Official backdrop from Spirited Away (2001)

genre collection

Animation Movies

Everything in the Nutevio catalogue tagged Animation, ordered by our rating.

50 movies Updated today 4 minute read The Nutevio Editors

Curated by Nutevio Editors

  • Most Influential
  • Most Rewatchable
  • Modern Classics
  • Family Friendly

50 ranked entries

From the editors

Why this collection exists

A ranked collection selected from across the Nutevio catalogue.

What defines these movies. The entries here run from the 1980s to the 2020s, and cover fantasy, family, animation, comedy filmmaking across 35 directors. A film only earns a place if it does something the rest of the list cannot: a formal idea, a performance, an ending, or an influence you can still trace in the films being made today. Popularity gets a film considered. It never gets one ranked.

Who should explore it. If you have watched the obvious titles and want to know what sits underneath them, start at the top and read the notes rather than skimming the posters. If you are new to Animation Movies, use the filters to narrow by decade or runtime and pick one film for tonight — every card tells you who it is for before you commit two hours.

How the ranking was determined. Each editor scores a film on craft, influence, rewatch value and how completely it delivers on its own premise. Those scores are argued out in full — the Nutevio Score you see on each card is the settled result, not an average of opinions. Where our score diverges from the audience consensus, the card says so and the note explains why. The ranking is revisited whenever a new release genuinely changes the conversation.

#Animation

Personality

Collection DNA

Twelve attributes averaged across every film here — the fingerprint of this ranking.

This collection reads as emotion-first, with rewatch value and accessibility close behind. Mystery is the one register it deliberately leaves alone.

Hover an attribute to see which films drive it

Suspense
23

Restrained

    Action
    40

    Restrained

      Violence
      22

      Restrained

        Mystery
        14

        Restrained

          Humor
          57

          Present

            Emotion
            81

            Defining

              Darkness
              16

              Restrained

                Romance
                19

                Restrained

                  Mind-Bending
                  27

                  Restrained

                    Pacing
                    58

                    Present

                      Accessibility
                      72

                      Defining

                        Rewatch value
                        77

                        Defining

                          Chronology

                          How this collection evolves

                          Hover a year to preview the film, click to jump straight to its entry.

                          50 of 50 movies

                          Showing 125 of 50 entries

                          #1
                          Official poster for Spirited Away (2001)

                          Spirited Away

                          2001 The number one
                          FantasyFamilyAnimation 2h 5m

                          Nutevio Score

                          8.8

                          IMDb
                          8.5
                          Rotten Tomatoes
                          88%
                          Metacritic
                          80

                          A sulky ten-year-old is trapped in a bathhouse for spirits and has to work to win her parents back.

                          Why it's ranked here — Rated 9.4 by the MovieVerse editors — one of the strongest animation titles in the catalogue.

                          The number one — extended editorial

                          Legacy

                          25 years on, Spirited Away is still the title the rest of Animation Movies is measured against. The entries below it share something with it — a structure, a silence, a way of holding a shot a beat past comfortable.

                          Cultural impact

                          Spirited Away is unusually confident about what it asks of an audience: 125 minutes of fantasy storytelling that never explains itself twice.

                          Hayao Miyazaki on the material

                          Hayao Miyazaki treats the material as if the audience is already paying attention, which is the whole trick. Nothing is repeated for the slow row at the back, and that trust is what makes the ending land.

                          Awards summary

                          No Academy Awards on record for this title — its standing here comes from how well it holds up, not from a ceremony.

                          Rated 9.4 by the MovieVerse editors — one of the strongest animation titles in the catalogue.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of fantasy and family filmmaking
                          • Hayao Miyazaki admirers
                          • Viewers who want a film to land emotionally, not just cleverly
                          • First-timers looking for the essential entry point

                          Skip if

                          • You dislike deliberate, unhurried pacing
                          • You prefer action-heavy films

                          Best watched: A quiet night when you can let the ending sit with you.

                          Editor's note

                          Spirited Away is the entry our readers write to us about most. Half of those letters disagree with the placement. We read all of them and we have not changed our minds.

                          Nutevio Editors
                          View Movie
                          #2
                          Official poster for Toy Story 5 (2026)
                          ComedyAdventureFamilyAnimation 1h 42m

                          Nutevio Score

                          7.4

                          IMDb
                          7.4
                          Rotten Tomatoes
                          74%
                          Metacritic
                          68

                          The toys face the one rival they cannot out-loyal: a screen that never gets bored and never needs to be wound up.

