The medium of animation has repeatedly proven its ability to deliver compelling and revolutionary films that other forms of storytelling can’t match. The animated projects released in 2024 are a prime example of that, with so many styles of animation and techniques used for some of the year’s best films.
From stop-motion animation to incredibly detailed hand-drawn 2D animation, the animated films on this list are as diverse as they are beautiful. The films listed here aren’t ranked but instead listed alphabetically.
The Colors Within
Naoka Yamada, best known for directing films such as Liz and the Blue Bird and A Silent Voice, has helped create another breathtaking film with her newest directorial effort, The Colors Within. Produced by the animation studio Science Saru, the movie is a serene experience that displays an extraordinary commitment to making the life experiences of the trio of characters at the center of the film feel incredibly authentic, telling the story of High school student Totsuko, a girl who can see people as colors and becomes entranced by the colors of her classmate Kimi and a boy named Rui, who frequents the same bookstore as the two of them.
Together, the three characters form a band, and at this point, Yamada’s latest feature really begins to shine. Kensuke Ushio composes the music for the film in a beautiful blend of sound and animation to create a surreal experience that perfectly encapsulates how some people use art and creativity to escape everyday problems. The stunning level of detail across the board makes The Colors Within one of the best animated films of the year.
Flow
Directed by Gints Zilbalodis and written by Zilbalodis and Matīss Kaža, Flow is one of two films on this list with no use for dialogue. Instead, the animation and music tell the entirety of the story in a way that makes viewers not even notice that a single word is spoken. Flow revolves around a group of animals and their escape from rising waters that drive them away from their home. The computer-generated animation at work in the movie helps to give the film a dream-like quality.
The animals at the center of the film also walk the tightrope balance of being portrayed as realistic animals while showing a semblance of personality and emotional traits a bit larger-than-life compared to something you’d see on National Geographic. The film showcases an exotic and exciting world and a story of perseverance in the most magical way possible.
Inside Out 2
Director Kelsey Mann (in his feature film debut) and the team at Pixar crafted an exceptional sequel for Inside Out 2, defying expectations by keeping the same authenticity and charm that made the first film such a seminal piece of work in the later years of Pixar’s vast and legendary body of work. Led by an all-star voice cast that includes new and rising talent such as Maya Hawke as Anxiety and Ayo Edebiri as Envy, the film is surprisingly clever and profound in displaying Riley’s internal struggles.
The massive box office success of the film speaks to Inside Out 2’s ability to resonate with audiences across all demographics, proving itself to be one of the year’s best animated films.
Look Back
Look Back is an anime film based on the one-shot manga of the same name by Tatsuki Fujimoto, who has risen to prominence for his high-octane and visceral shonen manga Fire Punch and Chainsaw Man. Stylistically, Look Back is nothing like Fujimoto’s earlier bibliography, giving writer and director Kiyotaka Oshiyama the tall task of creating a full-length film about a friendship between two girls who make manga together.
Partly autobiographical (with the two main characters each having a part of his name, being called Fujino and Kyomoto), this love letter to art is so meticulously crafted in its storyboards and key animation, making everything feel life-like while still being entrancing in its portrayal of the everyday life of the two characters. Look Back displays an incredible amount of subtlety and restraint to make its profound themes of friendship, creativity, and art hit that much harder. The gut punch of a third act is unlike anything else released in 2024.
Mars Express
The cyberpunk Blade Runner-aesthetic of Mars Express is enough reason to check this film out. The feature directorial debut of French animator Jérémie Périn, Mars Express takes a page out of Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence with its focus on an intriguing mystery investigated by two detectives (one an android with human consciousness) that revolves around the disappearance of a young woman and the jailbreaking of androids.
Featuring impressively animated action sequences and plenty of existential and philosophical ponderings, Mars Express showcases the incredible talent from French studio Everybody on Deck. The film’s vivid imagery and 2D animation execute the surprisingly emotional ending perfectly and shouldn’t be missed.
Related: 10 Best Movies of 2024
Memoir of a Snail
Adam Elliot, who previously made waves in 2009 with his tragic and heartwarming film Mary and Max, returned in 2024 with another feature-length stop motion animation film with Memoir of a Snail. The Australian film is a tragicomedy centering around a young Australian girl named Grace Pudel, who deals with loneliness and social awkwardness. The movie digs deep into human relations and then goes deeper by showing how dependency and the need for connection can become self-destructive.
At the same time, Elliot effortlessly blends some of the funniest toilet humor I’ve seen all year, having me abhorred by truly tragic character beats and following it up with moments of levity that don’t feel forced. With beautiful stop-motion animation and darker color hues, Memoir of a Snail is a triumph that tells one of the most humanistic stories of 2024.
Robot Dreams
Pablo Berger’s film may have had a limited release in a couple of countries in 2023. Still, it wasn’t until 2024 that Robot Dreams received wide theatrical distribution from NEON, allowing general audiences to experience this journey of friendship and growth. Robot Dreams has a simple premise: Dog is lonely, so he buys a Robot friend. However, after Robot rusts on the beach, Dog is forced to leave him there for a year while both deal with each other’s absence.
In another dialogue-free animated film, Robot Dreams brings a pre-9/11 New York to life inhabited entirely by anthropomorphic animals and the Earth, Wind & Fire song “September” to create a beautifully animated film about loss, grief, and growth. The 2D animation is so incredibly smooth and driven by a musical score that perfectly accentuates the emotions, making it another phenomenal animated film in 2024.
Transformers One
Josh Cooley’s Transformers prequel features a star-studded cast, sleek CG animation, and a surprising amount of lore while also making it accessible to both general audiences and die-hard fans. The movie chronicles the lives of best friends Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry), brothers in arms who grow to one day become Optimus Prime and Megatron in an origin story that’s as tragic as it is bombastically entertaining.
Transformations have never been animated in such creative and stunning detail, and the ’80s G1 aesthetic is just the cherry on top of a spectacular return to form for the Transformers franchise. Working-class uprisings have never looked this good.
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Aardman’s triumphant return after rumors of the studio shutting down couldn’t have been better. Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl isn’t just one of the best animated films of 2024— it’s one of the year’s best films overall. The stop-motion movie is a sequel to The Wrong Trousers, a Wallace & Gromit animated short released in 1993. Feathers McGraw, a Penguin with a grudge, enacts a master plan involving Wallace’s latest invention, the landscaping Gnome named Norbot.
The impressive level of detail in the clay stop-motion animation only gets more astounding as the film continues, filled with incredible action sequences and even one runaway train scene that would make Tom Cruise blush. Vengeance Most Fowl is so efficiently structured and intricately made, filled with so many moving pieces per frame, that it’s almost overwhelming how well-made the movie is.
The Wild Robot
Chris Sanders’ epic animated film, produced by Dreamworks and Universal, is a work of art. Every frame is a painting in The Wild Robot, which tells the story of Roz (Lupita Nyong’o), a robot abandoned on a remote island that learns parental instincts as she befriends all manner of wildlife. The 2D painterly animation style is layered into the clever and smooth CG animation to give the movie a storybook feel to match its incredibly emotional themes of parenthood and found family.
While the film isn’t revolutionary in its themes and storytelling, The Wild Robot takes its tried and true story and uses it to its fullest potential. The stacked voice cast provides authenticity to the relationships on the screen; it’s hard not to get choked up in the emotional highs that make The Wild Robot a standout animated feature.
And those are the best animated films of 2024.
Published: Jan 31, 2025 12:55 PM UTC