The 10 Best Animated Movies of 2023, Ranked (2024)

2023 has been an interesting year for cinema, especially regarding animated movies. Previous years delivered outright masterpieces of the medium, including Klaus, Wolfwalkers, and Puss In Boots: The Last Wish. 2023 continued this trend, albeit with a more eclectic and, it must be said, uneven collection of films. They still hold the power to enthrall and challenge, but some rest firmly on the safer side of things.

That said, 2023 still delivered some truly spectacular animated offerings. A few will stand the test of time, becoming triumphs of the genre; others might not achieve such mighty heights, but that doesn't make them any less worthy of praise. That's the beauty of animation; there's a place for every film, big or small. So, without further ado, these are the best animated movies of 2023, representing the best of the medium in this curious yet fascinating year.

10 'Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken'

Director: Kirk DeMicco

In the coastal town of Oceanside live the Gillmans, a family of krakens posing as humans. Their daughter, Ruby (Lana Condor), wants desperately to live as a normal teenager and asks her crush, Connor (Jaboukie Young-White), to prom. Unfortunately, when saving Connor from drowning, Ruby discovers that she has the power to transform into a giant kraken, which leads her to seek out her grandmother, the queen of the ocean (Jane Fonda), for answers.

Although a weaker film from DreamWorks than audiences would have hoped for, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken has more than enough moments of genuine and unadulterated animated magic. While the story is pretty cooky cutter for a family film, the characters are still enjoyable, and the movie returns to DreamWorks' anti-Disney routes by having a red-headed mermaid as its main antagonist. Above all, the film's animation is quite gorgeous, especially in depicting the skin textures of the numerous sea creatures.

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

PG

Release Date

June 30, 2023

Cast

Toni Collette , Jane Fonda , Annie Murphy , Lana Condor

Runtime

90 minutes

Watch on Apple TV

9 'The Monkey King'

Director: Anthony Stacchi

In ancient China, an immensely powerful monkey named Son Wukong (Jimmy O. Yang) hatches from a rock but faces rejection from his fellow simians. As he grows up and defeats a demon, he is crowned the Monkey King before deciding that where he truly belongs is among the gods. Meanwhile, the Dragon King (Bowen Yang) seeks him out to reclaim a magic staff that Wukong took, which he needs to intact his plan of flooding the world.

There have been many adaptations of Journey to The West, but The Monkey King still feels fresh and worthwhile. Its animation is the undeniable highlight: it's stylistic and highly detailed, especially when depicting the various Gods, demons, and monsters. The voice cast is also inspired, with the highlights including Yang's very flamboyant and hilarious take on the Dragon King and BD Wong as the wise Buddha. If only Netflix put more effort into its original movies, The Monkey King might've made more of a mark on the 2023 entertainment landscape.

The Monkey King

PG

Release Date

August 18, 2023

Cast

Jimmy O. Yang , Bowen Yang , Jo Koy , Jolie Hoang-Rappaport

Runtime

97 minutes

Watch on Netflix

8 'The Magician's Elephant'

Director: Wendy Rogers

Peter (Noah Jupe) is a young boy living in a town that once believed in magic but has since lost this spirit and given way to cynicism. When he stumbles upon a fortune-teller (Natasia Demetriou), she tells Peter that he will find his long-lost sister if he follows an elephant. At first, Peter thinks this is impossible, but a traveling magician (Benedict Wong) ends up summoning an elephant during his show, which begins a domino effect that brings magic back to the town.

The Magician's Elephant is a simple but effective story about faith and how one small, impossible act can spark another. It's not trying to be something grand, instead structuring itself like a modern fairy tale, tapping into the audience's feelings rather than its logic. Emotions also run high with the characters, such as Peter's guardian, Vilna Lutz (Mandy Patinkin), a former soldier who is haunted by guilt at not being able to rescue Peter's sister. Charming and well-intentioned, The Magician's Elephant is a quaint tale that satisfies without ever challenging.