                          Why it's ranked here — Rated 8.2 by the MovieVerse editors — one of the strongest animation titles in the catalogue.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of comedy and adventure filmmaking
                          • Andrew Stanton admirers
                          • Viewers who want a film to land emotionally, not just cleverly
                          • Anyone who likes their drama cut with wit
                          • First-timers looking for the essential entry point

                          Skip if

                          • You prefer action-heavy films

                          Best watched: A quiet night when you can let the ending sit with you.

                          Editor's note

                          We nearly moved Toy Story 5 three places in either direction, twice. It stayed because Andrew Stanton does one thing here that nobody has improved on since, and you will know it when you reach it.

                          Nutevio Editors
                          View Movie
                          #3
                          Official poster for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
                          ActionScience FictionAdventureAnimation 1h 57m

                          Nutevio Score

                          8.7

                          IMDb
                          8.4
                          Rotten Tomatoes
                          87%
                          Metacritic
                          79

                          Struggling to find his place in the world while juggling school and family, Brooklyn teenager Miles Morales is unexpectedly bitten by a radioactive spider and develops unfathomable powers just like the one and only Spider-Man. While wrestling with the implications of his new abilities, Miles discovers a super collider created by the madman Wilson "Kingpin" Fisk, causing others from across the Spider-Verse to be inadvertently transported to his dimension.

                          Imported record — imported from the Nutevio library and placed by ranking signal. A Nutevio editorial verdict has not been written for this entry yet.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of action and science fiction filmmaking
                          • Peter Ramsey admirers
                          • Big-screen viewers who want scale and practical craft
                          • First-timers looking for the essential entry point

                          Skip if

                          • You are sensitive to on-screen violence
                          • You are looking for something light

                          Best watched: The biggest screen and the loudest sound system you can reach.

                          Editor's note

                          Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is the entry our readers write to us about most. Half of those letters disagree with the placement. We read all of them and we have not changed our minds.

                          Nutevio Editors
                          View Movie
                          #4
                          Official poster for Your Name. (2016)
                          RomanceDramaAnimation 1h 46m

                          Nutevio Score

                          8.7

                          IMDb
                          8.5
                          Rotten Tomatoes
                          87%
                          Metacritic
                          79

                          High schoolers Mitsuha and Taki are complete strangers living separate lives. But one night, they suddenly switch places. Mitsuha wakes up in Taki’s body, and he in hers. This bizarre occurrence continues to happen randomly, and the two must adjust their lives around each other.

                          Imported record — imported from the Nutevio library and placed by ranking signal. A Nutevio editorial verdict has not been written for this entry yet.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of romance and drama filmmaking
                          • Makoto Shinkai admirers
                          • Viewers who want a film to land emotionally, not just cleverly
                          • Viewers drawn to relationships at the centre of the frame

                          Skip if

                          • You dislike deliberate, unhurried pacing
                          • You prefer action-heavy films
                          • You are looking for something light

                          Best watched: A quiet night when you can let the ending sit with you.

                          Editor's note

                          Every revisit turns up another detail hiding in plain sight. Your Name. remains our internal benchmark — when we argue about a new release, this is the film someone inevitably reaches for.

                          Nutevio Editors
                          View Movie
                          #5
                          Official poster for Swapped (2026)
                          FantasyAdventureFamilyAnimation 1h 42m

                          Nutevio Score

                          8.6

                          IMDb
                          8.9
                          Rotten Tomatoes
                          86%
                          Metacritic
                          80

                          A small woodland creature and a majestic bird, two natural sworn enemies of the Valley, magically trade places and set off on an adventure of a lifetime to switch back. Their journey soon uncovers a greater threat—one that could endanger not only their species, but the entire valley they call home.

                          Imported record — imported from the Nutevio library and placed by ranking signal. A Nutevio editorial verdict has not been written for this entry yet.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of fantasy and adventure filmmaking
                          • Nathan Greno admirers
                          • Viewers who want a film to land emotionally, not just cleverly

                          Skip if

                          • You dislike deliberate, unhurried pacing

                          Best watched: A quiet night when you can let the ending sit with you.

