Here are Cinephile Corner’s 10 recommendations for animated movies like Toy Story 4:
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.
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.
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.
Lightyear
There’s a lack of interesting, personable characters within Lightyear, as if they were all typecast from other Pixar movies. They’re either sentimentally sweet, aloof, or arrogant. And maybe the movie could’ve been saved had these characters had more time to develop and interact, but that aspect of the film is tossed aside frequently for big action set pieces and rambunctious chase sequences.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
The glorious animation in the newest Shrek installment Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is enough to drive you to the theater by itself. Led by a star-studded cast and a script with enough heart, The Last Wish is one of the better animated movies of 2022.
Inside Out 2
I found the overall package of Inside Out 2 enjoyable, with Sadness (Phyllis Smith) and Joy (Amy Poehler) as captivating and cartoonishly real in the sequel as they were in the original. It’s a new entry worthy of the title, despite enough material here to expand on over the course of multiple movies.
Elemental
Elemental acts as a surprising return to the roots of Pixar. It’s a movie with a host of relevant themes and messages rolled into a sincere and effective love story. It’s been a a minute since Pixar landed an original story with such a clear balance of narrative and comedy.
The Wild Robot
The overall package of The Wild Robot is ultimately quite honorable and noteworthy. The animated genre offers just a few great movies a year, and The Wild Robot falls into that category. It’s probably the frontrunner for Best Animated Picture at the Academy Awards, and I’d add that we’ve had much worse winners should this take home the prize. It’s sweet and effortlessly likeable, even if you can see the mechanisms of it working behind the scenes.
Flow
Flow attempts to push the boundaries of visual storytelling in the animated genre, and in many ways, it succeeds. Created entirely using Blender rendering software, typically reserved for 3D video game sprites, the film builds a nearly 90-minute animated feature filled with an abundance of visual ideas and thematic density. It’s a technical marvel that redefines the potential of its medium through its innovative use of technology.
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.
