The 10 Best Animated Films of the 2020s So Far, Ranked
Collider has published a ranked list of the ten best animated films released so far in the 2020s, arguing that the decade has produced some of the strongest work in the medium's history. The piece credits both original concepts and franchise entries, spanning 2D, stop-motion and 3D techniques from studios including Cartoon Saloon and DreamWorks Animation, and notes upcoming releases such as Wildwood and Shrek 5 as further evidence of a golden run for animation.
Highlights include Cartoon Saloon's Wolfwalkers, praised as a visually stunning 2D fable about Irish folklore whose impact was limited by its pandemic-era release and its home on Apple TV+; Adam Elliot's stop-motion Memoir of a Snail, described as darkly comic and distinctively R-rated; and DreamWorks' The Wild Robot, singled out as an emotionally resonant, visually rich family film that the article suggests may help DreamWorks overtake a "slumping" Pixar. The list also references Robot Dreams, though the supplied text cuts off before further entries are detailed.
- Collider ranks the ten best animated films of the 2020s so far.
- Wolfwalkers and Memoir of a Snail praised for distinctive animation styles.
- DreamWorks' The Wild Robot highlighted as a standout, mass-appeal entry.
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Cartoon Saloon is an Irish animation studio known for hand-drawn, folklore-inspired films, while DreamWorks Animation is a major US studio behind long-running franchises such as Shrek. Both feature heavily in discussions of standout animated cinema this decade, alongside independent and international work like Adam Elliot's stop-motion features and the studio behind Robot Dreams.
Animation as a medium covers several distinct techniques, including hand-drawn 2D, stop-motion (using physical models filmed frame by frame) and 3D computer animation, and films are often judged both on visual craft and storytelling. There has also been debate in the industry about the relative fortunes of major studios, with some observers suggesting traditional leaders like Pixar have had a less consistent run recently while other studios have gained ground.
Lists ranking the best films of a period are a common feature of entertainment journalism, reflecting a publication's own critical judgement rather than an official or universally agreed standard. They typically aim to highlight both widely seen releases and smaller films that may have had limited audiences, such as those released during the pandemic or distributed mainly through streaming services.