Are You Ready for an Explosion of Animated Features in 2025?
By Movieguide® Contributor
Over 20 new animated movies are coming to screens this year.
Some look promising; others won’t be worth the investment. The movies that will be successful this year will display moral values and stray away from violence and politically correct agendas, as proven by Movieguide®’s Annual Report to the Entertainment Industry.
Here’s what we know about the upcoming animated features:
WALLACE & GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL just came out on Netflix on Jan. 3.
“The potential Oscar nominee this season (directed by franchise creator Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham) finally got its North American streaming date on Netflix,” The IndieWire reported. “It pits the obsessive, cheese-loving inventor and his canine pal against arch enemy Feathers McGraw (from “The Wrong Trousers”) in a cautionary AI comedy-adventure with an out-of-control ‘smart gnome,’ Norbot (Reece Shearsmith).”
THE COLORS WITHIN comes out on Jan. 28. Made by GKids, attendees of the 2024 Animation is Film and Annecy festivals got to see it first last year. “The acclaimed anime directed by Naoko Yamada (A SILENT VOICE), with animation by Science SARU, concerns a high school student who forms a band with the ability to see the ‘colors’ of others (bliss, excitement, serenity),” The IndieWire said.
DOG MAN, made by Universal and Dreamworks, releases on Jan. 31. A spin-off of CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS, DOG MAN is about a police officer and his pet who become fused together.
“They fight crime and must stop the evil Petey the Cat (Pete Davidson) from taking over their city. Directed by Peter Hastings (THE EPIC TALES OF CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS), who provides the vocal effects of Dog Man, the voice cast also includes Isla Fisher, Stephen Root, and Ricky Gervais,” The IndieWire reported.
A not-so-family-friendly anime movie, ATTACK ON TITAN: THE LAST ATTACK, will come out Feb. 10. It combines the last episodes of the series, ATTACK ON TITAN into a single film.
“Set in a world where humanity is confined within three colossal walls to protect themselves from giant, man-eating humanoids called Titans, the story follows Eren Yeager, a young boy who vows revenge after the Titans destroy his hometown and kill his mother,” One Esports reported.
THE WITCHER: SIRENS OF THE DEEP comes out on Netflix Feb. 11. This is the second anime movie based on THE WITCHER series. It is “about mutated monster hunter Geralt of Rivia, director Kang Hei Chul tackles an adventure in which the anti-hero investigates a series of attacks by mer-people as part of a long-standing conflict between two kingdoms,” The IndieWire reported.
Warner Bros. Animation and Ketchup Entertainment will release THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP: A LOONEY TUNES MOVIE on Feb. 28. Pete Browngardt will direct.
“Porky Pig and Daffy Duck are Earth’s only hope when facing the threat of alien invasion,” the logline reads.
NIGHT OF THE ZOOPOCALYPSE will be released on March 7. It’s directed by Ricardo Curtis and Rodrigo Perez-Castro.
“A group of animals become zombies after their zoo is hit by a meteorite,” the logline reads. “…The voice cast includes David Harbour, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, and Scott Thompson. The production companies consist of Copperheart Entertainment, House of Cool, Atelier Animation, and Mac Guff.”
Briarcliff Entertainment’s SNEAKS makes its debut on April 18. The movie features Martin Lawrence and Mustard, with direction by THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG screenwriter Rob Edwards. The storyline goes, “When a designer sneaker unwittingly finds himself lost in New York City, he must dig deep into his sole in order to rescue his sister and return to his rightful owner.”
There’s a two-month break in the animated movie run before Pixar and Disney’s ELIO releases on June 13.
“It’s about 11-year-old Elio (Yonas Kibreab), a one-eyed, alien-obsessed social misfit, who beams up to an inter-planetary paradise, where he gets mistaken as Earth’s leader,” The IndieWire said. “He has a blast making new friends while navigating an intergalactic crisis without being found out. This passion project from director Adrian Molina (COCO co-director) hit a creative snag mid-production. Chief creative officer Pete Docter replaced Molina with Shi (TURNING RED) and Sharafian (the BURROW short).”
