The 15 Best Animated War Movies, Ranked
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When one thinks of war movies, one commonly imagines live-action features, with actors playing soldiers stuck on the battlefield, being bombarded by bombs and bullets, or sometimes by swords and arrows. Acclaimed triumphs like Saving Private Ryan or epic historical tales like Lawrence of Arabia are common examples of what a war movie should be. To many, these movies are always live-action to make the chaos and danger of battle feel more real.
However, not every war movie uses this approach. Some opt to tell the stories through animation, which allows more creative freedom in terms of color palette and how the information is presented while still allowing the movie to feel like a work of art, as every frame is hand-drawn with care. Animation doesn't serve to discredit these war films at all; in fact, it enriches the genre. These are the greatest animated war films, which reel in their audiences through the alluring power of cartoons.
15 'Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero' (2018)
Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero is a 3D animated film set during the First World War. The main character, Stubby, is actually a stray Boston Terrier who wanders onto a US military training camp at Yale University. Given a home and the chance to be part of a grand adventure, Stubby is brought to the Western Front in the final months of the war.
Stubby spends his days sniffing out gas attacks, comforting the wounded from No Man's Land, and occasionally using his powerful nose to locate German spies in the trenches. As it happens, this movie is based on a true story--Sgt. Stubby was a very real dog during the war, becoming the most decorated dog of World War I. Featuring big names like Logan Lerman and Helena Bonham Carter in leading roles, the film garnered great reviews, yet was a tremendous flop at the box office. This shabby treatment is not what the family-friendly flick deserved. It's charming, endearing, and adventurous, and it's accessible to audiences of all ages. —Dawson Nyffenegger
14 'Another Day of Life' (2018)
Another Day of Life is set during the Angolan Civil War, which ran from the mid-1970s to the early 2000s. The film has versions in English, Polish, Portuguese (an official language of Angola), and Spanish, and, like many of the other films on this list, is based on a true story. Specifically, it's an autobiographical account of Polish war correspondent Ryszard Kapuściński and his time on the rapidly changing Angolan front.
The movie examines Ryszard's day-to-day life, fully expecting to die any day now. Each new day is both a blessing and a curse, as he witnesses unimaginable horror during the conflict. Ultimately, the adult animated film explores the nature of proxy wars (wars in which world superpowers control smaller nations in order to gain political influence in a region), and the decades-long clash that was the Cold War. It does a pretty good job of it, too, really making it feel like Ryszard's life is at stake every single minute of every single day. —Dawson Nyffenegger
13 'The Swallows of Kabul' (2019)
The Swallows of Kabul is set during the Afghan Civil War, which ran from 1996-2001, prior to the American Invasion. In the year 1998, the Taliban had ruled over the country with an iron fist for two years, making life in the capital city of Kabul a living nightmare. This French animated film is based on a novel of the same name by Yasmina Khadra, which won several awards.
Described as a psychological drama film, the movie follows a young Afghan couple who, in spite of their circumstances, want desperately to believe in a bright future. Unfortunately, the boyfriend participates in the stoning of a woman who is being condemned for prostitution. The rock he throws kills the woman, putting a strain on the relationship. The movie takes a deep, critical look at overzealous religious customs, the lack of freedom in Afghanistan, poverty, and how war can damage relationships and romance. —Dawson Nyffenegger
12 'Barefoot Gen' (1983)
Barefoot Gen is deceptive, following a young child living in Hiroshima during World War II. But, of course, anyone who knows the context of the situation will immediately be filled with a sense of impending doom. When the long-awaited atomic bomb finally does drop, the imagery switches from innocent to visceral, with some of the most disturbing imagery ever depicted in an animated film.
After that, the movie is incessantly dark, exploring the scope of the destruction that, at the time, was unlike anything humanity had ever seen before. Barefoot Gen places audiences directly into the main character's shoes as he peruses the blasted landscape, looking for any way to survive the devastation. While it isn't the most accomplished animated movie of all time, Barefoot Gen is haunting and eye-opening as it portrays what the atomic bomb is truly capable of.
11 'Waltz with Bashir' (2008)
Waltz with Bashir is a true story based on the experiences of Ari Folman serving as a soldier in the 1982 Lebanon War. Folman not only stars as himself in this highly-stylized animated docudrama but also wrote, directed, and produced the movie. In his personal passion project, Folman opens up about his recurring nightmares as a result of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which he still feels decades after he fought in the war.