                          View Movie

                          Chapter 1 · Animation craft

                          What animation does at its best

                          2001–2026 · five demonstrations

                          Spirited Away, Toy Story 5, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Your Name. and Swapped are here for craft rather than reputation. Each one solves a specific animation problem — how to sustain tension, how to earn a turn, how to end — and solves it in a way the rest of the list keeps borrowing.

                          Spirited Away (2001) is the entry we would show someone who claims the genre is formulaic.

                          Swapped closes the block.

                          #6
                          Official poster for Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender (2026)
                          ActionFantasyAdventureAnimation 1h 39m

                          Nutevio Score

                          8.6

                          IMDb
                          9.3
                          Rotten Tomatoes
                          86%
                          Metacritic
                          81

                          Avatar Aang, the world's last Airbender, learns of an ancient power that could save his culture from extinction. With the help of his friends, he embarks on a global quest to find it before it falls into the wrong hands and threatens to upend the peace they sacrificed everything to achieve.

                          Imported record — imported from the Nutevio library and placed by ranking signal. A Nutevio editorial verdict has not been written for this entry yet.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of action and fantasy filmmaking
                          • Lauren Montgomery admirers
                          • Viewers who want a film to land emotionally, not just cleverly
                          • Big-screen viewers who want scale and practical craft

                          Skip if

                          • You are looking for something light

                          Best watched: A quiet night when you can let the ending sit with you.

                          View Movie
                          #7
                          Official poster for Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
                          FantasyAdventureAnimation 1h 59m

                          Nutevio Score

                          8.5

                          IMDb
                          8.4
                          Rotten Tomatoes
                          85%
                          Metacritic
                          78

                          Sophie, a young milliner, is turned into an elderly woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. She encounters a wizard named Howl and gets caught up in his resistance to fighting for the king.

                          Imported record — imported from the Nutevio library and placed by ranking signal. A Nutevio editorial verdict has not been written for this entry yet.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of fantasy and adventure filmmaking
                          • Hayao Miyazaki admirers
                          • Viewers who want a film to land emotionally, not just cleverly

                          Skip if

                          • You dislike deliberate, unhurried pacing
                          • You prefer action-heavy films
                          • You are looking for something light

                          Best watched: A quiet night when you can let the ending sit with you.

                          View Movie
                          #8
                          Official poster for The Lion King (1994)
                          FamilyDramaAnimation 1h 29m

                          Nutevio Score

                          8.5

                          IMDb
                          8.3
                          Rotten Tomatoes
                          85%
                          Metacritic
                          77

                          Young lion prince Simba, eager to one day become king of the Pride Lands, grows up under the watchful eye of his father Mufasa; all the while his villainous uncle Scar conspires to take the throne for himself. Amid betrayal and tragedy, Simba must confront his past and find his rightful place in the Circle of Life.

                          Imported record — imported from the Nutevio library and placed by ranking signal. A Nutevio editorial verdict has not been written for this entry yet.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of family and drama filmmaking
                          • Rob Minkoff admirers
                          • Viewers who want a film to land emotionally, not just cleverly
                          • Anyone who likes their drama cut with wit

                          Skip if

                          • You dislike deliberate, unhurried pacing
                          • You prefer action-heavy films

                          Best watched: A quiet night when you can let the ending sit with you.

                          Editor's note

                          The Lion King is the entry our readers write to us about most. Half of those letters disagree with the placement. We read all of them and we have not changed our minds.

                          Nutevio Editors
                          View Movie
                          #9
                          Official poster for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)
                          ActionScience FictionAdventureAnimation 2h 20m

                          Nutevio Score

                          8.5

                          IMDb
                          8.3
                          Rotten Tomatoes
                          85%
                          Metacritic
                          78

                          After reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters the Spider Society, a team of Spider-People charged with protecting the Multiverse's very existence. But when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders and must set out on his own to save those he loves most.

                          Imported record — imported from the Nutevio library and placed by ranking signal. A Nutevio editorial verdict has not been written for this entry yet.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of action and science fiction filmmaking
                          • Joaquim Dos Santos admirers
                          • Viewers who enjoy slow-burn tension over shocks
                          • Big-screen viewers who want scale and practical craft

                          Skip if

                          • You are looking for something light

                          Best watched: The biggest screen and the loudest sound system you can reach.

                          View Movie
                          #10
                          Official poster for Coco (2017)

                          Coco

                          2017
                          MusicAdventureFamilyAnimation 1h 45m

                          Nutevio Score

                          8.4

                          IMDb
                          8.2
                          Rotten Tomatoes
                          84%
                          Metacritic
                          77

                          Despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Hector, and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel's family history.

