the strongest animated movie libraries of any streaming platform on the planet. Whether you’re searching for best animated movies on Netflix for a cozy family movie night, hunting for the newest animated titles that just dropped, or looking for something with real emotional depth to watch after the kids go to bed, this list has you covered.

From record-breaking Netflix Originals like KPop Demon Hunters to Oscar-winning stop-motion masterpieces like Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, and from big licensed blockbusters like Shrek 2 to under-the-radar gems like I Am Frankelda, this guide rounds up the 30 best animated movies on Netflix you can stream right now. We’ve mixed genres, tones, and audiences comedy, horror, musicals, sci-fi, coming-of-age dramas so there’s truly something here for every kind of viewer.

A quick note before we dive in: Netflix’s catalog rotates constantly as licensing deals expire and new titles are added, so it’s always worth double-checking availability in your region before you settle in with the popcorn. With that said, let’s get into the definitive list of the best animated movies on Netflix right now.

Why Animated Movies Deserve a Spot on Your Watchlist

There’s a persistent myth that animation is just for kids. As director Guillermo del Toro famously said while accepting his Oscar for Pinocchio: “Animation is cinema; animation is not a genre.” The best animated movies on Netflix prove that point again and again, tackling grief, identity, fascism, anxiety, found family, and first love with a visual freedom that live-action simply can’t match.

That’s part of why this list of top animated films streaming on Netflix spans everything from breezy family movies on Netflix you can watch with a five-year-old to stop-motion horror-comedies that are much better suited to a teenager’s Friday night. Use the genre notes below to find your perfect match.

The 30 Best Animated Movies on Netflix

1. KPop Demon Hunters (2025)

Netflix’s biggest animated original ever, KPop Demon Hunters follows the girl group HUNTR/X, who sell out stadiums by day and hunt demons by night. When a rival boy band of demons called the Saja Boys shows up to steal their fans (and their souls), the result is a candy-colored, action-packed musical with genuinely infectious original songs. It’s become a certified pop-culture phenomenon and remains one of the most-watched titles in Netflix’s history, making it an essential entry on any list of the best animated movies on Netflix.

2. Swapped

A body-switching fantasy comedy starring the voices of Juno Temple and Michael B. Jordan, Swapped tells the story of two rival forest creatures, a scrappy woodland critter and a regal bird, who are forced to trade bodies after a run-in with a magical flower. What starts as chaos turns into a surprisingly moving lesson in empathy and teamwork. It exploded in popularity almost immediately after release and is quickly climbing Netflix’s all-time most-watched charts.

3. Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)

This isn’t your childhood Pinocchio. Set in Mussolini-era Italy, del Toro’s stop-motion retelling uses the classic fairy tale to explore fascism, mortality, and what it really means to be a “good” son. Gorgeously animated and voiced by a stacked cast including Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton, and Cate Blanchett, it won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and it’s one of the most artistically ambitious Netflix original animated films ever made.

4. Nimona (2023)

Adapted from ND Stevenson’s beloved graphic novel, Nimona is a rollicking sci-fi fantasy about a disgraced knight (Riz Ahmed) who teams up with a shape-shifting teenage outlaw (Chloë Grace Moretz) to clear his name. Bursting with punk energy, sharp humor, and a surprisingly tender queer love story at its core, it’s one of the most stylistically distinctive animated movies to watch on the platform.

5. The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021)

A quirky, chronically online family must save the world from a robot uprising in this Oscar-nominated adventure-comedy. The Mitchells vs. the Machines balances laugh-out-loud sight gags with genuine warmth about family dysfunction and growing apart. Its hand-drawn-meets-CGI visual style, produced by the team behind Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, remains one of the most inventive looks in modern animation.

6. Klaus (2019)

One of Netflix’s earliest and best animated originals, Klaus reimagines the Santa Claus origin story through a grumpy postman exiled to a frozen, feuding Arctic town. What follows is a warm, hand-animated fable about kindness spreading like wildfire. It earned an Oscar nomination and remains a holiday-season staple among Netflix original animated films.

7. The Sea Beast (2022)

A young girl stows away on the ship of a legendary sea-monster hunter, only to discover the beasts might not be the villains everyone believes. The Sea Beast delivers gorgeous ocean-set action sequences alongside a genuinely moving message about propaganda and prejudice, and it landed an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature.

8. Leo (2023)

Adam Sandler voices a 74-year-old classroom lizard facing his own mortality who decides to spend his final year dispensing brutally honest wisdom to a class of anxious fifth-graders. It’s a family affair, Sandler’s real-life wife and daughters also voice characters, and beneath the silly musical numbers is a genuinely touching meditation on growing up and letting go.

