How do you like animated movies? There are currently several animation studios in the industry like Dreamworks, Pixar, Disney, Sony Pictures, and more. All these studios have given us numerous animated movies which are both praiseworthy and entertaining. However, it can be challenging to pick the best ones from the thousands of good ones. Therefore, I have created this list for you consisting of the best animated movies released after 2000. I have intentionally skipped the Disney animated movies from the list, which you can read in its dedicated article. So, if you are ready to witness fantastic storytelling with eye-pleasing graphics, let’s begin.
The following list contains 35 loving, intriguing, and mesmerizing latest animated movies. You will find every movie with a unique story and concept. Besides, many of them led to their own franchises after the initial success of the first film like Ice Age and Kung Fu Panda. Meanwhile, some of them are best as a single film like Soul, Inside Out, and Wall-E. So, let’s dive into the animated world and look at the best animated movies of our time.
- Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)Turning Red (2022)Ron’s Gone Wrong (2021)Vivo (2021)The Mitchells vs. The Machines (2021)My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission (2021)Onward (2020)The Lego Movie (2014)Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)Soul (2020)Inside Out (2015)Megamind (2010)Smallfoot (2018)The Croods (2013)Wall-E (2008)Brave (2012)Up (2009)Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)Spirited Away (2003)Rango (2011)Coco (2017)Your Name (2017)Rio (2011)Ratatouille (2007)The Best Animated Movie FranchiseIce Age (2002)Toy Story (1995)Monsters, Inc. (2001)Despicable Me (2010)The Incredibles (2004)How to Train Your Dragon (2010)Kung Fu Panda (2008)Cars (2006)Finding Nemo (2003)Shrek (2001)Madagascar (2005)
1. Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)
IMDb: 7.8/10
Metacritic: 84%
Kubo and the Two Strings is a story of a brave boy who wields a magical shamisen, a Japanese musical instrument, to tell stories. He is keen to learn about his father: a fallen samurai who has died protecting his mother from her evil grandfather. His life goes upside down when his mother’s evil twins come to steal him. Protecting Kudo, his mother meets her sudden demise. Now, Kubo must complete the ultimate quest with the help of a snow monkey and a human beetle to defeat his mother’s oppressive family. He must find and wield the most potent battle-suit in Japan, once belonging to his father, to complete his destiny.
IMDb: 7.1/10
Directors: Domee Shi
Watch Trailer Here
Cast: Jack Dylan Grazer, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms
4. Vivo (2021)
IMDb: 6.7/10
Release date: 6 August 2021
IMDb: 7.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
Runtime: 1 hour 53 minutes
IMDb: 7.4/10
Metacritic: 51%
Based on the Manga comics by the same name, My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission is the third installment in the movie franchise. It tells a story of a cult of terrorists who ruins a city by releasing a toxin causing people to go out of their senses. The cult discloses their plan to attack the Earth on various locations around the planet simultaneously. It comes to Japan’s greatest heroes who spread around the world in an attempt to stop the threat and track down the mastermind to show him justice. The anime movie is full of action sequences considered the best one in the franchise so far.
Directors: Dan Scanlon
IMDb: 7.7/10
Cast: Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks
9. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
IMDb: 7.9/10
Release date: 25 November 2009
IMDb: 8.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 95%
Runtime: 1 hour 40 minutes
IMDb: 8.2/10
Metacritic: 94%
Inside Out is one of the best animated movies of all time with a unique concept to understand human emotions. It follows a young girl named Riley who is uprooted from her Midwestern lifestyle and has to deal with the busy life of San Francisco. Her feelings, Anger, Disgust, Sadness, Fear, and Joy, disagree on how to deal with this sudden and dramatic change. It causes tremendous problems in Headquarters, the supposed place of behavior control and home to the five emotions. However, an accident involving her memories and their effect on the surrounding brings new insight for the team. Now, Joy and Sadness must find her important memories and return them to Headquarters before Riley does something beyond repair.
