There’s something about animated movies that’s just beyond words. We are not sure if it is the magic that our childhoods held when all of us used to go crazy over those cartoons we used to watch on television or if it is simply that we associate animation with something that’s not part of this world. Well, we may not be able to quite put a finger on the exact reasons but there’s no denying that when it comes to animated movies, there sure is a different charm to them. And when you add to it animated characters that are animals of different kinds, you know you’re going to enjoy these movies all the way! And although live-action movies are quite impressive and help us get as close to imagining reality as possible, animated animal movies will always have a place of their own in our hearts. So here’s a list of Animated Animal Movies That Are As Awesome as Live-Action Ones to make your day!
The Good Dinosaur
The Good Dinosaur is a magical movie that takes us to a time many centuries away from the world we live in today, where things were simpler but certainly not as easy! And while we are usually used to watching films that are made from a human’s perspective, this one shows us a world through the eyes and minds of a dinosaur family, which makes it all the more different from the usual fare! It all begins when a little dinosaur named Arlo, the timidest and good-hearted in his family, sees his father die while trying to save him from a flash flood. Sad and far away from home with no way to get back, all Arlo has for company is a caveboy, one he had spared before, and soon, they begin an adventurous way back home. On the way, Arlo doesn’t just learn the ways of the world along with his little friend Spot but also shows the way in making friends where possible, instead of enemies. Courageous and brave when needed, and soft and loving otherwise, both Spot and Arlo fight off several dangers along the way, including a nasty pack of pterodactyls. Finally, Arlo also learns that good friends are not selfish, and after an emotional send-off to little Spot to live with others of his kind, he too settles down with his family, now playing a more active role than ever before. For all the love and heartbreak it holds within those 97 minutes, as well as the beautiful animation, The Good Dinosaur is indeed a great watch.
Rango
When you watch Rango, and especially when you listen closely to the dialog delivery that is out of the ordinary and then brilliant to your senses, you realize that there’s something that’s been done differently here. And this was only one of the many things that makes this one a special animation movie. So, what was it related to the dialogs that we were talking about? Well, while most other animated movies have characters standing behind a microphone in a studio and delivering their lines, director Wes Anderson, also the one responsible for the screenplay and a co-producer, wanted to do things differently by not just getting all the actors together on a single platform but even having them play out the scenes so that their lines were delivered in a more impactful way. And boy, has that technique paid off! Easily yet another underrated movie on our list, and one that surely should have been a lot more popular and made a lot more money, Rango is brilliant not just for these unique touches, but also for the sheer brilliance of the plot, the twists, and the rather simple storyline of the main protagonist discovering his own courage and wit when thrown into the most challenging of circumstances.
Bee Movie
Have you ever looked at bees and wondered what these busy creatures may actually think when we humans consider the honey they make with so much hard work to be our property? Well, that and other things are what Bee Movie is all about. And this animated offering from Simon J. Smith and Steve Hickner, with Jerry Seinfeld, Renee Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, John Goodman, Patrick Warburton, and Chris Rock lending their voice to it, sure makes for quite the topsy-turvy look at all that goes on in the human and animal kingdoms! It all begins when Barry, a rather different bee from the usual, decides that he will put humans to trial for taking over their property and laying claim to it as if it were their own. But even as Barry wins the trial and stops all supplies of honey to humans, he brings on a disaster of epic proportions, one where all flowers are bound to die and where the life of the planet is at stake. What transpires is a save-the-world adventure and a compromise that enables humans to keep savoring the sweetness of honey as long as it is tagged “bee-approved”! Quite an unusual take on things we take for granted, Bee Movie is sure makes for a good animated movie to watch!
