Finn Morse
Gen Z was raised on three things: Mario Kart Wii, Cartoon Network, and animated movies. From wherever those movies came, they defined a generation and became classics. Anyone in their early 20s is much more accustomed to animated fare than someone in their 30s or 40s. The youth of tomorrow are the ones to declare the greatness of a movie of today. In some cases, those movies are animated classics.
The 2000s saw grand artistic pieces, born of passionate filmmakers with bold new ideas. The 2010s were the years of mainstream sequels and the evolution of animation quality. As the 2020s continue onward, there is a shifting demographic in an animated movie’s cultural relevance. Online discourse throughout the 2010s has led to mistrust in the major animation studios.
Disney/Pixar lost us with their shameless, cash-grab sequels. Sony and DreamWorks’ mixed-quality output made for jarring whiplash between the good and the bad. Even the revered Studio Ghibli fumbled the bag with a quick but hated switch to 3D animation. Youngsters used to beg for things like Incredibles 2. But now, they don’t want Incredibles 3. With every fortune made on a company’s new releases, a universal message becomes clearer.
In the 2020s, quality and word of mouth are what make a movie a classic, not how much money it makes. The animated movies that are truly exceptional will survive in cultural circles, right alongside the classics of the past. With all that said, are there really classics coming out today? Undoubtedly, yes, and here are a handful. They are not necessarily the best animated movies of the decade, but these have left the biggest impact on the present day.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is the sweetest, warmest hug. Separated from his family, Marcel (voiced by Jenny Slate) turns to his friend Dean (director and Marcel creator Dean Fleischer Camp) to help him find them. The pair create a series of viral videos posted on YouTube in hopes of finding Marcel’s family.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is an indicator of word of mouth becoming a movie’s most important external attribute. The film was initially released in Summer 2021 at the Telluride Film Festival, where its lack of distribution budget was remedied by its golden reputation. The sheer joy people felt when watching it brought more attention to the project, including studio eyes. It was eventually released in theaters by A24 in Summer 2022.
The film industry is beginning to turn in favor of YouTubers like Dean Fleischer Camp and independent productions backed by merit first, profit second. Should this trend continue, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On could very well rise to the top of this list in relevance. It will be remembered for its talent and for its influence on a changing film landscape, let alone animation.
Mad God
Phil Tippett’s longtime passion project, the stop-motion feature Mad God, was released in its full length on IFC’s streaming platform Shudder. The 83-minute wordless story follows a lonely explorer as he descends into a demented hellscape, instructed to destroy it. The landscapes are tangible and original, with each nightmarish concept leaping off the screen through its sound and animated form. It created gross monsters and an incarnation of violent, confused rage in clay sets and meticulous stop motion.
The film was written, directed, shot, and produced by Phil Tippett, a renowned visual effects artist. Known primarily for his stop-motion work on movies like RoboCop and The Empire Strikes Back, Tippett had a vision for the film long before its release. After seeing innovations in visual effects crowning from Jurassic Park, he felt that stop-motion was turning into a dead art form. Tippett eventually picked it back up in the early 2010s, incrementally releasing Mad God on YouTube upon a segment’s completion. The movie gained enough traction online to afford a release on Shudder in 2021.
While not classic in the mainstream sense, Mad God is an example of the modern cult classic. We don’t talk about Mad God as a society, but the few who have seen it respect it. For its ambition, its original ideas, and its endurance in an exponentially difficult creative world. It is the black sheep of animation, the rare independent production that took off despite its circumstances. It is not a commercial trophy winner, but its undeniable respect and following make it a modern animated cult classic.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
The final stop-motion film on this list, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio released on Netflix in the winter of 2022. An outwardly original take on the classic fairy tale, the movie follows the wooden boy Pinocchio, swept up in wonder. Pinocchio (voiced by Gregory Mann) uses his optimism to amass friends like Sebastian J. Cricket (Ewan McGregor) and Spazzatura (Cate Blanchett). His creator, Geppetto (David Bradley), journeys across dangerous oceans to find Pinocchio after they are separated in a military bombing.
Production took 940 days to film all of the stop-motion animation. The process was evidently worth it, not only evidenced by Pinocchio bringing home the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, but also by its sense of authenticity. Guillermo del Toro famously uses cinematic monsters as metaphors for innocence and whimsy. Through the classic character, del Toro represents the endurance of the human spirit even when faced with unimaginable hardships.
