Animation isn’t limited to any generation. However, many animations are primarily geared towards a younger audience. Their vibrant, exciting graphics are a great way to engage with children and teach them life lessons. These are the highest-rated animated movies of 2023 and what kids can learn from them.
1. Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken
IMDb: 5.7/10
This DreamWorks movie has familiar beats. It follows Ruby who is awkard and feels invisible at school. After a thwarted attempt to fit in with the popular kids at school, she goes to the beach. Her over-protective mother has forbidden her from going into the water but Ruby does and discovers a whole new world where she’s secretly royalty and has to help defend the oceans from evil mermaids.
Lessons children can learn from it:
- To find yourself you need to take risks.
- Don’t hide important things from the people you love.
- Not everyone deserves your trust.
- Embrace your uniqueness.
- Also, apologizing is only the first step to fixing things.
- Teamwork is better for solving problems than struggling alone.
2. Wish
IMDb: 5.8/10
Disney’s latest fantasy musical pays homage to the original Disney animation song. Asha makes a wish upon a wishing star. The wish is so powerful that it’s answered by a cosmic force, Star. Asha and Star work together to save their kingdom from an evil king, finding her destiny and allowing magic to change her life for the better.
Lessons children can learn from it:
- Speak up when you see injustice and see how you can help.
- Don’t let others stop you from dreaming of better things for yourself.
- Working well with others is more rewarding.
- When people come together they can achieve stand up to abuses of power.
- Everyone has the right to hope.
- Controlling others is not love.
3. Chicken Run: Dawn of The Nugget
IMDb: 6.5/10
This is the much-awaited sequel of Chicken Run where the gang managed to escape to a peaceful island to escape from being turned into nuggets. It stars Zachary Levi and Thandie Newton. Ginger and the crew go back to the mainland to help a new batch of chickens facing renewed danger.
Lessons children can learn from it:
- Protective parents want to keep their children safe until they’re old enough to know better.
- It’s also ok to be curious and question your environment.
- Be brave.
- Sometimes children aren’t ready to learn about their parents’ past and that’s ok.
4. Elemental
IMDb: 7/10
This is Pixar’s latest entry into their canon. It’s set in a world where elements have been anthropomorphized. Fire, Land, Air, and Water residents live in this world designed to accommodate their specific needs. A fiery woman and a go-with-the-flow guy partner together to save her family’s store after her blunder. The animation has Disney’s signature flair and heartfelt messaging.
Lessons children can learn from it:
- People have more in common than they do differences and if you give others a chance, they may surprise you.
- Being open-minded is its own reward.
- Embrace the unique identities of others.
- Open yourself to discovering new passions.
- Communication needs to be open and free.
- Don’t leave important things unsaid.
- It’s okay to refuse to conform to your parents’ expectations and follow your dreams.
5. The Super Mario Bros. Movie
IMDb: 7/10
This was the highest-grossing animation of 2023, raking in an impressive $1.36 billion worldwide. It stars Chris Pratt and Anya Taylor Joy and was a more enjoyable movie compared to the 1993 attempt at a Super Mario Bros adaptation. Fans can argue that the movie was a fan service for Nintendo fans, including Jungle Kingdom, Mushroom Kingdom, and Rainbow Road.
Lessons children can learn from it
- Family will be there for you.
- Embrace your uniqueness.
- Also, know the limits of risks.
- Learn to adapt to new environments like a new school or home.
6. Leo
IMDb 7/10
Adam Sandler returns to his career as a voice actor in this surprise 2023 hit. It’s his first voice role since the successful Hotel Transylvania franchise. In Leo, Sandler plays an old wise lizard who has been stuck in the same Florida school for decades. When he finds out he has one year left to live, he decides to escape and see the world. But first, he has to rescue his class from their mean substitute teacher.
Lessons children can learn from it:
- Listening, not constantly talking, is the best way to gain friends.
- Experienced adults often know better and it’s important to listen to them.
- Honesty is more valuable than telling people what they want to hear.
- Don’t be afraid to show how good you are at something.
