The 10 Most Philosophical Animated Movies, Ranked (2024)

There is an unfortunate stigma towards animated movies in the modern day. Most people see them as something for children due to their bright colors and because the vast majority of television shows and movies aimed at family audiences happen to be animated, but this is an unfair assumption. Animation is just one of various methods of telling a story, and there is no reason why that story cannot be more adult in theme and tone.

Regardless of what age range they're going for, animated films have historically been a great source of hard-hitting questions and social commentary that leaves audiences pondering their meaning. This unique ability is thanks to how creative animated films can be. Unlike live-action, animators are restricted only by money and their creativity, so they can bring to life abstract visuals, complicated themes, and moral questions in a way that is both informative and memorable. These are the most thought-provoking and deepest animated movies, which prove the medium is unparalleled in its ability to question and challenge the viewer.

10 'Fantastic Planet' (1973)

Directed by René Laloux

On the planet Ygam, humans, called Ohms, are seen as animals by gargantuan blue aliens known as Draggs. When his mother is killed by Dragg children, a young Ohm boy is adopted as a pet by a Dragg named Tiwa (Jennifer Drake/Cynthia Adler), who names him Terr (Eric Baugin and Jean Valmont/Mark Gruner and Barry Bostwick). Thanks to a defect in his collar, Terr learns Dragg culture and science, which allows him to sneak away and rally the wild Ohms into a resistance.

The bizarre Fantastic Planet pulls no punches with its allegorical story. The conflict between the Ohms and the Draggs can be interpreted in many ways, from how humans treat animals as either pests or pets to racist ideologies that paint one group of people as subhuman compared to another. It also asks many questions regarding the role of a so-called "advanced" society and how advanced it truly is if it regularly practices barbaric practices towards other living organisms.

Fantastic Planet (1973)

PG

Science Fiction

Indie

Where to Watch

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Release Date

December 6, 1973

Cast

Jean Valmont , Mark Gruner , Hal Smith , Barry Bostwick

Runtime

71 minutes

9 'Angel's Egg' (1985)

Directed by Mamoru Oshii

Within the ruins of a dystopian city, a young girl (Mako Hyōdō) collects water and spends her time caring for an egg. One day, a collum of tanks comes through the city, and a soldier armed with a cross-shaped weapon (Jinpachi Nezu) disembarks and meets the girl. The two bond and explore the ruins together while pondering what, if anything, could be inside the egg.

Angel's Egg is a weird movie with minimal dialogue, leaving audiences to be sucked in by its somber and mysterious atmosphere. The story and characters are rather thin, but the world feels rich and fully realized, thanks to well-told exposition and strong religious iconography. Since very little is explained, Angel's Egg is open to many forms of interpretation, but themes of hope, rebirth, and innocence can be identified from the girl's relationship with her egg. Angel's Egg is among the best and most complex animated movies of the '80s and a true must-watch for any fan of animation.

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8 'American Pop' (1981)

Directed by Ralph Bakshi

After losing his father to a Russian Pogrom, Zalmie (Jeffrey Lippa) and his mother move to the United States and begin a new life in New York City. He gets involved in Vaudeville and has ambitions to be a singer, but while performing for soldiers in World War I, a stray bullet hits his throat and kills that dream. However, music and performance remain key parts of Zalmie's family's lives and shape the next three generations.

American Pop is a masterpiece by Ralph Bakshi, one of animation's most surreal directors. The film is a beautiful and harsh representation of trauma and legacy, showing how the actions of one generation affect the next, with each member of Zalmie's family encountering unique problems created due to their predecessor's actions. It also tackles the clash between creative ideals and the pressures of society and how music has the power to connect people regardless of their upbringing.

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7 WALL-E' (2008)

Directed by Andrew Stanton

When the Earth becomes too polluted by garbage for humanity to live on, they board a spaceship called the Axiom while robots work to clean up the mess. Hundreds of years later, only one robot, WALL-E (Ben Burtt), is left operational and develops a personality. One day, a probe from the Axiom called EVE (Elissa Knight) comes to Earth, and when WALL-E shows her a plant he found, the two are brought back to the Axiom to help the humans come home.

