"Animation is cinema. Animation is not a genre for kids. It’s a medium." - Guillermo del Toro, 2023

Because there is so much more animated films out there than the average person is aware of this list offers a mix of your well known animation companies followed by some lesser known creators/studios that deserve your attention, and then rounding it out with various types of animation for your consideration. I've tried to make a balance of some of the best films within each category while also promoting ones that might have escaped general audiences awareness.

While the list does start out with the more familiar animation companies and creators I highly recommend exploring films lower down the list and consider watching something you've not even heard of before! This list does contain films produced in various companies and with various ratings, so while I have marked the three general 2D animated films that are adult rated as 'mature' (Fun fact: Fritz the cat was the first animated film to ever receive an 'X' rating!) please be aware that there may be other films throughout this list that have adult themes.

Categories:
Studio Ghibli (1–5)
Disney (6–15)
DreamWorks (16–20)
Pixar (20–25)
Don Bluth (26–30)
Laika (31–35)
Tim Burton (directed or produced) (36–40)
Melusine/Cartoon Saloon (41–45)
Mamoru Hosoda (46–50)
Satoshi Kon (51–55)
Stop-motion animation (56–68)
Misc anime (69–73)
UK 2D animation (74–77)
Misc 2D animation (78–86)
Misc 3D animation (87–93)
Mixed animation styles (94–95)
Mature animation (96–98)
2D animation/live action (99–100)