Emotionally jarring yet tender and sympathetic, Waltz with Bashir dives deep into the human aspect of soldiers who risk their lives fighting in armed conflicts. It explores the profound effects that senseless violence can have on an individual's mind, enhancing the message with striking visuals. Nominated for an Oscar, this movie shows what war is really like, reminding audiences that even if one's military service ends, their inner battle is never over.
10 'The Wind Rises' (2013)
The Wind Rises is an animated biopic about Japanese aeronautical engineer Jiro Horikoshi, who always dreamt of being a pilot but couldn't because of his lack of 20-20 vision. During the Second World War, Jiro designs warplanes for the Japanese Empire, falling into a profound sadness, knowing that his beloved machines were being used to kill people.
The movie shows the developmental process of Jiro's proudest invention, the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, a plane made famous for its prevalence and efficiency in World War II, though Jiro still finds himself remorseful at it being used for purposes he doesn't agree with. The Wind Rises is a near-perfect Studio Ghibli movie that may not feature much of the war itself but follows a key figure in it who is torn between his family, personal values, and the ideals of his country, with very little to help him balance the three.
9 'Flee' (2021)
Flee touches on a lot of different concepts as it follows the life of Amin Nawabi, an alias used by a real person who wishes to remain anonymous. Nawabi voices himself as he recounts the story of his survival amidst the Soviet-Afghan War in a documentary style. Amin is a gay man forced to keep his sexuality a secret, as homosexuality unfortunately was and still is a crime punishable by death in Afghanistan.
Amin details his harrowing tale in vivid, brutally realistic detail as he makes plans for himself and his boyfriend to escape to Denmark. As such, the movie is a Danish film, with renowned actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau serving as executive producer. Flee is not just a survivor's tale but also a socially conscious masterpiece that covers themes not commonly explored in the war genre, portraying the hardships of refugees in a way that hasn't been seen before. One of the best LGBTQ+ movies in recent years, Flee is as confronting as it is rewarding.
Collider Exclusive · Oscar Best Picture Quiz
Which Oscar Best Picture
Is Your Perfect Movie?
Parasite · Everything Everywhere · Oppenheimer · Birdman · No Country
Five Oscar Best Picture winners. Five completely different visions of what cinema can be — and what it can do to you. One of them is the film that was made for the way your mind works. Ten questions will figure out which one.
🪜Parasite
🌀Everything Everywhere
☢️Oppenheimer
🐦Birdman
🪙No Country for Old Men
01
What kind of film experience do you actually want? The best movies don't just entertain — they leave something behind.
02
Which idea grabs you most in a film? Great films are driven by a central obsession. What's yours?
03
How do you like your story told? Form is content. The way a story is shaped changes what it means.
04
What makes a truly great antagonist? The opposition defines the protagonist. What kind of opposition fascinates you?
05
What do you want from a film's ending? The final note is the one that lingers. What do you want it to sound like?
06
Which setting pulls you in most? Where a film takes place shapes everything — mood, stakes, what's even possible.
07
What cinematic craft impresses you most? Every great film has a signature — a technical or artistic element that makes it unmistakable.
08
What kind of main character do you root for? The protagonist is the lens. Who you choose to follow says something about you.
09
How do you feel about a film that takes its time? Pace is a choice. Some films sprint; others let tension accumulate slowly, deliberately.
10
What do you want to feel walking out of the cinema? The best films leave a mark. What kind of mark do you want?
The Academy Has Decided Your Perfect Film Is…
Your answers have pointed to one Oscar Best Picture winner above all others. This is the film that was made for the way your mind works.
Parasite
You are drawn to films that operate on multiple levels simultaneously — that begin in one genre and quietly, brilliantly migrate into another. Bong Joon-ho's Parasite is a film about class, desire, and the architecture of inequality that manages to be darkly funny, deeply suspenseful, and genuinely shocking across a single extraordinary running time. Your instinct is for cinema that hides its true intentions until the moment it's ready to reveal them. Parasite is exactly that — a film that rewards close attention and punishes assumptions, right up to its devastating final image.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
You want it all — and this film gives you all of it. The Daniels' Everything Everywhere All at Once is one of the most maximalist films ever made: action comedy, multiverse sci-fi, family drama, existential crisis, and a genuinely earned emotional core that sneaks up on you amid the chaos. You are someone who responds to ambition, who doesn't want cinema to choose between being entertaining and being meaningful. This film refuses that choice entirely. It is overwhelming by design, and its overwhelming nature is precisely the point — because the feeling of being crushed by infinite possibility is exactly what it's about.
