Animation on Netflix: the best movies
24 animation films available on Netflix today, ranked by audience rating, most recommended first. Updated 25 September 2026
Swapped leads with 8.9 out of 10, ahead of Spirited Away (8.5). Ratings range from 8 to 8.9. The oldest, Grave of the Fireflies, goes back to 1988. The selection leans towards films from the 2020s, 13 of 24. 11 films came out since 2021.
Find my film in 2 questionsSwipe through films
Swapped
A small woodland creature and a majestic bird, two natural sworn enemies of the Valley, magically trade places and set off on an adventure of a lifetime to switch back. Their journey soon uncovers a greater threat—one that could endanger not only their species, but the entire valley they call home.
Spirited Away
A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.
Grave of the Fireflies
In the final months of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his sister Setsuko are orphaned when their mother is killed during an air raid in Kobe, Japan. After a falling out with their aunt, they move into an abandoned bomb shelter. With no surviving relatives and their emergency rations depleted, Seita and Setsuko struggle to survive.
Howl's Moving Castle
Sophie, a young milliner, is turned into an elderly woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. She encounters a wizard named Howl and gets caught up in his resistance to fighting for the king.
Princess Mononoke
Ashitaka, a prince of the disappearing Emishi people, is cursed by a demonized boar god and must journey to the west to find a cure. Along the way, he encounters San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, who is trying to destroy it. Ashitaka must find a way to bring balance to this conflict.
The Wild Robot
After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot called Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island. To survive the harsh environment, Roz bonds with the island's animals and cares for an orphaned baby goose.
Perfect Blue
Rising pop star Mima Kirigoe quits singing to pursue a career as an actress. After she takes up a role on a popular detective show, her handlers and collaborators begin turning up murdered. Harboring feelings of guilt and haunted by visions of her former self, Mima's reality and fantasy meld into a frenzied paranoia.
Violet Evergarden: The Movie
As the world moves on from the war and technological advances bring changes to her life, Violet still hopes to see her lost commanding officer again.
The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie
When five lovely young girls who hate studying hire part-time tutor Futaro, he guides not only their education but also their hearts. Time spent has brought them all closer, with feelings growing within the girls and Futaro. As they finish their third year of high school and their last school festival approaches, they set their sights on what’s next. Is there a future with one of them and Futaro?
Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion
SEELE orders an all-out attack on NERV, aiming to destroy the Evas before Gendo can advance his own plans for the Human Instrumentality Project. Shinji is pushed to the limits of his sanity as he is forced to decide the fate of humanity.
Klaus
A selfish postman and a reclusive toymaker form an unlikely friendship, delivering joy to a cold, dark town that desperately needs it.
My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising
Class 1-A visits Nabu Island where they finally get to do some real hero work. The place is so peaceful that it's more like a vacation... until they're attacked by a villain with an unfathomable Quirk! His power is eerily familiar, and it looks like Shigaraki had a hand in the plan. But with All Might retired and citizens' lives on the line, there's no time for questions. Deku and his friends are the next generation of heroes, and they're the island's only hope.
Jujutsu Kaisen 0
Yuta Okkotsu is a nervous high school student who is suffering from a serious problem—his childhood friend Rika has turned into a curse and won't leave him alone. Since Rika is no ordinary curse, his plight is noticed by Satoru Gojo, a teacher at Jujutsu High, a school where fledgling exorcists learn how to combat curses. Gojo convinces Yuta to enroll, but can he learn enough in time to confront the curse that haunts him?
Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll
Violet Evergarden, a former soldier returned from war, comes to teach at a women's academy and changes a young girl's life.
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo by an old bamboo cutter and his wife, a tiny girl grows rapidly into an exquisite young lady. The mysterious young princess enthrals all who encounter her. But, ultimately, she must confront her fate.
Miraculous World: New York, United HeroeZ
Marinette's class is headed to New York, the city of superheroes, for French-American Friendship Week. But the arrival of Hawk Moth will complicate everything.
Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King
As a lionhearted boy who can't wield magic strives for the title of Wizard King, four banished Wizard Kings of yore return to crush the Clover Kingdom.
My Neighbor Totoro
Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister seeks help from the spirits to find her.
Green Snake
While trying to free her sister from Fahai's clutches, Xiao Qing winds up in a dystopian city and meets a mysterious man who can't recall his past life.
New Gods: Nezha Reborn
While living as an ordinary deliveryman and motor racing fan, Nezha encounters old nemeses and must rediscover his powers to protect his loved ones.
Ultraman: Rising
A star athlete reluctantly returns home to take over his father's duties as Ultraman, shielding Tokyo from giant monsters as he becomes a legendary hero.
KPop Demon Hunters
When K-pop superstars Rumi, Mira and Zoey aren't selling out stadiums, they're using their secret powers to protect their fans from supernatural threats.
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
During the rise of fascism in Mussolini's Italy, a wooden boy brought magically to life struggles to live up to his father's expectations.
Transformers One
The untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, better known as sworn enemies, but once were friends bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever.
What to know before choosing
Animation is not an audience, it is a technique — and confusing it with "films for children" means missing half the genre. This list therefore mixes family films with films that are nothing of the kind. Ratings here run structurally higher than in other genres: people rarely watch animation by accident, and an audience that chose rates better. Compare ratings within the genre, never against the rest of the catalogue.
The Netflix catalogue is the most restless of all: it changes most from month to month and most from country to country. A "best films on Netflix" list written six months ago is half wrong today, and one written for the United States is wrong here. This one is rebuilt every day from actual availability in the UK, which is the only honest way to keep that promise.
Frequently asked questions
How were these 24 films chosen?
They come from the TMDB catalogue, filtered on audience rating and on a minimum number of votes — without that second filter, a film rated 9 out of 10 by eleven people would outrank a classic. No place is for sale: no platform, distributor or studio can enter this list other than by being well rated.
Which film in this list is rated highest?
Swapped (2026), with 8.9 out of 10 from 2,202 audience votes.
Are these films really available on Netflix in the UK?
Yes, as of the day the page was built. Availability comes from TMDB and JustWatch for the catalogue in the UK, and the list is rebuilt daily. Streaming catalogues move constantly: a title can leave between two passes, which is why the page carries its date.
Are there any recent releases in this selection?
11 of the 24 films came out since 2021. The rest are older, which is expected: a film needs a few years to gather enough votes to be judged at all.
Do I need an account?
No. Taro eira is free, asks for no account and no subscription, and the two-or-three-question flow works without installing anything.
See also
- Netflix
- Animation
- Animation on Prime Video
- Animation on Disney+
- Animation on Apple TV+
- Animation on HBO Max
- Action
- Adventure
- Comedy
- Crime
- Documentary
- Drama
- Family
- Fantasy
- Biopic
- Horror
- Musical
- Romance
- Sci-fi
- Thriller
- War
- Western
How this list is built
Films come from the TMDB catalogue, filtered on audience rating and vote count, then cross-checked against real availability in the country. No paid placement, no partnerships. How we choose the films.
Film data and posters: TMDB. This app uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.