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An untitled SMURFS movie will come out on July 18, produced by Nickelodeon and Paramount. Chris Miller from PUSS IN BOOTS will direct alongside Matt Landon.
“Rihanna voices Smurfette and is joined by an all-star voice cast, including Nick Offerman, Natasha Lyonne, Dan Levy, Amy Sedaris, Nick Kroll, James Corden, Octavia Spencer, Hannah Waddingham, Sandra Oh, Alex Winter, Billie Lourd, Kurt Russell, and John Goodman,” The Indie Wire reported.
THE BAD GUYS 2 comes out Aug. 1. The DreamWorks/Universal pic features the voices of Sam Rockwell, Zazie Beetz, Awkwafina, Anthony Ramos, Alex Borstein, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson, Lilly Singh and Richard Ayoade.
The IndieWire said, “In the comedy crime heist sequel (once again directed by Pierre Perifel with an eye-popping 2D aesthetic), the Bad Guys are pulled out of retirement by an all-female gang of criminals known as The Bad Girls.”
Another familiar gang of animals is making a comeback on Nov. 22 in ZOOTOPIA 2. Disney chief creative officer Jared Bush writes and directs. ENCANTO’s Yvette Merino will produce.
“Detectives Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) go undercover nine years later in Marsh Market in pursuit of a mysterious snake named Gary (Ke Huy Quan),” The IndieWire said. “There they encounter Nibbles the beaver (Fortune Feimster).”
THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS will release on Dec. 19. The famous talking sponge will make his fourth movie entrance via Paramount and Nickelodeon. This time, Spongebob will go head to head with “the legendary Flying Dutchman.”
Another animated pic not intended for families, DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA INFINITY CASTLE, will come out in 2025, but its release date is to be determined. The IndieWire shared the synopsis: “Infinity Castle is the setting for the impending all-out war between the Demon Slayer Corps and demonic leader Muzan Kibutsuji in the first of a trilogy that represents the final arc of the hugely popular and award-winning anime shonen series.”
Netflix will eventually release LOST IN STARLIGHT, release date to be determined. “Produced by Climax Studio and directed by Korean animation director Han Ji-won, this cosmic love story between astronaut Nan-young and musician Jay bridges Earth and Mars,” The Indie Wire reported. “It features the voices of K-drama stars Kim Tae-ri and Hong Kyung.”
Sony Pictures Classics will release the hand-drawn animation THE MAGNIFICENT LIFE OF MARCEL PAGNOL on an unknown date. Writer and director Sylvain Chomet centers the story around Pagnol, a 60-year-old man who comes across his younger self. The young Pagnol helps him discover his greatest happiness and sorrows.
Nickelodeon is coming out with another Bikini Bottom adventure, PLANKTON: THE MOVIE, on an unknown date. “The second of three “SpongeBob” spin-offs finds the villainous green Plankton (Mr. Lawrence) totally confused when his plans for world domination are thwarted. Dave Needham directs a script by Kaz, Chris Viscardi, and Lawrence. The voice cast includes Lawrence, Jill Talley, Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Carolyn Lawrence, and Clancy Brown.” The movie will stream on Netflix.
Netflix and Skydance Animation are teaming up to make POOKOO, release date to be announced. The movie is directed by Nathan Greno, known for his work in TANGLED. It’s about a lowly woodland creature and a regal bird who swap places — igniting an exciting adventure.
Netflix will display yet another feature, THE TWITS, with an unknown release date. The movie is based on Roald Dahl’s book of the same name. The story, directed by Phil Johnston, finds “mean, nasty, and smelly Mr. and Mrs. Twit running an idiotic amusement park, but a brave group of orphans and magical animals team up to thwart them,” The Indie Wire said. “Jellyfish Pictures did the appropriately odd-looking animation. The voice cast features Margo Martindale, Johnny Vegas, Natalie Portman and Emilia Clarke.”
WILDWOOD, produced by Laika, the same company behind CORALINE, will also come out on an unknown date. It’s an adaptation of Colin Meloy’s YA book of the same name. “It concerns 13-year-old Prue (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) on a quest to find her younger brother in the eponymous forest,” The Indie Wire said. The cast includes Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina and Angela Bassett.
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