Through animated graphics, each animated film tells a distinct story created by the artists themselves.

These are the Top 10 Hollywood animated films that use animation to deliver our wonderful stories.

THE GREATEST HOLLYWOOD ANIMATED FILMS OF ALL TIME

By myshowdb

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1. Orion and the Dark (2024)

A 2024 American animated fantasy adventure comedy film, Orion and the Dark was made by Mikros Animation, distributed by Netflix, and produced by DreamWorks Animation. Based on Emma Yarlett’s children’s book of the same name, it was written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Sean Charmatz (in his feature directorial debut). Paul Walter Hauser, Colin Hanks, Mia Akemi Brown, Ike Barinholtz, Nat Faxon, Golda Rosheuvel, Natasia Demetriou, Aparna Nancherla, Carla Gugino, Matt Dellapina, and Angela Bassett are among the actors who provide their voices to the characters in the movie. The music for the movie was composed by Robert Lydecker and Kevin Lax.

On January 27, 2024, Orion and the Dark made its theatrical debut at the TUDUM Theater in Los Angeles. On February 2, it was made available on Netflix. Critics have given the movie favorable reviews, praising its animation, script, and inventiveness.

2. Migration (2023)

American animated adventure comedy Migration, which was released in 2023 by Universal Pictures, was made by Illumination. Mike White wrote the screenplay and Renner and White wrote the story. Guylo Homsy co-directed the movie, while Chris Meledandri produced it. Benjamin Renner directed it. Danny DeVito, Kumail Nanjiani, Elizabeth Banks, Awkwafina, and Keegan-Michael Key are among the actors who provide their voices to it. The narrative centers on a family of mallards who attempt to persuade their overbearing father to take a once-in-a-lifetime trip and attempt to relocate from New England to Jamaica via New York City.

In February 2022, Illumination said that Renner, Homsy, and White will be directing, co-directing, and writing, respectively, the film Migration. Renner, who directed conventional animation before, had to modify his straightforward drawing technique for a computer-animated movie. Producer and studio chief Meledandri looked for a filmmaker’s perspective for the movie when appointing Renner, contrasting it with Illumination’s previous releases. John Powell wrote the music, working with Illumination for the second time after The Lorax.

On October 19, 2023, Migration made its cinematic debut at the VIEW Conference in Turin, Italy. On December 22, the film was released in theaters nationwide. Over $239 million has been made by the movie worldwide.

3. The Tiger’s Apprentice (2024)

Based on Laurence Yep’s 2003 novel of the same name, The Tiger’s Apprentice is an animated fantasy film released in 2024 in the United States. It is co-directed by Paul Watling and Yong Duk Jhun and directed by Raman Hui, with production companies Paramount Animation and Jane Startz Productions. David Magee and Christopher Yost wrote the screenplay. The voices of Sandra Oh, Michelle Yeoh, Lucy Liu, Henry Golding, and Brandon Soo Hoo are the main characters in the movie.

In the late 2000s, Cartoon Network decided to adapt the novel into a hybrid live-action/CG television film, but the project was never completed. Later, in March 2019, Paramount obtained the rights to an animated picture, which would feature animation by Mikros Animation and a director tied to Carlos Baena. With Golding’s casting announced in July 2020, the majority of the voice cast was disclosed between 2020 and 2022. Later, in January 2022, Hui took over as director from Baena. The music was composed by Steve Jablonsky.

The Tiger’s Apprentice was first scheduled for a Paramount Pictures theatrical release. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused multiple delays, and finally, on February 2, 2024, the film was released on Paramount+. Critics gave the movie varying ratings.

4. Wish (2023)

Walt Disney Animation Studios and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures are the producers and distributors of Wish, an American animated musical fantasy film released in 2023. Produced by Peter Del Vecho and Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster-Jones, with Lee and Don Hall serving as executive producers, it was directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn (in her feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Jennifer Lee and Allison Moore, based on a story conceived by Lee, Buck, Veerasunthorn, and Moore. The visual aesthetic blends the appearance of traditional animation with computer animation. Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, Alan Tudyk, Angelique Cabral, Victor Garber, Jennifer Kumiyama, Harvey Guillén, Evan Peters, Ramy Youssef, and Jon Rudnitsky are among the actors who lend their voices to the movie.

The plot revolves around Asha (DeBose), a 17-year-old girl living in the realm of Rosas. In a time of need, Asha makes a passionate plea to the stars, which leads her to meet a living, magical star that has fallen from the sky. Together, they take on Magnifico (Pine), the terrible ruler of the realm.

5. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

Produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation in collaboration with Marvel Entertainment, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is an animated superhero film set in 2023 that centers around the Marvel Comics character Miles Morales, also known as Spider-Man. It is distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It is the follow-up to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), and it takes place in the Spider-Verse, a shared multiverse of parallel dimensions. Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson are the film’s directors, and David Callaham, Phil Lord, and Christopher Miller—who also serves as producer—wrote the screenplay. Alongside Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Velez, Jake Johnson, Jason Schwartzman, Issa Rae, Karan Soni, Shea Whigham, Greta Lee, Daniel Kaluuya, Mahershala Ali, and Oscar Isaac, Shameik Moore provides the voice of Miles.

