It seems nobody can stop Adam Sandler from racking up hit after hit on Netflix. The actor has enjoyed a bumper year on the world’s best streaming service, with films, such Murder Mystery 2 and You’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 final new 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, with Leo landing 76% critical and 95% audience scores since its November 21 debut.
Leo isn’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, Nimona is a retrofuturistic (it combines advanced tech with its medieval setting to brilliant effect) is a barnstorming flick that worked its way onto our best Netflix movies list 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 on Rotten Tomatoes and 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 – make Nimona unmissable in our eyes.
Chicken Run
We had a bit of a panic about Aardman Animation, the studio behind classic British stop-motion movies like Wallace 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 sequel Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget.
Before that movie *ahem* flies the nest on December 15, you’ll want to watch its 2001 predecessor Chicken 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 than The 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 best new movies we’ve seen in years.
Honestly, it’s impossible to overstate how much we loved this movie, and the critics are with us. Collider called it a “highly entertaining apocalyptic adventure”, while The Austin Chronicle says “it puts the ‘fun’ in ‘dysfunctional'” and Thrillist added it’s “the kind of movie you immediately want to watch again and again”.
With 97% critical and 89% audience scores on Rotten 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 in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, arguably two of the best superhero movies ever 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.
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