9. Wendell & Wild (2022)

Co-written by Jordan Peele and directed by stop-motion legend Henry Selick, Wendell & Wild follows two demon brothers who recruit a grieving teenage girl to help them escape the underworld. It’s spooky, strange, and visually stunning, with a script that tackles grief, guilt, and the private prison industry, proof that not every entry on this best animated movies on Netflix list is strictly for kids.

10. Orion and the Dark (2024)

Based on Emma Yarlett’s picture book, this Charlie Kaufman-scripted film turns a child’s fear of the dark into an actual character, a big, gentle, blob-like creature voiced by Paul Walter Hauser. Orion and the Dark deals with anxiety in a way that’s funny, existential, and unexpectedly profound, making it a great pick for anxious kids and overthinking adults alike.

11. Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood (2022)

Richard Linklater’s rotoscope-animated memory piece follows a ten-year-old boy growing up near NASA’s Houston headquarters during the 1969 moon landing. Featuring the voices of Glen Powell and Jack Black, it’s a nostalgic, dreamy hybrid of fact and fiction that plays as much to adults reminiscing about childhood summers as it does to kids fascinated by space.

12. Spellbound (2024)

A teenage princess (Rachel Zegler) must reverse a spell that’s turned her parents into monsters before their kingdom collapses into war. With original songs by Alan Menken (the composer behind Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast) and a voice cast including Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem, Spellbound is a big, splashy animated musical built squarely for fans of classic fairy-tale adventures.

13. In Your Dreams (2025)

Siblings Stevie and Elliot discover a magical book that summons the wish-granting Sandman and set off across a wildly imaginative dreamscape to fix their fracturing family. With voice work from Simu Liu and Cristin Milioti, this heartfelt fantasy adventure has quickly become a fan favorite among the newer animated movies to watch on Netflix.

14. I Am Frankelda

A striking Mexican stop-motion film about a 19th-century writer whose dark, dismissed stories come alive as she journeys into her own subconscious. Gorgeously handcrafted and steeped in Latin American folklore and horror traditions, I Am Frankelda is one of the most original and visually inventive additions to Netflix’s animated catalog this year.

15. Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2025)

The beloved British claymation duo return for their sixth outing, this time facing off against a garden gnome gone rogue and the return of classic villain Feathers McGraw. Endlessly witty and lovingly crafted frame-by-frame, this Oscar-nominated adventure is proof that traditional stop-motion animation can still feel completely fresh.

16. Plankton: The Movie (2025)

Bikini Bottom’s tiniest villain finally gets his own spotlight in this SpongeBob SquarePants spin-off, which doubles as a surprisingly sweet love story and musical comedy. When Plankton’s wife Karen threatens to take over the world herself, he has to rally SpongeBob and the whole gang to stop her, and win her back.

17. Wish Dragon (2021)

A working-class college student in Shanghai stumbles onto a magical teapot containing a wish-granting dragon (voiced by John Cho) and uses his three wishes to reconnect with a childhood friend who’s grown wealthy and distant. It’s a charming, Aladdin-inspired tale about class, friendship, and what “having it all” really means.

18. The Willoughbys (2020)

Based on Lois Lowry’s novel, this darkly funny stop-motion-style comedy follows four siblings scheming to get rid of their genuinely terrible parents. With voice work from Will Forte, Maya Rudolph, and Terry Crews, it’s a gleefully twisted riff on old-fashioned children’s literature that still lands an emotional gut-punch by the end.

19. The Croods: A New Age (2020)

The prehistoric Crood family collides with the ultra-modern, tree-house-dwelling Betterman family in this DreamWorks sequel. It’s a broad, colorful comedy about culture clashes and blended families that’s become one of the most-watched animated movies on Netflix according to the platform’s own engagement reports.

20. Despicable Me (2010)

The film that launched the Minions empire, Despicable Me follows supervillain Gru’s plan to steal the moon, a scheme derailed when he adopts three orphan girls who slowly melt his cold heart. Still one of the funniest and most rewatchable family movies on Netflix, it holds up remarkably well over a decade later.

21. Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)

This 1970s-set prequel follows a twelve-year-old Gru as he tries to join a supervillain group called the Vicious 6. Packed with era-appropriate needle drops and pure Minion chaos, it’s a lighter, sillier entry that consistently ranks among Netflix’s most-streamed animated movies for kids.

22. Migration (2023)

A family of overprotective mallard ducks finally leaves their pond for a wild vacation to Jamaica in this high-flying adventure comedy from Illumination. Colorful, kinetic, and packed with slapstick, Migration is an easy, breezy pick when you want pure family entertainment without much emotional heavy lifting.

