How are we in December 2023 already? Didn’t this year just start?
Oh well, you know what that means! It’s time for us to take a look at the upcoming animated films set to be released in 2024.
Keep in mind that I’ll only be mentioning theatrical and streaming films with set (US) release dates and that I won’t be mentioning any live-action/animated hybrid films.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy this list with me!
1) ORION AND THE DARK
[February 2, 2024]
DreamWorks Animation’s first film of the year (debuting on Netflix of all things) tells the story of a boy being visited by the embodiment of his #1 fear: Darkness! No, the movie seems more lighthearted than I’m making it out to be.
W/the voices of Jacob Tremblay, Paul Walter Hauser, Werner Herzog, etc.
Directed by Sean Charmatz
2) THE TIGER’S APPRENTICE
[February 2, 2024]
Paramount Animation’s first film of the year features a boy tasked with protecting a phoenix egg.
W/the voices of Henry Golding, Lucy Liu, Brandon Soo Hoo, Michelle Yeoh, Jo Koy, Bowen Yang, etc.
Directed by Raman Hui
3) KUNG FU PANDA 4
[March 8, 2024]
DreamWorks Animation’s second film of the year returns us to the world of Kung Fu Panda wherein Po is being promoted from Dragon Warrior to Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace. He must also battle a new nemesis, The Chameleon, a shapeshifter who can copy the kung fu of anyone, including Po’s former nemeses. The weird thing about this movie though is that the Furious Five seem to be absent.
W/the voices of Jack Black, Awkwafina, Viola Davis, Dustin Hoffman, James Hong, Bryan Cranston, Ian McShane, Ke Huy Quan, etc.
Directed by Mike Mitchell
4) THE GARFIELD MOVIE
[May 24, 2024]
In his first fully-animated theatrical film, Garfield the cat, embarks on a journey when he’s reunited with his long-lost father.
W/the voices of Chris Pratt (because, of course he’s Garfield!), Samuel L. Jackson, Harvey Guillén, Nicholas Hoult, Hannah Waddingham, Ving Rhames, Cecily Strong, etc.
Directed by Mark Dindal
5) INSIDE OUT 2
[June 14, 2024]
Pixar’s film of the year brings us the sequel to Inside Out wherein Riley develops new emotions.
W/the voices of Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Tony Hale, Liza Lapira, Maya Hawke, etc.
Directed by Kelsey Mann
6) DESPICABLE ME 4
[July 3, 2024]
Illumination Entertainment returns us to the world of Gru in Despicable Me 4. No plot details have been announced yet.
W/the voices of Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin, Miranda Cosgrove, Steve Coogan, etc.
Directed by Chris Renaud
7) TRANSFORMERS ONE
[September 13, 2024]
Paramount Animation’s second film of the year brings us the origin story of how Optimus Prime and Megatron became enemies in the first animated theatrical Transformers film since The Transformers: The Movie.
W/the voices of Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Jon Hamm, Laurence Fishburne, etc.
Directed by Josh Cooley
8) THE WILD ROBOT
[September 20, 2024]
DreamWorks Animation’s third film of the year adapts Peter Brown’s book for the big screen wherein a robot befriends a group of misfit animals and must protect their island from the robot manufacturer’s invasion.
No voice cast announced yet.
Directed by Chris Sanders
9) UNTITLED WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS FILM
[November 27, 2024]
No plot details have been announced yet for the Disney Canon film of the year.
No voice cast announced yet.
No director announced yet.
10) THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM
[December 13, 2024]
Warner Bros. Animation brings us an anime Lord of the Rings prequel taking place 261 years before the events of The Two Towers.
W/the voices of Brian Cox, Miranda Otto, Lorraine Ashbourne, Luke Pasqualino, etc.
Directed by Kenji Kamiyama
My top three most anticipated animated films of 2024 are Inside Out 2, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, and Transformers One. Let me know what yours are in the comments below!
The Animation Commendation 
Same for me. Inside Out 2, Transformers One and The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim are the ones I’m most interested in. Especially since the Rings movie is hand-drawn animated in Japan. An anime co-produced by Warner Bros. Animation sounds interesting alone because I don’t remember if Hollywood ever actually produced an anime feature before.
Now that you mention it, I also don’t know if Hollywood ever produced an anime feature before.
Was Little Nemo in Slumberland produced in Hollywood?
That movie is kind of weird because it was a co-production between Japanese and American artists and animators but it didn’t come out in America until 3 years after it was released in Japan. Although it wasn’t distributed by a big Hollywood studio so Rohirrim is still pretty unprecedented.
Garfield and Kung Fu Panda 4 are the only ones I am interested in. I could not care less about Inside Out 2.
Kung Fu Panda 4 looks weird to me without the Furious Five. Hopefully I’m mistaken.
I’m interested in Orion and the Dark, The Tiger’s Apprentice, Inside Out 2, LOTR: The War of Rohirrin, and Kung Fu Panda 4
Good picks! I wish Tiger’s Apprentice had a different animation style personally.
Thank you!
Omg, I can’t believe Kung Fu Panda 4 is coming out! I am so excited! (But going from this post, is the reason why the Furious Five isn’t coming back because of the fact that Lucy Liu will be busy with The Tiger’s Apprentice?
I doubt that would be the reason. I feel they just didn’t know where to go with them storywise, so they just wrote them out?
Or maybe they will surprise us and they’ll actually be in the film? Who knows?