2026 has been a strong year for animation, from quiet indie gems to crowd-pleasing adventures. Whether you’re watching with kids or just for yourself, this list covers the standouts. Ten films that brought something worth seeing to the screen this year.
Content
- Hoppers
- The Land of Sometimes
- Evolution
- Krølle Bølle
- GOAT
- The Pout-Pout Fish
- Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom
- Forgotten Island
- Hexed
- Pororo the Movie: Sweet Castle Adventure
Hoppers
IMDb: 7.7/10
2026, Animation, Adventure, Comedy
USA, PG
Director: Daniel Chong
Top Cast: Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm
Mabel Tanaka is a 19-year-old student and nature activist from Beaverton. She learns that her biology professor has developed a technology called Hoppers. It lets people transfer their minds into robotic animal bodies.
The mayor announces plans to build a highway through a forest clearing. Mabel transfers her mind into a robotic beaver and enters the animal world. There she meets King George. She also discovers that the mayor has planted sound devices to drive the animals from their territory.
As Mabel destroys the devices and earns the animals' trust, she accidentally sets off a chain of events. Her calls inspire the animals to plot against the mayor. When the Insect Queen dies, a new ruler rises: the vengeful and dangerous Titus.
The Land of Sometimes
IMDb: 6.0/10
2026, Animation, Family, Fantasy
UK, USA, PG
Director: Leon Joosen
Top Cast: Ewan McGregor, Helena Bonham Carter
It’s Christmas Eve. Twins Alfie and Elise are going through a hard time. Their father has gone missing in the war. The two of them have grown apart. Elise dreams of escaping reality. Alfie just wants to hide from the world.
Their mother gives them a watch their father left behind. It is no ordinary watch. It is a Wish Watch, and it grants wishes. That same night, the Wish Collector visits the twins. He offers them six wishes and takes them to the Land of Sometimes. It is a magical world where all four seasons pass in a single day.
Evolution
IMDb: 7.1/10
2026, Animation, Comedy, Fantasy
Spain, PG
Director: Julio Soto Gurpide
Top Cast: Hodeia Macua, Jaione Insausti, Yannick Vergara
Zoe is a girl with a collection of exotic pets: a rabbit, a wombat, and a small loris. One day, an alien substance accidentally mixes her DNA with her animals' DNA. The animals can now speak and think like humans. Zoe gains animal superpowers: enormous strength, speed, and sharp wolf fangs. People start turning into animals. Animals start turning into people.
This unlikely team must work together to stop a mad scientist and save the world from disaster.
Krølle Bølle
IMDb: 6.8/10
2026, Animation, Family, Fantasy
Denmark
Director: Jan Rahbek
Top Cast: Rasmus Botoft, Ava Elizabeth Knox Martin
Krølle Bølle is a mischievous troll. He lives underground on the Danish island of Bornholm with his family and other trolls. Life below is full of joy: bat rides and cave parties. But not everything is carefree. Strict rules govern their world. The most important rule: never go to the surface. Humans are dangerous. Then one day, Krølle hears a suspicious noise from above. Unable to resist, he sneaks into the human world.
GOAT
IMDb: 6.9/10
2026, Animation, Action, Adventure
USA, PG
Director: Tyree Dillihay
Top Cast: Caleb McLaughlin, Gabrielle Union, Aaron Pierre
Will Harris is a young American pygmy goat with a big dream: to become a professional roarball player. Roarball is a rough contact sport for animals, similar to basketball. Since childhood, Will has idolized Jett Fillmore, the star black panther from the Vineland Thorns.
Will works at a diner and trains alone. Then a video of his incredible moves goes online and goes viral. He joins a team. But in time, the team falls apart. Will uncovers a betrayal and brings everyone back together.
The Pout-Pout Fish
IMDb: 6.4/10
2026, Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Australia, USA, PG
Directors: Ricard Cussó, Rio Harrington
Top Cast: Nick Offerman, Nina Oyama, Miranda Otto
Mr. Fish is a grumpy, reclusive reef dweller. He lives in an old sunken ship. His life is dull and predictable. Then a baby sea dragon bursts into his home. She mistakes the ship for a junkyard and starts hauling things away. They argue so badly that both homes collapse. But neither of them plans to rebuild. Together, they set off to find Shimmer, a legendary fish who can grant wishes.
Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom
2026, Animation, Comedy, Family
UK
Directors: Steve Cox, Matthew Walker
Top Cast: Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Kate Harbour
Mr. Fish is a grumpy, reclusive reef dweller. He lives in an old sunken ship. His life is dull and predictable. Then a baby sea dragon bursts into his home. She mistakes the ship for a junkyard and starts hauling things away. They argue so badly that both homes collapse. But neither of them plans to rebuild. Together, they set off to find Shimmer, a legendary fish who can grant wishes.
Forgotten Island
2026, Animation, Adventure, Comedy
USA
Directors: Joel Crawford, Januel Mercado
Top Cast: H.E.R., Liza Soberano, Dave Franco
The movie is set in the Philippines, the 1990s. Jo and Raissa have been best friends since childhood. They have sworn never to part. But life has other plans. Raissa’s parents insist on moving to the United States. The girls spend their last evening together, trying not to think about the goodbye ahead. Then they stumble upon a mysterious portal. It takes them to a magical island called Nakali. Only creatures from Filipino mythology live there. On the island, they meet a shapeshifter who becomes their companion. Together, they learn a terrifying truth: the only way home is to give up every memory of their friendship.
Hexed
2026, Animation, Adventure, Comedy
USA
Directors: Jason Hand, Fawn Veerasunthorn (co-director: Josie Trinidad)
Top Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Rashida Jones, Jim Hanks
Hexed comes out in November 2026. It is well worth the wait.
Billie Doe has always felt different. Her mother Alice is the opposite: composed, careful, and always in control. The two struggle to get along. Billie has never felt magical. But her powers refuse to stay hidden.
She escapes her quiet suburb and finds herself in a vast witch kingdom called Hexe. The world she never knew existed turns out to be far more complex and dangerous than it looks.
Pororo the Movie: Sweet Castle Adventure
2026, Animation, Adventure, Family
South Korea
Director: Cheon Yu-rim
Top Cast: Lee Sun, Lee Mi-ja, Kim Hyun-ji
Pororo and his friends are getting ready for a Christmas party. Then an unexpected message arrives from Santa Claus himself. He asks them to deliver special toppings to the Queen of the Sweet Kingdom. The mission seems simple. Then the evil witch Bunny appears. With one wave of her hand, she turns Poby and Petty into dolls. The others barely escape.
When they find Santa, they discover he is under a curse too. He is now a snowman. Despite their fear, the small band presses on to the castle with Pororo in the lead. But the closer they get, the more obstacles appear.