In the movie, Miles embarks on an expedition across the Multiverse with Gwen Stacy/Spider-Woman. There, he encounters the Spider-Society, a group of Spider-People lead by Miguel O’Hara/Spider-Man 2099, but they disagree on how to handle a new threat in the form of the Spot.

6. The Boy and the Heron (2023)

The Boy and the Heron, a 2023 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, is also known by its Hepburn title, Kimitachi wa Dō Ikiru ka (lit. “How Do You[a] Live?”). The Japanese title of the Studio Ghibli production alludes to Genzaburō Yoshino’s 1937 novel of the same name, which is mentioned in passing throughout the movie but has a different plot that is unrelated to the novel. Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Ko Shibasaki, Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura, Takuya Kimura, Kaoru Kobayashi, and Shinobu Otake are among the Japanese voice actors.

It is referred to as a “big fantastical film” and centers on a kid named Mahito Maki during the Pacific War who, following the death of his mother, finds an abandoned tower close to his new home and ventures into a magical world inhabited by a talking grey heron.

7. Despicable Me 4 (2024)

The upcoming animated comedy Despicable Me 4 is an American production, distributed by Universal Pictures and created by Illumination. It will be the fourth major entry and the sixth overall in the Despicable Me franchise, and it will be the follow-up to Despicable Me 3 (2017). The film is written by Mike White and Ken Daurio, produced by Chris Meledandri and Brett Hoffman, co-directed by Patrick Delage (in his feature directing debut), and directed by Chris Renaud. Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, Joey King, Miranda Cosgrove, Sofía Vergara, Stephen Colbert, Chloe Fineman, and Steve Coogan are among the actors who voice it.

In September 2017, work on the fourth Despicable Me movie started. With Renaud, Delage, and White attached as director, co-director, and writer, respectively, it was formally confirmed in February 2022. By June 2022, production was under started. In January 2024, the majority of the main voice cast was disclosed, with Hoffman and Daurio identified as co-producer and co-writer, respectively.

July 3, 2024, is when Despicable Me 4 is supposed to open in theaters nationwide.

8. Trolls Band Together (2023)

Based on Thomas Dam’s Good Luck Trolls dolls, Trolls Band Together is an American animated jukebox musical comedy released in 2023 by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures. It functions as the third major Trolls film and the follow-up to Trolls World Tour (2020). Walt Dohrn directed the movie while Tim Heitz, making his feature directing debut, co-directed it. Elizabeth Tippet wrote the screenplay. The screenwriters of the previous installments, Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, were back as executive producers with Dannie Festa.

Anderson, Icona Pop, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Zooey Deschanel, Anna Kendrick, and Justin Timberlake.In addition to newcomers Eric André, Kid Cudi, Daveed Diggs, Troye Sivan, Camila Cabello, Amy Schumer, Andrew Rannells, RuPaul, and Zosia Mamet joining the ensemble voice cast, Paak, Ron Funches, Kenan Thompson, Kunal Nayyar, and Dohrn reprise their voice parts from earlier films. After the breakup of the boyband phenomenon BroZone, Branch (Timberlake) and Poppy (Kendrick), who are now officially a couple, try to save Floyd (Sivan) while bringing Branch’s brothers back together in the movie.

9. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

Based on Nintendo’s Mario video game series, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is an animated adventure comedy released in 2023 in the United States. Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and written by Matthew Fogel, it was distributed by Universal and produced by Universal Pictures, Illumination, and Nintendo. Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, and Fred Armisen are among the ensemble voice cast members. The movie tells the origin story of Mario and Luigi, two Italian-American plumber brothers who are separated after entering a another reality and becoming caught up in a conflict between Princess Peach’s Mushroom Kingdom and Bowser’s Koopas.

Super Mario Bros. (1993) was a critical and commercial failure, and Nintendo was hesitant to license its intellectual assets for motion picture adaptations after that. During the Virtual Console service’s development, Shigeru Miyamoto, the man behind Mario, developed an interest in creating a different movie. He had a meeting with Chris Meledandri, the CEO of Illumination, through Nintendo’s collaboration with Universal Parks & Resorts to establish Super Nintendo World. They began talking about a Mario movie in 2016, and Nintendo declared in January of 2018 that it will develop it in collaboration with Universal and Illumination. The cast was revealed in September 2021, and production had already started by 2020.

10. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – To the Hashira Training (2024)

The 2024 Japanese animated dark fantasy action film Demon Slayer: Hashira Training, also known as Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Hashira Training (Japanese: 鬼滅の刃 柱稽古編, Hepburn: Kimetsu no Yaiba: Hashira Geiko-hen), is based on the “Swordsmith Village” and “Hashira Training” arc of the 2016–20 manga series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba by Koyoharu Gotouge. The third film adaptation of the anime television series, after Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train (2020) and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Swordsmith Village (2023), is a direct sequel to the third season of the show. Writers from Ufotable and director Haruo Sotozaki collaborated on the movie.

To the Hashira Training functions as a compilation film for the anime television series, much like the Swordsmith Village film adaptation did. It includes material from the final two episodes of the third season and the first episode of the fourth season, which will air later that year.

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Each animated film tells a distinct story through animation.