23. Shrek 2 (2004)

Widely considered the best entry in the franchise, Shrek 2 sends the ogre and his new bride Fiona to meet her royal parents in the kingdom of Far Far Away. Packed with pop-culture parody, an unforgettable Puss in Boots debut, and genuine heart, it remains a top pick whenever it cycles onto Netflix.

24. Over the Moon (2020)

A Netflix Original musical and the first major studio animated film to feature an entirely Asian voice cast, Over the Moon follows a grieving twelve-year-old girl who builds a rocket to prove the moon goddess Chang’e is real. Visually dazzling, with a soaring pop score, it’s a heartfelt story about processing loss through wonder and imagination.

25. The Boss Baby (2017)

A suit-wearing, briefcase-carrying baby (voiced by Alec Baldwin) upends his older brother’s world in this absurdist DreamWorks comedy about sibling rivalry. Silly, fast-paced, and genuinely funny for parents too, it’s a reliable pick whenever you need something breezy for a rainy afternoon.

26. Trolls (2016)

The perpetually optimistic Poppy and the grumpy Branch set off to rescue their friends from the gloomy Bergens in this candy-colored musical comedy. Packed with pop needle drops and glitter-bright visuals, Trolls is a go-to for younger viewers who want something upbeat and danceable.

27. How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

A gentle Viking teenager forms an unlikely bond with a dragon everyone else fears in this modern animated classic. Sweeping, emotional, and gorgeously scored by John Powell, it’s frequently cited as one of the best animated films of the 2010s and remains a must-watch whenever it’s part of Netflix’s rotating library.

28. Next Gen (2018)

A Netflix Original sci-fi adventure about a lonely girl who befriends a rogue military robot on the run from its creators. With a strong emotional core about connection and found family wrapped inside a slick, action-packed sci-fi package, Next Gen is an underrated pick that deserves more attention.

29. Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019)

Aardman’s beloved claymation flock returns for a wildly funny alien-invasion caper, as Shaun and friends try to help a stranded extraterrestrial phone home before shady government agents close in. Dialogue-free but endlessly expressive, it’s a perfect pick for younger kids and animation purists alike.

30. Wish Dragon and Beyond, Explore the Rest of the Library

Netflix’s animated catalog changes constantly, with new Netflix original animated films and licensed classics rotating in every month. Beyond this list, keep an eye out for newly added international animation, anime films, and upcoming releases like Ray Gunn from The Incredibles director Brad Bird, all strong candidates to join future versions of this best animated movies on Netflix roundup.

How We Picked These Movies

Building a list of the top animated films streaming on Netflix means balancing a few different factors:

• Critical acclaim – Oscar wins and nominations, review scores, and festival buzz.
• Viewership data – Netflix’s own engagement reports, which reveal what audiences are actually watching in huge numbers.
• Genre and tone variety – from breezy animated movies for kids to darker, more mature animated movies for adults.
• Cultural staying power – movies people are still talking about, quoting, or rewatching years after release.

We also deliberately mixed Netflix original animated films with licensed hits from studios like DreamWorks, Illumination, and Aardman, since Netflix’s animated strength comes from both its in-house slate and its deep licensing deals.

Best Animated Movies on Netflix by Category

Best for family movie night: KPop Demon Hunters, The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Migration, Trolls, The Croods: A New Age

Best for younger kids: Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, The Boss Baby, Minions: The Rise of Gru, Orion and the Dark

Best for older kids and tweens: Nimona, Klaus, Over the Moon, In Your Dreams, Spellbound

Best for animation fans and adults: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Wendell & Wild, Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood, I Am Frankelda, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

Best musicals: KPop Demon Hunters, Spellbound, Over the Moon, Trolls, Leo

Best stop-motion: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Wendell & Wild, I Am Frankelda, Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon

The Evolution of Netflix’s Animation Strategy

It’s worth understanding why the platform’s animated catalog has gotten so strong, because it explains a lot about the shape of this list. For years, Netflix relied almost entirely on licensing deals, renting the streaming rights to DreamWorks, Illumination, and Sony Pictures Animation titles for a set window before they cycled off the platform. That’s still a huge part of the library today, which is why classics like Shrek 2, How to Train Your Dragon, and Despicable Me show up (and occasionally disappear) from the best animated movies on Netflix conversation.

