10 Animated Shows And Movies That Blew Us Away At Netflix's Animation Presentation

We're just a few days away from the premiere of "Ultraman: Rising" on Netflix, the latest addition to the ever-growing animation library of the streamer. Animation has been on shaky ground for the last few years, with the animation guild growing stronger to fight for fair contractions as creatives continue to battle against the dystopian threat of artificial intelligence. Fortunately, animation is still as popular and well-loved as ever, and Netflix has been absolutely crushing it as of late. Not only did the streamer pull in an Academy Award for Guillermo del Toro's "Pinocchio" in 2022, but shows like "Blue Eye Samurai," "Arcane," "Love, Death, & Robots," and movies like "Wendell & Wild," "The Sea Beast," and "The Mitchells vs. the Machines" are some of the best releases of original animation, period.

Today I was in attendance at the Next on Netflix: Animation event to preview their upcoming slate of animation, and dear reader, I practically turned into a Tex Avery cartoon with how wide my eyes got admiring what is heading our way. Hosted by "Ultraman: Rising" star Christopher Sean (with interruptions from "Big Mouth" star Nick Kroll as Lola), anime, CG animation, stop-motion claymation, and breathtaking 2D artistry were all on display, but there were some genuine gasps in the audience for some of the new projects. Here are the 10 things that totally blew me away.

Picking up after the events of the video game's Survivor Trilogy ("Tomb Raider," "Rise of the Tomb Raider," "Shadow of the Tomb Raider") the new animated series follows the globetrotting heroine's next chapter as the iconic adventurer. Debuting over a quarter of a century after her first appearance, Lara Croft (voiced here by "Mission: Impossible" star Hayley Atwell) continues to explore ancient mysteries and uncover lost truths across breathtaking and dangerous destinations. Tasha Huo serves as the writer/showrunner/executive producer, and joining Atwell in the voice cast is Allen Maldonado and Earl Baylon. The animation from Powerhouse Animation Studio looks gorgeous, the action looks electric, and I can't wait to see what adventures Netflix has in store.

"Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft" premieres on October 10, 2024.

Netflix has been giving Zack Snyder carte blanche these days with "Army of the Dead," "Army of Thieves," and his recent epics "Rebel Moon Part 1 & 2," but he's not stopping there. He's also got a new animated series coming this fall called "Twilight of the Gods," which is his take on Norse mythology. Featuring the voices of Sylvia Hoeks, Stuart Martin, Pilou Asbaek, John Noble, Paterson Joseph, Rahul Kohli, Jamie Clayton, Kristopher Hivju, Peter Stormare, Jamie Chung, Lauren Cohan, Corey Stoll, and many others, Snyder also served as a director on two of the eight episodes. Xilam Animation provided the visuals, and while admittedly I was more into the animation than the story that was teased, I'm most curious to see how Snyder's brand of storytelling works in animation.

There's no date yet announced for the premiere, but "Twilight of the Gods" will arrive sometime this fall.

Directed by Alex Woo and Erik Benson, "In Your Dreams" is a very charming family-friendly animated adventure comedy about Stevie (12) and her little brother Elliot (8) who enter the creative land of their own dreams in search of the Sandman to grant their wish of having the perfect family. The dreamland is filled with fantastical creatures and anthropomorphic objects (so many talking zombie breakfast foods!), but their sidekick is a wisecracking giraffe filled with bologna voiced by Craig Robinson. Simu Liu voices the kids' father, and while the audience was cracking up at some of these dream creatures' personalities, I have a sneaking suspicion this film is gonna pull a fast one on us all and make us cry.

"In Your Dreams" arrives in 2025.

BELOVED CHARACTER ACTRESS MARGO MARTINDALE IS VOICING A ROALD DAHL CHARACTER, THIS IS NOT A DRILL! Netflix has developed a great relationship with the Roald Dahl estate as of late, with Wes Anderson's fantastic short films in 2023 and now their animated adaptation of "The Twits." Here's the official synopsis:

Mr. and Mrs. Twit are the meanest, smelliest, nastiest people in the world who also happen to own and operate the most disgusting, most dangerous, most idiotic amusement park in the world, Twitlandia. But when the Twits rise to power in their town, two brave orphans and a family of magical animals are forced to become as tricky as the Twits in order to save the city. A hysterically funny, wild ride of a film (chock-full of the Twits' beloved tricks–from the Wormy Spaghetti to the Dreaded Shrinks), The Twits is also a story for our times, about the never-ending battle between cruelty and empathy.

Directed by Phil Johnston from a script by Johnston and Meg Favreau, the voice cast includes Martindale and Johnny Vegas as the titular couple, with Natalie Portman and Emilia Clarke joining in as well. The movie looks like a twisted Sir Quentin Blake illustration come to life, which is exactly what "The Twits" deserves. "The Twits" arrives sometime in 2025.

When Bikini Bottom and all its denizens are suddenly scooped out of the ocean, Sandy Cheeks and SpongeBob SquarePants journey to Texas to save the town from a villainous plot. You read that correctly, Netflix is getting a SpongeBob movie — but this one is all about Sandy and her extended family. The standout voice cast includes "SpongeBob SquarePants" favorites as well as some legendary newcomers, so try to keep your jaw off the floor when you read this cast list: Carolyn Lawrence, Tom Kenny, Wanda Sykes, Clancy Brown, Bill Fagerbakke, Mr. Lawrence, Rodger Bumpass, Johnny Knoxville, Craig Robinson, Grey Delisle, Ilia Isorelys Paulino, and Matty Cardarople. The film comes from director Liza Johnson from a teleplay by Kaz and Tom Stern. I was cracking up throughout the footage shown and I can't wait to hear why SpongeBob is able to be in Texas without a water helmet on.

"Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie" arrives on August 2, 2024.

Wake up, babe! News about a new teenage girl fighting the supernatural series just dropped. "Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld" follows the titular character (voiced by executive producer Ali Wong), a Chinese-American teen living in a small Texas town, who finds out a demon king is hunting her for the supernatural powers she's been working her whole life to repress.

Fortunately, with the help of her weapons expert great-aunt and a millennia-old jiangshi (Chinese hopping vampire), Jentry must now fight an entire underworld's worth of monsters while balancing the horrors of high school. Created and showrun by Echo Wu, the series has a killer voice cast including Wong, Bowen Yang, Lori Tan Chinn, Lucy Liu, Jimmy O. Yang, Sheng Wang, and Woosung Kim, with 2D animation from Titmouse.

"Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld" debuts sometime in 2024.

Netflix looks like it's about to come for Disney's crown with "Spellbound." I'm gonna show you the synopsis, but it's the creative team behind it that's really going to make your face melt. "Spellbound follows the adventures of Ellian, the tenacious young daughter of the rulers of Lumbria who must go on a daring quest to save her family and kingdom after a mysterious spell transforms her parents into monsters." Sounds cute, yeah? Good news. It is. The animation is so stinkin' cute I wanted to scream. But hold onto your butts because here's where the magic happens.

"Spellbound" is directed by Vicky Jenson (co-director of "Shrek") with an original score from EGOT-winning composer ALAN FREAKIN' MENKIN and lyrics by Glenn Slater ("Tangled"). A Netflix film from Skydance Animation, "Spellbound" boasts an all-star voice cast led by Rachel Zegler, Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, John Lithgow, Jenifer Lewis, Nathan Lane, and Tituss Burgess. Yeah, they're totally gunning for the Oscar with this one.

"Spellbound" premieres on November 22, 2024.

Anime fans, we're eating good this year. Studio Ponoc's "The Imaginary" portrays the depths of humanity and creativity through the eyes of young Amanda and her imaginary companion, Rudger. Their fantastical adventures launched from her attic, lead them to discover a magical world of creatures and places never before seen until a sinister force threatens to destroy their imaginary world and the friendship within it. The film is directed by renowned animator Yoshiyuki Momose ("Spirited Away"), and promises to be an unforgettable adventure of love, loss, and the healing power of imagination.

The film is also written and produced by two-time Academy Award nominee Yoshiaki Nishimura ("The Tale of The Princess Kaguya," "When Marnie Was There") and the English-dub voice cast includes Louie Rudge-Buchanan, Evie Kiszel, Hayley Atwell, Sky Katz, Jeremy Swift, Kal Penn, LeVar Burton, Jane Singer, Ruby Barnhill, Roger Craig Smith, Courtenay Taylor, and Miles Nibbe. The preview for this film was overwhelmingly gorgeous, and I urge everyone still high on "The Boy and the Heron" from last year to make sure this one stays on their radar and doesn't get swallowed up by the SEO-hellscape caused by Blumhouse's "Imaginary" and John Krasinski's "IF."

"The Imaginary" debuts on July 5, 2024.

We've known about (and have been SUPER HYPE FOR) "Terminator Zero" for quite some time now, but the anime set in the world of the greatest action franchise ever has some MASSIVE news to share. But first, here's the synopsis:

"2022: A future war has raged for decades between the few human survivors and an endless army of machines. 1997: The AI known as Skynet gained self-awareness and began its war against humanity. Caught between the future and this past is a soldier sent back in time to change the fate of humanity. She arrives in 1997 to protect a scientist named Malcolm Lee who works to launch a new AI system designed to compete with Skynet's impending attack on humanity. As Malcolm navigates the moral complexities of his creation, he is hunted by an unrelenting assassin from the future which forever alters the fate of his three children."

Mattson Tomlin ("Project Power," "The Batman II") is the showrunner/EP/writer of the series with animation from Production IG, but the biggest reveal about the show from today's presentation is that the Terminator, as in the Terminator ... IS TIMOTHY OLYPHANT!!! I'm so excited I feel like I can snap a metal endoskeleton with my bare hands!

"Terminator Zero" premieres on August 29, 2024.

But wait, there's more! There were a ton of really awesome announcements made with little sneak peeks that I unfortunately don't get to physically share, but here are some titles that will hopefully get you pumped:

"K-Pop: Demon Hunters"

"Jurassic World: Chaos Theory" season 2

"Pookoo"

"Tokyo Override"

"That Christmas"

"Arcane" season 2

"Big Mouth: The Final Season"

"Exploding Kittens"

"Hot Wheels Let's Race" season 2

"Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl" (NEW WALLACE & GROMIT MOVIE!)

"My Oni Girl"

"The Undervale"

"Motel Transylvania" (Yep! It's a "Hotel Transylvania" spin-off series!)

"Plankton: The Movie" (More SpongeBob!)

"Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Cosmos The Movie"

Oh, and not to bury the lede here, but new shows based on "Stranger Things," "Ghostbusters," and "Minecraft" are in the works. The "Minecraft" series is in development with WildBrain, the studio behind "Sonic Prime," "Ninjago: Dragons Rising," and "Carmen Sandiego."

That's a hell of a line-up, and we at /Film will keep you up to date with more information as it becomes available.