The early 2020s have seen a genuine resurgence in animated cinema. Where the genre was once dominated by heavyweights like Pixar, DreamWorks, and Studio Ghibli, it has now evolved to include a more diverse array of creators and studios, offering new perspectives and styles at a mainstream level. Sony redefined superhero animation with its Spider-Verse films, while indie distributors like NEON and Janus Films have elevated animation as an art form, championing titles like Robot Dreams and Chicken for Linda! that push creative boundaries and redefine what animated films can achieve.
The animated genre is truly flourishing, offering a rich and diverse slate of films that reflect the medium’s boundless creativity. With such an incredible variety of animated movies this year, many stood out as my personal favorites. While I couldn’t review all of them for various reasons, you’ll find links to my full thoughts on the ones I did write about below. Each of these ten films left a strong impression, and I’m hopeful that 2025 will continue this trend of exceptional animation.
Here are the 10 best animated movies of 2024:
10. Orion and the Dark
There’s enough to like in Orion and the Dark to recommend it as a worthwhile family movie. Charlie Kaufman is able to mold his signature style just enough to fit within the constraints of a movie targeted for children. Jacob Tremblay and Paul Walter Hauser headline the voice cast in this DreamWorks animated movie for Netflix.
Read our review of Orion and the Dark.
9. 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.
Read our review of Flow.
8. 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.
Read our review of Inside Out 2.
7. Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
6. 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.
Read our review of Memoir of a Snail.
5. Look Back
4. Chicken for Linda!
3. ME
As reflexive, personal, and ambiguous as any animated feature made this decade, Don Hertzfeldt’s 22-minute return, titled ME, is an exploration into the ways society tries to shield ourselves from the atrocities that happen on a global scale, as well as a more personally mining tale of living for others as much as you live for yourself. Or at least that’s how I see it.
Read our review of ME.
2. 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.
Read our review of The Wild Robot.
1. 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.
Read our review of Robot Dreams.