WALL-E is one of the most creative films to come from Pixar and tells an ambitious story with main characters that have little dialogue and can only emote using their eyes. The story is a strong social commentary with themes of environmentalism and the dangers of letting technology run people's lives. There is also a very strong message of hope and that, no matter how grim things seem, it's never too late to turn things around, which leads to several moments of triumph during the climax for both human and robot characters.

WALL-E

G

Animation

Adventure

Family

Romance

Sci-Fi

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Release Date

June 22, 2008

Cast

Ben Burtt , Elissa Knight , Jeff Garlin , Fred Willard , MacInTalk , John Ratzenberger

Runtime

103

Writers

Andrew Stanton , Pete Docter , Jim Reardon

6 'Ghost in the Shell' (1995)

Directed by Mamoru Oshii

By the year 2029, technological advancements allow humans to augment their bodies with cybernetic enhancements to the point that many humans are little more than brains inside robot bodies. Major Motoko Kusanagi (Atsuko Tanaka/Mimi Woods) leads a task force to track down a mysterious entity known as the Puppet Master (Iemasa Kayumi and Yoshiko Sakakibara/Tom Wyner), who can hack into cyborg bodies and control them. The closer Motoko gets to finding the Puppet Master, the more she questions whether her existence is truly living.

Ghost in the Shell is one of the most influential sci-fi anime films, thanks in large part to its thought-provoking questions. Through the cyborg characters, it questions the nature of humanity, what constitutes an identity, and what exactly separates man from machine. Memory is also a major component of the film, especially since false memories can be uploaded into the cyborg's minds to make them believe things that never happened, which has chilling parallels to today's era of dubious information distribution.

Ghost in the Shell (1995)

TV-MA

Noir

Sci-Fi

Thriller

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Release Date

December 8, 1995

Cast

Atsuko Tanaka , Akio Otsuka , Iemasa Kayumi

Runtime

82

5 'Puss in Boots: The Last Wish' (2022)

Directed by Joel Crawford

After being told he is down to his last life and nearly dying to a mysterious wolf (Wagner Moura), legendary vigilante Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) resigns to living as a house cat. One day, he learns about a map leading to a fallen star that can grant a wish, bringing him out of retirement. Joining forces with an optimistic little dog (Harvey Guillén) and his old flame, Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek Pinault), Puss delves into the dark forest to regain his missing lives, where he is forced to hold a mirror up to his life and ask himself what it means to be a legend.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish has received nearly universal acclaim and has become one of DreamWorks' best movies, thanks to its mature themes. Death and legacy are at the forefront of the narrative, as Puss hopes to recapture his glory days while questioning what makes life worth living. When it's not throwing heavy themes at young audiences, The Last Wish also indulges in being a fun and colorful fairy tale and reminds audiences that villains can be pure evil and still entertaining with the despicable Big Jack Horner (John Mulaney).

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

PG

Animation

Adventure

Comedy

Family

Fantasy

Where to Watch

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Release Date

September 23, 2022

Cast

Chris Miller , Antonio Banderas

Runtime

102

Writers

Christopher Meledandri , Chris Miller

4 'The Boy and the Heron' (2023)

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

After the death of his mother in World War II, Mahito Maki (Soma Santoki/Luca Padovan) moves to the estate of his aunt and stepmother, Natsuko (Yoshino Kimura/Gemma Chan). Mahito distances himself from Natsuko and the household staff and notices a peculiar Grey Heron (Masaki Suda/Robert Pattinson) who claims he can lead Mahito to his mother. One day, Natsuko wanders into the forest, and when Mahito follows her into an abandoned tower, he finds himself transported into another world.

The Boy and the Heron is the latest movie by legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki, and while not his best work, it has all the makings of a classic. Mahito's story is about processing grief and shows that actions do not happen in a vacuum: what one person feels is felt in part by everyone in their life. Other themes include the limitless power of creation, especially among the youth, who have it in them to build a better world than the one left to them by the old.

