Welcome to the grand finale of our animated movie rewind! We’re now diving into the latter half of the 2010s and the dawn of a new decade. This post is your ultimate, complete guide to the animated movies from 2016 to 2020. This was an era of stunning innovation, where animation styles were shattered and rebuilt by films like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and streaming services like Netflix became major players with instant classics like Klaus.
Catch Up on the Full Story So Far! ⏪ - The Ultimate Guide to Every 90s Animated Movie (1990-1999) - The Ultimate Guide to Every 2000s Animated Movie (2000-2009) - The Ultimate Guide to 2010s Animated Movies (Part 1: 2010-2015)
We journeyed far beyond the horizon, remembered our ancestors, and explored what it truly means to have a soul. The best animated movies from 2016-2020 weren’t just films; they were groundbreaking works of art that pushed the medium forward. ✨ So let’s dive into the final, unabridged list of every film you asked for and celebrate the incredible creativity of modern animation! ---
🌊 2016: How Far We’ll Go!
| Film Title | IMDb Rating | Genre | Studio Name | Awesome Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zootopia | 8.0/10 | Adventure, Comedy | Walt Disney | A brilliant buddy-cop mystery with a powerful message. Anyone can be anything! 🦊🐰 |
| Moana | 7.6/10 | Adventure, Musical | Walt Disney | A breathtaking journey across the ocean with an amazing soundtrack. You’re welcome! ⛵️🌊 |
| Kubo and the Two Strings | 7.8/10 | Action, Adventure | Laika | A visually stunning and deeply moving stop-motion masterpiece. An absolute work of art. 🎶❤️ |
| Finding Dory | 7.3/10 | Adventure, Comedy | Pixar | The forgetful blue tang gets her own heartwarming story about finding her family. 🐙🐠 |
| Sing | 7.1/10 | Comedy, Musical | Illumination | A feel-good jukebox musical about a group of animals competing in a singing competition. 🎤🐨 |
| Trolls | 6.4/10 | Adventure, Comedy | DreamWorks Animation | Can’t stop the feeling! A glitter-filled, super colorful musical adventure. ✨🎶 |
| Kung Fu Panda 3 | 7.1/10 | Action, Adventure | DreamWorks Animation | Po finally meets his father and must train a village of pandas to fight a supernatural foe. 🐼☯️ |
| Sausage Party | 6.1/10 | Comedy, Adventure | Sony / Annapurna | An R-rated, raunchy comedy about what happens when food finds out the truth. (Definitely for adults!) 🌭🚫 |
| The Angry Birds Movie | 6.3/10 | Action, Comedy | Rovio / Sony | The hit mobile game comes to the big screen, explaining why these birds are so angry! 🐦💥 |
| Storks | 6.8/10 | Adventure, Comedy | Warner Animation Group | A hilarious look at what happens when the storks get back in the baby-delivery business. 👶🐦 |
| Ice Age: Collision Course | 5.7/10 | Adventure, Comedy | Blue Sky Studios | Scrat’s pursuit of the acorn sends him into space, setting off a cosmic catastrophe! 🐿️☄️ |
| Batman: The Killing Joke | 6.4/10 | Action, Crime | Warner Bros. Animation | An R-rated, direct-to-video adaptation of the iconic, dark graphic novel. ♦️🃏 |
| Norm of the North | 3.5/10 | Adventure, Comedy | Lionsgate Animation | A polar bear who can talk to humans travels to New York to save his home. 🐻❄️🏙️ |
🎸 2017: Remember Me… and Batman!
