Entertainment
The Best Cat Movies
List Rules
Only movies that have cats as main characters
Let's talk about the best cat movies ever made. This discussion will even include the best animated cat movies too.These are movies about cats, or featuring a cat as one of the main characters. Not only that, these are the best cat movies. Cat lovers will also enjoy the greatest fictional cats and the best cartoon cats. If you've think we've missed one please feel free to add it in yourself to this list of the best cat movies. As one of our two favorite pets, cats are a safe bet when it comes to making comedies and this is a list of some of those great funny cat films.
Since cats are more difficult to train, there also tends to be fewer cat movies for kids and cat lovers of all ages compared to dog movies. Various cat breeds can be found in these films - and you may even find yourself wanting to adopt some of them. You'll also find the best Disney cat movies on this list too. If you're into felines then we bet you'll find a movie on this list of cat films you'll love. Hopefully we'll be able to add some more cat films to the list in the future!
What are the best cat movies? This cat movies list strives to answer that question.
Ranked by
- 1Phil Harris, Eva Gabor, Sterling Holloway
- Released: 1970
- Directed by: Wolfgang Reitherman
When a retired opera singer leaves her inheritance to her cat, Duchess (Eva Gabor), and three kittens, the woman's butler drugs the cats and abandons them in the countryside in order to inherit the ...more - 2Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones
- Released: 1994
- 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 - 3Joey Lawrence, Bette Midler, Billy Joel
- Released: 1988
- Directed by: George Scribner
In this animated update of the classic "Oliver Twist" tale, Oliver (Joey Lawrence) is an orphaned kitten taken in by a gang of thieving dogs, led by cavalier canine Dodger (Billy Joel) and owned by ...more - 4Peggy Lee, Barbara Luddy, Larry Roberts
- Released: 1955
- Directed by: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske
This Disney animated classic follows a pampered cocker spaniel named Lady (Barbara Luddy) whose comfortable life slips away once her owners have a baby. When, after some tense circumstances, Lady ...more - 5Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart
- Released: 2016
- Directed by: Chris Renaud
Max (Louis C.K.) is a spoiled terrier who enjoys a comfortable life in a New York building until his owner adopts Duke, a giant and unruly canine. During their walk outside, they encounter a group of ...more - 6Don Ameche, Michael J. Fox, Sally Field
- Released: 1993
- Directed by: Duwayne Dunham
Before the Seavers leave for a family vacation to San Francisco, they drop off their pets -- Chance (Michael J. Fox), an adventurous American bulldog; Shadow (Don Ameche), a wise golden retriever; ...more - 7Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis
- Released: 2011
- Directed by: Chris Miller
Long before meeting Shrek, Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) -- just named a hero for saving a woman from a charging bull -- is run out of town on suspicion of bank robbery, even though the real ...more - 8Dudley Moore, Shigeru Tsuyugushi
- Released: 1986
- Directed by: Masanori Hata
The Adventures of Milo and Otis is an Japanese adventure comedy-drama film about two animals, the titular characters, Milo and Otis. The original English version was released on June 27, 1986, and ...more - 9Bob Newhart, Eva Gabor, Geraldine Page
- Released: 1977
- Directed by: John Lounsbery, Wolfgang Reitherman, Art Stevens
Bernard (Bob Newhart) and Miss Bianca (Eva Gabor), two New York City mice, are members of the Rescue Aid Society, an international team that operates beneath the United Nations and comes to the aid ...more - 10Robert Hays, Kim Greist, Veronica Lauren
- Released: 1996
- Directed by: David R. Ellis
The Seaver family arrives at San Francisco International Airport to catch a flight to Canada. They check in their pets: Chance (Michael J. Fox), an American bulldog; Shadow (Ralph Waite), a golden ...more - 11Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Julie Kavner
- Released: 2004
- Directed by: Bradley Raymond
This retelling of "The Lion King" is conveyed from the perspective of meerkat Timon (Nathan Lane) and warthog Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella) and shows how the pair became friends. When Timon leaves his ...more - 12John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman
