Animation is a unique blend of visual art, technology and storytelling, but it’s too often brushed aside as “just for kids.” Of course, that’s not true, with more animated movies like The Boy and the Heron and Flow appealing to adults as well as children, if not more so.
While many (though not all!) of the films on this list can be watched by the entire family, they all contain thought-provoking messages that could only be expressed through this larger-than-life medium. These are the 7 best animated movies every adult should see.
7. ‘Sausage Party’ (2016)
This one is truly for adults ONLY, folks. Sausage Party is an animated feature film from the R-rated minds of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, creators of Superbad and Pineapple Express. It takes place in a grocery store, where anthropomorphic food items dream of going to “The Great Beyond” with the human “gods” who shop there. When Frank (Rogen) hears rumors about the horrific fate of food, he begins a quest through the grocery store aisles to discover the truth.
Despite its grocery store setting, wacky premise and insanely raunchy content (there is an all-food orgy in this movie. Again, not family friendly), Sausage Party is at its heart a smart and scathing critique of organized religion. It has an all-star cast of comedy icons including Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, Michael Cera, James Franco, Danny McBride and more. It also spawned a spinoff series, Sausage Party: Foodtopia, on Amazon Prime. Come for the food puns, but stay for the laughs.
Watch Sausage Party on Amazon Prime.
6. ‘Elemental’ (2023)
This Pixar movie was a box-office flop but became a sleeper hit on Disney+. Director Peter Sohn said that instead of Pixar classics like Toy Story, his main influences while creating Elemental were movies like Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967), You’ve Got Mail (1998), My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) and The Big Sick (2017). That makes it a perfect flick for adults who miss the old days of big-budget rom-coms but are open to an imaginative twist.
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In Element City, fire elemental Ember (Leah Lewis) and water elemental Wade (Mamoudou Athie) must work together to save her family business. Along the way, they end up falling in love — despite the fact that they seem fundamentally incompatible. A colorful and creative love story, Elemental is a sweet and cozy film that will warm your heart like fire and bring a watery tear to your eye.
Watch Elemental on Disney+.
5. ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ (1996)
It is honestly shocking that Disney was able to get away with this movie, but we’re glad they did. Though it’s certainly not as dark as the Victor Hugo novel that serves as its source material, The Hunchback of Notre Dame explores the same themes of religion, prejudice, lust and honor. Much of the movie’s plot is driven by the villainous Judge Claude Frollo (Tony Jay) and the way his hatred of “Gypsies” (the Romani people inhabiting Paris in the 1480s setting) interacts with his lust for Romani street performer Esmeralda (Demi Moore).
In contrast, Frollo’s ward is the gentle and kind Quasimodo (Tom Hulce), the titular hunchback who longs to see the outside world after years of confinement in Notre Dame’s bell tower. The opening song in the Disney musical asks the viewer, “What makes a monster and what makes a man?” and the movie lives up to its lofty themes. The animation is beautiful, the music is propulsive and the film’s darkness makes the characters feel all too real.
Watch The Hunchback of Notre Dame on Disney+.
4. ‘The Iron Giant’ (1999)
This movie is animation legend Brad Bird’s first — he would go on to direct The Incredibles and Ratatouille for Pixar — and it’s also possibly his best. It’s a sci-fi adventure about an enormous robot (Vin Diesel) that falls from space and lands in a small Maine town during the height of Cold War panic. Nine-year-old Hogarth (Eli Marienthal) finds the robot and befriends it, teaching the automaton all he understands about right and wrong, how it’s “bad to kill” but “souls don’t die.” The boy and machine form an unlikely friendship under the supervision of a beatnik artist (Harry Connick Jr.).
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The Iron Giant is without a doubt one of the greatest animated films of all time, and its Cold War story has entirely new layers in an era where fear is once again dominant in American culture. Christopher McDonald portrays a paranoid government agent whose dogged efforts to track down and destroy the “monster” have disastrous consequences. It’s a story about technology, conflict and understanding, with fantastic voice performances and a heartbreaking twist at the end.
Rent The Iron Giant on Apple TV+ or Amazon Prime.
3. ‘The Prince of Egypt’ (1998)
Long before DreamWorks movies were all about ogres, boss babies and kung fu pandas, the studio made an animated movie that was both quieter and larger in scope. The Prince of Egypt tells the biblical story of the Exodus by focusing on the brotherly relationship between Moses (Val Kilmer) and his adopted brother Rameses (Ralph Fiennes). The two brothers were once the closest of friends until Moses’ duty to his people called him to a greater purpose.
Between its excellent script and stellar voice cast (Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Steve Martin and Patrick Stewart are among the stars lending their voices to the film), The Prince of Egypt is shockingly successful at delivering a religious story that doesn’t feel preachy. Its music, particularly the show-stopping number “When You Believe,” is as inspirational and powerful as the story itself.
Rent The Prince of Egypt on YouTube, Amazon Prime or Apple TV+.
2. ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ (2018)
The origin story of Spider-Man is well known at this point. Between Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland’s portrayals of the iconic web-slinger, Peter Parker has been well represented in movies. But Into the Spider-Verse introduces a new version of the hero — Miles Morales (Shameik Moore). When Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) accidentally tears a hole in the multiverse, spider-powered beings begin pouring into Miles’ world. The bizarre gang of spider-people includes Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson), Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage), Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn) and Peter Porker/Spider-Ham (John Mulaney).
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Into the Spider-Verse is a visual feast, combining a comic book look with diverse, multi-genre animation styles. (While Spider-Ham looks straight out of Looney Tunes, Peni has a Japanese anime look and Spider-Man Noir is only in black and white.) This genre-blending thrill ride of a movie is just too good to miss, as is its sequel, Across the Spider-Verse. (A third and final installment is scheduled for release in 2027.) To paraphrase a song from its fantastic soundtrack, “What’s Up Danger?,” you’ll want to dive into this heroic journey head-on.
Rent Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse on Amazon Prime.
1. ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ (2022)
This Shrek spinoff is about far more than swashbuckling and fairy tales. It’s about mortality. Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) learns he is on the last of his nine lives and finds himself crippled with terror as Death (Wagner Moura, Narcos) itself begins hunting him down. Along with his ex-fiancée Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek Pinault) and a lovable stray dog (Harvey Guillén, What We Do in the Shadows), Puss seeks out a magical wishing star in hopes of restoring his lost lives.
Though the fairy tale setting and colorful aesthetic suggest a light movie for kids, The Last Wish is anything but. (In fact, Sinners director Ryan Coogler cited it as an influence for his hit horror film.) Puss’s struggle to accept his own mortality is something any adult can relate to. Moura is terrifying as the wolfish personification of Death. But this film invites us to consider the inherent value of life and whether avoiding death is more important than living fully.
Watch Puss in Boots: The Last Wish on Amazon Prime.
