Top 20 Animated Movies in the 2000’s

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Updated on: Educator Review By: Michelle Connolly

Animated movies have a special place in everyone’s heart, from the storyline to the music to the characters you grow attached to or even the music that gets stuck in your head!

The question is, what do you like to do for fun in your spare time? If watching movies is your answer, you’ve come to the right place. Not just any movies, but animation movies! I mean, who doesn’t enjoy animated movies?

Animation movies started in the 1900s, and since then, there has been a library of animation movies, and they are not only made for young adults or children; even adults love watching animated movies. 

Let’s Look at the Top 20 Animated Movies Based on the Viewers’ Ratings:

20. Madagascar (2005)

Duration: 1 hour and 26 minutes

Genre: Family/Comedy 

Age: PG

IMDB Score: 6.9

We’ve all heard the song “I like to move it move it, you like to move it!” and it’s no surprise that it came from this animated film. The film follows the story of animals who used to live in the New York City Zoo but now find themselves in the wild, deep within Madagascar’s jungle, and you get to follow their journey as they try to adapt to their new surroundings.

19. Spirit: Stallion of the CImarron (2002)

Duration: 1 hour and 23 minutes

Genre: Family/Adventure

Age: G

IMDB Score: 7.1

For the horse lovers out there, once you get to watch the movie, you will find it hard not to watch it again. This animated film is about a horse, a wild stallion, who is captured by humans and tried to tame through training, but he refuses and simply does not accept humans. Nevertheless, he continues to fight for his freedom and never gives up hope of rejoining his herd.

18. The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004)

Duration: 1 hour and 27 minutes

Genre: Adventure/Family

Age: PG

IMDB Score: 7.1

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? If you shouted SPONGE BOB SQUARE PANTS, you’ve guessed it right! The cartoon series inspired this animated film, and it’s about SpongeBob trying to find King Neptune’s stolen crown; he has to leave his hometown of ‘Bikini Bottom’ to begin his search for the crown.

17. Chicken Run (2000)

Duration: 1 hour and 24 minutes

Genre: Comedy/Family

Age: G

IMDB Score: 7.1

Chicken run is a stop-motion animated movie about evil owners who have a chicken farm, and when a cockerel shows up at the farm, the chickens believe he is their chance to get away from their farm.

16. The Princess and the Frog (2009)

Duration: 1 hour and 37 minutes

Genre: Family/Musical

Age: G

IMDB Score: 7.1

A musical animated film that will make you want to dance and sing along. Prince Naveen is turned into a frog, and the only way to break the spell and turn back is a true love’s kiss. His true love is a waitress who dreams of owning her own restaurant. What would happen if she kissed the frog prince?

15. Cars (2006)

Duration: 1 hour and 57 minutes

Genre: Family/Comedy 

Age: G

IMDB Score: 7.2

Remember, kids. “Float like a Cadillac, sting like a Beemer,” as the famous saying from the animated movie cars goes. Lightning McQueen is on his way to a once-in-a-lifetime car race, but will he arrive? Instead, he gets lost and begins to have new findings about life, realising that life is more than just winning races; there is way more to life than that.

14. The Simpsons Movie (2007)

Duration: 1 hour and 27 minutes

Genre: Comedy/Animation

Age: PG-13

IMDB Score: 7.3

We all know the famous pink doughnuts that Homer Simpson always eats. The animated film follows the Simpsons, who are declared fugitives after Homer pollutes the town’s water supply and a massive dome covers his hometown of Springfield. Will they catch him? What will happen to the town?

13. Lilo & Stitch (2002)

Duration: 1 hour and 25 minutes

Genre: Family/Adventure 

Age: PG

IMDB Score: 7.3

“Ohana means family,” a famous saying from this incredible film that we still use today. Lilo Pelekai, a Hawaiian girl, was raised by her older sister Nani after their parents’ deaths, and Experiment 626, an outer space creature adopted by Lilo as her “dog” and renamed “Stitch.” When he is, in fact, a dangerous animal created by a scientific experiment which is hiding on Earth, fleeing the ones who created him and believing he is dangerous. What happens at the end? Is Stitch really that dangerous?

12. Shrek 2 (2004)

Duration: 1 hour and 33 minutes

Genre: Comedy/Family

Age: PG

IMDB Score: 7.3

This is a sequel to Shrek 1, which aired in 2001. This picks up when Fiona and Shrek are heading to celebrate their marriage at Fiona’s kingdom, Far Far Away, where her parents are the king and queen. When they arrive, are they welcome? How do her parents treat them?

