As 2024 is about to wrap up, the fans of animated movies and series anticipate new entries into their repertoire. But did you miss out on the best-animated movies of 2024? Worry not cause we’ve got you covered. This article takes you on a ride through all the 17 best animated movies of 2024 – the ones that took place in the heart of the viewers with life-like animations, visuals and compelling storylines.
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Best Animated Movies 2024
Animated Movies of 2024: The Wild Robot
The Wild Robot is one of the best animated movies of 2024. Adapted from Peter Brown’s novel of the same name and released in September 2024, The Wild Robot is another addition to DreamWorks Animation. This animated movie features a number of well-known voice actors including Pedro Pascal, Mark Hamill, Kit Connor and Bill Nighy. Wild Robot is known for its exhilarating visuals, emotional connection with the characters and layered storyline. Hence, let’s take a look at how the plot unfolds for the movie.
The story revolves around “Roz”, an all-purpose robot that inadvertently ends up on a deserted island. Roz offers help to the animals, only to find that the animals are terrified and better off without her. A grizzly bear named Thorn attacks her, and while evading, she accidentally kills a mother goose and all her eggs except one. It’s ironic that a robot, designed to aid humans, who are the most intelligent species on the planet, is of no use to the wild animals and birds of the jungle.
Burdened by the guilt, Roz decides to adopt the surviving goose egg that hatches into a beautiful gosling in no time. The gosling, named as Brightbill, considers Roz as her guardian. Roz takes the responsibility of getting Brighbill ready for its winter migration. However, things take a left turn when Brightbill leaves for migration, and Roz fixes her transponder and sends her location signal to the Universal Dynamics headquarters. The Universal Dynamics sends a retrieval robot to bring back Roz, who has now become sentient.
Despicable Me 4
In Despicable Me 4, Gru and Lucy are busy raising their newborn son, Gru Jr while a new trouble begins to stir. As the Anti-Villain League(AVL) agent attends his school reunion, he comes across his old friend Maxime. Maxime wants to exact revenge on Gru for a silly incident that took place back when they were in school. He can now transform into a powerful cockroach hybrid and intends to conquer the world. Gru comes to the rescue and arrests his old pal. But Maxime doesn’t give up easily as he breaks out of prison the next day and plans on using a ray gun on Gru Jr. The ray gun can convert any person into a cockroach hybrid, thereby, building an army.
Hearing about Maxime’s escape and that he is out for blood, Gru’s family goes into hiding in another town. As undercover AVL agents, they get new identities, new professions and new neighbours. In the meantime, AVL hires the Minions and augments five of them into Mega Minions with supernatural powers. Next Gru, along with the Mega Minions and a few others, takes on the arduous task of defeating Maxime.
The Garfield Movie
The Garfield movie was released on May 24, 2024, marking the sixth movie in the franchise. The movie features quite a number of well-known voice actors such as Chris Pratt, Samuel L. Jackson and Snoop Dogg. The plot revolves around Garfield and his beagle amigo, Odie spending their days lazily under the care of Jon Arbuckle. However, one night two dogs named Roland and Nolan break into Jon’s house and abduct Garfield and Odie, taking them to an abandoned mall. While both of them are held hostage, counting their final moments in the mortal world, a mysterious, buffy-looking character, wearing a black hoodie, rescues them. Who can it be?
It’s none other than Vic, Garfield’s actual father, who presumably abandoned his son in the past. While Garfield is busy showing anger at his father for abandoning him, a Persian cat named Jinx laughs at Vic for falling into her trap. Jinx offers a deal that the group should bring back a copious amount of milk from the Lactose Farms in exchange for their imprisonment. Garfield, Vic and Odie agree on the deal and the trio set off for the Lactose Farms. The journey is filled to the brim with excitement, action, new friends, and betrayals, with Vic trying ways to befriend Garfield, who is reluctant to go anywhere near his father. The Garfield Movie is a fantastic movie of 2024 that sheds light on Vic’s perspective of why he abandoned Garfield and how the latter ended up in the arms of Jon Arbuckle.
Transformers One
Transformers One is one of the best animated movies of 2024 and is a must-watch. The movie, directed by Josh Cooley (director of Toy Story 4), explores the origins of two of the most well-known characters from the Transformers franchise, i.e., Optimus Prime and Megatron. Transformers One brings a unique style of animation to the table that sets it apart from most of the animated movies released in 2024. Let’s take a quick look at the plot for the movie to hype you up even more.
