Top 20 Worst Animated Movies of the Century (So Far)
Top 20 Worst Animated Movies of the Century (So Far)
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The golden age of animation, this ain’t. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Worst Animated Movies of the Century (So Far). For this list, we’ll be looking at the absolute worst animated movies the 20th century has produced to date. Anything released in or after the year 2000 is eligible, so earlier films like 1998’s “Pocahontas II” (yes, that’s a thing that exists) will not be eligible. We’re also disqualifying TV movies and films that strive for full photorealism and use real sets, like “Cats”.
#20: “Mars Needs Moms” (2011)
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Not every animated movie from the legendary Walt Disney company can become a classic, but we still expect better from the House of Mouse than this. A limp and lifeless animated feature starring Seth Green, the film follows a young boy named Milo as he tries to rescue his kidnapped mother from Martian invaders. While later entries in our list will defiantly stride into “so bad it’s good” territory, this one is just bland and forgettable, with uninteresting or outright annoying characters, massive tonal shifts and just nothing to really keep viewers engaged. Despite being a major studio release, the film was forgotten almost as soon as it arrived.
#19: “Planes” (2013)
Hey, you remember “Cars?” Remember how it was… good, but sort of lacking in terms of depth? It was a solid enough kids movie, sure, but pretty mediocre judged by Pixar’s many incredible films. Well, “Planes”is the bland and unoriginal spin-off that makes you realise that “Cars” could have been much worse. This film feels like a monetary decision and nothing more; the first two “Cars” films made buttloads of cash, and so Disney produced this spinoff to keep the sweet greenbacks coming. The result is about what you’d expect: a by the numbers children’s adventure with celebrity voices and little in the way of original ideas.
#18: “Cars 2” (2011)
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Hey, you remember “Cars?” Ok, we’re not gonna reuse everything we said in our last entry, but we were tempted. Almost everything that could be said about Disney’s airborne spinoff to “Cars” could also be said about this glossy direct sequel. While it’s certainly technically proficient and visually eye-catching, this is among Pixar’s shallowest and most blatantly commercial efforts to date. While the studio made its name with kids’ films that were thoughtful, mature and often dealt with heavy subjects, this entry just feels like a cash grab - both at the box office and the toy store. And from a studio of such illustrious pedigree, we just expect better. We’re not angry, Pixar, we’re just disappointed.
#17: “UglyDolls” (2019)
If you were a parent or toy collector in the early 2000s, you may remember the series of plush dolls that this animated film is based on. Evidently, not that many people remembered the brand when the film adaptation came out in 2019, as the film underperformed at the box office. Those who did see the film were greeted by a colorful and cheery but ultimately derivative animated musical, despite singers like Nick Jonas, Pitbull, Kelly Clarkson and Janelle Monáe providing voices and musical numbers for the film. In an interesting tidbit, the film was originally slated to be directed and written by “Sin City” co-director Robert Rodriguez. Makes you wonder what kind of movie it could have been, doesn’t it?
#16: “The Queen's Corgi” (2019)
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It’s an empirical fact that Corgis are just plain adorable, with the stubby little legs, sweet faces and fluffy tummies. And yet, our love of these adorable pups just isn’t enough to carry this abysmal animated film from Belgium’s nWave Pictures. The film follows Rex, the favorite Corgi of Queen Elizabeth II, who finds himself in the pound after biting Donald Trump. Yeah, we’re serious. The film is 85 minutes of bad jokes and presentable but unremarkable animation, with a bewilderingly high-class voice cast including Jack Whitehall, Ray Winstone, and Julie Walters. Couldn’t they have just made a movie about Cheddar from “Brooklyn Nine Nine?”
#15: “Sir Billi” (2012)
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The career of Sir Sean Connery is nothing short of legendary even outside his stint as James Bond. The Scottish actor has countless classic films under his belt… and this low-rent Scottish animated feature film. The film sees Connery voicing an eldery, skateboarding veterinarian who must save a fugitive beaver named Bessie Boo. And while Connery can and has brought dignity and gravitas to many a role, this isn’t one of them. The CGI is also pretty unpleasant to look at, even when you take the film’s relatively meagre budget into account. Why Connery came out of retirement for a movie like this, we will never know.