                          Imported record — imported from the Nutevio library and placed by ranking signal. A Nutevio editorial verdict has not been written for this entry yet.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of music and adventure filmmaking
                          • Lee Unkrich admirers
                          • Viewers who want a film to land emotionally, not just cleverly

                          Skip if

                          • You prefer action-heavy films

                          Best watched: A quiet night when you can let the ending sit with you.

                          View Movie

                          Chapter 2 · Against the grain

                          The entries that refuse the formula

                          Where the genre argues with itself

                          Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, Howl's Moving Castle, The Lion King, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Coco take the genre's expectations and decline them. That refusal is the reason they are in the list at all.

                          Ranked below the block above only because a broken rule is easier to admire than a rule perfectly kept.

                          #11
                          Official poster for Princess Mononoke (1997)
                          FantasyAdventureAnimation 2h 14m8.3IMDb

                          Ashitaka, a prince of the disappearing Emishi people, is cursed by a demonized boar god and must journey to the west to find a cure. Along the way, he encounters San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, who is trying to destroy it. Ashitaka must find a way to bring balance to this conflict.

                          Imported record — imported from the Nutevio library and placed by ranking signal. A Nutevio editorial verdict has not been written for this entry yet.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of fantasy and adventure filmmaking
                          • Hayao Miyazaki admirers
                          • Viewers who want a film to land emotionally, not just cleverly

                          Skip if

                          • You dislike deliberate, unhurried pacing
                          • You are looking for something light

                          Best watched: A quiet night when you can let the ending sit with you.

                          View Movie
                          #12
                          Official poster for WALL·E (2008)
                          Science FictionFamilyAnimation 1h 38m8.1IMDb

                          After hundreds of years doing what he was built for, WALL•E— a robot designed to clean up the earth—discovers a new purpose in life when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. EVE comes to realize that WALL•E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet's future, and races back to space to report to the humans. Meanwhile, WALL•E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets into motion one of the most imaginative adventures ever brought to the big screen.

                          Imported record — imported from the Nutevio library and placed by ranking signal. A Nutevio editorial verdict has not been written for this entry yet.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of science fiction and family filmmaking
                          • Andrew Stanton admirers
                          • Anyone who likes their drama cut with wit

                          Skip if

                          • You dislike deliberate, unhurried pacing
                          • You prefer action-heavy films

                          Best watched: An unhurried evening with no second screen.

                          Editor's note

                          We nearly moved WALL·E three places in either direction, twice. It stayed because Andrew Stanton does one thing here that nobody has improved on since, and you will know it when you reach it.

                          Nutevio Editors
                          View Movie
                          #13
                          Official poster for The Wild Robot (2024)
                          Science FictionAdventureFamilyAnimation 1h 42m8.3IMDb

                          After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot called Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island. To survive the harsh environment, Roz bonds with the island's animals and cares for an orphaned baby goose.

                          Imported record — imported from the Nutevio library and placed by ranking signal. A Nutevio editorial verdict has not been written for this entry yet.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of science fiction and adventure filmmaking
                          • Chris Sanders admirers
                          • Viewers who want a film to land emotionally, not just cleverly

                          Skip if

                          • You dislike deliberate, unhurried pacing
                          • You prefer action-heavy films

                          Best watched: A quiet night when you can let the ending sit with you.

                          View Movie
                          #14
                          Official poster for Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)
                          ComedyFantasyAdventureFamilyAnimation 1h 43m8.2IMDb

                          Puss in Boots discovers that his passion for adventure has taken its toll: He has burned through eight of his nine lives, leaving him with only one life left. Puss sets out on an epic journey to find the mythical Last Wish and restore his nine lives.

                          Imported record — imported from the Nutevio library and placed by ranking signal. A Nutevio editorial verdict has not been written for this entry yet.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of comedy and fantasy filmmaking
                          • Joel Crawford admirers
                          • Viewers who want a film to land emotionally, not just cleverly
                          • Anyone who likes their drama cut with wit

                          Skip if

                          • You prefer action-heavy films

                          Best watched: A quiet night when you can let the ending sit with you.