Let’s take you way back to the time when Optimus Prime and Megatron we the best of friends, a time when the names “Optimus Prime” and “Megatron” did not exist. The event occurs in a planet known as Cybertron, inhabited by sentient robots that are powered by Energon and can transform into vehicles. Two robots, Orion Pax and D-16 uncover Sentinel Prime’s shady business of lending Energon supplies to Quintesson, an invading alien species, in exchange for letting him rule Cybertron. The two friends rile up other Cybertronic robots including Bumblebee to overthrow the Sentinel and free Cybertron from his clutches. However, as victory comes closer, the relationships of the protagonists change; D-16 becomes increasingly aggressive while Orion becomes worried about his friend. Now can you identify Optimus Prime and Megatron in the movie?
The Bad Guys: Haunted Heist
Looking for something light-hearted, comedic as well as spooky? We’ve got you covered. The Bad Guys: Haunted Heist offers the perfect amount thrill, silliness and simple narrative. The plot revolves around 5 characters namely- Mr. Wolf, Mr. Shark, Mr. Snake, Mr. Tarantula and Mr. Piranha on a treasure-hunting mission. Mr. Wolf informs the rest of the gang members regarding the whereabouts of a treasure belonging to Reginald E. Scary. The team heads over to Scary’s mansion to retrieve the treasure. After ducking many scary obstacles, they finally get hold of the treasure and takes it back with them.
Things don’t go well for Mr. Wolf as he finds himself in distress, hallucinating music and having weird dreams. Finally, unable to bear Mr. Wolf’s condition, the team decided to place the treasure back to where they had taken it from. As they head over to the mansion, the team is abducted with Mr. Wolf returning the treasure. But who kidnapped them? Well, nobody. The team members, except Mr. Wolf, played a nasty prank on Mr. Wolf. But Mr. Wolf is no rookie when it comes to playing pranks. He informs that he knew about the plan before and was playing along. Then as he proceeds to pick up the treasure again, he disintegrates, to everyone’s surprise. Finally, Mr. Wolf reveals that this was a prank as well to avenge them. Upon hearing this, the rest of the gang pounce on Mr. Wolf.
Ultraman: Rising
Ultraman: Rising is an animated movie produced by two different companies, Tsuburaya Productions and Netflix Animations. As the 4th film in the Ultraman franchise, the story revolves around the life of a baseball player named Kenji Sato, who has inherited the powers of Ultraman from his father, as per lineage. However, Kenji is disappointed in inheriting his father’s power since it was the root cause of the rift that existed between him and his father. This rift causes Kenji to live separate from his father, who is also unable to attend to the fatherly duties.
One day, as Kenji prepares for his first baseball match, a mysterious package is delivered to him. Additionally, a huge dragon-like kaiju named Gigantron attacks the stadium. Kenji transforms into Ultraman, defeating the kaiju and chasing after the nasty group that lured the kaiju into the stadium. He discovers that the mysterious package holds an egg that hatches into a baby Gigantron. Kenji, realizing that the giant Gigantron was only trying to protect its baby, takes the baby with him. Time passes by and Kenji slowly develops a strong affection for the baby Gigantron – an affection that wipes away the grudge that he had for his father. They work together to teach Dr. Onda a lesson and prevent the Kaiju Defense Force from destroying the Kaiju island.
Animated Movies of 2024 – No Time to Spy: A Loud House Movie
The story unfolds with Lincoln telling a story to Clyde about his step-grandmother Myrtle. Myrtle, a secret agent in her prime, took on a supervillain named Rufus Dufus 37 years ago. Rufus intended to launch a rocket that would destroy Earth’s communication satellites and replace them with his own. However, his plan fails as Myrtle fights Rufus and his goons. Rufus accidentally falls into his own rocket that launches into space, never to be found again.
That was the story of Myrtle, narrated by Lincoln. So what happens in this movie? The Loud family heads out on a tropical island to celebrate the wedding of Myrtle and Albert. On the tropical island, things take a weird turn as the Loud family often encounters suspicious characters who are up to no good. The family unfolds the nasty plot of Fifi, who is revealed to be Rufus’ wife. Fifi sets out to finish the job that her husband started and exact revenge on Myrtle for what she did. So will Myrtle and the Louds be able to stop Fifi from launching the rockets into space
Inside Out 2
Inside Out 2 takes over the plot we left out in Inside Out 1, which personified 5 main emotions namely, Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust. In Inside Out 2, fans are introduced to 4 new emotions Anxiety, Embarrassment, Envy and Ennui. But what is Ennui? Well, Ennui is the emotion that takes over an individual when one is weary and angst.
The introduction of these new emotions is perfectly in line with the narrative of Inside Out 2, considering the fact that the protagonist, Riley is in puberty. Riley is currently in high school, and she feels her inner happiness in constant conflict with Anxiety. In the meantime, she develops a new psychic element called the Sense of Self, which contains all the happy and positive memories of her childhood. The plot focuses on how Riley managed to use her Sense of Self to eradicate her negative emotions and save the rest of the emotions from extinction.