A Bug’s Life
A Bug’s Life is what you’d call a great adventure that would probably have a human’s name written in the history books as the bravest of all time. But hey, when you’re an ant who has taken great risks to take on an army of grasshoppers with the help of a few bugs, who is really going to pay attention to your extraordinary pursuits! But then, when you present it in the form of an amazing animated movie, even this little adventure seems like a great one! And proves to be one in every way too! With Dave Foley, Kevin Spacey, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus lending their voices to the lead characters, the movie is about an ant who wishes to change the way his colony lives, in fear of the grasshoppers who arrive each year to take away the food they have so painstakingly gathered. This leads him to a bunch of bugs who he mistakes to be a band of goons, but who are in fact, only circus bugs! What ensues is a hilarious adventure that also has stories of courage and extraordinary sacrifice written into it. If it’s pure fun with some great learnings to go along that you seek, A Bug’s Life proves to be just the animated feature you need!
Khumba
What do you call an animal that is born to a zebra herd but only has half the stripes? Well, in the real world, you can call it a quagga, a subspecies of the zebra that was a common sight in Africa until European hunters hunted it down to extinction. And in the animated world, you can call it Khumba! A movie that is as unique as the half-striped zebra that is its main protagonist, Khumba is a Triggerfish Animation Studios offering that has Jake T. Austin, Steve Buscemi, Loretta Devine, Laurence Fishburne, Richard E. Grant, AnnaSophia Robb, and a rather menacing Liam Neeson, in the lead voice roles. With several little adventures rolled into one, and all of them involving the relentless pursuits of Khumba in first trying to be one with his zebra family and friends and then in proving that his unique ways are indeed the way forward for the herd, Khumba makes for an entertaining and heart-touching film in so many ways.
Zootopia
If animated movies with a couple of animals are a great treat, Zootopia, with loads and loads of animals — it is, after all, based on a unique place where animals of all kinds live together in peace and harmony — proves to be an exhilarating ride indeed! Oh, and when we said they live together in peace and harmony, we also meant that there is the usual set of bad eggs among them that the movie is all about! The movie is brought alive by some great animation and of course, while the screenplay itself is extraordinarily good, the storyline and the music add to the magic of it all too. It was a hit of course, and one of the few animated movies to cross the $1 billion mark. Revolving around the plot that has animals suddenly disappearing from the otherwise happening yet peaceful setting of the urban haven that is Zootopia, the movie has a newly deputed police officer Rabbit Judy Hopps and her initially reluctant but later new best friend Fox Nick Wilde following the leads to uncover a sinister plot. with the lead voices provided by the likes of Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, J.K. Simmons, Jenny Slate, Bonnie Hunt, Nate Torrence, Tommy Chong, Don Lake, Alan Tudyk, Octavia Spencer, and even Shakira, Zootopia makes for a wonderful and talented treat indeed!
Horton Hears a Who
Dr. Seuss and his stories are always winners with the young as well as adult crowds and it is really no wonder that some of these books have made it into the theaters in the form of animated and even live-action movies. Well, the one we have on our list is Horton Hears a Who! and when you have Jim Carrey and Steve Carell leading the voice cast, you know it’s a movie worth your while. And that’s exactly what it is too! It all begins when Horton the Elephant, and indeed the sweetest pachyderm you can find, realizes that there’s a lot more to a certain speck of dust than he had imagined. With an entire town residing on the speck, and every action of Horton creating a plethora of events in this tiny city, the audience finds itself going on an adventure that is fueled more by cute creativity and almost a believable storyline than just Dr. Seuss’ imagination. In the end, after a whirlwind of adventures that you have to see to believe and make the most of, it is revealed that the Earth too is nothing more than a speck of dust with people living on it, just like the city Whoville that Horton is trying to save! A beautiful movie with loads of beautiful lessons that even adults can learn from, Horton Hears a Who! is yet another Dr. Seuss masterpiece that we are so glad found its way to the screen in the form of an animated movie.
