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Best Animated Films of 2023

2023 was not a great year for animation sadly. The foreign and indie movies fared well, but most of the mainstream stuff was far from effective. Thus, this list will not be particularly strong. I chose to honor both the foreign and the American films with my list consisting of three out of five international films. Here are the best animated films of 2023.

5. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Yes, I do realize that this movie is not great. It might be truly bad for those who haven’t played the games. But I am a huge Mario fan, so I did like this obvious fan service. The Super Mario Bros. Movie has numerous flaws for sure, especially its frenetic pacing and cluttered narrative, but it worked for me as this colorful, wonderfully animated and constantly entertaining flick that honored the source material so well. The highlights were strong characterizations, memorable action and fun humor, leading to a solid game adaptation.

4. Suzume

While not all storytelling elements in Makoto Shinkai’s Suzume worked with the romance being its weakest and most rushed aspect, the thematic and emotional depth at the core of this seemingly simple story was its biggest strength. The movie explores the humanity’s relationship with nature as well as trauma, both of national and more personal variety. The pacing and structure are flawed, but the animation and score are beautiful while the fantastical elements and world building are top-notch.

3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Mutant Mayhem is a surprisingly strong TMNT movie that has its issues, but it was mostly a lot of fun. This film has such interesting grungy aesthetic to it that really made it pop. It also had strong characterization and a great tone throughout. It’s a rare Turtles movie that was genuinely rewarding for both kids and adults. The action was overwhelming and the story slight, but the darker tone and more grotesque character designs made for a rather unique approach. It’s an underrated gem.

2. The Boy and the Heron

The Boy and the Heron takes the second spot on this list. This is because that ending was very abrupt and the whole film was underwritten in story and quite rushed in pacing. With that being said, it’s still a wonderful Miyazaki movie that features mesmerizing animation, incredibly unique character designs and some highly mature themes handled properly. The world building is strong too while the score is phenomenal. It’s an artistic effort that is admirably ambitious, but a flawed one for sure.

1. Robot Dreams

And the best animated movie of the year is this Spanish indie charmer. Robot Dreams is full of simple, earthly pleasures and slice-of-life storytelling that you rarely see in films today. It’s, thus, elegant and timeless in its quality. It’s all about friendships and how the passage of time will inevitably affect them. The ending touched me deeply and it made me cry how powerful it was. It’s a wonderfully animated film that is both simple and complex in its own way and one of the best indie animations in recent memory.

Honorable Mentions:

Nimona – Nimona is a flawed animated flick that benefits from solid characterization and a fantastic, unique visual style to it. The main friendship was the emotional core of the movie, but the first half was overly loud and obnoxious in its punk rock music, juvenile humor and overwhelming action. It’s a well made, but overly predictable in plot movie.

Migration – I actually really liked this Illumination flick. It is very familiar in its overall plot, but it’s so adventurous, funny and charming that I really enjoyed watching it. It is mostly intended for children, but it’s so well animated and endearing that it can be enjoyed by adults as well. It deserved more love from animation fans.

Wish – Wish is a very flawed Disney movie that was undercooked in plot and characters. It could and should have been so much better than it turned out to be. But it has a gorgeous animation style, some memorable personalities and a solid soundtrack. It’s not a bad movie, but it was disappointing as I’d expected much bigger things from it.