(Updated 10/10/2024)
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 several Disney movies, including MOANA 2 and Pixar's ELIO, and the wild and weird DOGMAN from DreamWorks Animation. There's more coming later in the year, too, and into 2025. 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
Piece by Piece
Piece by Piece is a unique cinematic experience that invites audiences on a vibrant journey through the life of cultural icon Pharrell Williams. Told through the lens of LEGO® animation, turn up the volume on your imagination and witness the evolution of one of music's most innovative minds.
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. Read more about THE WILD ROBOT here.
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. Read more about TRANSFORMERS ONE here.
Animated Movies Coming to Movie Theatres Soon
And there's more to come this year and into 2024!
Hitpig!
Hitpig (Jason Sudeikis) is a clever pig who makes a living catching escaped animals and returning them to their owners. His next job is his biggest yet: return a dancing elephant named Pickles (Lilly Singh) to a maniacal Vegas showman (Rainn Wilson), for a million bucks. When the mission goes sideways, Hitpig must realize that no amount of money is worth losing his newfound friends. [November 1]
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. Read more about MOANA 2 here. [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. Read more about THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM here. [December 13]
Mufasa: The Lion King
New Lion King Movie MUFASA: THE LION KING enlists Rafiki to relay the legend of Mufasa to young lion cub Kiara, daughter of Simba and Nala, with Timon and Pumbaa lending their signature schtick. Told in flashbacks, the story introduces Mufasa as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka—the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of an extraordinary group of misfits searching for their destiny—their bonds will be tested as they work together to evade a threatening and deadly foe. Read more about MUFASA: THE LION KING here. [December 20]
Dog Man
Part dog, part man, all hero. From DreamWorks Animation—creators of the beloved blockbuster franchises Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon and The Boss Baby—comes the canine-crime-fighting film adaptation of Dav Pilkey’s New York Times bestselling literary phenomenon: Dog Man. When a faithful police dog and his human police officer owner are injured together on the job, a harebrained but life-saving surgery fuses the two of them together and Dog Man is born. Dog Man is sworn to protect and serve—and fetch, sit and roll over. As Dog Man embraces his new identity and strives to impress his Chief (Lil Rel Howery, Get Out, Free Guy), he must stop the pretty evil plots of feline supervillain Petey the Cat (Pete Davidson; Saturday Night Live, The King of Staten Island). Petey’s latest plan is to clone himself, creating the kitten Lil Petey, to double his ability to do crime stuff. Things get complicated, though, when Lil Petey forges an unexpected bond with Dog Man. When Lil Petey falls into the clutches of a common enemy, Dog Man and Petey reluctantly join forces in an action-packed race against time to rescue the young kitten. In the process, they discover the power of family (and kittens!) to bring even the most hostile foes together. [January 31, 2025]
Elio
For centuries, people have called out to the universe looking for answers—in Disney and Pixar’s all-new movie “Elio,” the universe calls back! The original feature film introduces Elio, an underdog with an active imagination who finds himself inadvertently beamed up to the Communiverse, an interplanetary organization with representatives from galaxies far and wide. Mistakenly identified as Earth’s ambassador to the rest of the universe, and completely unprepared for that kind of pressure, Elio must form new bonds with eccentric alien lifeforms, survive a series of formidable trials and somehow discover who he is truly meant to be. Read more about ELIO here. [June 13, 2025]
The Bad Guys 2
The Bad Guys are struggling to find trust and acceptance in their newly minted lives as Good Guys, when they are pulled out of retirement and forced to do ‘one last job’ by an all-female squad of criminals. Read more about THE BAD GUYS 2 here. [August 1, 2025]
Wildwood
LAIKA’s next animated feature film is Wildwood, based on the bestselling novel written by Colin Meloy, lead singer and songwriter for The Decemberists, and illustrated by Carson Ellis. Wildwood is a tale of love, loss, sacrifice and secrets, and of the magic you can find on your doorstep, if you’re willing to look for it. Read more about WILDWOOD here. [Release Date TBA]
We'll have more movies for kids and families in the months to come!
All images courtesy of Walt Disney Animation.