Here are Cinephile Corner’s picks for the 29 best animated movies for adults, ranked:
29. 9 (2009)
28. Fantastic Planet (1973)
27. Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
26. Waking Life (2001)
25. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021)
24. Memoir of a Snail (2024)
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 full review of Memoir of a Snail
23. The Bob’s Burgers Movie (2022)
22. Predator: Killer of Killers (2025)
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.
Read our full review of Predator: Killer of Killers
21. Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)
Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson’s Pinocchio is a beautiful and marvelous return for the ancient story after the dark places it went to in 2022. The stop-motion is clean and stoic, and the story breaths new life into the wooden child. Guillermo del Toro rarely misses, and this is another example of his gothic stories hitting just the right notes.
Read our full review of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
20. Sausage Party (2016)
19. Lost in Starlight (2025)
18. Look Back (2024)
17. Rango (2011)
16. The Boy and the Heron (2023)
Hayao Miyazaki creates worlds where grief dances with wonder, where loss paves the way for discovery, and imagination reigns supreme. His latest movie The Boy and the Heron continues those trends to great lengths; it’s a symphony of animation, storytelling, and profound emotions that transports you to a realm of breathtaking beauty and exploration.
Read our full review of The Boy and the Heron
15. Isle of Dogs (2018)
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.
Read our full review of Isle of Dogs
14. Mad God (2021)
13. Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood (2022)
12. Entergalactic (2022)
11. The Simpsons Movie (2007)
10. Spirited (2001)
9. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse continues what the first film did so well – feel like something you’ve never seen before. An intense thrill ride that explores carving your own path and not staying constrained to the expectations set before you.
Read our full review of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
8. Anomalisa (2015)
7. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
6. Perfect Blue (1997)
5. A Scanner Darkly (2006)
4. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
3. WALL-E (2008)
Over fifteen years later, I’m not sure Disney Pixar Studios has made a movie nearly as insightful, colorful, and ambitious as WALL-E. As an allegory for corporate greed and environmental neglect, the film operates on such a concise and straightforward manner – Pixar’s strongest thematic statement in their catalogue.
Read our full review of WALL-E
2. The Wind Rises (2013)
1. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Fantastic Mr. Fox is more than just one of the best Wes Anderson movies or one of the best animated movies—it’s one of the best movies, period. A singular work of creativity and charm that continues to inspire, entertain, and resonate.
