If you’ve already watched every cartoon with your kids and are wondering what to put on next — this list might just save the day. Here are 10 of the freshest, most exciting animated films from 2023 that are absolutely worth checking out.
Content
- Robocar Poli: Adventures in the Desert
- Rally Road Racers
- Robot Dreams
- Invincible: Atom Eve
- The Peasants
- Mars Express
- Nimona
- Four Souls of Coyote
- Linda veut du poulet!
- The Velveteen Rabbit
Robocar Poli: Adventures in the Desert
2023, Animation, Kids, Adventure
South Korea, Not Rated
Director: Eom Joon-yeong
Top Cast: Barrett Leddy
This animated film comes from South Korea. The brave team of Poli, the rescue car that is in Robocar Poli, head into the desert to help those people who are in trouble.
During the course of one mission, their rescue drone Droney gets caught up in a tornado and then loses his memory. While trying to help him remember who he is, the team finds him unconscious and also gives him a new name — DD.
DD has a battle to piece together all of his past. Meanwhile, the team continues saving others who are in need. However, will these true allies finish their task? Will the actual Droney return again?
Rally Road Racers
IMDb: 5.2/10
2023, Animation, Comedy, Adventure
USA, Not Rated
Director: Ross Venokur
Top Cast: Jimmy O. Yang, J.K. Simmons, Chloe Bennet
A young loris named Chi dreams about being a racer even if he’s naturally slow. Chi does that which is unthinkable when his village is threatened by the evil Archie Vainglorious. He challenges him to engage in a race across the Silk Road.
Chi’s victory guarantees the village’s survival. If not, it’s gone.
Chi trains hard using help from Gnash, faces tough challenges, a retired racer and skilled mechanic, and learns that sometimes heart matters more than speed.
Robot Dreams
IMDb: 7.6/10
2023, Animation, Drama, Comedy
Spain, France; Not Rated
Director: Pablo Berger
Top Cast: Ivan Labanda, Tito Trifol
A lonely dog from the 1980s New York yearns for belonging. A robot friend is built because he is tired of being alone.
Their bond does grow quickly, and they do explore the city side by side. They share quiet adventures and also simple joys. However, salty air during a beach trip makes the robot rust as well as shut down.
Heartbroken, the dog must abandon him, certainly. They both are left with some memories. They also have hope for a reunion sometime in the future.
This dialogue-free film feels complete, evokes nostalgia, and offers friendship of the kind that stays with you.
Invincible: Atom Eve
IMDb: 7.6/10
2023, Animation, Superhero
USA, TV-16
Director: Haylee Herrick
Top Cast: Steven Yeun, Sandra Oh, J.K. Simmons
This special episode dives directly into an origin story for Atom Eve — better known as Samantha Wilkins.
From a young age, she discovers that manipulating matter at the atomic level is something she can do. Great power brings difficult choices, then. Samantha decides to use her gift now for good as she grapples with these questions.
A superhero enters the world, resolved to impact things. She is ready to fight crime, also to shape her destiny.
The Peasants
IMDb: 7.6/10
2023, Animation, Historical Drama
Poland, Ukraine, Serbia, Lithuania
Director: DK Welchman, Hugh Welchman
Top Cast: Kamila Urzędowska, Robert Gulaczyk, Mirosław Baka
This animated film, based on the novel by Władysław Reymont, tells the story of life in a Polish village at the end of the 19th century.
At the heart of it is Jagna — a young woman longing for freedom and love. But her desires clash with the harsh traditions and judgment of the local community.
The film is brought to life through a stunning painting technique — every scene is a hand-painted work of art, turning the story into a moving canvas of emotion and beauty.
Mars Express
IMDb: 7.5/10
2023, Animation, Sci-Fi, Thriller
France; Not Rated
Director: Jérémie Périn
Top Cast: Léa Drucker, Mathieu Amalric, Daniel Njo Lobé
In the year 2200, humanity settled down on Mars. Private detective Aline Ruby, along with her android partner Carlos Rivera, is hired for a case. It is about the case involving efforts to track down a student named Jun Zhang.
