We all know that there’s no age limit to appreciating animation. Sure, animated movies are still strongly associated with your childhood favorites, but there are plenty of them with themes big enough for adults to relate to, and no limits to what the format can do. Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro perhaps said it best while accepting the Oscar for his stop-motion Pinocchio: “Animation is cinema, animation is not a genre.”

There are tons of options for you to check out, but we took the liberty of assembling a list of animated movies that audiences of all ages can enjoy. Whether you’re looking for something to watch with the whole family or you’re looking to give your own inner child a treat, our selection has everything from fantastical adventures to retellings of classic tales to superhero stories. If you like your movies told via stunning animation, there’s something here for you.

Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood

Before Richard Linklater and Glen Powell reunited for Hit Man, the duo teamed up for this animated adventure that dares to ask, “What if a fourth grader was the first person to land on the moon?” Based loosely on Linklater’s childhood growing up in Houston, Texas in the ’60s, Apollo 10 1/2 follows Stan (voiced as a young boy by Milo Coy and as an adult by Jack Black) who gets recruited by two government agents (voiced by Powell and Zachary Levi) to train for a top secret mission to the moon — specifically, the 1969 moon landing.

Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood

1h 38m   PG-13   2022

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Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

The name Guillermo del Toro was probably enough of a hint, but don’t expect this version of Pinocchio to be a carbon copy of the classic story. Here, the tale of a wooden puppet who comes to life and sets out to learn what it means to live as a “real boy” after being created by the woodcarver Geppetto gets a sobering reimagining. In this version, Pinocchio is a dark fantasy set in Mussolini-era Italy, with World War I as the backdrop. The story is brought to life via gorgeously detailed stop-motion animation, with del Toro’s fantastical sensibilities and childlike wonder making a perfect fit for this story of people searching for meaning and connection. If that’s not enough to entice you, it also won Best Animated Feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

2h 1m   PG   2022

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KPop Demon Hunters

In this animated fantasy, a trio of K-pop stars have to balance successful music careers with second jobs as demon hunters. The three women dutifully protect their fans from constant supernatural threats, but everything changes when a new group of demons masquerading as a rival boy band arrives on the scene. The voice cast features Arden Cho, Ji-young Yoo, Daniel Dae Kim, and Ken Jeong, while the film’s soundtrack features an original song performed by Jeongyeon, Jihyo, and Chaeyoung of K-pop group TWICE.

KPop Demon Hunters

1h 39m   PG   2025

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Kubo and the Two Strings

From Coraline to ParaNorman, Laika Studios has given us plenty of inventive stop-motion delights, and Kubo and the Two Strings is one of their most impressive. The film centers on a 12-year-old boy named Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson), who embarks on a mission to save his village after accidentally summoning the Moon King (Ralph Fiennes), a threatening figure from his past. He teams up with Monkey (Charlize Theron) and Beetle (Matthew McConaughey), setting out to find his late samurai father’s armor, which is the only thing Kubo can use to defeat the Moon King. As he fights monsters much more powerful than himself, Kubo also begins to uncover secrets about his family. The film’s stunning visuals are second only to its deep emotional core.

Kubo and the Two Strings

1h 41m   PG   2016

Remind Me

Leo

Adam Sandler voices an aging lizard with dreams bigger than his tank in this heartwarming coming-of-age film. The anthropomorphic Leo (Sandler) has lived out his 74 years as a dutiful class pet, but when he finds out his time on Earth is dwindling, he becomes determined to see the world. In his determination to escape, Leo ends up becoming an unlikely mentor to the fifth graders, who similarly find themselves in a state of uncertainty as they prepare to leave elementary school. Meanwhile, they’re just trying to get through the day under the watchful eye of their strict substitute teacher. It’s sweet, it’s funny — and it’s classic Sandler.

Leo

1h 46m   PG   2023

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The Mitchells vs. The Machines

Produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the pair behind animated hits like The Lego Movie and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Mitchells vs. the Machines is as riotous as it is genuinely touching. It follows the dysfunctional Mitchell family as they head out on a road trip together, which is derailed when electronics stage a mass revolt against humans, sending the world into apocalyptic chaos. With the help of two outcast robots who become their allies, the Mitchells have no choice but to unite in an effort to fight back against the technological uprising. Filled with blink-and-you-miss-it sight gags and densely packed with jokes, this is the ideal all-ages film.

The Mitchells vs. The Machines

1h 54m   PG   2021

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Nimona

Family-friendly films that put LGBTQ+ themes at the forefront of their stories don’t come around every day, which is what makes Nimona feel like a breath of fresh air. Adapted from ND Stevenson’s graphic novel of the same name, the irreverent sci-fi fantasy features Riz Ahmed as the voice of Ballister, a disgraced knight who finds himself at the center of a crime he swears he didn’t commit. He’s forced to go on the run with Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz), a shape-shifting teenager. The rollicking story finds its heart in the dynamic between the exuberant Nimona and the jilted Ballister, and the unique animation style turns the film into a feast for the eyes.