- It’s okay to step out of a parent’s shadow and be curious about the world.
7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtle Mayhem
IMDb: 7.2/10
The Turtles are back and the internet’s favourite crime-fighting reptilian sibling foursome is back for a fresh new take on the story. In this, the movie has a whole new art style, making it stand out from the myriad adaptations that exist. One may even call it a successful Gen Z-fication of the property. It also has a modern hip-hop soundtrack and jokes that resonate with that demographic. Written by and starring Seth Rogen, this adventure follows the brothers as they try to stop a plan to enable mutant supremacy over humans.
Lessons children can learn from it:
- To be a leader means to sacrifice personal desires for the greater good.
- In addition, lead by example.
- Don’t let ego get in the way of working together with others.
- Consider what others need.
- Seek others’ help to solve problems.
- Learn to trust your instincts and improvise where you can.
- Depend on others to create a better community with your friends and family.
8. Nimona
IMDb: 7.5/10
After Disney decided to gut Blue Sky Entertainment, many of their employers found their properties would be left to the annals of forgotten films. However, Netflix and other organisations came to the rescue of this unique animation. Starring Riz Ahmed and Chloe Grace Moretz, it follows a sci-fi universe informed by a medieval aesthetic. Nimona is a shapeshifter who forces her way into being the sidekick of a disgraced knight who is sworn to kill a monster, who just might be Nimona.
Lessons children can learn from it:
- Understand that you can be wrong and should be willing to repair your thought process when presented with a less harmful worldview.
- Don’t get bogged down by what other people think of you.
- Don’t be small-minded or ask people invasive questions based on your limited worldview.
- Be yourself, it’s the best that you can be.
- Your words can hurt others gravely, be careful how you use them.
9. The Boy and The Heron
IMDb: 7.7/10
Studio Ghibli’s latest release harkens back to the era of Christian Bale’s Howl’s Moving Castle. However, The Boy and The Heron stars another Batman legacy, Robert Pattinson as he’s never been heard before. Fans have been waiting for an original Hayao Miyazaki feature for ten years. The story follows the titular boy, Mahito, during WW2, as he struggles to live in a new town after his mother’s death. A talking heron shows up delivering news of his mother, saying she’s still alive. They enter a tower where the heron says his mother still resides but it may be a portal to another world.
Lessons children can learn from it:
- Grief can make it difficult to connect with others.
- You shouldn’t use escapism to completely disengage from your problems.
- The harshness of the world can help you become gentler.
- It’s important to be patient and persevere when trying to accomplish a goal.
- Learn to live in harmony with the environment. (This is common in many Studio Ghibli movies)
- Adapt to harsh circumstances and don’t succumb to despair.
- Happiness can be gained from accomplishing the simple things that give you joy in your life.
10. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
IMDb: 8.6/10
This is the sequel to the Oscar-nominated Into the Spider-Verse. With its unique animation, great voice cast and refreshing take on everyone’s favourite friendly neighbourhood superhero, Across the Spider-Verse is considered the best animation of the year. It also has the highest Rotten Tomatoes rating, rated fresh with a 95% score. In it, Miles reunites with Gwen and they go on an adventure across the Spider-Verse where they meet other Spider People. Together, they have to stop a villain who plans to harness the powers of the multiverse for nefarious purposes.
Lessons children can learn from it:
- Accept and face your responsibilities.
- You can be the hero in your own life (this is also in the first movie).
- You have the strength within to rise above the struggles you face.
- The differences you have with the people around you only strengthen you more.
- Also, learn all you can from your mentors and others who know or have experienced more than you.
- Nurture your uniqueness.
- You have the strength within to persevere through loss.
- Overcome your failures by facing your fears, not hiding from them.
- Your actions also leave a mark on everyone you meet.
- Embrace change.
- True heroism resides in empathy, understanding others, and being selfless.
- Learn from your mistakes and give others the grace to do the same.
- Never give up on what you hope to accomplish and don’t be afraid to ask for help.
- Hope is powerful.
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