Animated films deserve love, too, so we decided to round up our favorite animated movies in 2023. For our Top Animated Movies of 2023, we looked across IP, genre, studio, and release method. Now, we do have some stipulations for making our list, though we thought it best to celebrate all animated films regardless of style or country they originated from.
To make the top animated movies of 2023 list, the film had to have been released in the United States in the calendar year of 2023 and was available to audiences either in theaters or on streaming platforms. This means that films with theater-only runs and not currently available can still make the list. Additionally, there was no rating or age-group-specific requirement as well to be on the Top Animation Movies of 2023 list. Without further ado, here are our top animated movies of 2023.
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15. They Shot the Piano Player
“In the 1970s, Francisco Tenório Júnior was considered one of the most promising musicians of the time, some say he was the link between Brazilian bossa nova and modern jazz. However, after a performance in Buenos Aires in March of 1976, he disappeared. Many years later, an American journalist (voiced by Jeff Goldblum) starts investigating the case. In this documentary, Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal use the power of animation to dive into the life and legacy of Tenório, as well as the history of Brazilian music and the dark political background in Argentina that created fertile ground for the disappearance.” — Ricardo Gallegos
14. Deep Sea
“Deep Sea stands tall as a ravishing feat of animation brought to life by a never before seen technique. Tian Xiaopeng takes us on a dreamlike yet sometimes exhausting journey where the most beautiful of imagery, as well as important reflections on mental health, await us.” — Ricardo Gallegos
13. Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia
“Ernest and Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia beautifully builds on the 2012 film with intricate detail, artistry, and character development. Ernest and Celestine make for an odd couple pair, but their friendship and the home they’ve found in one another’s companionship remain a moving and poignant storytelling structure that understands that a chosen family is as significant as the one you are born into. That, plus the film’s determined approach to the necessity of artistic freedom creates a story whose strong viewpoints create a clever dissonance with softer edges. The film’s empathy and warmth are visualized with fuzzy landscapes and autumnal colors, and the result is a stunning, storybook-inspired film that honors classical, hand-drawn animation.” — Allyson Johnson
12. Leo
“Voiced by Adam Sandler, a school pet lizard called Leo finds out he has little time left to live, so he starts planning his escape, but while executing his plan, he realizes that helping the troubled students of his classroom might bring him the same joy as freedom. Although Leo struggles to fully tackle its themes of animal cruelty, coming-of-age anxiety, friendship, and mortality, it’s a movie with plenty of charm, heart, and humor for all ages. It’s yet another refreshing new adventure in Adam Sandler’s filmography.” — Ricardo Gallegos
11. The Boy and the Heron
“The Boy and the Heron is a mature, solemn, and bizarre meditation on loss and legacy, one that deems death to be a transitory act, a new beginning—and in that way, nothing really starts or ends. Instead, filmmaking—and life, for that matter— becomes a cyclical experience, which makes this potential swan song utterly fitting for an enduring artist like Miyazaki.” — Prabhjot Bains
10. Unicorn Wars
“Even with that though, I still don’t know exactly how to explain what I watched. Psychodelic horror wrapped in irreverent comedy and packed together in a family friend aesthetic that descends into madness real quick, Unicorn Wars is stunningly a lot. It’s decadent in its candy-colored gore and violence and manages to make you feel viscerally uncomfortable with anatomy in inventive and banal ways. Unicorn Wars is a hard one to rate, but it’s one hell of an experience.” — Kate Sánchez
9. The First SLAM DUNK
“The First Slam Dunk continues the legendary legacy of the franchise. The updated animation style and technology work tremendously well for this storytelling and action in the film. Although the high-stakes game is exciting, the film’s heart is its characters and the inner struggles they battle on and off the court. This film is for everyone and can be enjoyed by all. Whether you are an avid basketball or anime fan, there is something for everyone in this film.” — LaNeysha Campbell
8. Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
“Truthfully, [the] evil plan is the right amount of funny for kids and the right amount of maniacal for adults, making Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget a fantastic all-ages film that knows who its viewers are. Instead of feeling like they’re trying to appeal to everyone, they’re aiming at the now-parents who watched the original 23 years ago and their children. It’s expertly done in ways that other studios like Disney should take notes from.
