Goat (2026)

Ok, so the animation in this movie has been called stunning and dizzying—I would agree with the later assessment, in that the action moves so fast I had trouble keeping up. One reviewer liked it to the Spider verse animation, which I also found to be too much, and I would agree. Will Harris (voiced by Caleb McLaughlin) is a goat who has grown up dreaming of playing professional “roarball”, a fiercer and faster version of basketball. But Will is a “small” and roar players are all “bigs” – powerful beasts such as rhinos and horses. Will’s hero and the star of his favorite team, the Thorns, is a panther called Jet, a champ close to retirement but determined to win the league. When Will gets a shot at joining the Thorns, he is laughed at, underrated but undeterred. The rest of the plot unfolds in an entirely predictable manner. The movie has real-life inspiration: basketball star Stephen Curry, who was repeatedly told at the start of his career that he was too skinny and too small to make it as a pro. Curry is a producer here, and has a performing role. But in spite of this connection, Goat comes up lacking.

Hoppers (2026)

This is a good one--maybe even nomination worthy. It is a story with warmth, humor, exciting action, endearing characters, and a reassuringly expansive notion of community. It has charm and a touch of magic, but it is grounded—literally. The conflict at the center of the story is between Mabel Tanaka, who loves a stretch of pristine land populated by wildlife, and Jerry Generazzo, the town’s energetic and glad-handing mayor, who wants to build a Beaverton Beltway through the property. There is an equally compelling conflict within Mabel. This is where Pixar’s signature compassion for our most human vulnerabilities really shines. They understand that anger tries to fool us into thinking it comes from a place of strength and will help get us what we want. But more often, it comes from fear, and it doesn’t help at all, this time at Mayor Jerry and the planned destruction of the glade. He says he can proceed because it is no longer an animal habitat. All the animals are gone. Which is true--Mabel needs a bewver to return to the glade to make a healthy water source and a place for the animals to come back to--through a series of events Mabel herself becomes that beaver--literally--and fights the good fight against cheating politicians. Heart warming eco-animation for the whole family .

Swapped (2026)

My youngest son and I watched this one evening when my spouse was on call and we both really enjoyed it. To be fair, we like animation, even when the story is a bit weak, so long as the animation is strong, but with this one, we enjoyed it as a whole. The animation is lush and gorgeous, and since it is an action movie that spans a whole magical environment, with one of the main characters able to fly, there is a lot to be awed by when it comes to that. The story takes place in an imaginary place called the Valley, where different types of woodland creatures don’t live together harmoniously. Ollie is a Pookoo, who looks like a sea otter, and is afraid of Javans. They are a hybrid version of owls and parrots. Ollie has always been a curious Pookoo, willing to help others and see beyond what the Valley offers. Things take a turn for the worse for Pookoos when Ollie helpsIvy, a tired, young Javan find food, which happens to be Pookoo’s only source of food. Ollie teaches the young Javan to open a seed. This puts the Pookoo’s in danger as the Javans take the seeds, leaving the Pookoo’s with very little for their survival and they go underground for safety. Fast forward and Ollie gets changed in a Java when he stumbles upon some miracle pods, and he gets taken in by Ivy and her sisters, who team up to restore him to his original Pookoo self. This is a movie about perspective and empathy, most importantly, the latter. It’s a story that revolves around two beings and learning to understand their worlds when the roles are switched. But the twist is that the two central characters swap bodies and team up to save their homes before an evil creature destroys them. It’s not just about empathy; it’s also about survival.

Bad Guys 2 (2025)

I watched this in the immediately pos-op period from a joint replacement, so my standards for what I would find entertaining might have been more generous. Even so, I cannot recommend this beyond diversionary animation. This is the second installment, and as so often happens, enemies in the first movie end up as love interests in the second. There is a reappearance of the whole gang, both the good guys and the bad guys, so if you are a fan of sequels, this ticks all those boxes, and truly, if you likes the first one you are likely to fall for this one as well. If you missed the first in the series, this is a movie about a crew of fun-loving criminals who also happen to be animals, maintains the pizazz of its sleekly angular visual style. And the game voice cast returns, led by a reliably roguish Sam Rockwell. But increasingly, the antics feel strained, and the action grows needlessly complicated. The reason everyone winds up in space is especially convoluted. Even in the wake of the successful Artemis mission this month, this was not what I would call a fun animated movies that takes you yo outer space--and 2025 had some other and better choices.

