Here are Cinephile Corner’s 10 recommendations for animated movies like Pets on a Train:
Rally Road Racers
Rally Road Racers doesn’t offer much beyond being a palatable kids movie that goes down easily. Light on stakes and emotion, the film works strictly on the premise that working faster beats working harder. It’s easier to reconcile this notion given the premise of Rally Road Racers, which goes hand-in-hand with the breakneck speed with which it’s told.
The Bad Guys 2
The Bad Guys 2 keeps the zippy, sketchbook energy that made DreamWorks Animation’s first film easy on the eyes, then stalls once the heist machinery starts clicking. The hybrid 2D/3D look still pops, indebted or comparable to the splashy stylings of Sony’s Spider-Verse and The Mitchells vs. The Machines and even Pixar’s Turning Red. The trouble is everything wrapped in that packaging. Two movies in, this world and its reformed crooks still feel thin.
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.
Ratatouille
Ratatouille could only be as effective as it is with these voice actors and this concept and director, and it all comes together to make one of Pixar’s most unique and loveable movies. Brad Bird conceptualizes a ridiculous premise to perfection, delivering a meta story about the intersection of art and criticism.
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.
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.
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.
Strange World
It’s not that Strange World is bad, it just should’ve been much better. The movie has a third act with its positives (I particularly liked the main twist that I’ll avoid spoiling in this review, but it gave me some nice food-for-thought), but not enough to redeem a story that takes too long to set up without much fun or promise. Jake Gyllenhaal and Dennis Quaid lead a mixed voice cast.
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.