By Brian VanHooker Published Oct 11, 2026, 2:30 AM EDT Polygon Lists It's our moment — to watch some great animation
Image: Netflix Sign in to your Polygon.com account Add Us Like Like follow Follow followed Followed Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap KPop Demon Hunters debuted on Netflix in June 2025, and in short order, everyone lost their minds. The movie received hundreds of millions of views and even made its way into theaters , a very rare feat for a Netflix Original that started out on the streaming platform. The phenomenon was so big and so unexpected that retail companies are still scrambling to capitalize on it with merchandise like Lego sets and video games .
I get it. The songs are incredibly catchy and the movie is funnier and more action-packed than anybody could have expected. But while everyone is still so excited about KPop Demon Hunters , I’d like to point out that there are other — and, dare I say, better — animated movies on Netflix as well. There are films that have stood the test of time, others that managed to bring something new to longstanding fandoms, and plenty of straight-to-Netflix flicks that didn’t make quite the same splash, but are still arguably superior.
So if you’re at all fatigued by KPop Demon Hunter -mania, I invite you to scroll right past it on Netflix and check out these five animated masterpieces instead.
Image: Netflix/Everett Collection KPop Demon Hunters and The Mitchells vs. the Machines actually have quite a bit in common. Both are animated films that were produced by Sony Pictures Animation and were released directly onto Netflix. The Mitchells vs. the Machines reached over 50 million views on the platform within its first month, which doesn’t really compare to the mega-hit of KPop Demon Hunters . And yet, it was easily one of the biggest releases during the pandemic.
Written and directed by Mike Rianda, the movie focuses on the dysfunctional Mitchell family, who set out on a road trip to drop Katie Mitchell (Abbi Jacobson) off at college. But on the way, the robot apocalypse hits and everyone on Earth, except the Mitchells, gets abducted by a megalomaniacal AI system.
The Mitchells vs. the Machines has solid laughs and a unique art style that blends 3D and 2D elements, but what’s best about the film is how personal it feels and how real the characters seem. As it turns out, the reason for its relatable family dynamics is because those relationships were copied pretty much verbatim from Rianda's actual family, which the filmmaker told Polygon all about for its fifth anniversary .
Image: Netflix The first time I saw The Willoughbys , I swore it was based on a Roald Dahl story. This rare dark comedy made for kids is about four weirdo children with parents so horrible and neglectful that the kids decide to try to kill them by planning the most deadly vacation possible. Turns out the movie is not based on anything by Dahl. Instead, it is based on a book by Lois Lowry , a Newbery Medal-winning author known for The Giver and many other books.
Still, I stand by the idea that The Willoughbys has a Roald Dahl sensibility to it. Director Kris Pearn brings a wonderful sense of childlike whimsy blended with humor that should be way too dark for kids, but it's employed with such a silly, artful touch that there’s no way anyone could ever take it seriously. While the…