Selection
Animated movies for adults
Animation that leaves no room for “it’s just for kids”.
Animation stopped being a children’s genre a long time ago. These are feature-length animated films made for adult audiences: anime, auteur and experimental animation, graphic novels brought to the screen. Stories about memory, war, loneliness and dreams — the kind that would be hard or impossible to shoot in live action. Animation genre only, IMDb 7 and up.
Results
Frequently asked
- What are good animated movies for adults?
- Feature-length anime and European auteur animation are the best place to start: both tend to talk to adults about adult things, without simplifying and without shock for its own sake. The films at the top of this list come from those two traditions.
- Does “for adults” mean explicit?
- No — it means complexity rather than a rating. The themes, tone and visual language are aimed at grown-ups. Some of these films are harsh, though, so think twice before watching with children.
Related selections
All selections- Smart science fictionContemplative, visually exact — and no superheroes.
- Artificial intelligence moviesMachines that start to think — and what follows.
- Space moviesMissions, stations, distant planets and loneliness in orbit.
- Time travel moviesLoops, paradoxes and attempts to fix the past.
- Mind-bending moviesDifficult films you have to assemble yourself.
- Movies with a plot twistThe last ten minutes rearrange everything.