(Updated 04/16/2024)
It's a great time for animation, and not just because the game has been significantly changed by the SPIDER-VERSE and new TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES movies. Nearly every big studio is trying something new with animated movies or expanding their fan-favorite worlds.
While we wait for the MUTANT MAYHEM sequel and the third and final SPIDER-VERSE movie — both likely to arrive in 2025 — we'll see DESPICABLE ME 4, THE GARFIELD MOVIE, and Pixar's INSIDE OUT 2, and that only takes us through the beginning of July! There's so much more coming later in the year, and we have all the new animated movie titles listed below.
Note: If you're looking for movies that fall into the anime category, we've got a look at those, too!
Animated Movies Playing Now in Theatres
Shrek 20th Anniversary
After returning from their honeymoon and showing home movies to their friends, Shrek and Fiona learn that her parents have heard that she has married her true love and wish to invite him to their kingdom, called Far Far Away. The catch is: Fiona's parents are unaware of the curse that struck their daughter and have assumed she married Prince Charming, not a 700-pound ogre with horrible hygiene and a talking donkey pal. [DATE]
Animated Movies Coming to Movie Theatres Soon
And there's more to come this year and into 2024!
The Garfield Movie
Garfield (voiced by Chris Pratt), the world-famous, Monday-hating, lasagna-loving indoor cat, is about to have a wild outdoor adventure! After an unexpected reunion with his long-lost father – scruffy street cat Vic (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) – Garfield and his canine friend Odie are forced from their perfectly pampered life into joining Vic in a hilarious, high-stakes heist. [May 24]
Inside Out 2
The little voices inside Riley’s head know her inside and out—but next summer, everything changes when INSIDE OUT 2 introduces a new Emotion: Anxiety. The movie returns to the mind of newly minted teenager Riley just as headquarters is undergoing a sudden demolition to make room for something entirely unexpected: new Emotions! Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust, who’ve long been running a successful operation by all accounts, aren’t sure how to feel when Anxiety shows up. And it looks like she’s not alone. [June 14]
Despicable Me 4
In the first DESPICABLE ME movie in seven years, Gru, the world’s favorite supervillain- turned-Anti-Villain League-agent, returns for a bold new era of Minions mayhem. Gru and Lucy and their girls — Margo, Edith and Agnes — welcome a new member to the Gru family, Gru Jr., who is intent on tormenting his dad. Gru faces a new nemesis in Maxime Le Mal and his femme fatale girlfriend Valentina, and the family is forced to go on the run. [July 3]
Transformers One
An origin story set on Cybertron, the original home of the Autobots and Decepticons. The film is said to focus on the relationship between Optimus Prime and Megatron, and its transformation from friendship to hatred. [September 13]
The WIld Robot
The epic adventure follows the journey of a robot—ROZZUM unit 7134, “Roz” for short — that is shipwrecked on an uninhabited island and must learn to adapt to the harsh surroundings, gradually building relationships with the animals on the island and becoming the adoptive parent of an orphaned gosling. [September 20]
Moana 2
After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced. [November 27]
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
More than two hundred years before the events of THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, the King of Rohan, Helm Hammerhand, must defend his lands from vicious attacks by men called the Dunlendings. This anime explores an unseen chapter in Middle-Earth's history, and features the voices of Brian Cox and Miranda Otto. [December 13]
We'll have more movies for kids and families in the months to come!
All images courtesy of Universal Pictures.