We’ve got a first look at the upcoming Netflix animated movies following the streaming service’s Academy Award win for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio and acquisition of Animal Logic. The nine Netflix animated movies will be released over the next 18 months.
Highlights include two new feature films coming in 2024: Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie and In Your Dreams, as well as an ensemble voice cast announcement for the summer 2023 release, Nimona.
Netflix’s 2023-2024 Feature Animation Slate can be found below. These movies join Netflix’s growing portfolio of animated films, which has garnered seven Oscar nominations for Best Animated Feature, the most of any individual animation studio since its inception in 2018.
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UPCOMING NETFLIX ANIMATED MOVIES
NIMONA (Summer 2023)
This summer, Netflix will release Nimona, directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane and based on the bestselling graphic novel by ND Stevenson. Nimona follows Ballister Boldheart, a knight framed for a crime he didn’t commit, and the titular shapeshifter who sets out to help him prove his innocence.
Netflix today confirmed joining the film’s previously announced cast members Chloë Grace Moretz (Nimona), Riz Ahmed (Ballister Boldheart) and Eugene Lee Yang (Ambrosius Goldenloin) are supporting cast members Frances Conroy, Lorraine Toussaint, Beck Bennett, RuPaul Charles, Indya Moore, Julio Torres and Sarah Sherman.
Synopsis: When a knight in a futuristic medieval world is framed for a crime he didn’t commit, the only one who can help him prove his innocence is Nimona — a mischievous teen who happens to be a shapeshifting creature he’s sworn to destroy.
Directors: Nick Bruno & Troy Quane
Producers: Karen Ryan, p.g.a; Julie Zackary, p.g.a.; Roy Lee
Screenplay: Robert L. Baird and Lloyd Taylor
Story: Robert L. Baird, Lloyd Taylor, Pamela Ribon, Marc Haimes, Nick Bruno, Troy Quane, Keith Bunin
Based Upon the Graphic Novel by: ND Stevenson
Executive Producers: Megan Ellison, Robert L. Baird, Andrew Millstein, John Powers Middleton
Production Company: Annapurna Animation
Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Riz Ahmed, Eugene Lee Yang, Frances Conroy, Lorraine Toussaint, Beck Bennett, RuPaul Charles, Indya Moore, Julio Torres, and Sarah Sherman
THE MONKEY KING (Summer 2023)
Synopsis: The Monkey King is an action-packed family comedy that follows a charismatic Monkey and his magical fighting Stick on an epic quest for victory over 100 demons, an eccentric Dragon King, and Monkey’s greatest foe of all – his own ego!
Along the way, a young village girl challenges his self-centered attitude and shows him that even the smallest pebble can have a big effect on the world.
Director: Anthony Stacchi (The Boxtrolls)
Producer: Peilin Chou
Executive Producer: Stephen Chow
Cast: Jimmy O. Yang, Bowen Yang, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, Jo Koy, Ron Yuan, Hoon Lee, Stephanie Hsu, Andrew Pang, Andrew Kishino, Jodi Long, James Sie, and BD Wong
LEO (Fall 2023)
Synopsis: Actor and comedian Adam Sandler (Hotel Transylvania, The Wedding Singer) delivers signature laughs in this coming-of-age animated musical comedy about the last year of elementary school – as seen through the eyes of a class pet. Jaded 74-year-old lizard Leo (Sandler) has been stuck in the same Florida classroom for decades with his terrarium-mate turtle (Bill Burr).
When he learns he only has one year left to live, he plans to escape to experience life on the outside but instead gets caught up in the problems of his anxious students – including an impossibly mean substitute teacher. It ends up being the strangest but most rewarding bucket list ever…
Directors: Robert Smigel, Robert Marianetti, David Wachtenheim
Producer: Happy Madison
Cast: Adam Sandler, Bill Burr, Cecily Strong, Jason Alexander, Rob Schneider, Sadie Sandler, Sunny Sandler, Jackie Sandler, Heidi Gardner, Nick Swardson, Nicholas Turturro, Robert Smigel, Jo Koy, and Stephanie Hsu
CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET (Fall 2023)
Synopsis: From the multi Academy and BAFTA award-winning Aardman (Creature Comforts, Wallace & Gromit, and Shaun the Sheep), and Academy Award and BAFTA-nominated director Sam Fell (ParaNorman and Flushed Away, respectively), comes Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, the eagerly anticipated sequel to the beloved and highest-grossing stop-motion animated film of all time, Chicken Run.