Ratatouille
A rat in the kitchen of a restaurant may usually force us into making a U-turn and never returning to the joint again, but when the rat is a talented chef who is capable of dishing out heavenly recipes, you know you’re going to stop in your track and take a second look! Well, while Ratatouille is a lot like what we just explained to you, there’s certainly plenty more to this unique movie that wasn’t just a hit at the box office but even today continues to be a great animated movie that takes children and adults on a fun ride they won’t forget in a hurry. Cooking up an appetite for the audiences with their fun voice portrayals are Patton Oswalt, Lou Romano, Ian Holm, Brian Dennehy, Peter Sohn, Peter O’Toole, Brad Garrett, and Janeane Garofalo, among others, and while the characters in the movie are as colorful as these characters themselves, the one that takes the cake is Remy the rat, who captures the audience’s imagination and makes them fall in love with the idea as preposterous as a rat cooking your food! When you think of it, Ratatouille just goes on to show that when an idea is presented to you in an animated form, it becomes a lot easier to accept no matter how outrageous it may actually be!
Bolt
In Bolt, Bolt is the kind of dog we would all love to have as a pet, and as far as the movie is concerned, it is one that we all hope would be recognized as one with franchise potential because we sure want more! With the voices of John Travolta, Susie Essman, Mark Walton, Miley Cyrus, Malcolm McDowell, Diedrich Bader, Nick Swardson, and Greg Germann bring the wonderful animation from Walt Disney Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures to life, this one has a little dog named Bolt who, having dedicated most of his life to playing the role of a super dog in a TV series, firmly believes that he does indeed have superpowers! And when he begins to believe that someone has kidnapped his beloved human Penny, he does what all super dogs would do, save the day! Of course, he isn’t alone on this self-induced adventure, he also has a couple of new best friends Mittens the Cat and Rhino the Hamster. Of course, since Rhino is a diehard fan of the Bolt TV series, he leaves no stone unturned to convince the real-life Bolt that he does indeed have superpowers. Mittens is of course a lot more versed with real life and tries to do the opposite. It doesn’t take long for Bolt to realize the truth but with the help of his two little friends, he aims to begin a new life. But still drawn to Penny, he finds his way to her and after some misunderstandings, not only ends up saving Penny’s life but also accompanies her out of show business. It’s a happy ending for Bolt, with a more relaxed life in the country with his favorite human and new friends. With loads of fun and plenty of lessons, Bolt sure is a super-treat! Oh, and want to know a fun fact? This movie was released in the same year that Usain Bolt first made his way into the record books by breaking the 100m and 200m world records!
Isle of Dogs
A Japanese movie that is widely regarded as one of the most unique animation movies to make it into theaters, Isle of Dogs is a must-watch. And although it did not make much of an impact at the box office, it turned out to be a favorite with critics, with many prominent names in the business praising the movie for its unique animation technique, its ability to deliver deadpan humor with such great timing, and of course, its unique storyline too. A fun movie with loads of humor, the plot has an orphan boy named Atari making his way to the Isle of Dogs, or Trash Island, a place where all the dogs from his city have been sent to, thanks to a canine epidemic that posed a potential danger to humans. What inspires Atari’s adventurous journey that ends in a crash landing is the love he has for his dog named Spots, who was also sent to the island. Here, he meets a great group of dogs who aren’t just a great addition to the movie’s storyline with their adventurous pursuits and fun banter but are also a worthy addition to the plot itself. With the drama of a sinister plot being played out on the mainland and another unraveling on Trash Island, it is now up to the good-hearted protagonists of the film to uncover a dangerous plan that has its roots in an equally evil plan that had failed to find fruition a thousand years ago. With names like Bryan Cranston, Koyu Rankin, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johannson, and Tilda Swinton leading the way, Isle of Dogs makes for quite the animated extravaganza that is still recognized as one of the most underrated animation movies of all time!
We Sure Wish We Could Add More Movies to This List!
Even outside this interesting list of Animated Animal Movies That Are As Awesome as Live-Action Ones we’ve put together for you, there are plenty of other titles that are just as fun to watch. And although we couldn’t fit them all in here, we promise to bring you more lists that include those movies. In the meantime, enjoy the ones off this list because, in addition to the viewing pleasure they offer, they also bring to you plenty of lessons that we really wish the whole of humankind could learn from!Julia Louis-DreyfusGinnifer GoodwinKevin Spacey
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