“Animation is cinema, animation is not a genre,” Guillermo del Toro said as he accepted the Oscar for Best Animated Feature for Pinocchio. “Please help us keep animation in the conversation.” Challenge accepted. True to del Toro’s convictions, the animated movies that make up this formidable roster dropping in 2023 and 2024 don’t belong to any single genre — these films include everything from an epic high-tech medieval adventure to a chicken-led prison break. Get ready for a very animated year. You can check out the full list below.

Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz) and Ballister (Riz Ahmed) on the run

Nimona

Logline: 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. 
Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Riz Ahmed, Eugene Lee Yang, Frances Conroy, Lorraine Toussaint, Beck Bennett, RuPaul Charles, Indya Moore, Julio Torres, Sarah Sherman
Director: Nick Bruno and Troy Quane

Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz) takes on a different shape.

“Nimona is about a shapeshifting monster who befriends the disgraced Knight sworn to destroy her,” directors Bruno and Quane tell Tudum. “While the film itself is an amazing adventure comedy that we are sure everyone will love, what we love most about it, is that at its heart, it’s a story about acceptance. A movie about being seen for who you truly are and how even the most unlikely friendships can help you survive the toughest battles. A love letter to all those who’ve ever felt that universal feeling of being misunderstood or like an outsider trying to fit in.”

Monkey (Jimmy O. Yang), Stick and Lin (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport)

The Monkey King

Logline: 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.
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
Director: Anthony Stacchi 

“Early in my animation career, I had the opportunity to work in Asia and became a huge fan of Asian cinema, Hong Kong kung fu films, and especially the films of Stephen Chow,” director Anthony Stacchi tells Tudum. “It has been a long time dream of mine to work on a Monkey King film, and bring this unique character and fantastic story to a global audience.”

74-year-old lizard Leo (Adam Sandler) has been stuck in the same Florida classroom for decades.

Leo

Logline: 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.
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, Stephanie Hsu
Directors: Robert Marianetti, Robert Smigel, David Wachtenheim

“We’ve collaborated on many crazy projects, going back to the SNL TV Funhouse cartoons, but Leo is a little different,” directors Marianatti, Smigel and Wachtenheim tell Tudum. “It’s silly and funny, but, aside from the central character being a very old class pet, our story is also about honest emotions and situations that every kid (and parent) experiences in elementary school. People of all ages will relate to it. And so will talking lizards!"

Just another mission for the chickens of Chicken Run.

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget

Logline: From the multiple Academy and BAFTA award-winning Aardman (Creature Comforts, Wallace & Gromit, and Shaun the Sheep) and Oscar- and BAFTA-nominated director Sam Fell (ParaNorman and Flushed Away), 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!
Cast: Thandiwe Newton, Zachary Levi, Bella Ramsay, Imelda Staunton, Lynn Ferguson, David Bradley, Jane Horrocks, Romesh Ranganathan, Daniel Mays, Josie Sedgwick-Davies, and Nick Mohammed
Director: Sam Fell

“Chicken Run was such a brilliantly crafted movie; radiating warmth and humor from the heart of a high stakes drama,” Fell tells Tudum. “I was really excited to bring these classic characters and their world back to life… and get to dream up some new twists to their story. They’re as fresh and funny as the day they were born and the underlying themes of freedom and community are more relevant than ever.” 

Stevie and Elliot explore a mysterious dreamscape.

In Your Dreams

Logline:  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 and Erik Benson

Sandy (Carolyn Lawrence) and SpongeBob (Tom Kenny) head off on a new adventure.

Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie

Logline: 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.  
Cast: Carolyn Lawrence, Tom Kenny, Wanda Sykes, Clancy Brown, Bill Fagerbakke, Mr. Lawrence, Rodger Bumpass, Johnny Knoxville, Craig Robinson, Grey DeLisle, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino, Matty Cardarople
Director: Liza Johnson 

A Christmas landscape.

That Christmas

Logline: 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

Thelma meets a shady customer.

Thelma the Unicorn

Logline: Thelma is a small-time pony who dreams of becoming a glamorous 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

Ultraman returns. 

Ultraman

Logline: 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
Co-Director: John Aoshima