The Three Sisters (2025)

There are two stories here for this short animated film that was nominated in that category for the 2026 Academy Awards. The first is the story itself, told in 2-D animation and perhaps the most whimsical and weird of the five nominees. It imagines the isolated life on an island shared by three sisters when a stranger arrives and changes their day-to-day in unexpected ways. He's a burly sailor and, well, these ladies have been living alone for quite some time, so they find themselves each drawn to him, changing their appearance and doting on him in ways they haven't had a reason to before. It is without dialogue but with plenty of expressive animation, we come to appreciate these three sisters and their desire for more on this little island of theirs. Our dashing interloper is just that, however, and as the women have to face reality, it could be we're all headed for heartbreak. The second is that the film was submitted under a fictional name. Russian animation director Konstantin Bronzit, who is a celebrated animator from a shunned country may have been seeing if quality is identified or he may have feared he would have been side lines based on his country of origin. Afterall, if there is an anti-Russian documentary on offer, it is more likely than not to win, so he may have a point. In any case, he outed himself before the awards, and this was not a winner--nor was it my first or second choice.

The Girl Who Cried Pearls (2025)

Pearls are created by animals and are both precious and beautiful. They have been called mermaid's tears--the myths that surround them are the start of this short animated film from Canada that won the Academy Award in 2026 in that category. This story is told by an old man to his granddaughter, who has an eye for shiny things and who we suppose has pocketed a precious pearl herself. The story begins in his youth in Montreal, when he was a hungry orphan scavenging for food by the docks and sleeping in abandoned buildings. If one could find such a residence adjacent to one that was occupied, he explains, one might feel the heat of the fire through the wall. Naturally, sitting against the wall meant one might also hear what was going on in a house, and he talks about the time when he heard a stepmother repeatedly abusing a lonely girl. At night the girl would cry, and peering through a hole, he saw her tears, made of the purest sorrow, turn to pearls. Acquiring some of these, he took them to a pawnbroker and was paid better than he had ever been before. To get more, however, he was faced with a terrible dilemma--her unhappiness led to wealth for him, and what should he hope for? It is a classic tale of greed, the power of poverty to drive poor decisions, and a surprise ending.

Arco (2025)

First of all, this animated French film, which was nominated for a 2026 Academy award, sees rainbows not just as a reflection of sunlight through water in the air, but rather as time travelers from the future. Arco is oe such traveler. He is a 10 year old who travels from the distant future back in time to 2075, when robots have taken over human tasks, suburbs evolved into fireproof domes, with the ecological crisis worsening—all of which have left humanity about as isolated as one might anticipate. Crash-landing in a forest, young Arco has the good fortune to encounter Iris, a girl his age, who takes him in. There’s an immediate joy and curiosity to their initial meeting, something warm beyond words. Iris lives with a nanny bot named Mikki, programmed by her parents—only accessible via video hologram—to help raise her and her baby brother, and she leaps at the chance to make a real friend, especially one who looks at her world so curiously. Iris works towards helping Arco get back to his time and his family. It is an overly optimistic but very pleasant tale.

Retirement Plan (2025)

This short animated film is nominated for a 2026 Oscar, and maybe it is because I am actively thinking about my own retirement (I am aiming for 3 years from now) that it seemed so poignant. This is a devastating yet optimistic piece of storytelling. It’s funny, endearing, relatable and playful but it also has a fierce undercurrent of melancholy. In the throes of his overstimulated, energy poor midlife, Ray fantasizes about everything he'd love to do in retirement, once he finally has the time. It plays with the idea that we’re taught to postpone living until retirement, until we have more time but in reality, that day may never arrive. Retirement Plan reminds us to live in the now, to stop living through lists and start embracing each day as it comes. Twice things happened to teach me that you should not put off today the things you really want to do—the first is when my youngest son had a brain tumor and the second is when I was diagnosed with a poor prognosis cancer myself. I am blessed with a job that has a lot of vacation as well as a fair amount of work related travel, and I have been active about doing things now rather than putting them off. Even still, I can relate to this. Aside from the thought provoking, personal narrative. Retirement Plan is also a beautifully animated feature that showcases the simplicity and power of animation. Stripping back the shots, playing with minimal movements and relying on the impact of the storytelling made the sentiment all the more beautiful. Finally, if you take anything away from this tender-hearted story, remember to embrace every day of life, don’t wait.