Watch on Netflix

7 'Elemental'

Director: Peter Sohn

Within Element City, Ember (Leah Lewis) and her parents operate a shop called the Fireplace, which sells goods to other Fire Elementals. When Ember's fiery temper bursts a water pipe, it prompts Wade (Mamoudou Athie), a Water Elemental city inspector, to write up a report that'll get the Fireplace closed down. Ember recruits Wade's help in finding a way to fix the problem, and along the way, they fall in love.

Elemental tells its story from an immigrant perspective, showing how difficult it can be to acclimate to a new home while maintaining traditions. While the writing isn't always the strongest, there's a certain sincerity to it, especially regarding parents trying to build a better future for their children. Elemental City itself is also pretty interesting to explore, thanks to the different creative ways it integrates the four elements. Still, Elemental succeeds despite or perhaps because of, Disney's notoriously rough year. It's not top-tier Pixar, but it's still better than most movies out there - animated or not.

Elemental

Animation

Adventure

Comedy

Follows Ember and Wade, in a city where fire-, water-, earth- and air-residents live together.

Release Date

June 16, 2023

Cast

Leah Lewis , Mamoudou Athie

Runtime

93 minutes

Watch on Disney+

6 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie'

Directors: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic

While trying to fix a water main leak in Brooklyn, brothers Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) end up falling into another world. Mario arrives in the Mushroom Kingdom, ruled by Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), while Luigi is captured by the King of the Koopas, Bowser (Jack Black). To rescue his brother, Mario joins forces with Peach to gather allies and defeat Bowser, who wants to marry Peach by force if necessary.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie has broken all sorts of box-office records for animated films while remaining faithful to its source material. The Super Mario Bros. Movie focuses on giving the fans of the games what they want and doesn't try to force anything that doesn't need to be there. It also has some of Illumination's best, most vibrant animation, beautifully bringing Mario's world to life. While Pratt is an odd choice for Mario, the rest of the Super Mario cast is pretty solid, including some big-name voice actors like Kevin Michael Richardson, Scott Menville, and Mario's original voice, Charles Martinet.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

PG

Release Date

April 7, 2023

Cast

​Chris Pratt2 , Anya Taylor-Joy , Charlie Day , Jack Black , Keegan-Michael Key , Seth Rogen , Fred Armisen , Sebastian Maniscalco

Runtime

105 minutes

Watch on Amazon Prime

5 'Nimona'

Directors: Nick Bruno, Troy Quane

Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed) is the first commoner to join the prestigious order of Knights, who defend humanity from monsters. However, his sword activates during the knighting ceremony, killing the queen (Lorraine Toussaint) and forcing him to flee. As he tries to clear his name, Ballister meets Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz), a shapeshifting girl who thinks Ballister is a villain and wishes to be his evil establishment-destroying sidekick.

Nimona was originally made by the now-defunct Bluesky Studios and survived a rather grueling production before streaming on Netflix to critical and audience praise. While the writing and pacing can get a little formulaic and rushed at times, Nimona effortlessly handles themes regarding society's treatment of marginalized people. Nimona's personal feelings regarding her shapeshifting also have strong queer undertones, making this a relevant and thought-provoking animated picture that will only get better with age.

Nimona

PG

When a knight in a futuristic medieval world is framed for a crime he didn't commit, the only one who can help him prove his innocence is Nimona -- a mischievous teen who happens to be a shapeshifting creature he's sworn to destroy.

Release Date

June 30, 2023

Cast

Chloe Grace Moretz , Riz Ahmed , Eugene Lee Yang , Frances Conroy

Runtime

101 minutes

Watch on Netflix

4 'Leo'

Directors: Robert Marianetti, Robert Smigel David Wachtenheim

As a new generation of fifth graders come to school, their pet tuatara, Leo (Adam Sandler), learns that he's coming to the end of his long life. He decides that he wants to spend the last days in the wild, so when the kids take him home over the weekend, he tries to escape. However, he puts it off when he starts to listen to the children's problems and uses his wisdom to help them improve.