Nimona

1h 42m   PG   2023

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Orion and the Dark

Sean Charmatz and Charlie Kaufman’s adaptation of Emma Yarlett’s book of the same name transforms every kid’s biggest fear — the vast uncertainty of nighttime — into something a little less scary. Here, the dark is nothing to be afraid of. He’s actually just a big, smiling blob-like creature voiced by Paul Walter Hauser who takes a nervous kid named Orion (Jacob Tremblay) away on an adventure to help him overcome his fears. It’s rare to find a movie for young people that deals so frankly with anxiety and self-discovery, but the endearingly funny Orion and the Dark manages to pull it off.

Orion and the Dark

1h 32m   TV-Y7   2024

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Plankton: The Movie

Bikini Bottom’s most dastardly figure gets the main character treatment in this SpongeBob SquarePants spin-off film. This time, Plankton’s (voiced by Mr. Lawrence) eternal quest to steal the Krabby Patty formula for himself is put on hold when his computer wife Karen (voiced by Jill Talley) decides she’s had enough of his treatment of her and vows to take over the world without his help. Realizing he has to stop her and get his wife back, Plankton gets the whole gang together — SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, and more — to help him on his mission. It’s a love story, it’s a SpongeBob movie, it’s a musical: Plankton: The Movie really does have everything.

Plankton: The Movie

1h 27m   TV-Y7   2025

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The Sea Beast

Big Hero 6 and Moana’s Chris Williams directs this charming film about a young girl who sneaks onto the ship of a famous sea-monster hunter as he embarks on a mission to kill an infamous beast. The girl wants to have an adventure worthy of honoring her late monster-hunting parents; the hunter just wants to complete his voyage in peace. As the two learn how to work together, they also learn something about the creatures they’re pursuing. The voice cast includes Karl Urban, Jared Harris, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, and Dan Stevens.

The Sea Beast

1h 59m   PG   2022

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Sing

The anthropomorphic singing animal is an animated-movie classic for a reason, and Garth Jennings’ Sing has a lot of them. In this musical comedy, a koala named Buster (voiced by Matthew McConaughey) is a struggling theater owner who is determined to save his New Moon Theatre from being shut down. How does he plan to do that? By putting on the best singing competition the world has ever seen. Sing’s soundtrack is almost entirely composed of popular songs, which means you get to hear Jennifer Hudson’s elephant Nana perform The Beatles’ “Golden Slumbers,” as well as a rendition of Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” performed by a pair of pigs voiced by Reese Witherspoon and Nick Kroll. The voice cast also includes Scarlett Johansson, Taron Egerton, and Seth MacFarlane.

Sing

1h 48m   PG   2016

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Spellbound

Set in the magical kingdom of Lumbria, Spellbound follows Ellian (voiced by Rachel Zegler), a young princess with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Her parents, the king and queen of Lumbria, were turned into monsters after a spell was cast on them, leaving the kingdom without a ruler and vulnerable to the attacks of dark magic. Ellian, who believes her parents are still inside the monsters, becomes Lumbria’s only hope as she embarks on a treacherous journey to reverse the curse. The voice cast includes Javier Bardem and Nicole Kidman as Ellian’s parents, along with John Lithgow, Nathan Lane, and Jenifer Lewis. With legendary composer Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast) behind the film’s music, Spellbound is an animated classic in the making.

Spellbound

1h 50m   PG   2024

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Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl has the distinction of being one of the films in the Rotten Tomatoes 100% Club — that is, it’s one of a select group of movies that has a perfect critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The second feature-length film in the Wallace & Gromit series, and the first installment since 2005, Vengeance Most Fowl catches up with the cheese-loving inventor Wallace and his anthropomorphic dog, Gromit. When Wallace and Gromit’s nemesis Feathers McGraw (who, as longtime fans will remember, is a villainous penguin) decides to exact his revenge after the pair landed him in prison years ago, he reprograms Wallace’s latest invention — a smart, robotic garden gnome — to help him on his mission to take down the claymation duo. 

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

1h 22m   PG   2025

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Wendell & Wild

A Jordan Peele movie that the entire family can watch together? It’s more likely than you think. Peele co-wrote this stop-motion horror comedy with director Henry Selick (who was also behind modern stop-motion classics like James and the Giant Peach and The Nightmare Before Christmas) about a pair of scheming demon brothers named Wendell and Wild. They rope an orphaned teenage girl into their plot to leave the afterlife and pursue their quirky dreams in the mortal world. Keegan-Michael Key and Peele voice the titular brothers, while the supporting voice cast is filled out by greats like Angela Bassett, James Hong, and Ving Rhames. The film’s themes definitely delve into spookier territory, but stay whimsical enough to entertain rather than terrify.

Wendell & Wild

1h 46m   PG-13   2022

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