War and calamities are disastrous, but it is important to remember that life is a precious thing. Audiences and popular culture resonated with Pinocchio for his overwhelming optimism. The beautiful message is emphasized by the story’s entertainment and detailed stop motion.
Flow
Of all the movies to shower with praise in 2024, audiences seem drawn to Flow the most. Many respected it for its small production, completed entirely with the video game rendering software engine Blender. Flow even took home the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, the only movie to ever do so without major studio backing in the award’s short history.
Flow is the story of a lonely cat that finds its reality destroyed by an unprecedented flood. Forced to face its fears and collaborate with an unwieldy band of animals, the cat must find a new path. The story is entirely wordless, forcing the audience to sit and observe each development and interaction. But with its emotional setpieces, light music, and endless charm, paying attention is hardly an issue.
With its chaotic scenario plunging the world into sudden pandemonium, Flow won the world’s engagement. Its unconventional animation style is a breath of fresh air when compared to the sameness present in most studio fare. Someday, when the public thinks of some of the best original animated works of the 2020s, they will think of Flow.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The sequel to the iconic Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse plays with every trick in the book. Judged purely by its animation quality, this is the best movie of the 21st century. Its variety of visual styles and musical beats only work to make it an impressive, immersive trip to the movies.
Spider-Man—embodied by Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore)—is again pulled into the multiverse after a new villain threatens to destroy the fabric of reality. His safety and trust are challenged at every turn; Miles must ask himself if he was right to wear the mask. The movie carries impeccable music, a captivating story, and a visual style comic fans should be thanking their universe for. The only thing we’re left without is the long-delayed final chapter.
Where animation studios often lose the audience’s trust is in the prospect of a sequel. When a second movie doesn’t measure up to any aspect of the first, why bother with a third? However, if the trend in quality is indicated by the performance and reception of a film’s follow-up, audiences will only want more and more out of the Spider-Verse property. Given the second film’s reputation in popular culture, nobody on Earth will be surprised if the third film also makes animation history.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Reviving old properties is more often than not a cynical fools’ errand. Going beyond the world of animation, entertainment as a whole suffers from recycling ideas. There is an unspoken consensus that a reboot won’t measure up to the memories of the original animated classic. That is not the case for Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, the most unexpected animation win of the 2020s.
The outlaw Puss in Boots (voiced by the returning Antonio Banderas) races after the fabled Wishing Star in hopes of getting back his nine lives. As he runs from fairy tale villains and his greatest fears, respectively, Puss must challenge Death (Wagner Moura) to stay alive. Taking into account its mediocre and decade-old first film being the latest movie in its franchise, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish becoming a generational hit was not on anyone’s bingo card. Yet, just like the series it stems from, this movie is just as consistently entertaining as it is emotionally powerful.
DreamWorks’ redesign for its biggest universe was a bold new swing. They didn’t stick to the CGI-styled realism found in Shrek. They switched to a 2020s-oriented blend of 2D and 3D artistic styles. Fans of the series will enjoy it just as much as newcomers, which is the perfect kind of reboot/legacy sequel. Its humor is now iconic, its characters delightful, and its story is an original fantasy romp that only animation could achieve. By any metric, this is a justified animated classic of today.
KPop Demon Hunters
KPop Demon Hunters is the most original animated movie to come out of the present decade so far. Throughout the summer of 2025, it was everywhere. A full year after its release, audiences are still keeping the discussion alive and singing its songs. It sits at the top of this list not necessarily for its merits as a movie, but for how much the world fell in love with it.
Everyone knows about its concept, its character designs, and especially its infectious songs from reading the title alone. The story is about a KPop triad who sing by day and hunt down interdimensional demons by night. When a group of demons disguises themselves as a rival boy band, the hunters fight for their fame back. The musical numbers are infectious. Its animation style is inspired, and, above all, it is aggressively “2020s” to a mascot level.
No other animated movie this decade has been quite as discussed as KPop Demon Hunters. This once sidelined passion project from development hell was turned into the most-streamed movie in Netflix history. Easily the biggest splash from an original animation concept to come out of the 2020s. When the adults of tomorrow look back on where they came from, KPop Demon Hunters will definitely be considered one of the animated classics of its time.
