Entertainment
The Best Animated Films Ever
List Rules
Vote up your favorite cartoon and CGI animated movies, including shorts.
The best animated movies of all time are an assortment of animated movies that rank among the best movies Hollywood ever made. While the characters might be brightly colored and possess abilities most real people could only wish to ever have, the stories and imagery speak to everyone and have set these movies up to become the best animated films ever. You'll quickly find that this is far more than just a top 10 best cartoon movie list. It takes into account the best cartoon movies that have been ranked by your votes.
Far from simply being movie versions of cartoons, these are movies with some of the best characters, most compelling stories, and some of the overall most memorable movies in the history of cinema. With great animated movies, the sky's the limit (literally, for characters in movies like The Incredibles and WALL-E) for the story being told. Many of these top animated and cartoon movies are a funny comedy with a message (like Toy Story). Others are not the funniest animated movies but can be considered heartbreaking dramas (like The Lion King). There's no story that can't be told through these amazing and popular animated films.
What are the best animated movies ever? What makes one animated film better than another? What is the greatest animated film? There are many varied answers to what makes good animated movies (story, characters, adventure, animation style), but there's no question that these are the best animated movies ever made. If you see your favorite animated movie on the list, make sure to vote it up this list of the greatest animated films so that it might become someone else's favorite animated film someday.
Not all animated films are for kids, but if you are looking for some more animated and live-action kid friendly fare, check out the best movies for children.
Ranked by
- 12001
- Actors: John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Mary Gibbs, Steve Buscemi, James Coburn
- Directed by: Pete Docter
Monsters Incorporated is the largest scare factory in the monster world, and James P. Sullivan (John Goodman) is one of its top scarers. Sullivan is a huge, intimidating monster with blue fur, large ...more - 21994
- Actors: Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Madge Sinclair, Moira Kelly
- Directed by: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff
This Disney animated feature follows the adventures of the young lion Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas), the heir of his father, Mufasa (James Earl Jones). Simba's wicked uncle, Scar (Jeremy Irons), ...more - 32009
- Actors: Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, Bob Peterson, Delroy Lindo
- Directed by: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson
Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner), a 78-year-old balloon salesman, is about to fulfill a lifelong dream. Tying thousands of balloons to his house, he flies away to the South American wilderness. But ...more - 42004
- Actors: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, Jason Lee, Wallace Shawn
- Directed by: Brad Bird
In this lauded Pixar animated film, married superheroes Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) and Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) are forced to assume mundane lives as Bob and Helen Parr after all super-powered ...more - 51995
- Actors: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn
- Directed by: John Lasseter
Woody (Tom Hanks), a good-hearted cowboy doll who belongs to a young boy named Andy (John Morris), sees his position as Andy's favorite toy jeopardized when his parents buy him a Buzz Lightyear (Tim ...more - 62003
- Actors: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe, Brad Garrett
- Directed by: Andrew Stanton
Marlin (Albert Brooks), a clown fish, is overly cautious with his son, Nemo (Alexander Gould), who has a foreshortened fin. When Nemo swims too close to the surface to prove himself, he is caught by ...more - Actors: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry
- Directed by: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
Bitten by a radioactive spider in the subway, Brooklyn teenager Miles Morales suddenly develops mysterious powers that transform him into the one and only Spider-Man. When he meets Peter Parker, he ...more- 81998
- Actors: Ming-Na, Eddie Murphy, BD Wong, Miguel Ferrer, Harvey Fierstein
- Directed by: Barry Cook, Tony Bancroft
Fearful that her ailing father will be drafted into the Chinese military, Mulan (Ming-Na Wen) takes his spot -- though, as a girl living under a patriarchal regime, she is technically unqualified to ...more - 92001
- Actors: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow, Peter Dennis
- Directed by: Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson
Once upon a time, in a far away swamp, there lived an ogre named Shrek (Mike Myers) whose precious solitude is suddenly shattered by an invasion of annoying fairy tale characters. They were all ...more - 10
- Actors: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
- Directed by: Christopher Sanders, Dean DeBlois
Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) is a Norse teenager from the island of Berk, where fighting dragons is a way of life. His progressive views and weird sense of humor make him a misfit, despite the fact that his ...more - 112010
- Actors: Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy, Ron Perlman, M.C. Gainey
- Directed by: Nathan Greno, Byron Howard
When the kingdom's most-wanted bandit, Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi), hides in a convenient tower, he immediately becomes a captive of Rapunzel (Mandy Moore), the spire's longtime resident. Crowned with ...more - 121992
- Actors: Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman, Frank Welker
- Directed by: Ron Clements, John Musker
When street rat Aladdin frees a genie from a lamp, he finds his wishes granted. However, he soon finds that the evil has other plans for the lamp -- and for Princess Jasmine. But can Aladdin save ...more - 132007
- Actors: Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Lou Romano, Brian Dennehy, Peter Sohn
- Directed by: Brad Bird
Remy (Patton Oswalt), a resident of Paris, appreciates good food and has quite a sophisticated palate. He would love to become a chef so he can create and enjoy culinary masterpieces to his heart's ...more - 142012
- Actors: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Alan Tudyk
- Directed by: Rich Moore
Arcade-game character Wreck-It Ralph (John C. Reilly) is tired of always being the "bad guy" and losing to his "good guy" opponent, Fix-It Felix (Jack McBrayer). Finally, after decades of seeing all ...more - 15
- Actors: Jodi Benson, Pat Carroll, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Rene Auberjonois, Hamilton Camp
- Directed by: Ron Clements, John Musker
In Disney's beguiling animated romp, rebellious 16-year-old mermaid Ariel (Jodi Benson) is fascinated with life on land. On one of her visits to the surface, which are forbidden by her controlling ...more - 162016
- Actors: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Shakira, Idris Elba, J.K. Simmons
- Directed by: Byron Howard, Rich Moore
From the largest elephant to the smallest shrew, the city of Zootopia is a mammal metropolis where various animals live and thrive. When Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) becomes the first rabbit to join ...more - 17
- Actors: Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, Richard White, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers
- Directed by: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
An arrogant young prince (Robby Benson) and his castle's servants fall under the spell of a wicked enchantress, who turns him into the hideous Beast until he learns to love and be loved in return. ...more - 182008
- Actors: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard, John Ratzenberger
- Directed by: Andrew Stanton
WALL-E, short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-class, is the last robot left on Earth. He spends his days tidying up the planet, one piece of garbage at a time. But during 700 years, WALL-E has ...more - 192014
- Actors: Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, T.J. Miller, Jamie Chung, Damon Wayans
- Directed by: Don Hall, Chris Williams
Robotics prodigy Hiro (Ryan Potter) lives in the city of San Fransokyo. Next to his older brother, Tadashi, Hiro's closest companion is Baymax (Scott Adsit), a robot whose sole purpose is to take ...more - 202002
- Actors: Daveigh Chase, Christopher Sanders, Tia Carrere, David Ogden Stiers, Kevin McDonald
- Directed by: Dean DeBlois, Christopher Sanders
A tale of a young girl's close encounter with the galaxy's most wanted extraterrestrial. Lilo is a lonely Hawaiian girl who adopts a small ugly "dog," whom she names Stitch. Stitch would be the ...more - 212016
- Actors: Dwayne Johnson, Auli'i Cravalho, Rachel House, Temuera Morrison, Jemaine Clement
- Directed by: John Musker, Ron Clements
An adventurous teenager sails out on a daring mission to save her people. During her journey, Moana meets the once-mighty demigod Maui, who guides her in her quest to become a master way-finder. ...more - 222017
- Actors: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach, Jaime Camil
- Directed by: Lee Unkrich
Despite his family's generations-old ban on music, young Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol Ernesto de la Cruz. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in ...more - Actors: Boris Karloff, June Foray, Hal Smith, Dallas McKennon, Thurl Ravenscroft
- Directed by: Chuck Jones, Ben Washam
This special is a 1966 American animated television film special directed by Chuck Jones. It is based on the eponymous children's book by Dr. Seuss, the story of The Grinch trying to take away ...more- 241967
- Actors: Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, Louis Prima, George Sanders, Sterling Holloway
- Directed by: Wolfgang Reitherman
In this classic Walt Disney animation based on Rudyard Kipling's book, Mowgli, an abandoned child raised by wolves, has his peaceful existence threatened by the return of the man-eating tiger Shere ...more - 25
- Actors: David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt, Patrick Warburton, Wendie Malick
- Directed by: Mark Dindal
Arrogant young Emperor Kuzco is transformed into a llama by his power-hungry advisor -- the devious diva Yzma. Stranded in the jungle, Kuzco's only chance to get back home and reclaim the high life ...more
