If you still think animation means films for children, a handful of titles will change your mind quickly. Animation is a medium, not a genre: it can be a war film, a thriller, a memoir or a silent fable. These seven films are the best way in, in an order that eases you up from the gentle to the heavy.

1. Flow

2024 · 8.1 TMDBFlowA solitary cat, displaced by a great flood, finds refuge on a boat with various species and must navigate the challenges of adapting to a transformed world together.

Start here. A solitary cat, displaced by a great flood, finds refuge on a boat with a handful of other animals. There is no dialogue at all, and none is missed. Gints Zilbalodis made it in 1h 25m, and it won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. It is on the Criterion Channel in the US.

2. Robot Dreams

2023 · 8.0 TMDBRobot DreamsA lonely dog's friendship with his robot companion takes a sad turn when an unexpected malfunction forces him to abandon Robot at the beach. Will Dog ever meet Robot again?

Another film with no spoken words, and an even gentler heart. A lonely dog builds a friendship with a robot, and a malfunction on a beach pulls them apart. Pablo Berger's film is set in 1980s New York, runs 1h 42m, and was nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Have tissues ready. It is on Hulu.

3. Spirited Away

2001 · 8.5 TMDBSpirited AwayA young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.

The bridge between "family film" and "great film". A girl called Chihiro is trapped in a world of spirits and has to free her parents. Hayao Miyazaki's masterpiece runs 2h 5m, won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, and is still among the highest-rated films on this list at 8.5. It is on HBO Max.

4. Wolf Children

2012 · 8.2 TMDBWolf ChildrenAfter her werewolf lover unexpectedly dies in an accident, a woman must find a way to raise the son and daughter that she had with him. However, their inheritance of their father's traits prove to be a challenge for her.

Mamoru Hosoda's film begins with a love story and turns into something rarer: a portrait of a single mother raising two children who are half wolf. It is warm, funny and quietly devastating about how fast children grow up. It runs 1h 57m and is on HBO Max.

5. Persepolis

2007 · 7.9 TMDBPersepolisIn 1970s Iran, Marjane 'Marji' Satrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family of a long dream being fulfilled of the hated Shah's defeat in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. However as Marji grows up, she witnesses first hand how the new Iran, now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, has become a repressive tyranny on its own.

Marjane Satrapi's own childhood in 1970s Iran, told in stark, largely black-and-white drawings, directed with Vincent Paronnaud. It is funny, political and personal at once, and it runs a tight 1h 35m. Proof that animation can carry a memoir as well as any live-action film.

6. Perfect Blue

1998 · 8.3 TMDBPerfect BlueRising pop star Mima Kirigoe quits singing to pursue a career as an actress. After she takes up a role on a popular detective show, her handlers and collaborators begin turning up murdered. Harboring feelings of guilt and haunted by visions of her former self, Mima's reality and fantasy meld into a frenzied paranoia.

Satoshi Kon's thriller about a pop star turned actress who is haunted by someone who might be herself. It is the film to watch when you want animation to be unsettling. At 1h 21m it is short, intense and best seen with the lights low. It is on HBO Max.

7. Grave of the Fireflies

1988 · 8.5 TMDBGrave of the FirefliesIn the final months of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his sister Setsuko are orphaned when their mother is killed during an air raid in Kobe, Japan. After a falling out with their aunt, they move into an abandoned bomb shelter. With no surviving relatives and their emergency rations depleted, Seita and Setsuko struggle to survive.

Save this one for last, and know what you are choosing. Isao Takahata's story of two siblings in the last months of the Second World War is one of the saddest films ever made, and one of the most important. It runs 1h 29m and is on Netflix in the US. Watch it when you have the evening to yourself.

A simple order

Begin with Flow and Robot Dreams for wonder, move to Spirited Away and Wolf Children for warmth, then Persepolis and Perfect Blue for something sharper. Grave of the Fireflies is for when you are ready.

Looking for more? The best animated films of all time goes deeper, the shelf of Japanese cinema covers Miyazaki, Hosoda and Kon in context, and our guide to the best animated films of 2026 so far keeps you current. Log what you watch in your film diary.