11. The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)

Duration: 1 hour and 18 minutes

Genre: Family/Comedy

Age: G

IMDB Score: 7.4

Emperor Kuzco is transformed into a llama by his ex-administrator Yzma and must now regain his throne with the help of Pacha, the gentle llama herder. Will he succeed in getting his throne back?

10. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the WereRabbit (2005)

Duration: 1 hour and 25 minutes

Genre: Comedy/Family

Age: G

IMDB Score: 7.5

Another must-see stop-motion animation film. When a massive vegetable-ravaging creature destroys the plots just before the Giant Vegetable Competition, Lady Tottington asks Wallace and his dog, Gromit, to track down the beast and save the village.

9. Ice Age (2002)

Duration: 1 hour and 21 minutes

Genre: Family/Comedy

Age: PG

IMDB Score: 7.5

This animated film continues the story by transporting you to Earth 20,000 years ago when everything was covered in ice. Manny, a mammoth, Diego, a sabre tooth tiger; and Sid, a sloth, and their friends come across an Eskimo human baby. They must try to return the baby to his tribe before a pack of sabre tooth tigers discovers him and tries to eat him.

8. Kung Fu Panda (2008)

Duration: 1 hour and 32 minutes

Genre: Family/Comedy

Age: PG

IMDB Score: 7.6

Po the Panda, a clumsy kung fu huge fan, is chosen as the Dragon Warrior and, to his surprise, becomes the protector of the Valley of Peace. But will he be up to the challenge? Can he protect the valley? We will find out when this is tested when his adversary is on his way and will not leave without a fight.

7. Shrek (2001)

Duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Genre: Comedy/Fantasy

Age: PG

IMDB Score: 7.9

This adventurous animated movie takes place in the swamp of a bad-tempered ogre whose mission is to rescue a princess in order to reclaim his land from the lord, who banishes fairytale creatures to his land. What will occur? Will he be able to save the princess? Will he be able to reclaim his land?

6. The Incredibles (2004)

Duration: 1 hour and 55 minutes

Genre: Family/Adventure

Age: PG

IMDB Score: 8

“No Caps,” the famous saying that superheroes no longer wear capes! This animated movie is about a family that are undercover heroes, they have various superpowers, and they try to live a quiet life. Still, they feel obligated to save the world, so they must get into action. But will they be able to save the world while also restoring their own lives?

5. Monsters, Inc. (2001)

Duration: 1 hour and 32 minutes

Genre: Comedy/Adventure ‧

Age: G

IMDB Score: 8.1

This animated film is about a group of monsters who use children’s screams to power their city. They are warned they will die if a child comes into contact with them. A child enters the monster world after slipping through the monster door, and two monsters, Sullivan and Mike, find the child and try to help her return home. Unfortunately, they discover that they have been fooled all along. Will they be able to help the kid? Will they be able to save their world while also uncovering the truth?

4. Ratatouille (2007)

Duration: 1 hour and 51 minutes

Genre: Family/Comedy

Age: G

IMDB Score: 8.1

Do you believe a rat has the ability to cook? In this animated film, a rat can cook, mix flavours, and interact with humans, despite all odds. Well,  the rat partners up with a young boy who works in a kitchen, washing dishes. He helps him in the kitchen to cook delicious meals. How will this end up? We guess you have to watch it to find out.

3. Finding Nemo (2003)

Duration: 1 hour and 40 minutes

Genre: Family/Adventure

Age: G

IMDB Score: 8.2

Do you know the saying, ‘I have the memory of a fish’? Well, this movie will help you understand this saying. This animated movie is a wonderful comedy. It talks about a clownfish that gets lost in the Great Barrier Reef, and his father decides to go find him. So we go through the whole journey with him.

2. Up (2009)

Duration: 1 hour and 36 minutes

Genre: Family/Adventure 

Age: PG

IMDB Score: 8.3

You’ll need a whole box of tissues to watch this animated film; brace yourself for a good cry! It tells the story of Grandpa Carl, a widower who embarks on an adventure in his flying house to find Paradise Falls, his wife’s dream place. From children to adults, everyone enjoys this animated film.

1. Wall-E (2008)

Duration: 1 hour and 38 minutes

Genre: Family/Adventure 

Age: G

IMDB Score: 8.4

This animated movie is set in the future. It takes you on a journey with a robot responsible for cleaning up a waste-filled Earth who meets and falls in love with another robot. They embark on a journey that will change the course of human history.

Can’t Get Enough of These Films

The viewers voted, and we listened. How many of these have you seen? I recommend you begin watching them immediately; you will not be sorry. Remember that just because a movie is animated does not mean it is meant for children; regardless of your age, you will enjoy these animated movies from the 2000s.

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