#14: “Playmobil The Movie” (2019)
Since its inception in the 1970s, this toy line has been in fierce competition with chief rival Lego, so it’s not that surprising that they’d try and replicate Lego’s success on the big screen. We wish we could say that their failure to do so was a surprise, but that would be a lie. The film sees siblings Charlie and Marla transported to the Playmobil world. After Charlie is taken prisoner by pirates, Marla must save him in an adventure that pits her against aliens, dinosaurs, robots and more. Maybe if it had come out first, this movie might have fared better. But especially when compared to its brick-building rival, “Playmobil: The Movie” just can’t compete.
#13: “Kiara the Brave” (2011)
The term “Mockbuster” refers to movies that are intentionally similar, sometimes to the point of legal sketchiness, to big high-profile movies released around the same time. At best, the idea is to ride another movie’s coattails. At worst, these movies hope to make their money from people who buy or rent them by mistake. You can probably figure out which film this bargain-basement animated feature is imitating all on your own, but if you need a hint, take a look at the title. A woefully inept and visually hideous mess, this film is somehow even worse than you’d expect, with animation that looks decades out of date and some of the worst voice acting we’ve ever heard.
#12: “Doogal” (2006)
If you found yourself at a video store in the mid-2000s, you may have glanced at the cover of this animated film gathering dust in the kid’s section. Despite the voice cast including Judi Dench, Jon Stewart, Ian McKellan and a number of other high-profile names, the film is an absolute slog, and there’s a reason. The film was originally made and released in the UK as “The Magic Roundabout”, but was recut and re-dubbed for the US-release, with American actors delivering already-dated pop culture references and flatulence jokes. While it may have been tolerable in its original form, studio meddling rendered this American version nearly unwatchable.
#11: “Delgo” (2008)
Another all-star of DVD bargain bins everywhere, this 2008 animated feature redefined the term ‘box-office bomb’ upon release. Against a budget of 40 million dollars, the film grossed barely over half a million dollars. Those are the kinds of numbers that make studio execs question their career choices. We wish we could say the film is an underappreciated gem, but it’s mostly just a hodgepodge of sci-fi/fantasy tropes held together by not-especially-great looking animation. Not even the presence of film legend Anne Bancroft could save this one, and she’s been known to work a miracle or two in her day.
#10: “Sherlock Gnomes” (2018)
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A sequel to 2011’s ‘Gnomeo and Juliet’, this 2018 film continues the franchise's tradition of basing pretty much the entire movie around one lame pun. See, he’s a Sherlock Holmes-style detective, but he’s a gnome. Ya get it? That one joke is the foundation on which almost the entire movie rests on, and if that seems like a bad basis for a movie to you, you officially have more sense than the producers did. The film spends an agonizing 86 minutes stretching this joke into a series of set-pieces and gags, and even the youngest audience member is likely to get bored long before the credits roll.
#9: “The Nut Job” (2014)
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CGI movies starring whacky talking animals have had their fair share of success over the years, but this entry just feels like a pale imitation of other, better films. The film follows Surly, a squirrel voiced by Will Arnett, who makes his living stealing food in the big city. The film is modelled after classic heist movies, but doesn’t end up stealing much beyond the audience’s time and money. It’s got an A-list voice cast, but they’re sleepwalking their way through the dialogue, and the pop-culture references felt dated even at the time of release. The film just doesn’t stand out from the crowded genre it inhabits, and we wouldn’t be surprised if half the people who watched... forgot it ever even existed.
#8: “Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return” (2013)
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‘The Wizard of Oz’ is beyond iconic; its place as one of the most beloved films of classic Hollywood is unshakable. With that in mind, any film that brings audiences back to the world of Oz has some pretty big Ruby Slippers to fill. Based on a novel by Roger Stanton Baum, great-grandson of original Oz writer L. Frank Baum, this CGI movie doesn’t measure up to the legacy of either the books or the classic film, feeling more like a knock-off than a real return to the Merry Old Land of Oz. The animation is dated and unimpressive, and the songs are generally more tedious than toe-tapping.