But starting in the late 2010s, Netflix began investing heavily in its own in-house animation, building relationships with directors like the late-great stop-motion pioneers at Aardman, poaching top talent from Disney and DreamWorks, and acquiring smaller international studios. The payoff has been enormous: Netflix original animated films like Klaus, The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, and KPop Demon Hunters aren’t just filler between licensed hits anymore, they’re some of the most acclaimed and most-watched movies on the entire platform, animated or otherwise.

This dual strategy, a rotating buffet of licensed comfort-watches plus a growing slate of ambitious originals, is exactly why Netflix’s animated catalog feels so much deeper than most competitors’. You get the reliable, rewatchable family favorites and the genre-pushing original stories that could only exist because a streamer was willing to take a creative risk.

What Makes a Netflix Animated Movie Stand Out

Not every animated movie is created equal, and the strongest entries on this list of top animated films streaming on Netflix tend to share a few traits:

• A distinct visual identity. Films like Nimona, I Am Frankelda, and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio don’t look like generic CGI product, they have a specific, handcrafted point of view that makes every frame recognizable.
• Music that actually slaps. From HUNTR/X’s stadium-ready pop anthems in KPop Demon Hunters to Alan Menken’s Broadway-caliber score in Spellbound, the best animated musicals on Netflix treat their songs as seriously as any live-action musical would.
• Stories that respect the audience. Whether it’s a kids’ movie or an adult one, the strongest titles here, Orion and the Dark, Wendell & Wild, The Mitchells vs. the Machines, don’t talk down to viewers. They tackle real anxieties (fear of the dark, grief, family dysfunction) with honesty instead of easy answers.
• Rewatchability. Comfort-watch classics like Despicable Me, Shrek 2, and Trolls earn their spot because families genuinely put them on again and again, which is reflected in Netflix’s own viewership numbers.

Tips for Choosing the Right Animated Movie for Your Household

With so many strong choices, picking the right movie for the right moment can still be a challenge. A few quick tips:

1. Check the rating before pressing play with young kids. Several titles on this list, including Wendell & Wild and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, carry a PG-13 rating and include darker themes better suited to tweens and teens.
2. Match the runtime to your evening. Most entries here run between 90 minutes and just under two hours, but shorter, breezier picks like Klaus or Orion and the Dark are easier to squeeze into a busy weeknight than a longer musical epic like Spellbound.
3. Use “My List” to build a rotating queue. Since availability shifts, saving titles to your Netflix list as soon as you spot them helps ensure you don’t lose track of something before you get the chance to watch it.
4. Mix genres across a week. Alternating a comedy (The Boss Baby), a musical (KPop Demon Hunters), and something with real emotional weight (Over the Moon) keeps family movie nights feeling fresh instead of repetitive.
5. Don’t skip the “grown-up” picks. If your only frame of reference for animation is bright, kid-focused fare, titles like Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood and Nimona are a great entry point into more mature animated storytelling.

The Studios Behind Netflix’s Best Animated Movies

Part of what makes this list of the best animated movies on Netflix so eclectic is the sheer number of studios contributing to the platform’s library. Understanding who’s behind the camera (or, more accurately, behind the rig) can help you predict what kind of tone and visual style you’re signing up for.

Netflix Animation is the in-house division responsible for many of the platform’s flagship originals, including KPop Demon Hunters, Klaus, and Over the Moon. This is where Netflix takes its biggest creative swings, often partnering with first-time feature directors and unconventional visual styles that a traditional studio might consider too risky for a theatrical release.

Skydance Animation has become one of Netflix’s most important outside partners, delivering Spellbound, Swapped, and the upcoming Ray Gunn. Their films tend to lean into big, splashy, Broadway-adjacent musical spectacle, and the partnership has quickly made Skydance one of the most reliable sources of crowd-pleasing Netflix original animated films.

Aardman Animations, the legendary British studio behind Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, brings old-school claymation craftsmanship to titles like Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon. In an industry increasingly dominated by CGI, Aardman’s handmade, frame-by-frame approach remains a genuine point of differentiation, and a big reason animation purists keep coming back to these titles.

DreamWorks Animation, Illumination, and Sony Pictures Animation round out the platform’s licensed offerings, contributing crowd favorites like Shrek 2, The Croods: A New Age, Despicable Me, Minions: The Rise of Gru, Migration, Trolls, The Boss Baby, and How to Train Your Dragon. These deals shift over time, but when they’re active, they make up some of the most consistently rewatched family movies on Netflix.

Finally, smaller independent and international studios are an increasingly important part of the mix. I Am Frankelda, produced by Mexican stop-motion studio Cinema Fantasma, represents the kind of global storytelling Netflix has leaned into as it competes for subscribers outside the US and UK, and it’s a great sign that future editions of this best animated movies on Netflix list will only get more diverse.

