Adam Sandler’s Leo is a smash hit – here are 3 more great Netflix animated movies to stream

Basking in the glow of a job well done

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

It seems nobody can stop Adam Sandler from racking up hit after hit onNetflix. The actor has enjoyed a bumper year on the world’sbest streaming service, with films, suchMurder Mystery 2andYou’re So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, proving popular among viewers.

Now, it’s time to chalk up another victory for the beloved star.Leo, an animated comedy musical starring Sandler as the titular lizard, is another Sandler-led smash hit for Netflix.

One of 2023’s finalnew Netflix movies, which sees the elementary school class pet embark on a quest to live life to the fullest when he realizes he only has a year left on Earth, has earned rave reviews from fans and critics. A quick look at its positive reception on Rotten Tomatoes shows as much, withLeolanding 76% critical and 95% audience scores since its November 21 debut.

Leoisn’t the only successful animated movie to appear on Netflix in recent years, mind you. So, if you’re after similar genre fare post-Leo, here are three more fantastic flicks to check out.

Nimona

Featuring Chloë Grace Moretz as the titular character and Riz Ahmed as, in Nimona’s eyes, her own sidekick,Nimonais a retrofuturistic (it combines advanced tech with its medieval setting to brilliant effect) is a barnstorming flick that worked its way onto ourbest Netflix movieslist recently.

Admittedly, some of it isn’t suitable for the youngest of children – it goes to some dark places in its final act – but it’s nonetheless received rave reviews, with Nimona currently sitting at 94% from critics onRotten Tomatoesand 91% from general viewers.

The visuals are wonderful, the voice acting is top notch, the comedy is seriously underrated, and its rich themes – which include more than a slice of authentic LGBTQ+ representation – makeNimonaunmissable in our eyes.

Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.

Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.

Chicken Run

We had a bit of a panic about Aardman Animation, the studio behind classic British stop-motion movies likeWallace and Gromit, with reports suggesting the firm was running out of its signature, easy-to-mold clay. Thankfully, that crisis has been averted, which means we can relax and enjoy many more Aardman projects to come, including forthcoming movie sequelChicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget.

Before that movie ahem flies the nest on December 15, you’ll want to watch its 2001 predecessorChicken Run. An absolute hoot of a chicken-based action movie, it stars Nadia Sawalha, Mel Gibson, and Miranda Richardson among its stacked voice acting cast. It’s quintessentially British in its humor, but it’s also warm and surprisingly touching.

Indeed, what starts off as a very silly film turns out to be as affecting as most live-action epics. Every frame is a delight and, like other Aardman adventures, it’s well worth re-watching to see what you missed the first time around. In our opinion, it’s – wait for it – eggceptional.

The Mitchells vs The Machines

Few Netflix animated films are as gorgeous to look at thanThe Mitchells vs The Machines. The family-friendly flick, which sees the titular Mitchell family try to put a stop to a Terminator-eqsue robot uprising is, quite frankly, one of the bestnew movieswe’ve seen in years.

Honestly, it’s impossible to overstate how much we loved this movie, and the critics are with us.Collidercalled it a “highly entertaining apocalyptic adventure”, whileThe Austin Chroniclesays “it puts the ‘fun’ in ‘dysfunctional’” andThrillistadded it’s “the kind of movie you immediately want to watch again and again”.

With 97% critical and 89% audience scores onRotten Tomatoes, too, you know you’re in for a good time with this one – and that’s before you realize members of its creative team were also involved inSpider-Man: Into the Spider-VerseandSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, arguably two of thebest superhero moviesever made. There’s a similar mix of ambition here, as well as delightful visuals, a beautiful and smart story about family, and jokes that are belly-burstingly funny.

You might also like

Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than a dozen books. Her memoir,Carrie Kills A Man, is on sale now and her next book, about pop music, is out in 2025. She is the singer in Glaswegian rock bandUnquiet Mind.

Arcane season 2 was reportedly going to run for five seasons, so why is my all-time favorite Netflix show ending after two?

Scavengers Reign co-creator says the hit Netflix show with 100% Rotten Tomatoes has been canceled and fans are heartbroken

Another reason to avoid edge-lit 4K TVs: they may fail faster than others, according to this report