Dragonkeeper
Dragonkeeper is a 2024 animated movie that caters more towards children. The movie beautifully amalgamates Chinese mythological elements with those of Spain to create a visually appealing fantasy. However, the movie is rated PG and well; there are some violent scenes in the movie that are too gory for children under 10. Hence, let not the innocent-looking visuals and aesthetic of the movie fool you.
The story sheds light on the vivid daily life of the people residing in the kingdom of Han Imperial China. Unable to trust the loyalty of the dragons, the kingdoms cast them out into the wilderness. The plot unfolds with an enslaved, orphan girl named Ping, who has befriended a dragon named Long Danzi. Ping comes across one of the last dragon eggs and decides to fulfil her destiny. Hence she, along with Long Danzi and Hua (her rat friend) launches into an adventure to return the dragon egg to the ocean to save the dragon race from extinction.
Animated Movies of 2024 – Kung Fu Panda 4
Alright! First things first. We need to talk about new characters in this animated movie of 2024 and the 4th instalment of the Kung Fu Panda franchise. This movie makes way for two new main characters, The Chameleon and Zhen. The Chameleon is the main antagonist of the movie and a sorceress who has the ability to shapeshift into any animal. Zhen is a fox bandit, who joins forces with Po to help tackle The Chameleon’s shenanigans. The journey follows the duo on their journey to take down The Chameleon, who slyly acquires Po’s Staff of Wisdom. Using the Staff, The Chameleon calls upon every kung-fu master from the Spirit Realm to absorb their powers. In the end, Po declares Zhen as his successor for the next Dragon Warrior. Additionally, the movie also features a dragon/chimaera coming into the scene to escalate the stakes and intensify the conflict even more.
Megamind vs the Doom Syndicate
Metro City’s former menace, Megamind is now the hero of the hour. He, accompanied by Ol’ Chum, protects the city from goons such as Go-Fish and the citizens are indebted to Megamind for his heroic deeds. A rift occurs in his partnership with Chum when the former informs Chum that he does not need a sidekick to help out.
But where’s the spice in the movie? Well, let me introduce you to Doom Syndicate, a gang of supervillains of which Megamind was a part. The Doom Syndicate, unaware of Megamind’s changed personality, unites with him and they start plotting Metro City’s demise. However, Megamind feels guilty for taking part in heinous crimes while pretending to be one among them. Furthermore, the Doom Syndicate decides to execute Megamind’s abandoned plan to bring Metro City to the ground once and for all. Burdened with guilt, he tries to ask Chum for help but cannot since he is ever so clouded by his ego. However, odds work in Megamind’s favour as he riles up a team (along with Chum) to prevent Doom Syndicate from executing their master plan.
Orion and the Dark
One of the most watched animated movies of 2024, Orion and the Dark not only follows a unique story but also interlinks two additional narratives within the main plot. Orion is an 11-year-old kid who harbours a number of phobias. Currently, he longs to propose to his crush Sally during the planetarium field trip event. As the planetarium field trip draws in, Orion becomes increasingly anxious until he blacks out. He regains his senses back at night and finds himself in a room with Dark.
Story 1
Dark is the personification of the darkness at night time and Orion’s worst fear. He offers to help Orion by taking him on a journey that will elucidate the advantages of night time to which the latter agrees. As both of them embark on the journey, they come across multiple nighttime entities – Sleep, Insomnia, Quiet, Unexplained Noises and Sweet Dreams. Just as Orion starts to understand the importance of Dark, Light makes an entry. Orion remarks that if there were Light always, the world would never plunge into Darkness. Dark, who is immensely agonized, lets Light consume him and eradicate his existence. The first narrative ends here with Orion all alone.
Story 2
Back in reality, an adult Orion is now with his daughter Hypatia who claims a different ending to her father’s narrative. She continues the story of her father and greets him at the beach. The rest of the night entities also make a comeback, realizing that Orion needs to sleep to bring his old friend back. With Sweet Dream’s aid, Hypatia and Orion enter into Orion’s subconscious mind and summon Dark. However, a black hole consumes Dark and Orion jumps in for rescue.
Quiet wakes Orion up from his sleep so that the black hole does not consume them. So all in all they manage to bring back the natural balance of this world. But what about Hypatia? She’s stuck in Orion’s world forever. Fear not as Tycho, Orion’s grandson, uses the time machine to retrieve Hypatia. When she comes into reality she finds herself telling the story to her son, Tycho. The plot of the movie ends with Hypatia saying good night to her father and mother namely Orion and Sally respectively.