Things start in the basic instance. The circumstance soon turns bleak. Their search leads them deep within the criminal underworld of the Martian capital since tech corporations rule that place, and it features memory trafficking plus underground labs cloning human consciousness.
As the investigation unfolds, Aline and Carlos discover that Jun holds knowledge that potentially changes all of that we know of artificial intelligence.
As they get closer toward the truth, it becomes clear: this is a race to stop a revolution or survive one, not just a search for a runaway.
Nimona
IMDb: 7.5/10
2023, Animation, Action, Adventure, Fantasy
USA; PG
Director: Nick Bruno, Troy Quane
Top Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Riz Ahmed, Eugene Lee Yang
In the future, Ballister Boldheart receives honor from the kingdom since he is the first «neo-knight» not from the elite. Suddenly he’s accused of assassinating the queen at the ceremony. He didn’t commit this crime.
Ballister, branded a traitor as well as forced into hiding, meets Nimona and loses everything.
She is able to shape-shift into any object that she desires, and she is both witty and also wild. Nimona, more chaotic than even a sidekick, joins with Ballister as they seek to tear down a system that lies and also controls.
They are working on a mission together. They intend to prove that the real villain sometimes tells you who the hero is.
Four Souls of Coyote
IMDb: 7.1/10
2023, Animation, Drama, Fantasy
Hungary; Not Rated
Director: Áron Gauder
Top Cast: Karin Anglin, Clé Bennett, John Eric Bentley, Diontae Black
A group of teens from a Native American community is confronted with a difficult truth, which is that the government intends to construct a pipeline across the holy land of their ancestors.
As protests grow, as generations unite at such a resistance camp, one teen’s grandfather shares some old tribal legend — he tells of the story of creation and the coyote’s four souls.
It is not all that far from fiction. It balances humans, animals, spirits, and even the Earth itself.
Through the story, the teens view their fight differently now. They see it as not just a battle for land’s protection, but as a deeper mission to keep the world in balance, where every being matters.
Linda veut du poulet!
IMDb: 7.0/10
2023, Animation, Comedy, Family
France, Italy; Not Rated
Director: Chiara Malta, Sébastien Laudenbach
Top Cast: Mélinée Leclerc, Clotilde Hesme, Laetitia Dosch, Estéban
Paris. Paulette unfairly punishes her 8-year-old daughter, Linda, for being loud and for being impulsive and chaotic. Feeling guilty, she promises to make it up to her. Linda’s favorite dish will be pepper chicken, similar to how her late father used to make it.
A minor issue exists: each shop within the city closes from a quick walkout.
Their Parisian wild adventure thus begins — a search for one chicken taking them to a bakery, looters, and even a street pop-up disco, the black market, plus a police station.
What starts as just a simple apology turns unforgettable indeed. The adventure fills up people with such chaos, a heart, and that unexpected joy.
The Velveteen Rabbit
IMDb: 6.8/10
2023, Animation, Family, Fantasy
UK; G
Director: Jennifer Perrott, Rick Thiele
Top Cast: Phoenix Laroche, Alex Lawther, Helena Bonham Carter
Seven-year-old William’s home exists in early 20th-century England. One Christmas, he received a plush rabbit, which is a simple toy. Yet, something regarding the rabbit feels different.
The boy and his rabbit develop a deep bond through loneliness, imagination, and play. But still, the question remains: can a toy be real?
The rabbit is swept into a magical world straight out of an Alice in Wonderland dream, as it encounters a wise Horse, a cheerful Toy Room Fairy, together with other living toys.
William falls ill with scarlet fever. For its safety, the rabbit is taken away so it can be burned… or so it seems.
This is a tender and timeless story about love and loss and magic that turns ordinary things into real things in a quiet way.