Lost In Starlight (2025)

This Korean animated feature length film is the one not nominated for an Oscar in 2026, and while I am almost certainly in the minority, maybe even alone, I liked this much more than the ever so populare K-Pop Demon Hunters. Would be astronaut Nan-young (Kim Tae-ri) has dedicated her life to being selected as a member of the next expedition to Mars, following in the footsteps of her mother who tragically died there in a natural disaster. But when she meets retro tech guru Jay (Hong Kyung) by chance, she discovers a whole new side of life, that will lead to a connection that traverses the solar system. A big aspect of the film’s visual look is clearly anime-style but which captures the kind of positive glimpse of a future world that science-fiction appears to have discarded wholesale in recent years. It’s something akin to more of the same but with changes: it’s a world of holographic displays and garish advertising, people overusing their phones (or equivalents) and using the best that scientists can create to set up a habitat on Mars, but it’s also a world of rainy streets, familiar cityscapes, people going gaga for retro tech in a trendy fashion and good ol’ fashioned communications through aerials dug into the ground. In fact, Lost In Starlight feels like a love-letter to analog in a lot of ways, to old forms of tech that cyclically come back into fashion, with a late-in-the-game hallucinogenic sequence really making the point about the longevity of vinyl. It’s use of tightly cut montage techniques are also stellar, giving the film a needed sense of vibrancy even when it might otherwise not seem like it has such a thing. Speaking as a lover of things that are mechanical, it was fun for me, and better than the plot that runs through it, which was fine, and for an animated movie good even, but nothing to write home about.

Butterfly (2025)

This short animated film is nominated for the 2026 Academy Award in that category. It depicts the life of Jewish French swimmer Alfred Nakache, who competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics in Nazi Germany. It begins peacefully enough. In the sea, a man swims. It is quite beautiful at first. But as he continues, memories come to the surface. From his early childhood to his life as a man, all his memories are linked to water. Some are happy, some glorious, some traumatic. This story will be that of his last swim. It will take us from the source to the river — from the waters of childhood pools to those of swimming pools — from a North African country to the shores of the Mediterranean in France — from Olympic stadiums to water retention basins — from concentration camp to the dream beaches of Reunion. He experiences glory and humiliation. The joy is from his love of swimming--the butterfly stroke--and he is denigrated for his religion and the color of his skin. It could not come at a better time, when the United States government is killing people based on the color of their skin. Again.

In Your Dreams (2025)

This was not nominated for Best Animated Film for the 2026 Oscars but I liked it so much more than Elio, which was--and really--this is going to be very unpopular--more than the K-Pop Demon Slayers movie that has been playing on a loop almost at my grandkids house, they like it so much. There is an "in the beginning" scene where Stevie is a young girl and her happy parents are taking a break from playing music together to make her breakfast. Fast forward to the present. Stevie is now in middle school. Her little brother Elliot annoys her because they share a room, he keeps trying to do magic tricks, and he does not recognize the conflict Mom and Dad are now experiencing. Mom is no longer performing with Dad. She is a teacher and is about to leave for an interview with a job that could mean a lot more money for the family. But they would have to move. Leaving their home in the suburbs is unthinkable to Stevie and Dad. The alternative, Mom’s leaving them behind to take the job, is unbearable. Stevie worries about the stress in her parents’ relationship. She makes breakfast but tells each parent the other one made it for them, to try to bring them closer. And then, as can only happen in an animated movie, Stevie finds a magical dreams book. When she and Elliot recite the incantation together, they find that when they sleep, their conscious selves can enter and change the worlds of their dreams. There is a recurring joke about the way Elliot’s white noise machine puts him into a deep, instant slumber. Over the course of the film, Stevie will learn to appreciate Elliot as a partner. And she will learn that she cannot fix everything, and that’s okay. More important, she will learn to see understanding and new opportunities inside what appeared to be insurmountable problems. It is a fun story line and beautifully animated, so while it did not make the final cut, it really is a good one.

Zootopia 2 (2025)

If you loved Zootopia The Original, then it is very likely that you will find Zootopia 2 every bit a zany, delightful, and heartwarming. There are animal-word puns and sly references to cultural touchstones from streaming platforms like EweTube and HuluZoo, where you can watch shows like “Only Herders in the Building,” to a quick shot inspired by one of the most terrifying moments in “The Shining.” If you love that stuff, it is all here for you, only more so. Literally, the gang is all here. Those heroes are, again, the opposites-in-temperament Judy Hopps, a bunny who is bright, enthusiastic, and fiercely committed to justice, and Nick Wilde, a fox who is a former con artist, a loner, and fiercely dedicated to avoiding danger. They met on opposite sides of the law in the first film, but now Nick has joined the police department, and they are partners. They are partners with a propensity for trouble and doing good, so of course hey immediately get into trouble after ignoring orders from Police Chief Bogo and end up on a wild chase after a perpetrator in a catering van labeled “Amoose Bouche.” Bogo threatens to separate them if they get into trouble again. So, of course, they get in trouble again. It is definitely the ends justify the means sort of plot and it is pretty fun and zany along the way. There is some mob boss undertones with how that can mess up your family, and there are some not so hidden messages about trust, communication, and things that are worth putting your life on the line for. That resonated for me in the aftermath of the public execution of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse who brought lots of joy and happiness to his work at the Minneapolis VA, who put himself on the line for his neighbors when ICE came to town and kidnapped people in violent ways without warrants as a witness and ended up murdered by villains hired by the federal government to wage a revenge war. He is a hero who paid the ultimate price, as the veterans he served would say.

