New animated movies coming to Netflix : complete guide
Netflix's animated pipeline for 2026 and beyond is stacking up fast. With over a dozen projects at various stages of development, keeping tabs on what's actually confirmed — and what's quietly been shelved — takes some digging. We track this kind of availability data constantly, and right now the lineup is genuinely impressive. A quick note before we dive in : several titles have already been dropped from our radar. Red Wall was officially scrapped. The Shrinking of Treehorn (Ron Howard's project) appears to have severed ties with Netflix. Other titles like Prince of Port Au Prince and The Witch Boy remain in limbo. We've left those out, along with Guillermo del Toro's The Buried Giant and an untitled Don Hall film from Skydance Animation.
Netflix animated films confirmed for 2026
Three titles are locked in for release this year, each with a very different flavor. Here's what's coming, organized by release date :
- I Am Frankelda — Release : June 16, 2026
Directed by Arturo and Roy Ambriz (the Ambriz Brothers), this Mexican stop-motion feature runs 114 minutes and arrives with Guillermo del Toro's full backing. Set in 19th-century Mexico, it follows Frankelda, a writer whose dark imagination literally swallows her whole — her macabre creatures come to life when she's thrust into her own subconscious. The film already pulled in over $880,000 at the worldwide box office during a limited theatrical run. With a score by Kevin Smithers and production design by Bruce Zick, it blends feminist themes, musical numbers, and genuinely eerie stop-motion craft. Easily one of the most distinctive animated films Netflix has scheduled this summer. - Steps — Release : 2026 (TBD)
Produced by Amy Poehler's Paper Kite Productions, this CGI comedy flips the Cinderella story to focus on the stepsisters. Ali Wong voices Lilith, Stephanie Hsu voices Margot, and Amanda Seyfried takes on Cinderella herself. Garfunkel and Oates (Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci) serve as Executive Producers. The premise — Lilith accidentally turns her sister into a frog after stealing a magic wand — is exactly the kind of chaotic fairytale subversion that plays well for both kids and adults. - Ray Gunn — Release : Late 2026
The most anticipated animated project Netflix has lined up this year. Brad Bird, the director behind The Incredibles and Ratatouille, helms this Skydance Animation production set in Metropia — a sprawling city imagined as a 1930s vision of the future. Private eye Raymond Gunn gets pulled into a case involving aliens, murder, and a multimedia star named Venus Nova. Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Waits, and John Ratzenberger make up a stacked voice cast. Michael Giacchino handles the score. For a fuller breakdown of what to expect, check out our dedicated piece on Ray Gunn, Brad Bird's Netflix animation epic.
2027 and beyond : sequels, reboots and original projects
The further out you look, the more the slate expands — and the more sequels appear. Netflix is clearly doubling down on proven franchises while also betting on a few bold originals.
| Title | Studio | Expected Release | Target Audience |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory | Sony Pictures Animation | 2027 | Family / Teens |
| The Mitchells vs. the Mitchells | Sony / Lord Miller | TBA | Family |
| Ghostbusters Animated Feature | Sony Pictures / Netflix | TBA | Family |
| Jack and the Beanstalk (Skydance) | Skydance Animation | TBA | Family |
| Leo 2 | Happy Madison / Netflix | TBA | Kids / Family |
| KPop Demon Hunters 2 | Sony Pictures Animation | 2029 or later | Teens / Young Adults |
| The Sea Beast 2 | Netflix Animation | TBA | Family / Adventure fans |
Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory lands in 2027, directed by Elaine Bogan and Jared Stern with Taika Waititi voicing Willy Wonka post-prison and Kit Connor as teenage heist mastermind Charlie Paley. The setup is surprisingly sharp — what does Wonka do after being jailed for turning a child into a blueberry ? The Mitchells sequel, currently working under the title The Mitchells vs. the Mitchells, brings back Phil Lord and Christopher Miller as producers, with Guillermo Martinez and JP Sans co-directing. Martinez cut his teeth as head of story on the original, then worked on Spider-Man : Across the Spider-Verse.
Adam Sandler returns to voice Leo in Leo 2, produced through his Happy Madison banner. The original, released in 2023, became one of Netflix's biggest animated wins. KPop Demon Hunters 2 is deep in early development, with Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang both returning to direct — but a 2029 release is the current target, and even that may slip. The Sea Beast 2 reunites director Chris Williams with producer Jed Schlanger, continuing Jacob Holland's story as a new parent navigating a world that no longer needs monster hunters.
What the Skydance Animation deal really means for Netflix subscribers
Skydance Animation's partnership with Netflix is quietly one of the most significant deals in streaming animation right now. Ray Gunn will be their third film for Netflix, following Spellbound and Swapped. The untitled Jack and the Beanstalk project — directed by Rich Moore, the Oscar-winning director behind Wreck-It Ralph and Zootopia — will be their fourth. That's a consistent pipeline of theatrical-quality animation landing exclusively on the platform.
Worth keeping in mind : Sony and Universal's animated theatrical releases also flow to Netflix through first-window deals — globally for Sony starting in 2027. That means titles like Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory and the Mitchells sequel aren't just Netflix originals in the traditional sense — they're part of a broader strategy to make Netflix the default destination for premium animated content after the theatrical window closes. We'll update our tracking as release windows firm up.