Leo proved a surprise hit among audiences thanks to its authenticity. The film presents different age groups dealing with the inevitability of aging and transitioning to new phases of life. It reminds audiences that every age group has their problems to overcome and that if they're willing to open up and share what's wrong with others, it often results in a solution. Leo deals with mature issues with remarkable emotional intelligence, producing a pleasant yet truly insightful animated film that stands as one of Netflix's best original efforts this year.

Leo

PG

A 74-year-old lizard named Leo and his turtle friend decide to escape from the terrarium of a Florida school classroom where they have been living for decades.

Release Date

November 21, 2023

Cast

Adam Sandler , Bill Burr , Cecily Strong , Jason Alexander

Runtime

102 minutes

Watch on Netflix

3 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem'

Director: Jeff Rowe

In the sewers of New York City live a family of mutants: turtle siblings Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), Donatello (Micah Abbey), Michaelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.) and Raphael (Brady Noon), and their rat father, Splinter (Jakie Chan). Due to a harsh experience, Splinter insists that the family stay in the sewers and avoid humans, but the boys wish to be accepted. They find their chance after meeting a young girl named April (Ayo Edebiri), who convinces them to help her bring a criminal called Superfly (Ice Cube) to justice.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is hands down the best entry in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie franchise. It hits all the right emotional notes with themes of acceptance, family dynamics, and triumph over impossible odds but tells it through incredibly stylistic and fast-paced animation. Mutant Mayhem also does a brilliant job revitalizing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, updating their interests and making them fresh and interesting for a whole new generation.

Watch on Paramount+

2 'How Do You Live?/The Boy and The Heron'

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Following the death of his mother in a hospital fire, Mahito Maki (Soma Santoki/Luca Padovan) moves to the countryside when his father re-marries Natsuko (Yoshino Kimura/Gemma Chan), his late wife's younger sister. Mahito has a hard time adjusting, especially when strange occurrences begin to pop up around the house. The most mysterious of all is a talking Gray Heron (Masaki Suda/Robert Pattinson), who claims that he can let Mahito see his mother again.

The Boy and the Heron is the latest movie by legendary Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki, a powerful and thought-provoking effort from the man behind timeless classics like Princess Mononoke or Spirited Away. The Boy and the Heron plays out like a dream, with a non-traditional story structure that relies more on visuals and subtle undertones than dialogue or exposition. The English voice cast is full of amazing actors who do a wonderful job dubbing the film, but Pattinson stands out thanks to a near-unrecognizable performance, made more impressive since this is his first time branching into voice acting.

The Boy and the Heron

PG-13

Release Date

December 8, 2023

Cast

Soma Santoki , Masaki Suda , Takuya Kimura , Aimyon

Runtime

124 minutes

Watch in Theaters

1 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse'

Directors: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers Justin K. Thompson

As Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) adjusts to his new role as Spider-Man, he meets a new villain named The Spot (Jason Schwartzman), created after Miles' battle with Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) in Into the Spider-Verse. His powers allow the Spot to travel across the multiverse, threatening its stability. This brings Miles into contact with an organization of Spider-Men from across the multiverse, including his friend Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld).

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a visual masterpiece that expands upon the first movie's innovative style that looks like the pages of a comic book come to life. The film uses its multiverse setting to mix up the art style further, making each world feel more visually distinct and delightful to watch. The character work is also good, particularly in Gwen Stacy's story, which involves her attempting to reveal her identity as Spider-Woman to her police captain father.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

PG

Release Date

June 2, 2023

Cast

Shameik Moore , Hailee Steinfeld , Oscar Isaac , Jake Johnson

Runtime

140 minutes

Watch on Apple TV

NEXT: The 30 Best Movies of 2023