Elio (2025)

Pixar's latest is classic animated material, sugary sweet and almost no surprises, and I was surprised to see it nominated in the Feature Length Animated Movie category--there were two other movies we saw, maybe three that I thought were better. Be that as it may, Elio Solis is an orphaned child cared for by his childless aunt, Major Olga Solis. At an air and space museum, a grieving Elio stumbles on a “coming soon” exhibition about the Voyager spacecrafts (the probes launched in 1977 carrying gold discs with messages from Earth) and begins to dream about finding solace beyond our solar system. Olga sets aside her dreams to care for her relative and Elio isn’t exactly grateful for that sacrifice. He begins cutting school, absconding to the beach to carve messages in the sand, and even begins accumulating the basic tech to contact potential aliens, partly it seems because he is having so much trouble relating to Earthlings. The more Olga sacrifices (including her desire to become an astronaut), the more Elio seems to resent her, believing he’s to blame for her dashed desires. Despite the odds, Elio manages to contact aliens, thereby opening the door to discovery. Ta dum! Turns out Olga is pretty excited about that discovery as well, and they both get to spend some time in outer space after all.

Little Amélie (2025)

I read in a review of this sumptuous animated movie--which is nominated for an Oascar--is based on the autobiographical novel by artist Amélie Nothom, who was born in Japan to Belgian parents. It is a story that is marked by threes. Amelie is the third child, and the story takes us from her birth to age three. This is the age at which, in Japanese culture, a child descends from the realm of the gods into the world of the everyperson. The word for this infantile holiness is okosama, or “lord child,” and the movie takes us through the spirit of this very earliest coming-of-age with whimsy, cross-cultural commentary, and sometimes fantastical time. Baby Amelie is slow to develop and she is a bit of a worry for her parents: she is slow to walk, slow to talk, and hard to sooth. But once she does, prompted by a bite of Belgian white chocolate from her grandmaman, she does so with an almost instant proficiency. The film takes the idea of early childhood awareness, the phenomenon that children are far more privy to the dynamics of reality than they are able to voice, and provides its lead with the vocabulary to match. She operates out of loving obligation, immeasurable curiosity, and even spite, refusing to speak her brother’s name due to the ever-so-typical brotherly hassling. Amelie also sees visions of things that are not and cannot be, in a way that adds a magical quality to this gorgeously animated film.

K Pop Demon Hunters (2025)

This is the first time that I have watched an animated movie that is widely belowed and really not liked it. The music is cloying, predictable, and ever present, which is possibly one thing that people like about it, but it made it hard for me to watch. Here is the story. The movie opens with a burst of energy, introducing viewers to the hit girl group Huntr/x: Rumi, Mira, and Zoey. The are one of the most popular trios in the world, and their group, Huntr/x, rocks the charts on stage and destroys demon bad guys when they’re off. This may seem like something you have seen before, the Power Puff Girls vibe, but it is grounded in Korean mythology too. Huntr/x maintains something called the Honmoon, a protection against a centuries-old demon ruler known as Gwi-Ma, who has a legion of otherworldly creatures to unleash on humanity, and is working behind the scenes to sabotage them. The excellent opening scenes of the movie features Huntr/x combating demons who try to keep them from performing a show that night—of course, they vanquish their foes and hit the dance choreography too. The story unfolds with a few plot twists, and comes to what is and should be a predictable animated adventure movie ending. I suspect it will be nominated in the Best Animated Feature category, but it would not be my choice.