#7: “Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil” (2011)
The original “Hoodwinked!” turned a lot of heads with its combination of fairytale hijinx and modern charm. Plus it turned a very strong profit from its modest budget, and so a sequel was greenlit. Unfortunately, the high standard set by the first film proved too much for this ill-fated follow-up. Despite actually having a higher budget, the sequel somehow looks worse than its predecessor, and was lacking in both charm and wit. It should also be noted that by 2011, the “Shrek” franchise had taken the whole ‘edgy fairytale’ bit about as far as it could be taken, leaving very little room for the Hoodwinked franchise, which is very much in the same vein.
#6: “A Car's Life: Sparky's Big Adventure” (2006)
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Released the same year as the much, much, MUCH better known Pixar movie, we’d bet cash money that this low-budget animated movie tricked a few unwary souls into buying or renting it by mistake. Clocking in at a thankfully brief 40 minutes, the film is closer to an animated short than a full feature, and follows an obnoxious red sports car named Sparky. As you can probably see from the footage, the film’s animation is beyond terrible, and the voice acting makes Larry the Cable Guy sound like a downright thespian. Just imagine being a ten year old kid and getting this for Christmas. “That’s the one you wanted, right?”
#5: “Trollz” (2016)
Alright folks, let’s talk about The Asylum. If you’re familiar with mockbusters, odds are you’ve encountered this company before. Heck, they practically invented the genre. Animated movies aren’t something they do often, but when they do they’re generally as horrible as you would expect. A low-budget imitator of Dreamworks’ ‘Trolls’, this film follows a young troll who befriends a human. This high on our list, bad animation should be par for the course, but this movie doubles down by being just plain ugly. Rather than cute, this movie’s versions of trolls are hideous to look at, making the movie an uncomfortable chore to get through.
#4: “Titanic: The Legend Goes On” (2000)
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The sinking of the Titanic is widely seen as one of the greatest tragedies in the history of sea travel. Around 1,500 lives were lost, and those that survived were left forever scarred by the horrific experience. So what could have possibly possessed the makers of this film to turn the event into an animated film featuring talking animals and a rapping dog?! Oh right, money. The film’s sheer tastelessness wouldn’t be quite as bad if it were at least well-animated, but it looks like a lazy attempt to copy the style of animator Don Bluth. Add some atrocious voice acting and a schmaltzy ending, and this one’s just embarrassing.
#3: “Norm of the North” (2016)
The best kinds of kids movies are ones that don’t talk down to their audience. Written and produced with enough cleverness, style and heart, an animated film can and should be enjoyable for audiences of all ages. The makers of this film evidently thought they could substitute all of that with a twerking polar bear. Surprise surprise, it didn’t work. Rob Schneider headlines as the titular Norm, a polar bear gifted with the ability to speak to humans. After his grandfather disappears, Norm must use the ability to find him. Witless, obnoxious and annoying in the extreme, this movie has probably driven a least a few parents up the wall. Oh, and did we mention it has THREE sequels?
#2: “Foodfight!” (2012)
While not offensive enough to take our top spot, this entry is one of the most legendarily bad movies of all time, so much so that it’s gained a cult following. The film had an amazing troubled production, and was originally meant to be released in the early 2000s before being haphazardly released direct-to-dvd in 2012. The results speak for themselves. The movie follows a group of living food mascots whose grocery store comes under threat from the shady “Brand X”, prompting hero Dex Dogtective to try and save the day. It’s just one baffling decision after another as the film stumbles to its conclusion, which naturally involves a dog and a woman getting married. Kinda says it all, huh? Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. “Ice Age: Collision Course” (2016) For Franchise Fatigue “Where the Dead Go to Die” (2012) For Being 90 Minutes of “Huh?” “Free Birds” (2013) For Making the Angry Birds Movie Look Inspired “Tarzan” (2013) Because You Forgot It Even Existed “Eight Crazy Nights” (2002) For Hopeless Hanukkah Hijinx
#1: “The Emoji Movie” (2017)
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While there may be worse movies out there, this 2017 film takes the top spot for falling right into that ‘how does this exist’ category from the get-go and never escaping it. T.J Miller voices Gene, an emoji capable of multiple expressions, as he embarks on a quest to get reprogrammed. Along the way Gene encounters various apps and malware while the user of the cellphone he inhabits struggles to get his phone working again. Almost from the moment it was announced moviegoers figured it would be a cynical cash-grab trying desperately to spin a movie out of a bunch of character-less icons. And wouldn’t you know it, they were right.
