The best animated movies on Netflix right now

There have been 14 Land Before Time movies to date, most of which went direct-to-video. But it’s only the original Land Before Time that ranks among the best animated movies on Netflix, thanks in large part to the partnership between animation legend Don Bluth and producer Steven Spielberg, neither of whom returned for the 13-and-counting sequels.

The story takes place in the age of dinosaurs, as Littlefoot (Gabriel Damon) and his new friends Cera (Candace Hutson), Ducky (Judith Barsi), and Petrie (Will Ryan) are separated from their parents during a natural disaster. Despite some disagreements between them, this group of disparate dinosaurs has to stick together during a perilous journey to the Great Valley if they want a chance to survive.

Life’s not a beach for the title character of Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken. In fact, Ruby (Lana Condor) isn’t even supposed to get in the water due to a rule imposed by her strict mother, Agatha Gillman (Toni Collette). Ruby only discovers the reason why after she saves the life of a boy that she likes named Connor (Jaboukie Young-White). The ocean water triggers a transformation that turns Ruby into a giant Kraken.

This is the legacy that Ruby has inherited from Grandmamah (Jane Fonda), and she also discovers that her people, the krakens, have a long-standing feud with mermaids. But the only mermaid that Ruby knows is Chelsea Van Der Zee (Annie Murphy), who is eager to be friends with her. However, there are secrets under the sea that Ruby doesn’t know yet, and they could prove to be devastating for her family and the world.

DreamWorks Animation’s Turbo features Ryan Reynolds in the leading role as Theo, an ordinary garden snail whose dreams are too big for the backyard. Inexplicably, Theo is obsessed with speed and a big fan of Indy 500 champion Guy Gagné (Bill Hader). Theo’s brother, Chet (The Holdovers‘ Paul Giamatti), doesn’t share his interests, but both siblings are torn from heir ordinary lives when Theo gets super speed from a freak accident.

After meeting and befriending some humans, Theo renames himself Turbo and demonstrates that he’s faster than almost any car. This earns Turbo a chance to directly compete against Guy, which will give Turbo the unfortunate lesson of why it’s not a good idea to meet your heroes.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind screenwriter Charlie Kaufman may seem like an odd choice to adapt Emma Yarlett’s children’s novel Orion and the Dark, but Kaufman and director Sean Charmatz have delivered one of Netflix’s best original animated films to date. There’s also a very good chance that it could be a contender when next year’s Oscar season comes around.

The film follows Orion (Jacob Tremblay), a kid who is frightened out of his mind by just about everything, especially the dark. Over time, this becomes very annoying to Dark (Black Bird‘s Paul Walter Hauser), the literal embodiment of darkness. In a conciliatory gesture, Dark not only reveals himself to Orion but also offers to help him conquer his fears by taking him on an unforgettable adventure that may change both of their lives.

All the Minions want to do is serve the most evil humans alive. Is that so wrong? Well, it is the way they do it! Minions is a Despicable Me spinoff that reveals just how lucky Gru has been over the years because almost all of his predecessors were killed by the incompetence of these little yellow nincompoops (all of whom are voiced by Pierre Coffin).

In 1968, three Minions — Kevin, Stuart, and Bob — go out and search for a new master to serve. They soon settle on Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock), the world’s first female supervillain. Regardless, the trio of Minions soon wreck things by making an enemy out of Scarlet herself, and she’s not the forgiving type.