IMDb: 7.3/10
Directors: Tom McGrath
IMDb: 6.6/10
Cast: Channing Tatum, James Corden, Zendaya
14. The Croods (2013)
IMDb: 7.2/10
Release date: 22 March 2013
IMDb: 8.4/10
Runtime: 1 hour 38 minutes
Metacritic: 69%
The story follows Merida, a redheaded Princess living in a castle located in Scotland with her family. Her mother, Elinor, is an elegant Queen who wants her daughter to be a sophisticated Princess. However, Merida is nothing like a Princess and wants to explore the world and have hobbies like Archery and horse riding. After steady pressure from her mother about her behavior, Merida gets fed up and runs into a witch hut. The witch grants her a wish and creates a spell pastry for Elinor. After eating the pastry, the Queen transforms into a hideous beast, and Merida must find a way to convert her back. The plot shows her adventure on the mission. Whether she can make things right or learn some other lesson is worth watching.
IMDb: 8.3/10
Directors: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson
IMDb: 8.4/10
Cast: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld
19. Spirited Away (2003)
IMDb: 8.6/10
Release date: 28 March 2003
IMDb: 7.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
Runtime: 1 hour 47 minutes
Metacritic: 81%
Coco is a story of Miguel, a twelve-year-old Mexican boy who aspires to become a great musician like his idol Ernesto de la Cruz. Despite his idol being the town’s hero, Miguel’s family has a long ban on music. One day, Miguel accidentally gets transported to a colorful land of dead people on the sacred Day of the Dead in an attempt to prove his talent. Chaos ensues, but he soon realizes that these dead people get to live a normal life one day a year if their loved ones remember them. He also meets a charming trickster Hector, and they both embark on a journey to find Miguel’s lost ancestors. Thus, unraveling some old mysteries about the family. It is an emotional movie about love, family, death, music, and betrayal.
Directors: Makoto Shinkai
IMDb: 6.9/10
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, George Lopez
24. Ratatouille (2007)
IMDb: 8.1/10
Release date: 29 June 2007
Some movies are complete in themselves and do not need any extension. On the other hand, a few kickstart their own franchise with unique concepts and opportunities to extend the stories. Here are some of the best animated movie franchises which have created a universe of their own. Many franchises are still going forward, whereas some of them have concluded with their last movie.
25. Ice Age (2002)
IMDb: 7.5/10
Release date: 15 March 2002
IMDb: 8.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Runtime: 1 hour 21 minutes
Metacritic: 79%
Monsters, Inc. is a creative take on the imaginary monsters we feel are looking at us from the closet. The movie makes them real, and they must scare children since the Monster world runs on scream energy. The bulbs and cars run because the Monsters frighten the kid. However, it has become difficult ever since television has spoiled the kids, and they don’t get scared that easily. One day, Mike and Sulley accidentally bring a human kid into their world, ensuing chaos. All the monsters have notions that the kids are poisonous. So, Mike and Sulley plan to send the kid back to its world. However, the head of the company has an evil plan that would fulfill the energy shortage of the city. A prequel titled Monsters University was released in 2013, and a television series titled Monsters at Work premiered on Disney+ in 2021.
IMDb: 7.6/10
Directors: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud
Meanwhile, three little orphan girls named Margo, Edith, and Agnes see a potential dad in him. The responsibility of the new members serves as a critical turning point in Gru’s life, making him a better version of himself. The movie is followed by three sequels titled Despicable Me 2 (2013), Despicable Me 3 (2017), and Despicable Me 4 (2024), two prequels titled Minions (2015) and Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022), and several television shorts.
Directors: Brad Bird
Cast: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
31. Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Release date: 6 June 2008
32. Cars (2006)
Release date: 9 June 2006
IMDb: 8.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 99%
In the village of Duloc lives a heartless king named Lord Farquaad. One day he exiles all the fairy tale characters to the woods. They all find refuge in Shrek’s small cabin. Shrek, an ogre, loses his peaceful life suddenly and goes to meet the king to convince him to take the lot back to the kingdom. The king agrees only on one condition, which requires Shrek to bring Princess Fiona for him by fighting a dragon. The legend says only a capable knight can defeat the dragon and bring the princess back. Shrek goes on to bring the princess along with his trustworthy friend, Donkey. However, their journey does not go as planned, and a series of chaos ensues in Shrek’s life. The movie is followed by three sequels titled Shrek 2 in 2004, Shrek the Third in 2007, and Shrek Forever After in 2010. The franchise also contains two short films.
Directors: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath