Here are Cinephile Corner’s 10 recommendations for animated movies like Fixed:
Leo
Leo is a reptilian romp that surprises with its unexpected humor and heart, carried by Adam Sandler, Bill Burr, and a fun voice acting cast. While it may not be a genre-defining masterpiece, Leo succeeds in delivering a singular story and surpasses many animated movie releases in 2023.
Memoir of a Snail
Family is inseparable. No matter how fractured and disjointed it can be at times, family is who you rely on to get you through the rough patches in life. Adam Elliot‘s 2024 animated movie Memoir of a Snail, in which a young girl Grace experiences nearly every form of trauma and loss imaginable, displays this in perhaps the clearest, most emotional gut punch you’ll see all year. It’s crafted with such a precise thumb on its own pulse in terms of tone and imagery that you’d be hard-pressed to find another director capable colliding this style with this material.
Nimona
Nimona tries to strike at the same imaginative core that worked so well for a few of Netflix’s animated releases from a year ago, namely The Sea Beast and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, but instead comes out overbaked – trying to have its way in so many directions that it just ultimately feels lost within so many ideas.
Wendell & Wild
Henry Selick’s latest entry into the stop-motion microgenre Wendell & Wild contains every ounce of charisma and wonder that fueled his previous works and terrified children like myself growing up, but watching his newest effort as a more aware and critical viewer, there are just too many structural components that don’t connect into a larger, fully-realized puzzle.
Shrek
Shrek stays winning! I don’t think its in the pantheon of great animated movies this century (Pixar has made movies superior to this just in the last few years), but it’s pretty entertaining and funny for what it strives to be. Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy are terrific voice actors.
Robot Dreams
Suitable for children while also extremely relatable for adults, Robot Dreams is one of the most uncomplicatedly pleasant experiences I’ve had with a movie in 2024. It’s nice to relive an animation style that once was the norm, while also seeing it adapted in prescient and timely ways. Robot Dreams, while small scale and innocent, feels like the much needed break from convention.
Isle of Dogs
Viewed as a standalone animated feature, Isle of Dogs is a unique, thoughtful piece that few filmmakers besides Wes Anderson could have envisioned, let alone executed. But graded on the curve of Anderson’s own career, it feels minor. It lacks the emotional punch of The Royal Tenenbaums, the elegance of The Grand Budapest Hotel, and even the narrative focus of later entries like Asteroid City or The Phoenician Scheme.
Predator: Killer of Killers
Predator: Killer of Killers isn’t a knockout, but it is a welcome risk. It continues the rejuvenation of the franchise that Prey began and suggests that Predator: Badlands could be the most expansive, adventurous installment yet. For fans of the series or genre animation in general, it’s worth the watch. It’s smart, visually distinctive, and interested in more than just the hunt.
Night of the Zoopocalypse
As a gateway horror film, Night of the Zoopocalypse functions fine. But for those hoping that it might stand alongside some of the more daring or genre-savvy animated fare in recent years, this feels like a mild disappointment. Not quite wild enough to be truly memorable, and not sharp enough to be clever, it’s a serviceable but skippable entry in the animated horror-comedy space.
Dog Man
Dog Man is quick, goofy, and genuinely entertaining—a rare kids movie that doesn’t insult its audience’s intelligence. For viewers expecting a hollow, IP-driven cash grab, this ends up being a pleasant surprise. It’s a mid-tier animated film that punches a little above its weight, and for families looking for something fast, funny, and a little off-kilter, it more than delivers.