Having pulled off a death-defying escape from Tweedy’s farm, Ginger has finally found her dream — a peaceful island sanctuary for the whole flock, far from the dangers of the human world. When she and Rocky hatch a little girl called Molly, Ginger’s happy ending seems complete.
But back on the mainland the whole of chicken-kind faces a new and terrible threat. For Ginger and her team, even if it means putting their own hard-won freedom at risk — this time, they’re breaking in!
Director: Sam Fell
Story: Karey Kirkpatrick & John O’ Farrell
Screenplay: Karey Kirkpatrick & John O’ Farrell and Rachel Tunnard
Producers: Steve Pegram, Leyla Hobart
Executive Producers: Peter Lord, Nick Park, Carla Shelley, Paul Kewley, Karey Kirkpatrick
Cast: Thandiwe Newton, Zachary Levi, Bella Ramsey, Imelda Staunton, Lynn Ferguson, David Bradley, Jane Horrocks, Romesh Ranganathan, Daniel Mays, Josie Sedgwick-Davies, and Nick Mohammed
IN YOUR DREAMS (2024)
Synopsis: A perfect family? Siblings who get along? Yeah… in your dreams. This is a comedy adventure about Stevie and her brother Elliot who magically travel into the world of dreams with the mission of finding The Sandman who will grant them their ultimate wish — saving their parents’ marriage.
The kids are total opposites, making them an unlikely duo to navigate the absurdity of their own subconscious. Along their journey, they discover that as long as they have each other, they can face anything, even their worst nightmare.
Director: Alex Woo
Co-Director: Erik Benson
Producers: Gregg Taylor, Tim Hahn
SAVING BIKINI BOTTOM: THE SANDY CHEEKS MOVIE (2024)
Synopsis: When Bikini Bottom and all its denizens are suddenly scooped out of the ocean, Sandy Cheeks and SpongeBob SquarePants journey to Texas to save the town from a villainous plot.
Director: Liza Johnson (The Last of Us, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Dead to Me)
Teleplay: Kaz and Tom Stern
Story: Kaz
Based on: The series SpongeBob SquarePants, created by Stephen Hillenburg
Executive Producers: Marc Ceccarelli, Vincent Waller
Animation Supervisor: Piero Piluso
Music: Moniker
Music Supervisor: Karyn Rachtman
Cast: Carolyn Lawrence, Tom Kenny, Wanda Sykes, Clancy Brown, Bill Fagerbakke, Mr. Lawrence, Rodger Bumpass, Johnny Knoxville, Craig Robinson, Grey DeLisle, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino, and Matty Cardarople
THAT CHRISTMAS (2024)
Synopsis: Based on the successful series of children’s books by BAFTA winner and Academy Award nominee Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually, Yesterday), Locksmith Animation’s heartwarming film marks the feature film directorial debut of renowned character animation and story artist veteran Simon Otto (Love, Death & Robots, How to Train Your Dragon trilogy).
That Christmas follows a series of entwined tales about love and loneliness, family and friends, and Santa Claus making a big mistake, not to mention an enormous number of turkeys! Nicole P. Hearon (Moana, Frozen) and Adam Tandy (The Thick of It, Detectorists) are producers.
Director: Simon Otto
Producer: Nicole P. Hearon, Adam Tandy
Writer: Richard Curtis
THELMA THE UNICORN (2024)
Synopsis: Thelma is a small-time pony who dreams of becoming a glamourous music star. In a pink and glitter-filled moment of fate, Thelma is transformed into a unicorn and instantly rises to global stardom.
But this new life of fame comes at a cost. Thelma the Unicorn is a hilarious, quirky and heartfelt ride from directors Lynn Wang (Unikitty!) and Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite).
Directors: Jared Hess, Lynn Wang
Producer: Pam Coats
ULTRAMAN (2024)
Synopsis: Based on the beloved Japanese character, Netflix’s Ultraman follows baseball superstar Ken Sato as he returns to his home country of Japan to pick up the mantle of Earth-defending superhero Ultraman. He soon finds more than he bargained for when he’s forced to raise the offspring of his greatest foe.
Ken must go on a heroic journey, balancing parenthood, his estranged father, and the relentless Kaiju Defense Force to rise beyond his ego and discover what it truly means to be Ultraman.
Director: Shannon Tindle (Lost Ollie)
Co-Director: John Aoshima
Written by: Shannon Tindle, Marc Haimes
Producers: Tom Knott, Lisa Poole
Production Company: Tsuburaya Productions, Industrial Light and Magic (ILM)
Mirko Parlevliet has been reporting on the entertainment industry since 1998 and founded Vital Thrills in 2018 to cover the latest news on streaming, movies, TV, and video games.