Animated Movies on Netflix vs. Other Streaming Platforms

How does Netflix’s animated library stack up against competitors like Disney+, Max, or Peacock? The honest answer is that no single platform has a monopoly on great animation anymore. Disney+ obviously holds the deepest vault of Disney and Pixar classics, and Max carries the Warner Bros. Animation and Studio Ghibli catalogs. But Netflix has carved out its own lane by combining an unusually ambitious slate of Netflix original animated films with a constantly rotating buffet of licensed DreamWorks and Illumination hits.

That mix is exactly why this list of the top animated films streaming on Netflix skews so wide, you’re getting genre experiments you simply won’t find anywhere else (a K-pop demon-hunting musical, a stop-motion Mexican gothic fable, a Charlie Kaufman-scripted kids’ film about anxiety) sitting right alongside the reliable, big-studio comfort watches that make for easy family movie nights. For a lot of households, that combination is what makes Netflix worth keeping around even as competition in the streaming space heats up.

Frequently Asked Questions About Animated Movies on Netflix

What is the most-watched animated movie on Netflix? KPop Demon Hunters holds the record as Netflix’s most popular film of all time across any genre, having racked up hundreds of millions of views since its debut, with Swapped close behind it.

Does Netflix have good animated movies for adults? Yes. Titles like Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Wendell & Wild, Nimona, and Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood tackle mature, complex themes, fascism, grief, identity, systemic injustice, that resonate far more with adult viewers than young kids.

How often does Netflix add new animated movies? Netflix regularly rotates its animated catalog, adding new Netflix original animated films every few months alongside licensed titles from studios like DreamWorks, Illumination, and Sony Pictures Animation. It’s worth checking back on lists like this one periodically, since availability shifts by region and licensing window.

What’s the best Netflix Original animated movie? Depending on what you’re looking for, top contenders include KPop Demon Hunters for pure entertainment, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio for artistic ambition, and Klaus for classic, crowd-pleasing warmth.

Are these animated movies good for family movie night? Most of the titles on this list work well as family movies on Netflix, though a handful like Wendell & Wild and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio lean darker and are better suited for older kids and teens. Check the age ratings before pressing play with younger viewers.

Are there good anime and international animated films on Netflix? Yes, beyond the Hollywood-style animated movies covered in depth here, Netflix’s library also includes a strong selection of Japanese anime films and international animation, including titles frequently cited among the platform’s highest-rated movies by IMDb score. If you enjoyed the visual ambition of I Am Frankelda or Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, exploring Netflix’s anime and world-cinema animation sections is a natural next step.

Do animated movies leave Netflix? Yes. Licensed titles, meaning anything not produced directly by Netflix, are only available for a set window based on the studio’s licensing agreement. This is why movies like Shrek 2, How to Train Your Dragon, or Trolls can disappear from the platform without warning, only to potentially return later under a new deal. Netflix original animated films, on the other hand, tend to stay on the platform indefinitely since Netflix owns the rights outright.

What’s the best way to discover new animated movies on Netflix? Beyond browsing curated lists like this one, Netflix’s in-app “Animation” genre row, its Top 10 rankings, and its official Tudum editorial site are all reliable ways to track new additions. Setting reminders for upcoming titles you’re excited about is also a smart way to catch a movie the moment it lands, since Netflix’s algorithm doesn’t always surface newer or smaller releases right away.

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re in the mood for a big, splashy musical, a quiet, contemplative character study, or pure slapstick comedy, this list of the best animated movies on Netflix proves just how far the medium has come. Animation isn’t a genre, it’s a canvas, and Netflix’s library currently holds some of the best examples of what that canvas can do.

A decade ago, “Netflix and animation” might have just meant reruns of licensed DreamWorks sequels. Today it means Oscar winners, chart-topping original soundtracks, stop-motion craftsmanship from some of the best studios in the world, and genre experiments that theatrical studios would likely never have greenlit. That range is exactly what makes building a list like this one so much fun, and so difficult to narrow down to just thirty titles.

If you’re planning your next watch, start with whichever mood fits your evening: pure comfort-food nostalgia (Shrek 2, Despicable Me), a big communal sing-along (KPop Demon Hunters, Spellbound), or something quieter and more contemplative to watch once the kids are in bed (Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood, Wendell & Wild). However you slice it, queue up a few of these picks, settle in, and rediscover why animated storytelling continues to captivate audiences of every age. Bookmark this guide and check back periodically, with Netflix’s animation slate growing every year, the best animated movies on Netflix list is only going to get longer.