- Released: 2008
- Directed by: Chris Williams, Byron Howard
The days of canine superstar Bolt (John Travolta) are filled with danger and intrigue ... until the cameras stop rolling. But Bolt doesn't know that he's on a TV show; he thinks his amazing powers ...more - 13Ken Berry, Sandy Duncan, McLean Stevenson
- Released: 1978
- Directed by: Norman Tokar
A UFO captained by a cat-like extraterrestrial (Ronnie Schell) is intercepted by the U.S. Military. The spacecraft's feline pilot, who goes by the human name Jake, reveals to his captors that he must ...more - 14Christina Ricci, Doug E. Doug, Dean Jones
- Released: 1997
- Directed by: Bob Spiers
Bored with her quiet suburban Massachusetts town, bratty Patti Randall (Christina Ricci) is excited when her beloved cat, D.C., comes back to the house with a watch around his neck. After seeing that ...more - 15Guy Pearce, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Freddie Highmore
- Released: 2004
- Directed by: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Twin tiger cubs Kumal and Sangha are torn apart when their father is killed by hunter Aidan McRory (Guy Pearce). Kumal finds himself in a circus, where his spirits are broken by an abusive trainer ...more - 16Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor
- Released: 2019
- Directed by: Jon Favreau
Simba idolizes his father, King Mufasa, and takes to heart his own royal destiny on the plains of Africa. But not everyone in the kingdom celebrates the new cub's arrival. Scar, Mufasa's brother -- ...more - 17Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Garner, Robbie Amell
- Released: 2016
- Directed by: Barry Sonnenfeld
Nine Lives is a 2016 English-language French comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. The plot follows a workaholic father (Kevin Spacey) who has his mind trapped inside of his daughter's new cat. ...more - 18Hayley Mills, Dean Jones, Dorothy Provine
- Released: 1965
- Directed by: Robert Stevenson
Sisters (Hayley Mills, Dorothy Provine) need an FBI agent (Dean Jones) after their siamese brings home the only clue to a bank robbery. - 19Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Stephen Tobolowsky
- Released: 2004
- Directed by: Peter Hewitt
Based on the popular comic strip, this live-action comedy follows the exploits of Garfield (Bill Murray), the large, lazy and wisecracking cat owned by hapless Jon Arbuckle (Breckin Meyer). Jon's ...more - 20Jeff Goldblum, Elizabeth Perkins, Miriam Margolyes
- Released: 2001
- Directed by: Lawrence Guterman
"Cats & Dogs" uncovers the truth about the high-tech, secret war being waged in neighborhoods everywhere that humans aren't even aware of: an eternal struggle between the two great armies of Cats and ...more - 21Virginia McKenna, Bill Travers, Geoffrey Keen
- Released: 1966
- Directed by: James Hill, Tom McGowan
At a national park in Kenya, English game warden George Adamson (Bill Travers) and his wife, Joy (Virginia McKenna), care for three orphaned lion cubs. After the two larger lions are shipped off to a ...more - 22James Marsden, Nick Nolte, Christina Applegate
- Released: 2010
- Directed by: Brad Peyton
In the age-old battle between felines and canines, one rogue kitty is stepping up the fight. Kitty Galore, former operative for MEOWS, is executing a diabolical plan against her sworn enemies, the ...more - 23Chizuru Ikewaki, Yoshihiko Hakamada, Kumiko Okae
- Released: 2002
- Directed by: Hiroyuki Morita
High school student Haru (Chizuru Ikewaki) rescues a cat that was about to be run over by a truck and discovers the cat is actually a prince named Lune. Out of gratitude, Lune's father, the Cat King, ...more - 24Bill Murray, Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt
- Released: 2006
- Directed by: Tim Hill
Garfield (Bill Murray) follows Jon (Breckin Meyer) to England and receives the royal treatment after he is mistaken for the heir to a grand castle. However, the feline will need all nine lives to ...more - 25Kirsten Dunst, Phil Hartman, Debbie Reynolds
- Released: 1989
- Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
In this anime feature, 13-year-old Kiki moves to a seaside town with her talking cat, Jiji, to spend a year alone, in accordance with her village's tradition for witches in training. After learning ...more