                          View Movie
                          #15
                          Official poster for A Silent Voice: The Movie (2016)
                          RomanceDramaAnimation 2h 9m8.4IMDb

                          Shouya Ishida starts bullying the new girl in class, Shouko Nishimiya, because she is deaf. But as the teasing continues, the rest of the class starts to turn on Shouya for his lack of compassion. When they leave elementary school, Shouko and Shouya do not speak to each other again... until an older, wiser Shouya, tormented by his past behaviour, decides he must see Shouko once more. He wants to atone for his sins, but is it already too late...?

                          Imported record — imported from the Nutevio library and placed by ranking signal. A Nutevio editorial verdict has not been written for this entry yet.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of romance and drama filmmaking
                          • Naoko Yamada admirers
                          • Viewers who want a film to land emotionally, not just cleverly
                          • Viewers drawn to relationships at the centre of the frame

                          Skip if

                          • You dislike deliberate, unhurried pacing
                          • You prefer action-heavy films
                          • You are looking for something light

                          Best watched: A quiet night when you can let the ending sit with you.

                          View Movie

                          Chapter 3 · Animation craft

                          What animation does at its best

                          1997–2024 · five demonstrations

                          Princess Mononoke, WALL·E, The Wild Robot, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and A Silent Voice: The Movie are here for craft rather than reputation. Each one solves a specific animation problem — how to sustain tension, how to earn a turn, how to end — and solves it in a way the rest of the list keeps borrowing.

                          Princess Mononoke (1997) is the entry we would show someone who claims the genre is formulaic.

                          A Silent Voice: The Movie closes the block.

                          #16
                          Official poster for Toy Story (1995)
                          ComedyAdventureFamilyAnimation 1h 21m8.0IMDb

                          Led by Woody, Andy's toys live happily in his room until Andy's birthday brings Buzz Lightyear onto the scene. Afraid of losing his place in Andy's heart, Woody plots against Buzz. But when circumstances separate Buzz and Woody from their owner, the duo eventually learns to put aside their differences.

                          Imported record — imported from the Nutevio library and placed by ranking signal. A Nutevio editorial verdict has not been written for this entry yet.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of comedy and adventure filmmaking
                          • John Lasseter admirers
                          • Viewers who want a film to land emotionally, not just cleverly
                          • Anyone who likes their drama cut with wit

                          Skip if

                          • You prefer action-heavy films

                          Best watched: A quiet night when you can let the ending sit with you.

                          Editor's note

                          We nearly moved Toy Story three places in either direction, twice. It stayed because John Lasseter does one thing here that nobody has improved on since, and you will know it when you reach it.

                          Nutevio Editors
                          View Movie
                          #17
                          Official poster for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026)
                          ComedyFantasyAdventureFamilyAnimation 1h 38m8.3IMDb

                          Having thwarted Bowser's previous plot to marry Princess Peach, Mario and Luigi now face a fresh threat in Bowser Jr., who is determined to liberate his father from captivity and restore the family legacy. Alongside companions new and old, the brothers travel across the stars to stop the young heir's crusade.

                          Imported record — imported from the Nutevio library and placed by ranking signal. A Nutevio editorial verdict has not been written for this entry yet.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of comedy and fantasy filmmaking
                          • Aaron Horvath admirers
                          • Viewers who want a film to land emotionally, not just cleverly
                          • Anyone who likes their drama cut with wit

                          Skip if

                          • You prefer action-heavy films

                          Best watched: A quiet night when you can let the ending sit with you.

                          View Movie
                          #18
                          Official poster for Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
                          WarDramaAnimation 1h 29m8.4IMDb

                          In the final months of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his sister Setsuko are orphaned when their mother is killed during an air raid in Kobe, Japan. After a falling out with their aunt, they move into an abandoned bomb shelter. With no surviving relatives and their emergency rations depleted, Seita and Setsuko struggle to survive.

                          Imported record — imported from the Nutevio library and placed by ranking signal. A Nutevio editorial verdict has not been written for this entry yet.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of war and drama filmmaking
                          • Isao Takahata admirers
                          • Viewers who want a film to land emotionally, not just cleverly

                          Skip if

                          • You dislike deliberate, unhurried pacing
                          • You prefer action-heavy films
                          • You are sensitive to on-screen violence

                          Best watched: A quiet night when you can let the ending sit with you.