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is fantastic in every way. It’s fun, it’s hilarious, and it’s filled with so much heart. Nostalgiac but never old, new but never detached from its roots, the film is one of the best animated features of the year.” — Kate Sánchez
7. New Gods: Yang Jian
“I have endless praise for New Gods: Yang Jian, a film with endearing characters that extend beyond the one in the title and beauty beyond anything I could have imagined. I will watch every single New Gods film that Light Chaser, and I hope that the animation studio can retell any mythological story that is in the Chinese pantheon. Visually stunning, New Gods: Yang Jian effortlessly captures myth, beauty, and adventure. I can’t wait to see what Light Chaser has to offer next.” — Kate Sánchez
6. Elemental
“A beautiful and imaginative tale of immigration and tolerance, Elemental is a romantic venture that uses innovative animation technology to bring to life an elemental world where a fire girl falls in love with a water boy. This Romeo & Juliet story is also about a daughter dealing with the guilt of not sacrificing enough for someone who sacrificed everything to give her a good life: her immigrant father. This multicultural movie captures the quest for identity and the struggle to fulfill expectations that often seem unreachable.” — Ricardo Gallegos
5. Suzume
“Suzume may be one of the oddest films that Shinkai has made. “Teen falls in love with a chair” isn’t necessarily a normal synopsis. But in truth, it carries the heart and strength of his previous films. It is about remembering in order to move forward and taking the step to close the doors to our grief in order to start new, lest ignoring their presence wreaks havoc on our bodies. Not subtle in the slightest but better for it, Suzume shines as brightly as anything in the Shinkai filmography.” — Kate Sánchez
4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
“Blending hand-drawn and CG animation to create a stunning and rebellious visual style, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is a breath of fresh air for the franchise. It’s an action-packed coming-of-age blast of a movie about four nerdy mutant teenagers trying to fit in a society that might or might not hate them. Aided by top-notch voice-acting (Ice-T as Superfly is perfection) and a badass hip-hop soundtrack, director Jeff Rowe hits the perfect balance between nostalgia and originality to appeal to old and new generations alike.” — Ricardo Gallegos
3. Blue Giant
“Blue Giant is an animation marvel. Sharp, gorgeous, and just vaguely nostalgic, the film is a gorgeous exploration of the way music can be a guiding force to unlocking your identity, connection with others, and finding a freedom that you thought was impossible. Electric, kinetic, and somehow always intimate, Blue Giant’s animation captures the emotion that comes with creating music, but more specifically, how Jazz can distill the chaos of life into a triumph of spirit… Blue Giant is written, animated, and composed by people who don’t just love jazz but know the absolute emotional resonance that lies inside every improvised note. It is, unequivocally, one of the best films of the year, animated or otherwise.” — Kate Sánchez
2. Nimona
“Nimona is a wonderful film for a lot of reasons. The animation team at Blue Sky Studios has an understanding of two-dimensional art and lighting in a three-dimensional plane that has to be admired. The seamless blend of high fantasy and high tech also creates a world worth exploring more. And ultimately, the characters on the screen are easy to feel for, root for, and want to fight for. With fantastic voice acting and relatable human moments, our heroes fight back against a narrative that casts them as villains and does so without platitude or posturing. Instead, Nimona creates an emotive narrative that asks its audience to care by showing vulnerability and beauty and asking us to think about how we treat people based on what we hear about them. Nimona is a story for all ages that leaves its audience with more empathy and understanding than how it found it.” — Kate Sánchez
1. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a perfect film, and it reaches that pinnacle by pushing so far out of the box that limits no longer exist. A thoughtful and powerful statement about the importance of animation as a medium for telling stories, Across the Spider-Verse understands the weight that Spider-Man carries as a character through movies and TV shows, comics and novels, and every iteration to come. This film makes the one before it better, and it ends with an impact that will fill the theater when the next film comes out.” — Kate Sánchez
With children’s films, adult animation, existing IP, and new original works, our top animated movies of the 2023 list is stacked with films across genres and styles. However, it was a stellar year for stop-motion animation. With the beauty of animation in full swing, we did end up with a few honorable mentions like Titina, The Missing, and Robot Dreams, which didn’t make the list because they did not play to audiences in the United States in either theaters or on streaming. Did your favorite make it to the list of top animated films of 2023? Let us know on social media: @butwhythopc.