| Film Title | IMDb Rating | Genre | Studio Name | Awesome Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coco | 8.4/10 | Adventure, Family | Pixar | A beautiful, vibrant, and deeply emotional journey into family and the Land of the Dead. Unforgettable. 💀🧡 |
| The Lego Batman Movie | 7.3/10 | Action, Comedy | Warner Animation Group | A hilarious, heartfelt, and action-packed love letter to all things Batman. Darkness! No parents! 🦇😂 |
| Despicable Me 3 | 6.2/10 | Action, Adventure | Illumination | Gru meets his long-lost, more successful twin brother, Dru. Double the trouble! GRUGRU |
| Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie | 6.2/10 | Action, Comedy | DreamWorks Animation | A surprisingly funny and creative adaptation of the beloved book series. Tra-La-Laaa! 🩲🦸♂️ |
| The Boss Baby | 6.3/10 | Comedy, Family | DreamWorks Animation | A suit-wearing, briefcase-carrying baby is actually a secret agent. Cookies are for closers! 👶💼 |
| Ferdinand | 6.7/10 | Adventure, Comedy | Blue Sky Studios | The charming story of a giant bull with a big heart who’d rather smell flowers than fight. 🐂🌸 |
| Cars 3 | 6.7/10 | Adventure, Comedy | Pixar | A surprisingly mature story about Lightning McQueen facing a new generation of racers. 🚗💨 |
| The Lego Ninjago Movie | 6.0/10 | Action, Adventure | Warner Animation Group | The secret ninja force must defend their city from the evil warlord Garmadon. 🥋🐱 |
| Smurfs: The Lost Village | 5.9/10 | Adventure, Comedy | Sony Pictures Animation | A fully-animated reboot that’s a charming and colorful return to the classic Smurfs world. 🍄💙 |
| The Star | 6.2/10 | Adventure, Comedy | Sony Pictures Animation | The Nativity story told from the perspective of Bo the donkey and his animal friends. 🌟🐴 |
| The Emoji Movie | 3.4/10 | Adventure, Comedy | Sony Pictures Animation | An adventure inside a smartphone where a “meh” emoji tries to become normal. 📱😐 |
🕸️ 2018: A Leap of Faith into a New Universe
| Film Title | IMDb Rating | Genre | Studio Name | Awesome Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | 8.4/10 | Action, Adventure | Sony / Marvel | A visually groundbreaking, game-changing masterpiece that redefined what animation could be. What’s up, danger? 💥🎨 |
| Incredibles 2 | 7.6/10 | Action, Adventure | Pixar | The long-awaited sequel finally arrived, with Elastigirl taking the lead and Jack-Jack stealing the show! 🦸♀️👶 |
| Isle of Dogs | 7.8/10 | Adventure, Comedy | Indian Paintbrush | Wes Anderson’s stunningly detailed stop-motion film about a boy searching for his dog in Japan. 🐕🇯🇵 |
| Ralph Breaks the Internet | 7.0/10 | Adventure, Comedy | Walt Disney | Ralph and Vanellope venture into the wild world of the internet. Oh My Disney! 💻👑 |
| Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch | 6.4/10 | Comedy, Family | Illumination | Illumination’s colorful and charming take on the classic holiday tale about a grumpy green grump. 💚🎄 |
| Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation | 6.3/10 | Comedy, Family | Sony Pictures Animation | The monster pack goes on a luxury cruise for a much-needed vacation! 🚢☀️ |
| Smallfoot | 6.6/10 | Adventure, Comedy | Warner Animation Group | A yeti is convinced that the elusive creatures known as “humans” really do exist! 👣🏔️ |
| Teen Titans Go! To the Movies | 6.7/10 | Action, Comedy | Warner Bros. Animation | A hilarious and self-aware superhero movie about wanting your own superhero movie! 🦸♂️🎬 |
| Sherlock Gnomes | 5.2/10 | Adventure, Comedy | Paramount Animation | Gnomeo and Juliet enlist the help of a famous detective to solve a mystery. 🧐🍄 |
| Early Man | 6.1/10 | Adventure, Comedy | Aardman Animations | Aardman’s stop-motion tale of a caveman who must unite his tribe to save their home. ⚽️☄️ |
❄️ 2019: Into the Unknown and One Last Time to Play
| Film Title | IMDb Rating | Genre | Studio Name | Awesome Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Klaus | 8.1/10 | Adventure, Comedy | Netflix / SPA Studios | A visually stunning and heartwarming new take on the Santa Claus origin story. A true gift! 💌🎅 |
| Toy Story 4 | 7.7/10 | Adventure, Comedy | Pixar | An emotional and surprisingly deep epilogue that introduces us to Forky. I’m trash! 🍴🤠 |
