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10 Greatest Animated Movie Masterpieces of the 21st Century, Ranked

Chihiro from Spirited Away in front of posters of Klaus and Spiderman Into the SpiderverseCustom Image by Vanessa Piña

By Vanessa Piña Published Mar 1, 2026, 9:15 PM EST

Vanessa Piña has been a freelance writer for the ScreenRant anime section since 2024. As a senior writer, she focuses on timely coverage of the latest anime releases and updates on popular franchises.

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Animation has infinite potential to tell any kind of story imaginable, and the medium has undergone many changes and reinventions in the 21st century, resulting in movie masterpieces that have been etched in viewers' memories forever. However, among the vast number of animated feature films released after 2001, some have stood out for their visual quality and stories with universal appeal.

While it's impossible to summarize the essential animated titles of the century in just 10, among the releases from Disney, DreamWorks, Sony, and the anime industry, there are gems that deserve recognition. Whether for their incredible visuals, innovative stories, or lasting impact, these are some of the best animated films of the 21st century that deserve to be considered masterpieces.

10 How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

Hiccup and Astrid ride dragons toward the camera in an image from How to Train Your Dragon

Based on the books by Cressida Cowell, How to Train Your Dragon follows the story of Hiccup, a weakling boy who doesn't quite fit in with the Viking passions of his dragon-hunting village. However, more than just an epic coming-of-age adventure, it feels like a vivid display of imagination, brimming with spectacular visuals and character development.

Exploring themes of identity, loss, and the weight of choices, How to Train Your Dragon blends action in a way that conveys emotion, showcasing the bond between Hiccup and Toothless, along with dynamic flight sequences and breathtaking landscapes. It's impossible for viewers not to be moved by Hiccup's growth, cementing its place as one of the best animated franchises of recent decades.

9 Flow (2024)

A cat on a boat looking up in wonder at the ruins around it in Flow

In an era where viewers are constantly bombarded with information, it's extremely difficult for a dialogue-free film to connect with a wide audience, but Flow has achieved this brilliantly. Flow feels like a journey to understand the world and leaves much open to interpretation, but that's what makes it enjoyable for people of all ages and a worthy winner of an Academy Award.

The story of Flow is quite simple: it follows a black cat in a world where people seem to have vanished, and the social infrastructure has collapsed. However, the scenery and animated sequences by Latvian are simply exceptional, from the ripples and droplets to the realistic animal movements, which convey the characters' emotions through their actions and subtle expressions.

8 Up! (2009)

Revolving around an elderly man who embarks on an adventure to fulfill his late wife's dream, Up became one of Pixar's best works for how it delves into how aging and mourning feel. While the opening scene of Up became essential to any discussion of the film, it's not the only part that managed to evoke emotions in the audience.

Up's animators crafted a stunning world with a vibrant color palette, capturing the magnificence of nature, and with believable, empathetic characters and a top-notch soundtrack. But while Up is a funny and bittersweet story, beneath its children's film exterior lies the reality of the search for connection among lonely people. Subsequently, Up has secured its place in the history of animation.

7 Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Mr. Fox standing in front of the other animals in a tunnel in Fantastic Mr. Fox

A stop-motion animated film directed by Wes Anderson, Fantastic Mr. Fox tells the story of a fox who steals from a farm and faces consequences for his family. From the primal instincts that drive Mr. Fox to rediscover his old ways and steal to the overlapping and somewhat selfish ideals of his youth, viewers have much to discover in the film.

Fantastic Mr. Fox feels like a unique work, like a moving picture book, with intelligent and scathing humor and without the moralizing lesson typical of animated films. The movie is full of wit and eloquence, with profound sequences that will stay with the viewer, making Fantastic Mr. Fox an instant classic that never gets old.

6 Klaus (2019)

Poster for Klaus featuring the main characters.