The Tiger’s Apprentice
The Tiger’s Apprentice starts off with Mrs. Lee fighting the Yaoguai, a bunch of supernatural entities to protect herself and her infant grandson, Tom. Fast forward 15 years, Tom has unknowingly inherited powers from her grandmother. This power enables Tom to call upon Zodiac Warriors to protect him and help fight bad guys. Zodiac Warriors are nothing but the spirit of animals in the realm. Mrs. Lee tragically passes away in a fight with the witch Ms. Penny Loo, the antagonist of the film.
The Tiger of the Zodiac Warriors, Mr. Hu escorts Tom from the battle and takes him under his wing as his apprentice. And thus starts Tom’s journey to learn and train the ways of the Zodiac Warriors and avenge his grandmother. In the meantime, Tom reunites with the rest of the Zodiac Warriors only to find that some of the Zodiac members are missing, causing a sense of angst and worry among them. However, Tom, now the protector of the realm, heads over to confront Ms. Loo and rescue the Phoenix from Darkness. The Tiger’s Apprentice retains tension throughout the entirety of the film and is a must-watch for fans.
Animated Movies of 2024 Mufasa: The Lion King
Mufasa: The Lion King has not been released yet at the time of writing this article. The movie is set to release in the later half of December 2024. The trailer for the movie seems really confusing regarding the timeline of the events. On one hand the story is set as a prequel to The Lion King (1994) movie. But the trailer also reveals moments of Simba, Timon, Pumba and Nala. So what point in the timeline does Mufasa: Lion King take place? The director of the movie and Academy Award winner, Barry Jenkins has confirmed that Mufasa: The Lion King is both a prequel and a sequel. The film “exists in parallel timelines” alluding to the fact that events post-Simba’s Pride and pre-Lion King (1994) will unfold simultaneously.
The movie does not shy away from fan service as many voice actors from the previous entries make a comeback. Aaron Pierre leads the way as the voice artist for Mufasa. Next, Simba is voiced by Donald Glover, the sensational American actor-cum-music artist known for songs such as “This is America”. Donald voiced Simba in the previous movie, The Lion King (2019) as well. Beyonce makes a comeback too, lending her voice to Nala, Simba’s significant other. Furthermore, John Kani voices Rafiki. Timon and Pumba borrow voices from Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen, respectively. Lastly, the movie features Keith David, the voice behind characters such as Arbiter (Halo), Goliath (Gargoyles) and Flame King (Adventure Time). This time he is set to voice Masego, father of Mufasa.
Animated Movies of 2024 – Moana 2
Moana 2 sets off shortly after the events of the first instalment. The protagonist, Moana informs that her ancestors longed to connect the people of all islands in Oceania. Thus, she, assuming the role of a Wayfinder, is determined to fulfil their dream. She receives an unanticipated call from her ancestors, warning her about the curse in a distant island.
The inconspicuous island named Motufetu is under the curse of a god named Nalo. As per the trailer, setting foot on the island would break the curse, enabling her to connect the islands of Oceania. Hence, Moana embarks on her journey to fulfil her destiny. In this journey, she encounters a plethora of old and new friends and foes from the previous title. The movie is set to release on November 27, 2024. So hang tight Moana fans, cause it’s just a matter of time.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
The third instalment to the live-action franchise Sonic the Hedgehog 3, is set to release on December 20, 2024. A new threat makes its way into town. A security breach in the lab results in Shadow the Hedgehog escaping from the lab. While we are not sure of Shadow’s purpose yet, we are sure that he’s not up to good. The narrator in the trailer also informs that Shadow shares much of his story with Sonic. The difference lies in the fact that Shadow was abandoned and lonely. Thus, the villain-arc. The movie trailer reveals Sonic, teeming up with Tails and Knuckles to stop Shadow the Hedgehog. As the three engage in a fight for the first time, Shadow does not shy away from absolutely demolishing them to the ground. Sensing the seriousness of the situation, Sonic seeks the aid of Dr. Robotnik, the antagonist of the first 2 entries.
Animated Movies of 2024 – Flow
Are you a pet owner? If yes, then Flow might be one of the best-animated movies that 2024 has in store for you. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, Flow revolves around the survival of a black cat who befriends a Labrador Retriever, a secretarybird, a lemur and a capybara. Being a silent movie Flow is indeed the most unique animated movie of 2024. Most of the movies mentioned in this list feature exaggerated dialogue for the animals. However, Flow takes a completely different approach to film-making, relying entirely on storytelling, animation and music to express the narrative. Speaking of animation, the movie presents a unique animation style that highlights the core theme of the film, i.e., friendship, trust and survival. So if you’re looking for something out-of-the-box, you can’t go wrong with Flow.
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