5 perfect animated movies on Netflix that are better than KPop Demon Hunters

KPop Demon Hunters debuted on Netflix one year ago, 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 something that’s direct-to-Netflix. 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 super catchy and the movie is funnier and more action-packed than people 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 movies that have stood the test of time, others that managed to bring something new to longstanding fandoms, and plenty of straight-to-Netflix films that didn’t make quite the same splash, but are still arguably superior.

So if you’re as fatigued by KPop Demon Hunter-mania as I am, I invite you to scroll right past it on Netflix and check out these five animated masterpieces instead.

5 The Mitchells vs. the Machines

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 came straight-to-Netflix. The Mitchells vs. the Machines reached over 50 million views on Netflix within its first month, which doesn’t really compare to the mega-hit of KPop Demon Hunters, but it was 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 recently told Polygon all about for its fifth anniversary.

4 The Willoughbys

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 movie may look like it's “just for kids,” it’s incredibly fun for any age and the straight-to-Netflix animated film deserves to get more eyes on it.

3 Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie

Image: Paramount

Of all the different iterations of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the 2018 animated series Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is probably the most divisive. It created both a rabid fanbase of devoted followers, as well as plenty of online scorn from old-school TMNT fans. The love for the series comes from its high-quality animation and its sharp, fast, funny writing. The hate comes from its departures from longstanding TMNT lore, like an altered origins story and a family dynamic that is radically changed by Master Splinter (Eric Bauza) being kind of a jerk, Raphael (Omar Miller) being the team leader, and Leonardo (Ben Schwartz) being a smartass quipster.

But in 2022, when Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie was released straight-to-Netflix, a great many fans of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that hated the series were blown away by the film. The movie is set in a future where a brain-like alien race known as the Krang have taken over Earth. To prevent the invasion, the young soldier Casey Jones (Haley Joel Osment) is sent back to the early 2020s by his commander, Leonardo. Casey then inspires the young, smartass Leo to find his inner leader and stop the Krang before they take over.

Essentially, it’s the story of Leonardo becoming Leonardo, which is why a wide cross-section of TMNT fans loved this movie. Perfect may be a bit of a reach here, but if you're a fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, this movie is a must-watch.

2 The Land Before Time

Netflix doesn’t just have straight-to-Netflix animated movies. It also has some genuine animated classics and none better than the sweet, funny, beautifully-animated tearjerker The Land Before Time. Directed by animation legend Don Bluth, The Land Before Time is a story about a gang of mismatched orphan dinosaurs trying to find their way to the great valley, a lush, beautiful land filled with vegetation that their herd has ventured to because of famine.

In 1955, Bluth was hired by Walt Disney and spent decades at the studio before resigning due to creative differences and founding his own studio, Don Bluth Productions in 1979. While the studio wouldn’t make it through the 1990s, it produced a number of truly wonderful animated films in the 1980s, including An American Tail in 1986 and The Land Before Time in 1988, both of which have as much heart, humor, and gorgeous animation as the very best Disney films.

1 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Image: Sony Pictures Animation

Sure, KPop Demon Hunters may have won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film at the Oscars earlier this year, but so did Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in a year with much tighter competition.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse tells the story of Miles Morales, who inherits the Spider-Man mantle after the death of Peter Parker (and after getting bit by a radioactive spider himself). His first major adventure as Spider-Man ends up as an interdimensional affair after Kingpin causes a multiversal rip, bringing several other spider-powered heroes into his home dimension.

The movie is loved for its breakthrough animation, which celebrated the art of comic books perhaps more than any animated film in history. It also had a killer cast, an amazing story more than worthy of the trilogy it kicked off. And, yes, a soundtrack that even tops the likes of KPop Demon Hunters.