Oppenheimer
You are drawn to cinema on a grand scale — films that understand history not as a backdrop but as a force, and that place their characters inside that force and watch what happens. Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer is a film about the terrifying gap between what we can do and what we should do, told with the full weight of one of the most consequential moments in human history behind it. You want your films to feel important without feeling self-important — to earn their ambition through sheer craft and the gravity of their subject. Oppenheimer does exactly that. It is enormous, complicated, and refuses easy comfort.
Birdman
You are drawn to films that foreground their own construction — that make the how of the filmmaking part of the what it's about. Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman, shot to appear as a single continuous take, is cinema examining itself through the cracked mirror of a fading actor's ego. You respond to formal daring, to the feeling that a film is doing something that probably shouldn't be possible. Michael Keaton's performance and Emmanuel Lubezki's restless camera create something genuinely unlike anything else — a film that is simultaneously about creativity, relevance, self-destruction, and the impossibility of ever truly knowing if your work means anything at all.
No Country for Old Men
You are drawn to cinema that trusts silence, that refuses to explain itself, and that treats dread as a form of meaning. The Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men is a film about the arrival of a new kind of evil — implacable, arbitrary, and utterly indifferent to the moral frameworks we use to make sense of the world. It is one of the most formally controlled films ever made, and its controlled restraint is what makes it so terrifying. You want your films to haunt you, not comfort you. You are not interested in resolution if resolution would be dishonest. No Country for Old Men is honest in a way that most cinema never dares to be.
8 'Funan' (2018)
Funan is set during the Cambodian Civil War and concurrent genocide in the 1970s. Orchestrated by dictator Pol Pot, the genocide targeted anyone deemed "undesirable," including ethnic and religious minorities. This movie is actually a joint project between France, Luxembourg, and Belgium, with the film being in French. Regardless, it is distinctly mature in its subject matter.
The story is about a young Cambodian boy named Chou (Bérénice Bejo), a four-year-old who is separated from his mother during a mass relocation from Phnom Penh, forced by the Khmer Rouge regime. The movie examines how war fundamentally tears families apart, and how children are often those who suffer the most. It's a heartbreaking film about an oft-overlooked conflict that really needs some more attention. —Dawson Nyffenegger
7 'When the Wind Blows' (1986)
When the Wind Blows was released near the end of the Cold War, and came as a bit of a wake-up call as to what the rural English countryside would look like if World War III actually broke out. An elderly couple, Hilda (Peggy Ashcroft) and Jim (John Mills), live quietly in their isolated home in the country when all hell breaks loose, and a nuclear mushroom cloud flattens the landscape. They survive the initial blast but are completely unprepared for the situation, even though Jim spends days stockpiling food and building a makeshift fallout shelter.
As an older couple, this is a time when they need assistance the most, yet no one else is left alive to help them out of their predicament. The ending is obvious to see from a mile away, but the long, slow burn towards it is horrific every step of the way. Jim tries to remain optimistic for both his and Hilda's sake, but it quickly becomes all too apparent that there is no way that anyone, much less these two, could have adequately prepared for this. Gut-wrenching and even a little frightening, When the Wind Blows captivated audiences with its unique animation style and minimalistic yet impactful storytelling.
6 'The Iron Giant' (1999)
The Iron Giant takes place during the height of the Cold War in 1957, after a lonely young boy named Hogarth (Eli Marienthal) stumbles across a gigantic robot of unknown origin. The robot, who is dubbed "Giant" (Vin Diesel), reacts aggressively to anything it perceives as a weapon, leading audiences to believe he may be a weapon produced by one of the world's superpowers during this period of high tension.
Despite his original purpose, the Giant and Hogarth become fast friends, but it is only a matter of time before the government catches on that something is up. This is a movie that's a lot more kid-friendly, but it sadly didn't get the contemporary attention it deserved. It's not only innocent and whimsical but absolutely heartbreaking, too, especially towards the end. With beautifully done animation and a heartfelt story to boot, The Iron Giant remains one of the best and most intelligent animated war flicks that is palatable for children without reducing its impact. It's a traumatizing yet iconic '90s film that will linger in its fans' minds.
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