Wish (2023)

This movie got a lot of very bad reviews, and where the story goes, this is a sub par addition to the Disney ouevre. The best rap of it is that it is all about emphasizing Disney's 100th anniversary, and that wishing upon a star is one of the oldest Disney tropes out there. From my point of view, that is 100% okay, that making a movie that harkens to their past once every 100 years is excusable. The downside is that the story does not drive the plot, the foundational concept does. So here is the story. Asha is a 17-year-old about to interview for an apprenticeship with the beloved King Magnifico of Rosas. The King is the keeper of magic in Rosas, a man who can extract the wishes of his flock, keeping them in a chamber high above the city, and choosing one wish in a ceremony to allow to come true. Asha hopes that her 100-year-old grandfather Sabino will finally have his wish granted, but she discovers that Magnifico isn’t well named. He’s more of a hoarder of wishes than a granter, and someone who doesn't keep his promises. Of course this is Disney, so Asha isn’t just an ordinary girl who learns about the absolute corruption of absolute power—she becomes a magical figure herself when a wishing star grants her abilities that turn her into a leader for her people. Asha literally wishes on a Star, and said Star comes down to cause chaos and help Asha start a revolution.

Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024)

The most shocking thing about this movie is that it has been 8 years since a Kung Fu Panda has come out--it is both hard to believe it has been that long and equally challenging to think that it still has a sustained audience. This is a solid but unremarkable follow up, not sustaining the magic of the first one, but it is certainly recognizable and uses many of the tropes that worked in the past along with heavy hitting actores coming back to voice the characters even after such a long delay. Here is the basic set up. It is sometime after the defeat of General Kai, where Po – now well established as the Dragon Warrior – become a local celebrity. He even helps his fathers – adopted goose dad Mr. Ping and biological panda dad Li – open a new restaurant in the Valley of Peace. But Po’s master Shifu chimes in with some ancient history--he claims that Po’s time as the Dragon Warrior is coming to an end and he must choose a successor, as he is to advance to the highest stage in all of kung fu: Spiritual Leader. Po, enjoying his status and fearing change, is reluctant to name a new Dragon Warrior and equally hesitant about taking on the new role. This leades to some mistakes being made, another epic battle between good and evil, and a possible new team member to boot. This is deversionary at best--not sorry to have wathced--it is leaving Netflix soon after all--but not exactly recommending it. I will say I so like this series better than the How To Train Your Dragon franchise, so there is that.

In The Shadow Of The Cypress (2024)

There has been a trend in nominees the Best Short Animated Film category for the Academy Awards that there is both less child oriented in content and they tend to run a lot longer than what Disney and Pixar produce, and this 2025 winner is an excellent example of that seeming trend. It is a vivid depiction of what PTSD is like to experience for the sufferer as well as what they are like to live with. The film begins with a Persian man, who is shown struggling with mental health issues. His daughter tries to intervene and comfort him, but without much luck. The man reflects on his past through vivid dreams and memories. His ship was damaged during the war and is in need of serious repair, adding to his stress. While he is experiencing this mental breakdown, a whale washes up on the shore near their home. They are without the resources to free the heavy marine mammal, but the daughter tries to comfort it by splashing water on it as it lays in the sun, and then spreads wet towels across its back to keep it cool. The father sees her efforts as hopeless, and offers little assistance. Later, however, he is struck with an idea – one that would sacrifice his ship but could free the whale. The film touches on many topics, including the environment, war, women's issues, and, most importantly, the dynamic between the father and daughter.

Moana 2 (2024)

Let's just say that while we all love animated feature films in our house, and we have had a long love affair with Disney, which really, I do not want to have to explain or think too deeply about but it is definitely true and will likely always be true, even if there are more than a few cli=unkers. Of which thisis one.Don't get me wrong, it is visually stunning, the action is pretty much non-stop, there are songs where songs should be in a Disney movie worth its salt, but it just was not for us. The follow up to the original does bear a burden--with the exception of Toy Story and Paddington 2, the follow up usually carries a bit of disappointment along with the diversion. This had a heaping helping of that and while we watched it through to the end, we would not recommend it. Even the presence of the delightfully charming Duane Johnson could save it for us.

Paddington in Peru (2025)

Unlike the very enjoyable movie The Marching Band, which I also watched on a long haul flight (and when my bar for enjoyment is at an all time low--I like almost everything in that situation) this was very disappointing. My chagrin is based not so much of the Paddington books and how they have been translated to the big screen, but rather on just how much I loved Paddington 2 and how I hoped the same for what is essentially Paddington 3. No such luck. And it has a new director, which may explain the discrepency. The quest at hand takes Paddington to Peru, where he hopes to find his beloved Aunt Lucy. Lucy was living at a Home for Retired Bears when she began behaving oddly. A letter from the establishment alarms Paddington into deciding to visit her. Paddington’a adoptive family The Browns accompany him in solidarity and off they go, with one after another misadventure befalling them, but none quite so charming as those that occurered in previous films. This is not awful, it just doesn't have the same je ne sais quoi about it.