                          View Movie
                          #19
                          Official poster for Soul (2020)

                          Soul

                          2020
                          FantasyMusicFamilyDramaAnimation 1h 41m8.1IMDb

                          Joe Gardner is a middle school teacher with a love for jazz music. After a successful audition at the Half Note Club, he suddenly gets into an accident that separates his soul from his body and is transported to the You Seminar, a center in which souls develop and gain passions before being transported to a newborn child. Joe must enlist help from the other souls-in-training, like 22, a soul who has spent eons in the You Seminar, in order to get back to Earth.

                          Imported record — imported from the Nutevio library and placed by ranking signal. A Nutevio editorial verdict has not been written for this entry yet.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of fantasy and music filmmaking
                          • Pete Docter admirers
                          • Viewers who want a film to land emotionally, not just cleverly

                          Skip if

                          • You dislike deliberate, unhurried pacing
                          • You prefer action-heavy films

                          Best watched: A quiet night when you can let the ending sit with you.

                          View Movie
                          #20
                          Official poster for Up (2009)

                          Up

                          2009
                          ComedyAdventureFamilyAnimation 1h 36m8.0IMDb

                          Carl Fredricksen spent his entire life dreaming of exploring the globe and experiencing life to its fullest. But at age 78, life seems to have passed him by, until a twist of fate (and a persistent 8-year old Wilderness Explorer named Russell) gives him a new lease on life.

                          Imported record — imported from the Nutevio library and placed by ranking signal. A Nutevio editorial verdict has not been written for this entry yet.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of comedy and adventure filmmaking
                          • Pete Docter admirers
                          • Viewers who want a film to land emotionally, not just cleverly
                          • Anyone who likes their drama cut with wit

                          Skip if

                          • You prefer action-heavy films

                          Best watched: A quiet night when you can let the ending sit with you.

                          Editor's note

                          We nearly moved Up three places in either direction, twice. It stayed because Pete Docter does one thing here that nobody has improved on since, and you will know it when you reach it.

                          Nutevio Editors
                          View Movie

                          Chapter 4 · Against the grain

                          The entries that refuse the formula

                          Where the genre argues with itself

                          Toy Story, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Grave of the Fireflies, Soul and Up take the genre's expectations and decline them. That refusal is the reason they are in the list at all.

                          Ranked below the block above only because a broken rule is easier to admire than a rule perfectly kept.

                          #21
                          Official poster for Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train (2020)
                          ActionFantasyAnimation 1h 57m8.2IMDb

                          Tanjiro Kamado, joined with Inosuke Hashibira, a boy raised by boars who wears a boar's head, and Zenitsu Agatsuma, a scared boy who reveals his true power when he sleeps, boards the Infinity Train on a new mission with the Fire Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, to defeat a demon who has been tormenting the people and killing the demon slayers who oppose it!

                          Imported record — imported from the Nutevio library and placed by ranking signal. A Nutevio editorial verdict has not been written for this entry yet.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of action and fantasy filmmaking
                          • Haruo Sotozaki admirers
                          • Big-screen viewers who want scale and practical craft

                          Skip if

                          • You are looking for something light

                          Best watched: The biggest screen and the loudest sound system you can reach.

                          View Movie
                          #22
                          Official poster for Perfect Blue (1998)
                          AnimationThriller 1h 21m8.3IMDb

                          Rising pop star Mima Kirigoe quits singing to pursue a career as an actress. After she takes up a role on a popular detective show, her handlers and collaborators begin turning up murdered. Harboring feelings of guilt and haunted by visions of her former self, Mima's reality and fantasy meld into a frenzied paranoia.

                          Imported record — imported from the Nutevio library and placed by ranking signal. A Nutevio editorial verdict has not been written for this entry yet.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of animation and thriller filmmaking
                          • Satoshi Kon admirers

                          Skip if

                          • You dislike deliberate, unhurried pacing
                          • You prefer action-heavy films

                          Best watched: An unhurried evening with no second screen.

                          View Movie
                          #23
                          Official poster for Inside Out (2015)
                          ComedyAdventureFamilyDramaAnimation 1h 35m7.9IMDb

                          When 11-year-old Riley moves to a new city, her Emotions team up to help her through the transition. Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness work together, but when Joy and Sadness get lost, they must journey through unfamiliar places to get back home.

                          Imported record — imported from the Nutevio library and placed by ranking signal. A Nutevio editorial verdict has not been written for this entry yet.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of comedy and adventure filmmaking
                          • Pete Docter admirers
                          • Viewers who want a film to land emotionally, not just cleverly
                          • Anyone who likes their drama cut with wit

                          Skip if

                          • You prefer action-heavy films

                          Best watched: A quiet night when you can let the ending sit with you.