| Frozen II | 6.8/10 | Adventure, Musical | Walt Disney | Elsa and Anna journey into an enchanted forest to discover the origin of Elsa’s powers. 🍂❄️ |
| How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World | 7.4/10 | Action, Adventure | DreamWorks Animation | A beautiful and bittersweet conclusion to one of the best animated trilogies ever. 🐉💔 |
| Missing Link | 6.7/10 | Adventure, Comedy | Laika | Laika’s globe-trotting stop-motion adventure is a visual marvel and Golden Globe winner! 🗺️ sasquatch |
| The Addams Family | 5.8/10 | Comedy, Family | MGM Animation | The creepy, kooky, mysterious, and spooky family gets a modern CGI makeover. 🦇🏠 |
| Abominable | 7.0/10 | Adventure, Comedy | DreamWorks / Pearl Studio | A magical journey across China to reunite a young Yeti with his family. 🎻🏔️ |
| The Secret Life of Pets 2 | 6.4/10 | Adventure, Comedy | Illumination | Max and his friends are back for more adventures when their owners are away. 🐶🐈 |
| Spies in Disguise | 6.8/10 | Action, Comedy | Blue Sky Studios | A super spy is accidentally turned into a pigeon in this fun buddy-comedy. 🕊️🕶️ |
| The Angry Birds Movie 2 | 6.4/10 | Action, Comedy | Rovio / Sony | A surprisingly hilarious sequel that sees the birds and pigs team up against a new threat. 🐦🤝🐷 |
| Playmobil: The Movie | 4.7/10 | Adventure, Comedy | On Animation Studios | A young woman must venture into the animated world of Playmobil to find her brother. 🤖🤠 |
🎷 2020: Finding the Spark in a Whole New World
| Film Title | IMDb Rating | Genre | Studio Name | Awesome Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soul | 8.0/10 | Adventure, Comedy | Pixar | A profound, beautiful, and jazzy exploration of what makes you, YOU. What’s your spark? ✨🎹 |
| Wolfwalkers | 8.0/10 | Adventure, Fantasy | Cartoon Saloon | A breathtakingly beautiful, hand-drawn masterpiece of Irish folklore. Pure magic. 🐺🎨 |
| The Mitchells vs. the Machines | 7.6/10 | Action, Comedy | Sony Pictures Animation | An outrageously funny and creative film about a dysfunctional family saving the world from robots. 🤖👨👩👧👦 |
| Onward | 7.4/10 | Adventure, Fantasy | Pixar | Two elf brothers go on a magical quest to spend one more day with their late father. 🧙♂️❤️ |
| Over the Moon | 6.3/10 | Adventure, Musical | Netflix / Pearl Studio | A girl builds a rocket to the moon to prove the existence of a legendary Moon Goddess. 🚀🌕 |
| The Willoughbys | 6.3/10 | Comedy, Family | Netflix Animation | A quirky and stylish comedy about four children who try to send their selfish parents away. 🧶👨👩👧👦 |
| The Croods: A New Age | 6.9/10 | Adventure, Comedy | DreamWorks Animation | The Croods meet a new, more “evolved” family in this hilarious sequel. 🍌🐒 |
| Trolls World Tour | 6.0/10 | Adventure, Musical | DreamWorks Animation | Poppy and Branch discover that there are other Troll tribes devoted to different kinds of music! 🎶🎸 |
| Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe | 6.8/11 | Sci-Fi, Comedy | Disney TV Animation | Candace gets abducted by aliens, and it’s up to Phineas and Ferb to save her! 👽🛸 |
| Scoob! | 5.6/10 | Adventure, Comedy | Warner Animation Group | An origin story for Mystery Inc. and a launchpad for a Hanna-Barbera cinematic universe! �🚐 |
| The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run | 6.0/10 | Adventure, Comedy | Paramount Animation | SpongeBob and Patrick go on a road trip to find his beloved pet snail, Gary. 🐌🍍 |
| Animal Crackers | 5.8/10 | Comedy, Fantasy | Netflix Animation | A family inherits a circus and a magical box of animal crackers that turns people into animals! 🎪🦁 |
And that’s our journey through modern animation! 🎬 From groundbreaking visual styles to the rise of streaming giants, this era proved that the magic of animation is constantly evolving and reaching incredible new heights. What a perfect way to cap off our ultimate animated movie rewind!
Into the Modern Era! 🚀 See the Grand Finale… - The Ultimate Guide to Modern Animation (2021-2025)
This has been an epic series! Which decade was your favorite? Let us know your final thoughts in the comments below! Thanks for coming along on this amazing ride through decades of animated brilliance! 🎉✨
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