The Boy and the Heron

PG-13

Adventure

Fantasy

Drama

Release Date

December 8, 2023

Cast

Soma Santoki , Masaki Suda , Takuya Kimura , Aimyon

Runtime

124 minutes

Writers

Hayao Miyazaki

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3 'Princess Mononoke' (1997)

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

While defending his village from a demonic boar spirit, Prince Ash*taka (Yōji Matsuda/Billy Crudup) is infected with a curse that grants him super strength but will slowly kill him. Hoping to find a cure, he follows the boar's trail to Irontown, a mining community located next to an ancient forest. The town is beset by many dangers, including a warlord who wants its resources and the animal spirits who want the humans dead. Ash*taka refuses to pick a side and tries his best to bring peace to all factions.

Princess Mononoke is a masterpiece of Japanese animation and storytelling, with impressive themes regarding environmentalism and the dangers of hatred. Neither the people of Irontown nor the animal spirits are shown to be completely right or wrong: they are both groups trying to survive in a changing world and are drawn to conflict due to their values and contrasting natures. This singular approach places Princess Mononoke leagues ahead of other environmentally conscious stories. It tackles the conflict from both angles and shows the positive side of progress and the negative side of nature, with the real enemy being hatred and fear that causes the conflict to escalate.

Princess Mononoke (1997)

PG-13

Anime

Adventure

Fantasy

Where to Watch

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Release Date

July 12, 1997

Cast

Yôji Matsuda , Yuriko Ishida , Yûko Tanaka , Kaoru Kobayashi , Masahiko Nishimura , Tsunehiko Kamijô

Runtime

134 minutes

Writers

Hayao Miyazaki

2 'Spirited Away' (2001)

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

While moving to a new home, Chihiro (Rumi Hiiragi/Daveigh Chase) and her parents accidentally stumble into the spirit world and wind up at a bathhouse. When her parents eat spirit food, they turn into pigs, but Chihiro is helped by a young boy named Haku (Miyu Irino/Jason Marsden). He encourages her to get a job from Yubaba (Mari Natsuki/Suzanne Pleshette), the witch who operates the bathhouse so that she can remain close to her parents and eventually find a way to free them.

Many consider Spirited Away to be Miyazaki's masterpiece, thanks in no small part to its ability to express complex and challenging ideas. Anxiety and the fears of growing up are chief among them, as Chihiro is forced to work and survive without the support of her parents while navigating a world that works on rules different from the ones she knows. Spirited Away has strong themes of identity and the power of names, which Yubaba uses to control those in her employment and play into Haku's mysterious connection to Chihiro.

Spirited Away (2001)

PG

Anime

Adventure

Family

Release Date

July 20, 2001

Cast

Rumi Hîragi , Miyu Irino , Mari Natsuki , Takashi Naitô , Yasuko Sawaguchi , Tatsuya Gashûin

Runtime

125 minutes

Writers

Hayao Miyazaki

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1 'Waking Life' (2001)

Directed by Richard Linklater

An unnamed protagonist (Wiley Wiggins) finds himself wandering through life, drifting from one unique experience to another. Eventually, he realizes that he is stuck in a complex dream with no indication as to how he can wake up. As he tries to navigate his way back to reality, the protagonist encounters all sorts of colorful characters, each of whom has something to say about the nature of dreams and the meaning of life.

A unique film by Richard Linklater, Waking Life pulls the audience into the shoes of the protagonists, making them feel like they're stuck inside a dream with its stylistic use of rotoscoping. There isn't a true plot; instead, the film just jumps from one philosophical tangent to another, with some lasting only a few seconds and others several minutes. Interestingly, Waking Life doesn't give a definitive answer to the major philosophical questions it puts forth, instead leaving that for audiences to sort out themselves.

Waking Life

R

Fantasy

Drama

Release Date

March 7, 2002

Cast

Ethan Hawke , Lorelei Linklater , Wiley Wiggins

Runtime

99 minutes

Writers

Richard Linklater

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NEXT: The Best Animated Movies of the 20th Century, Ranked