                          View Movie
                          #24
                          Official poster for Monsters, Inc. (2001)
                          ComedyFantasyFamilyAnimation 1h 32m7.9IMDb

                          Lovable Sulley and his wisecracking sidekick Mike Wazowski are the top scare team at Monsters, Inc., the scream-processing factory in Monstropolis. When a little girl named Boo wanders into their world, it's the monsters who are scared silly, and it's up to Sulley and Mike to keep her out of sight and get her back home.

                          Imported record — imported from the Nutevio library and placed by ranking signal. A Nutevio editorial verdict has not been written for this entry yet.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of comedy and fantasy filmmaking
                          • Pete Docter admirers
                          • Viewers who want a film to land emotionally, not just cleverly
                          • Anyone who likes their drama cut with wit

                          Skip if

                          • You prefer action-heavy films

                          Best watched: A quiet night when you can let the ending sit with you.

                          Editor's note

                          Watch the first ten minutes of Monsters, Inc. with the sound up and no distractions. If it has not got you by then, this collection may not be for you — and that is genuinely fine.

                          Nutevio Editors
                          View Movie
                          #25
                          Official poster for My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
                          FantasyFamilyAnimation 1h 26m8.1IMDb

                          Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister seeks help from the spirits to find her.

                          Imported record — imported from the Nutevio library and placed by ranking signal. A Nutevio editorial verdict has not been written for this entry yet.

                          Perfect for

                          • Fans of fantasy and family filmmaking
                          • Hayao Miyazaki admirers
                          • Viewers who want a film to land emotionally, not just cleverly
                          • Anyone who likes their drama cut with wit

                          Skip if

                          • You dislike deliberate, unhurried pacing
                          • You prefer action-heavy films

                          Best watched: A quiet night when you can let the ending sit with you.

                          View Movie

                          Chapter 5 · Animation craft

                          What animation does at its best

                          1988–2020 · five demonstrations

                          Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train, Perfect Blue, Inside Out, Monsters, Inc. and My Neighbor Totoro are here for craft rather than reputation. Each one solves a specific animation problem — how to sustain tension, how to earn a turn, how to end — and solves it in a way the rest of the list keeps borrowing.

                          Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train (2020) is the entry we would show someone who claims the genre is formulaic.

                          My Neighbor Totoro closes the block.

                          Page 1 of 2 — keep going to complete the collection

                          At a glance

                          Collection statistics

                          What this ranking is made of — eras, runtimes, ratings and accolades.

                          Average Nutevio Score
                          8.2
                          Average IMDb rating
                          8.1
                          Average release year
                          2010
                          Oldest film
                          1984

                          Warriors of the Wind

                          Newest film
                          2026

                          Toy Story 5

                          Longest runtime
                          2h 36m

                          Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle

                          Shortest runtime
                          1h 16m

                          The Nightmare Before Christmas

                          Oscar winners
                          0

                          of 50 films

                          Countries represented
                          1

                          United States of America

                          Average runtime
                          1h 44m
                          Most common director
                          Hayao Miyazaki

                          6 films in this list

                          Most common decade
                          2020s

                          15 films

                          Languages represented
                          1

                          English

                          Community

                          Discuss this collection

                          Rankings are arguments. Here is where the counter-argument will live.

                          Argue the ranking

                          Think #4 should be #1? Make the case — our editors read every thread.

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                          Ask for a recommendation

                          Say what you liked here and the community will point you onward.

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                          In conclusion

                          Why these movies matter

                          Why these films matter: Animation Movies spans 1984 to 2026, 35 filmmakers and 0 Academy Award winners, and it holds together because every entry is arguing for the same thing — that the way a story is told is the story. Spirited Away states the case most completely; Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio proves the case is still open.

                          What holds them together: the entries above share a preoccupation rather than a formula, and the ordering reflects how completely each one commits to it. Where two titles were inseparable, we broke the tie on how well the film holds up on a second viewing.

                          Where to go next: follow a director, follow a decade, or follow a mood. The recommendations below are scored on shared films, filmmakers, genres, themes and eras rather than picked at random, so each one continues a thread this collection started.

                          The Nutevio Editors · updated 4 August 2026

                          Never stop watching

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