Sergio Pablo's Klaus tells the origin story of Santa Claus that viewers didn't know they needed. Following the message that altruistic actions can move people's hearts, Klaus isn't about how the figure of Santa Claus spread throughout the world, but about how he began bringing joy to others, showing how a group of very different characters undergo a positive change.

Klaus is also a story of redemption that explores serious real-life issues such as loneliness and conflict between two tribes. But what has truly sealed Klaus' status as a masterpiece and a modern Christmas classic is its high artistic quality, taking traditional hand-drawn animation to another level by giving it a three-dimensional feel.

5 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

Miles Morales using his spider sense in Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse showcases the potential of animation by combining multiple elements at once, giving viewers the feeling of being tossed around, but still being like a breath of fresh air compared to other Spider-Man adaptations and becoming an ode to comic books.

Miles Morales looking unsure in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse

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It's easy to get swept away by the soundtrack, the colorful and psychedelic sequences, and the solid, funny, and emotional story that offers an immersive experience for the audience. However, where the Miles Morales story truly shines is in the balance of different animation styles.

The film masterfully depicts sound effects as text, features a pointillist art style that looks like a color print, backgrounds that reflect the characters' emotions, and realistic fluid movements. Likewise, the unique designs that represent the dimensions the characters come from manage to fit together naturally, leaving no doubt that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is an animated work of art.

4 Millennium Actress (2001)

The official poster art for Millenium actress, depicting the main character standing in front of different versions of herself throughout time.

From the innovative director Satoshi Kon, Millennium Actress feels very different from Perfect Blue, but it's also an unmissable visual spectacle. Millennium Actress is a love letter to cinema, paying numerous homages to the golden age of Japanese cinema in the form of a long journey through different historical periods and film genres.

The film mixes memories, the present, and fiction, featuring an interview about the life of actress Chiyoko Fujiwara, the films she has starred in, and her search for a lost love. Furthermore, the way Millennium Actress plays with camera angles to merge realities is breathtaking and a feat only a genius like Satoshi Kon could achieve.

3 Wall-E (2008)

WALL-E in space

Wall-E has gone down in history as more than just a story with an environmental message, showing how robots can understand love better than humans. Wall-E presents an Earth where destruction and environmental issues have made human survival impossible, depicting the fateful encounter between a garbage collector who falls in love with an advanced exploration robot.

Although both main characters are almost entirely nonverbal, Wall-E's clear facial expressions, gestures, and humorous movements make its emotions palpable, creating a universal love story that transcends language and technology. In addition to bearing Pixar's signature quality, Wall-E offers viewers much to reflect on, remaining just as relevant almost 18 years after its release.

2 The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013)

Based on "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter," The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is the final work of Ghibli's Isao Takahata and one of the greatest anime films of all time that won't fail to pull viewers' heartstrings. The film is introspective, slow, and emotional and seeks to portray the feelings of Princess Kaguya more in-depth than the original story.

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Despite having many soft scenes, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya has striking moments full of raw intensity, perfectly conveyed by its marvelous hand-drawn illustrations that look like watercolor paintings and also transmit the beautiful nature of the seasons and passage of time.

1 Spirited Away (2003)

Chihiro on the train in Spirited Away

The magnum opus of Hayao Miyazaki, Spirited Away remains unsurpassed as one of the best pieces of animation in history. A coming-of-age story following Chihiro's struggles after ending up in the spirit realm, having to work in a bathhouse to help her parents, the film is filled with symbolism, making it perfect to rewatch again and again and discover new details.

With many nods to Japanese folklore and iconic characters like No-Face, Spirited Away is a journey of self-discovery with incredible sensitivity and subtle scenes that convey thousands of emotions even without dialogue, just like Chihiro's train sequence. An unparalleled gem and the epitome of Studio Ghibli, Spirited Away is the best animated film of the 21st century so far.

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Spirited Away

10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed PG Animation Family Fantasy Release Date July 20, 2001 Runtime 125 minutes Director Hayao Miyazaki Writers Hayao Miyazaki